321、现按所列的顺序解释这些事。
①人若确信表象，即：智慧和谨慎来自人，因而在他里面如同他自己的，就必然觉得若非如此，他将不是一个人，而要么是一个动物，要么是一个雕像；然而，事实恰恰相反。按照圣治的律法，即：人要貌似从自己思考，貌似从自己谨慎行动，但仍要承认他是从主如此行的。由此可知，人若貌似从自己谨慎思考和行动，同时承认他是从主而如此行的，就是一个人；但若确信他所思所行的一切都来自他自己，就不是一个人；人若因知道智慧和谨慎来自神，故只是等候流注，也不是一个人；因为后者变得像一个雕像，而前者变得像一个动物。很明显，人若只是等候流注，就会变得像一个雕像，因为他必一动不动地站着或坐着，双手下垂，两眼要么闭着，要么一眨不眨地睁着，既不思考也不呼吸。那么，他还有多少生命呢？
同样明显的是，人若认为他所思所行的一切都来自他自己，就会与动物无异，因为他只从人与动物所共有的属世心智，而不从属灵的理性心智，也就是真正的人类心智来思考。正是后一种心智认识到唯独神从祂自己思考，人则从神思考。因此，这种人只知道人与动物区别在于：人会说话，而动物只会发声；他还认为两者以同样的方式死亡。
有必要详细说一说那些等候流注的人。除了极少数发自内心渴望流注的人外，这些人接受不到任何流注。他们偶尔通过思考中的一种生动印象，或微妙声音，但很少通过清晰的言语或任何明显的东西而接受到一种回应；大意是：他们要按他们所想要的方式，因而按他们所能够的方式来思考和行动。他们若行事智慧，就是智慧的；若行事愚蠢，就是愚蠢的。他们从来不会被告知要信什么，或做什么；否则，其人类的理性和自由就会灭亡。也就是说，这样做是为了让每个人都出于自由照着理性行动，并且表面上看，貌似凭他自己如此行。那些被流注教导要信什么，或做什么的人不是被主，或任何天堂天使教导，而是被某个狂热的灵人，可能是贵格会教徒或摩拉维亚教徒教导，并被引入歧途。从主所流入的一切都是通过对理解力的一种光照和对真理的一种情感流入的，实际上通过这种情感流入理解力。
②照着真理，即：一切良善和真理皆来自主，一切邪恶和虚假皆来自地狱而相信和思想，似乎是不可能的；而事实上，如此行是真正的人性原则，因而如天使一般。相信和思想一切良善和真理皆来自主似乎是可能的，只要不再多说什么，因为这一点符合神学信仰，并且我们不可以思想反面。但相信和思想一切邪恶和虚假皆来自地狱似乎是不可能的，因为这样人必以为他根本不能思想。然而，人的确貌似从自己思想，哪怕从地狱思想，因为主赋予每个人这样的表象：他的思维在他里面如同他自己的，无论它来自什么样的源头。否则，人不会作为一个人活着，也无法被领出地狱、引入天堂，也就是说，无法被改造，如前面频繁所示（96，114，174，210节）。
因此，主也能使人知道，并由此想到他若处于邪恶，就在地狱，若从邪恶思考，就是从地狱思考；祂还能使人思想方法，好叫他可以通过这些方法从地狱出来，不从地狱思考，可以进入天堂，并在那里从主思考；祂又赋予人选择的自由。由此可见，人能貌似从自己思想邪恶和虚假，也能认为这事或那事是邪恶或虚假；因而能认为他从自己如此行只是一种表象，没有这种表象，人将不是一个人。基于真理思考是真正的人性原则，因而如天使一般；这真理就是，人不是从自己思考，而是主使他表面上能貌似从自己思考。
③对那些不承认主的神性，也不承认邪恶就是罪的人来说，如此相信和思想是不可能的；但对那些承认这两个事实的人来说，是可能的。对那些不承认主的神性之人来说，这是不可能的，因为唯独主能使人思想和意愿；那些不承认主的神性之人因离开主，故以为他们从自己思孝。对那些不承认邪恶就是罪的人来说，这也是不可能的，因为这些人从地狱思考；那里的所有人都以为他们从自己思考。但对那些承认这两个事实的人来说，这是可能的，这一点从前面的充分阐述（288-294节）可以看出来。
④那些作出这两个承认的人，只会反思自己里面的邪恶，并照着避开和远离如罪的邪恶程度而将它们扔回它们所来自的地狱。谁都知道或能知道，邪恶来自地狱，良善来自天堂。因此，谁都能知道，他避开并厌恶邪恶到何等程度，就会避开并厌恶地狱到何等程度。基于此，谁都能知道，人避开并厌恶邪恶到何等程度，就意愿并热爱良善到何等程度；事实上，主就将他从地狱释放到何等程度，并把他引入天堂。凡理性之人都能明白这一切，只要他们知道天堂和地狱的存在，知道邪恶和良善来自何处。这时，一个人若反思自己里面的邪恶（这等于是检查自己），并避开它们，就会摆脱地狱，弃之于身后，并将自己引入天堂，在那里面对面地看见主。可以说，是人做这一切，但他是貌似从自己，实际上从主这样做的。当人出于善心和虔信承认这个真理时，它就会从内在隐藏于他后来貌似从自己所思所行的一切里面，就像种子里面的繁殖力，这繁殖力从内在伴随着它的生长，直到结出新种子；或像一个人因认识到食物对他有益而获得的食欲里的快乐。总之，它就像他所思所行的一切中的心脏和灵魂。
⑤这意味着圣治既不将邪恶归给任何人，也不将良善归给任何人；相反，人自己的谨慎两者都归给。这一点从刚才所述可推知。良善是圣治的目的；因此，这就是圣治在它所做的一切事上所瞄准的东西。因此，它不将良善归给任何人，因为如此良善就会变成有功的；它也不将邪恶归给任何人，因为如此人就会因邪恶而受到指控。然而，人出于他的自我而将这两者都归给，因为这自我无非是邪恶。其意愿的自我是自我之爱，其理解力的自我是对自己聪明的骄傲，由此产生人自己的谨慎。
321. But let these points be explained in the proposed sequence.
FIRST, that someone who affirms in himself the appearance that wisdom and prudence originate from mankind, and that they are in him as his, cannot but have it seem to him that he would otherwise not be human, but would be either an animal or a statue, when in fact the opposite is the case: It is owing to a law of Divine providence that a person should think as though of himself, and act prudently as though of himself, but still should acknowledge that he does so from the Lord. It follows, therefore, that someone who does think and act prudently as though of himself, and at the same time acknowledges that he does so from the Lord, is human, but not someone who affirms in himself that everything he thinks and does originates from himself. And neither is someone human who, knowing that wisdom and prudence originate from God, still awaits influx. For the first becomes no different from an animal, and the latter no different from a statue.
It is apparent that someone who awaits influx is no different from a statue, for inevitably he must stand or sit motionless, his hands hanging down, his eyes either closed or open without blinking, not thinking or breathing. How much life does he have then?
[2] It is also apparent that someone who believes that everything he thinks and does originates from himself is no different from an animal, for he thinks only with his natural mind, which the human being has in common with animals, and not with his rational, spiritual mind, which is the truly human mind. For the rational, spiritual mind acknowledges that God alone thinks of Himself, and that people think from God. Consequently, the kind of person here described does not know of any difference between man and animal other than the fact that the human being has the power of speech while an animal makes sounds, and he believes that the two die alike.
[3] We will say something more about people who await influx. They do not receive any, except for a few who long for it from the heart. These sometimes receive some response through a consciously experienced perception in thought, or through a tacit verbal communication in the influx, and rarely by an evident one; and the response then is for them to think and act as they will and are able, that someone who acts wisely is wise, and that someone who acts foolishly is foolish; and they are never told what to believe or what to do. They are not told in order to keep their human rationality and freedom from perishing, which is to say, to keep each of them acting in freedom in accordance with their reason, to all appearance as though they did so of themselves.
People who are told by influx what to believe or what to do are not being instructed by the Lord, nor by any angel in heaven, but by some fanatic, Quaker or Moravian spirit, by whom they are led astray.
All influx from the Lord takes place in an enlightenment of the intellect, and through an affection for truth, and flows through the latter into the former.
[4] SECOND, that to believe and think, as is the truth, that all goodness and truth originate from the Lord, and all evil and falsity from hell, seems to be an impossibility, when in fact it is something truly human and thus angelic: To believe and think that all goodness and truth come from God seems to be possible provided one says nothing else. That is because it accords with theological belief, and one is not permitted to think contrary to it.
To believe and think that all evil and falsity come from hell, on the other hand, seems impossible, because in that case one would have to believe as well that a person could think nothing at all. But still a person thinks as though of himself, even if it is from hell, because the Lord grants to everyone the appearance that his thought - wherever it comes from - is in him as his. Otherwise the person would not live as a human being, nor could he be led out of hell and be introduced into heaven, which is to say, be reformed, as we have shown many times above.
[5] Therefore the Lord also grants a person to know and thus think that he is caught up in hell if he is caught up in evil, and that he is impelled in his thinking by hell if he is impelled by evil. The Lord also grants him to think how he can escape from hell and not be impelled in his thinking by hell, but enter into heaven and think there from the Lord. And He gives him, too, the freedom to choose.
It can be seen from this that a person can think evil and falsity as though of himself, and can also think that this or that is evil or false, and consequently can think that it is only an appearance that he does so of himself, without which a person would not be human.
The fundamental human and so angelic characteristic is to think in accordance with truth, and the truth is that a person does not think on his own, but is granted by the Lord to think, to all appearance as if of himself.
[6] THIRD, that to believe and think in this way is impossible for people who do not acknowledge the Lord's Divinity, and who do not acknowledge evils to be sins, but is possible for people who do acknowledge these two things: It is impossible for people who do not acknowledge the Lord's Divinity because it is the Lord alone who enables a person to think and will, and people who do not acknowledge the Lord's Divinity, having separated themselves from Him, believe that they think on their own.
It is impossible, too, for people who do not acknowledge evils to be sins, because they think from hell, and everyone there supposes that he thinks on his own.
That it is possible, however, for people who do acknowledge these two things, can be seen from the abundance of proofs presented in nos. 288-294 above.
[7] FOURTH, that insofar as they refrain from evils as sins and are averse to them, people who possess these two acknowledgments simply reflect on the evils in themselves and cast them away back to hell from where they came: Who does not know, or who cannot know, that evil comes from hell and good from heaven? And who cannot know therefore that insofar as a person turns away from and is averse to evil, he turns away from and is averse to hell? Who, moreover, cannot know therefore that in proportion as anyone turns away from and is averse to evil, he wills and loves good? Consequently, that in the same proportion he is brought out by the Lord from hell and led to heaven?
Every rational person can see this, provided he knows of the existence of hell and heaven, and knows that evil springs from its origin, and good from its origin. If the person now reflects on the evils in himself - which is the same thing as examining himself - and refrains from those evils, he then frees himself from hell and puts it behind him, and introduces himself into heaven and beholds the Lord there before him. We say that the person does this, but he does it as though of himself, and in that case from the Lord.
When a person acknowledges this truth with a good heart and a devout faith, it then lies concealed within everything that he afterward thinks and does as though of himself, like the generative force in a seed, which accompanies it within even to the production of new seed, or like the pleasure in an appetite for food, once he has acknowledged it to be healthful for him. In a word, it is like the heart and soul in everything that he thinks or does.
[8] FIFTH, thus that Divine providence does not assign evil to anyone, nor good to anyone, but that it is a person's own prudence that assigns the one or the other to him: This follows from everything we have now said. The end in Divine providence is goodness. It therefore intends this in its every operation. Consequently it does not assign good to anyone, for in that case it would be made deserving of merit. Nor does it assign evil to anyone, for in that case it would make him guilty of evil. Nevertheless a person does both owing to his inherent nature, because this is nothing but evil. The inherent nature of his will is a love of self, and the inherent nature of his intellect is a conceit in his own intelligence, and it is of the latter that his own prudence is born.
321. But these need to be explained in the order just given.
(a) If we convince ourselves of the appearance that wisdom and prudence come from ourselves and are therefore within us as our own possessions, it necessarily seems to us that if this were not the case we would not be human at all, only animals or statues; and yet the truth is just the opposite. A law of divine providence says that we are to think in apparent autonomy and act prudently in apparent autonomy but are to recognize that this comes from the Lord. It follows that if we do in fact think and act in apparent autonomy and also recognize that it is coming from the Lord we are human, but that we are not human if we convince ourselves that everything we think and do comes from ourselves. Nor are we human if we simply wait for something to flow in because we know that wisdom and prudence come from God. In this case, we are like statues, while in the former case we are like animals.
Clearly, if we wait for something to flow in, we are like statues. If all we can do is stand or sit motionless, hands hanging down, eyes either closed or open without blinking, neither thinking nor breathing--how much life do we have then?
[2] We can also see that if we believe that everything we think and do comes from ourselves, we are not all that different from animals. After all, we are then thinking solely with our earthly mind, the mind that we have in common with animals, and not with our spiritual rational mind, which is our truly human mind. It is this latter mind that realizes that only God thinks autonomously and that we think from God. Then too, the only difference our earthly mind can see between us and animals is that we talk and animals make noises. It believes that death is the same for both.
[3] Something more needs to be said about people who wait for something to flow in. The only people of this kind who actually receive anything are the few who deeply long for it. They occasionally receive a kind of answer through a vivid impression or a subtle voice in their thinking, but rarely through anything obvious. In any case, what they receive leaves them to think and act the way they want to and the way they can. If they act wisely they become wise, and if they act stupidly they become stupid. They are never told what to believe or what to do; otherwise their human rationality and freedom would be destroyed. That is, things are managed so that they act freely and rationally, and to all appearances, autonomously.
If some inflow tells us what to believe or what to do, it is not the Lord or any angel of heaven who is telling us but some fanatical spirit, perhaps Quaker or Moravian, and we are being led astray. Everything that flows in from the Lord flows in by an enlightenment of our understanding and by a desire for what is true, actually through the desire into the enlightenment.
[4] (b) It seems as though it would be impossible to believe and think in accord with the truth that everything good and true comes from the Lord and everything evil and false from hell, when in fact to do so is truly human and truly angelic. It seems possible to think and believe that everything good and true comes from the Lord as long as we say no more than that. This is because it is in accord with the official faith, and we are not allowed to think to the contrary. However, it seems impossible to think and believe that everything evil and false comes from hell, because if we believed this we would not be able to think at all. Still, we seem to think for ourselves even if it is coming from hell, because the Lord provides that no matter where our thinking is coming from it seems to be happening within us and to be ours. Otherwise, we would not live like humans. We could not be led out of hell and led into heaven--that is, reformed, as I have explained so often already [96, 114, 174, 210].
[5] So too, the Lord provides that we realize and therefore think we are in hell if we are bent on evil and that our thoughts are coming from hell if they come from evil. He also enables us to think of ways that we can get out of hell and not accept thoughts from hell but instead come into heaven and there think from him. He also gives us a freedom to choose. We can therefore see that we can think what is evil and false in apparent autonomy; and we can also think in apparent autonomy that one thing or another is evil and false. We can think that this autonomy is only the way things seem, and that otherwise we would not be human.
It is essentially human and therefore angelic to base our thoughts on the truth; and the truth is that we do not think on our own but that the Lord enables us to think, to all appearances autonomously.
[6] (c) Believing and thinking like this is impossible for people who do not acknowledge the Lord's divine nature and who do not acknowledge that evils are sins; but it is possible for people who acknowledge these two facts. The reason it is impossible for people who do not acknowledge the Lord's divine nature is that it is only the Lord who enables us to think and to intend, and if we do not acknowledge the Lord's divine nature, in isolation from him we believe that we are thinking on our own. The reason it is also impossible for people who do not acknowledge that evils are sins is that their thoughts are coming from hell, and all the people there believe that they are doing their own thinking.
We can tell from the abundance of material presented in 288-294 above that this is possible for people who acknowledge these two facts.
[7] (d) If we make these two acknowledgments, we simply reflect on the evils within ourselves and, to the extent that we abstain and turn from them as sins, throw them back into the hell they came from. Is there anyone who does not know--or who cannot know--that what is evil comes from hell and what is good comes from heaven? Can anyone, then, fail to see that we abstain from hell and turn away from it to the extent that we abstain and turn away from evil? On this basis, can anyone fail to see that we intend and love what is good to the extent that we abstain and turn away from evil, and that in fact the Lord releases us from hell to that same extent and leads us to heaven? All rational people can see this provided they know that hell and heaven exist and know where evil and good come from. If, then, we reflect on the evils in ourselves, which is the same as self-examination, and abstain from them, then we extricate ourselves from hell, turn our backs on it, and make our way into heaven where we see the Lord face to face. We may say that we are doing this, but we are doing it in apparent autonomy, and therefore from the Lord.
When we acknowledge this truth from a good heart and a devout faith, then it is subtly present from then on in everything we seem to ourselves to be thinking and doing, the way fertility is present in a seed at every step until the formation of a new seed, or the way there is pleasure in our appetite for the food that we realize is good for us. In a word, it is like the heart and soul of everything we think and do.
[8] (e) This means that divine providence is not charging anyone with evil or crediting anyone with good. Rather, our own prudence is making each of these claims. This follows from everything that has just been said. The goal of divine providence is goodness. That is what it is aiming at in everything it does; so it does not credit anyone with goodness, because that would make our goodness self-serving; and it does not charge anyone with evil, because that would make us guilty of evil. We make both of these claims out of our own sense of independence, because this sense of ours is nothing but evil. The claim to independence of our volition is self-love, and the claim to independence of our discernment is pride in our own intelligence; and that is where our own prudence comes from.
321. These things will now be explained in the order proposed. First: He who confirms in himself the appearance that wisdom and prudence originate from man and are in man as his own must needs see that if this were not so he would not be a man, but either a beast or a statue, when yet the contrary is true. It is in accordance with a law of the Divine Providence that man should think as of himself and should act prudently as of himself, but yet should acknowledge that he does so from the Lord. Hence it follows that he who thinks and acts prudently as of himself and at the same time acknowledges that he does so from the Lord is a man. On the other hand, he is not a man who confirms in himself the idea that all he thinks and does is from himself; neither is he a man who, because he knows that wisdom and prudence originate from God, still waits for influx; for the latter becomes like a statue, and the former like a beast. It is clear that he who waits for influx is like a statue; for he must stand or sit motionless, with hands hanging down and eyes either shut or open without winking, neither thinking nor breathing. What life then has he?
[2] It is also clear that he who believes that everything he thinks and does is from himself is not unlike a beast, for he thinks only from the natural mind which man has in common with the beasts, and not from the spiritual rational mind which is the truly human mind; for this mind acknowledges that God alone thinks from Himself, and that man thinks from God. Therefore, one who thinks only from the natural mind knows no difference between a man and a beast except that a man speaks and a beast makes sounds, and he believes that they both die in a similar manner.
[3] Of those who wait for influx this further may be said. They receive none, except the few who from their heart desire it; and they occasionally receive some response by a vivid perception, or by tacit speech in the response, in their thought but rarely by any manifest speech. It is then to this effect that they should think and act as they wish and as they can, and that he who acts wisely is wise and he who acts foolishly is foolish. They are never instructed what to believe and what to do, and this in order that the human rational principle and human freedom may not perish; that is, that everyone may act from freedom according to reason, to all appearance as from himself. Those who are instructed by influx what to believe or what to do are not instructed by the Lord or by any angel of heaven but by some Enthusiast, Quaker, or Moravian spirit and are led astray. All influx from the Lord is effected by enlightenment of the understanding, and by the affection for truth, and through the latter passing into the former.
[4] Second: To believe and think, as is the truth, that all good and truth originate from the Lord and all evil and falsity from hell, appears as if it were impossible, when yet it is truly human and consequently angelic. To believe and think that all good and truth are from God appears possible, provided nothing further is said, because it is according to theological faith, and it is not allowable to think contrary to this. On the other hand, to believe and think that all evil and falsity are from hell appears to be impossible, because one would then believe that man could not think at all. Yet man does think as from himself even though from hell, because the Lord grants to everyone that thought, whatever its origin, should appear in him as his own. Otherwise a man would not live as a man, nor could he be led out of hell and introduced into heaven, that is, be reformed, as has been frequently shown above.
[5] Therefore also the Lord grants to man to know and consequently to think that he is in hell when he is in evil, and that he thinks from hell if he thinks from evil. He also grants to him to think of the means by which he may escape out of hell and not think from it, but may enter heaven and there think from the Lord; and He further grants to man freedom of choice. From these considerations it may be seen that man is able to think evil and falsity as if from himself, and also to think that this or that is evil or false; consequently that it is only an appearance that he does so of himself, for without this appearance he would not be a man. To think from truth is the human and consequently the angelic principle itself; and it is a truth that man does not think from himself, but that it is granted him by the Lord to think, to all appearance as from himself.
[6] Third: To believe and think thus is impossible to those who do not acknowledge the Divinity of the Lord, and who do not acknowledge evils to be sins, but it is possible to those who acknowledge these two things. It is impossible to those who do not acknowledge the Divinity of the Lord because it is the Lord alone who grants to man to think and to will; and those who do not acknowledge the Divinity of the Lord, being separated from Him, believe that they think from themselves. It is impossible also to those who do not acknowledge evils to be sins, because they think from hell; and in hell everyone imagines that he thinks from himself. However, that it is possible to those who acknowledge these two things may be evident from what has been fully set forth above (n. 288-294).
[7] Fourth: Those who are in the acknowledgment of these two things reflect only upon the evils in themselves; and, so far as they shun them as sins and turn away from them, they cast them out from themselves to the hell from which they come. Everyone knows, or may know, that evil originates from hell and that good is from heaven. Consequently, everyone may know that so far as man shuns evil and turns away from it so far he shuns and turns away from hell. So, too, he may know that so far as anyone shuns evil and turns away from it so far he wills and loves good; and consequently so far is he brought out of hell by the Lord and led to heaven. These things every rational man may see, provided he knows that there is a heaven and a hell and that evil and good are from their own respective sources. Now if a man reflects upon the evils in himself, which is the same thing as examining himself, and shuns them, he then frees himself from hell and casts it behind him, and introduces himself into heaven where he sees the Lord face to face. It is stated that man does this, but he does it as of himself, and then from the Lord. When a man from a good heart and a pious faith acknowledges this truth, it lies inwardly concealed in everything that he afterwards thinks and does as from himself. It is like the prolific principle in a seed which inwardly remains with it even until the production of new seed; and like the pleasure in the appetite for food which a man has once recognised to be wholesome for him; in a word, it is like the heart and soul in everything that he thinks and does.
[8] Fifth: In this way the Divine Providence does not appropriate either evil or good to anyone, but one's own prudence appropriates both. This follows from all that has now been said. The end in view of the Divine Providence is good; accordingly it purposes good in every operation. Therefore it does not appropriate good to anyone, for such good would thereby become meritorious; nor does it appropriate evil to anyone, for it would thereby make him answerable for the evil. Yet man does both from his proprium because this is nothing but evil. The proprium of his will is the love of self, and the proprium of his understanding is the pride of his own intelligence, and from this arises man's own prudence.
321. These things shall now be explained in the proposed order. First: To one who confirms in himself the appearance that wisdom and prudence are from man and are in man as his, it must needs seem that otherwise he would not be a man, but a beast or a statue; and yet the contrary is the truth. It is from a law of the Divine providence that man should think as if from himself, and should act prudently as if from himself, but should nevertheless acknowledge that he does it from the Lord. From this it follows that he who thinks and acts prudently as if from himself and at the same time acknowledges that he does it from the Lord is a man; while he who confirms in himself that every thing he thinks and does is from himself is not a man; neither is he a man who, because he knows that wisdom and prudence are from God, still waits for influx; for the latter becomes like a statue, and the former like a beast. It is evident that one who simply waits for influx will become like a statue, for he must needs stand or sit motionless, with hands hanging down, and eyes either shut or open without winking, with neither thought nor animation. What is there, then, of life in him?
[2] It is also evident that he who believes that every thing that he thinks and does is from himself is not unlike a beast, for he thinks only from the natural mind which is common to man and beast, and not from the spiritual rational mind which is the truly human mind; for this mind recognizes that God alone thinks from Himself, and that man thinks from God. Consequently such a man knows no difference between a man and a beast except that a man talks and a beast makes sounds; and he believes that they both die in like manner.
[3] Of those who await influx there is something more to be said. They receive no such influx [as they expect] with the exception that a few, who from the heart desire it, occasionally receive a kind of response through a vivid perception in thought, or by a tacit speech therein, and rarely by clear speech, to the effect that they should think and act as they wish and thus as they can, and that he who acts wisely is wise and he who acts foolishly is foolish; but they are never thus instructed what to believe or to do; and this in order that human rationality and liberty may not perish; which are given that every one may act from freedom in accordance with reason, to all appearance as if from himself. Those who are taught by influx what to believe or what to do are not taught by the Lord or by any angel of heaven, but by some enthusiastic spirit, Quaker or Moravian, and are led astray. All influx from the Lord takes place by enlightenment of the understanding, and by an affection for truth, and through this affection into the understanding.
[4] Secondly: To believe and think, as is the truth, that every good and truth is from the Lord and every evil and falsity from hell appears like an impossibility; and yet it is the truly human principle, and therefore the angelic. To believe and think that every good and truth is from God seems possible, provided nothing further is said, for the reason that this is in accordance with theological faith, contrary to which it is not allowable to think. But to believe and think that every evil and falsity is from hell appears impossible, since man must then believe also that he cannot think at all. Yet man does think as if from himself even though from hell, because the Lord gives to every one the appearance that his thought is in him as his own, from whatever source it may be. Otherwise man would not live as a man, nor could he be led out of hell and led into heaven, that is, reformed, as has been frequently shown above.
[5] So, too, the Lord enables man to know, and from that to have the thought, that he is in hell when he is in evil, and that he thinks from hell when he thinks from evil; He also enables him to think about the means by which he may come out of hell and not think from it, and may come into heaven and think there from the Lord; and He also gives man freedom of choice. From all this it can be seen that man is able to think evil and falsity as if from himself, also to think that this or that is evil or false; consequently that it is only an appearance that he does this from himself, without which appearance man would not be a man. To think from the truth is the truly human principle and therefore the angelic; and this truth is that man does not think from himself, but that it is granted him by the Lord to think to all appearance as if from himself.
[6] Thirdly: To believe and think thus is impossible to those who do not acknowledge the Divinity of the Lord and who do not acknowledge that evils are sins; but it is possible to those who do acknowledge these two things. It is impossible to those who do not acknowledge the Lord's Divinity because it is the Lord alone that enables man to think and to will; and those who do not acknowledge the Lord's Divinity, being disjoined from Him, believe that they think from themselves. It is also impossible to those who do not acknowledge evils as sins, because such think from hell; and in hell every one imagines that he thinks from himself. But that it is possible to those who do acknowledge these two things can be seen from what has been fully set forth above (288-294).
[7] Fourthly: Those that are in these two acknowledgments, so far as they shun and turn away from evils as sins need only to reflect upon the evils in themselves, and to cast them away to the hell from whence they are. Every one knows or is capable of knowing that evil is from hell and good from heaven; therefore every one can know that so far as a man shuns and turns away from evil so far he shuns and turns away from hell. So, too, every one can know that so far as any one shuns and turns away from evil so far he wills and loves good; consequently so far he is delivered from hell by the Lord and led to heaven. All this every rational man can see, provided he knows that there is a heaven and a hell, and that evil is from its own origin, and good from its own origin. If, then, a man reflects upon the evils in himself (which is the same thing as examining himself) and shuns them, he then frees himself from hell and casts it behind him; and introduces himself into heaven, and there beholds the Lord face to face. It is said that man does this, but he does it as if from himself, but in fact from the Lord. When from a good heart and from a pious faith man acknowledges this truth it lies inwardly hidden in all that he afterwards thinks and does as if from himself, like the prolific principle in a seed, which inwardly accompanies its growth even to new seed; or like the pleasure in the appetite for food that a man has once recognized to be wholesome for him; in a word, it is like heart and soul in all that he thinks and does.
[8] Fifthly: Thus the Divine providence does not appropriate evil to any one nor good to any one, but his own prudence appropriates both. This follows from all that has now been said. Good is the end of the Divine providence; this it therefore purposes in all its workings. Consequently it does not appropriate good to any one, for good would thus be made meritorious; nor does it appropriate evil to any one, for thus man would be made guilty of the evil. Nevertheless, man does both of these from what is his own (proprium) because this is nothing but evil, that of his will that is his own being the love of self, and that of his understanding that is his own being the conceit in his own intelligence; and from this is his own prudence.
321. Sed haec in proposito ordine explicentur. PRIMUM. Quod qui confirmat apud se apparentiam, quod sapientia et prudentia sint ab homine et in homine ut ejus, non videre possit aliter, quam quod alioquin non foret homo, sed vel bestia, 1vel sculptile; cum tamen contrarium est. Ex lege Divinae Providentiae est, ut homo cogitet sicut a se, utque prudenter agat sicut a se, sed usque ut agnoscat, quod sit a Domino; inde sequitur quod qui cogitat et prudenter agit sicut a se, et simul agnoscit quod sit a Domino, ille sit homo, non autem ille, qui confirmat apud se, quod omne quod cogitat et quod agit, sit ex se; tum nec ille, qui quia scit quod sapientia et prudentia a Deo sunt, usque exspectat influxum; hic enim fit sicut sculptile, et ille sicut bestia: quod ille qui exspectat influxum sit sicut sculptile, patet; oportet enim ut is stet vel sedeat immotus, manibus remissis, oculis vel clausis vel apertis absque nictu, non cogitando nec animando; quid tunc vitae illi est.
[2] Quod ille qui credit quod omnia quae cogitat et agit, sint ex se, non dissimilis bestiae sit, etiam patet, nam cogitat solum ex mente naturali, quae homini communis est cum bestiis, et non ex mente rationali spirituali, quae est mens vere humana; haec enim mens agnoscit, quod Solus Deus cogitet ex se, et quod homo ex Deo; quare etiam talis non scit discrimen inter hominem et bestiam aliud quam quod homo loquatur et bestia sonet, et credit quod uterque moriatur similiter.
[3] De illis qui exspectant influxum adhuc aliquid dicetur; illi non recipiunt aliquem, nisi quam pauci qui ex corde desiderant illum; hi quandoque recipient 2aliquod responsum per vivam perceptionem in cogitatione, vel per tacitam loquelam in illo, et raro per manifestam, et tunc hoc, ut cogitent et agant sicut volunt et sicut possunt, et quod qui sapienter agit sapiens sit, et qui stulte agit stultus sit, et nusquam instruuntur quid credituri et quid facturi sint; et hoc ex causa, ne rationale et liberum humanum pereat, quod est, ut quisque ex libero secundum rationem agat, cum omni apparentia sicut ex se. Illi qui per influxum instruuntur quid credituri aut quid facturi sint, non instruuntur a Domino, nec ab aliquo angelo coeli, sed a quodam spiritu Enthusiastico, Quaqueriano, vel Moraviano, et seducuntur. Omnis influxus a Domino fit per illustrationem intellectus, et per affectionem veri, et per hanc in illam.
[4] SECUNDUM. Quod credere et cogitare sicut veritas est, quod omne bonum et verum sit a Domino, ac omne malum et falsum ab inferno, appareat sicut impossibile; cum tamen id est vere humanum et inde angelicum. Credere et cogitare quod omne bonum et verum sit a Deo, apparet possibile, modo non aliquid ultra dicatur; causa est, quia est secundum fidem Theologicam, contra quam non licet cogitare: at credere et cogitare quod omne malum et falsum sit ex inferno, apparet impossibile, quia sic etiam crederetur, quod homo nihil posset cogitare; sed usque cogitat homo sicut ex se, tametsi ex inferno, quia Dominus dat cuivis, quod cogitatio, undecunque sit, appareat in illo sicut sua; alioquin homo non viveret homo, nec posset educi ex inferno, ac introduci in coelum, hoc est, reformari, ut multis supra ostensum est:
[5] quare etiam Dominus dat homini scire et inde cogitare quod in inferno sit si in malo, et quod ex inferno cogitet si ex malo; et quoque dat cogitare media, quomodo possit ab inferno exire, et non cogitare ex illo, sed venire in coelum et ibi cogitare ex Domino; et quoque dat homini liberum electionis: ex quibus videri potest, quod homo possit cogitare malum et falsum sicut ex se, et quoque cogitare quod id et illud sit malum et falsum; proinde quod sit modo apparentia quod a se, sine qua homo non foret homo. Ipsum humanum et inde Angelicum est cogitare ex veritate, et hoc veritas est, quod homo non cogitet ex se, sed quod ei detur a Domino cogitare, in omni apparentia ut ex se.
[6] TERTIUM. Quod ita credere et cogitare sit impossibile illis, qui non agnoscunt Divinum Domini, et qui non agnoscunt mala esse peccata; et quod possibile sit illis qui duo illa agnoscunt. Quod id impossibile sit illis qui non agnoscunt Divinum Domini, est quia Solus Dominus dat homini cogitare et velle, et qui non agnoscunt Divinum Domini, illi sejuncti ab Ipso credunt quod cogitent a se: quod impossibile etiam sit illis qui non agnoscunt mala esse peccata, est quia hi cogitant ex inferno, et quisque ibi putat quod a se cogitet. Quod autem possibile sit illis qui duo illa agnoscunt, constare potest ex illis quae supra 288-294, in copia allata sunt.
[7] QUARTUM. Quod qui in duabus 3illis agnitionibus sunt, solum reflectant super mala apud se, ac illa ad infernum, unde sunt, rejiciant, quantum illa ut peccata fugiunt et aversantur. Quis non scit, vel scire potest, 4quod malum sit ab inferno, et quod bonum e coelo; et quis non inde scire potest, quod quantum homo fugit et aversatur malum, tantum fugiat et aversetur infernum; et quis inde non scire potest, quod, quantum quis malum fugit et aversatur, tantum velit et amet bonum, proinde quod tantum a Domino ab inferno eximatur, et ad coelum ducatur: haec omnis rationalis homo, modo scit quod infernum et coelum sint, et quod malum sit a sua origine et bonum a sua, videre potest: nunc si homo reflectit super mala apud se, quod idem est cum explorare se, et fugit illa, tunc evolvit se ab inferno, et hoc rejicit ad tergum, ac immittit se in coelum, et ibi Dominum spectat a facie; dicitur quod homo hoc faciat, sed facit id sicut a se, tunc ex Domino. 5Cum homo agnoscit hoc verum ex bono corde et ex pia fide, tunc latet id intus in omni quod postea sicut ex se cogitat et facit, quemadmodum prolificum in semine, quod intus comitatur usque ad novum semen: et quemadmodum volupe in appetitu cibi, quem semel agnovit sibi salutiferum esse; verbo, est sicut cor et anima in omni quod cogitat et facit.
[8] QUINTUM. Quod sic Divina Providentia non appropriet alicui malum nec alicui bonum, sed quod propria prudentia appropriet utrumque: hoc consequitur ex omnibus quae nunc dicta sunt: finis Divinae Providentiae est bonum; hoc itaque in omni operatione intendit; quare non appropriat alicui bonum, nam sic illud fieret meritorium; nec appropriat alicui malum, nam sic illum reum mali faceret: utrumque tamen facit homo ex proprio, quia hoc non est nisi quam malum; proprium voluntatis ejus est amor sui, ac proprium intellectus ejus est fastus propriae intelligentiae, et ex hoc est propria prudentia.
Footnotes:
1 Prima editio: bestia;
2 Prima editio: recipient
3 Prima editio: duahus
4 Prima editio: poest,
5 Prima editio: Domino,