335、⑵出于纯粹的怜悯，圣治的运作不断通过方法进行。圣治既有手段也有方法。它的手段就是用来使得人成为一个人，并在其理解力和意愿方面得以完善的事；它的方法则是实现这些事所采取的措施。用来使得人成为一个人，并在其理解力方面得以完善的手段通常被称为“真理”。它们在思维中会变成概念或观念，在记忆中则被称为“事实”。它们本质上是构成科学的知识。就本身而言，所有这些手段都是属灵的；但它们在属世事物里面，故由于它们的覆盖物或披戴物，它们看上去似乎是属世的，其中一些似乎是物质的。这些手段数量无限，种类无限；有的或多或少有点简单；有的或多或少有点复杂；有的或多或少不完美；有的或多或少完美。有些手段用来形成并完善属世的文明生活，有些用来形成并完善理性的道德生活，有些则用来形成并完善天上的属灵生活。
这些手段按顺序接踵而来，从婴孩时期一直持续到人生命的结束，此后直到永远。由于它们在行进的过程中接踵而来，所以前者成为后者的手段。它们进入作为居间原因而被形成的每个事物，因为由这些原因所产生的每个结果或每个结论都变得有效，从而又变成一个原因。就这样，后者接连变成手段；这个过程会持续到永远，所以结束它的末尾或终点是存在的。也就是说，正如永恒是没有尽头的，增长到永恒的智慧也是没有尽头的。如果智者的智慧真的有尽头，那么其智慧的快乐就会消亡，因为这快乐就在于智慧的永恒繁殖和结实；其生命的快乐也会因此消亡；取而代之的是荣耀的快乐，唯独这种快乐没有天上的生命在里面。这时，智者不再像一个年轻人，而是像一个上了年纪的人，最终像一个老朽之人。
尽管智者的智慧会增长到永恒，然而，天使的智慧接近神性智慧的程度，永远达不到触及它的地步。这就好比在双曲线旁边画一条直线，可以说这条直线不断接近双曲线，但永远不会触及它；我们也可以想想圆的面积。这一切清楚表明，为使人可以成为一个人，并在其理解力方面得以完善，圣治所用的手段是什么；这些手段通常被称为“真理”。还有同样多的手段使得人在意愿方面得以形成并完善；但这些手段通常被称为“良善”。人正是通过后一类手段而获得爱的，而他通过前一类手段获得的是智慧。这两类手段的结合便构成人，因为这种结合如何，这个人就如何，或说，这种结合的性质决定了人自己的性质。这种结合就是我们所说的良善与真理的婚姻。
335. (2) The operation of Divine providence takes place unceasingly, through means, out of pure mercy. Divine providence has its means and methods. Its means are the instruments by which a person becomes human and is perfected in intellect and in will. Its methods are the ways these goals are accomplished.
The means by which a person becomes human and is perfected in intellect are in common parlance called truths, which in thought become ideas, and in the memory are called facts, and which in themselves are the concepts on which the various branches of knowledge are founded.
All of these means regarded in themselves are spiritual. But because they exist in natural embodiments, owing to their investiture or clothing they appear to be natural, and some of them material.
These means are infinite in number and infinite in their variety. They are more or less simple or composite, and they are more or less imperfect or perfect.
There are means for forming and perfecting a person's natural, civil life, means for forming and perfecting his rational, moral life, and also means for forming and perfecting his heavenly, spiritual life.
[2] These means follow in succession, one kind after another, from early childhood to the final period of a person's life, and after that to eternity. As they follow in succession in their progress, moreover, prior ones thus become the means to later ones, for they enter every development as the mediating causes, since every effect or every result stemming from them is an efficient one and so becomes itself a cause. Thus later effects or results become in succession means. And because this continues to eternity, there is no final, or last, concluding one. For as eternity is without an end, so wisdom that increases to eternity is without an end. If wisdom in a wise person were to reach an end, his delight in wisdom, which consists in a perpetual augmentation and proliferation of it, would die, and so with it his life's delight, and in its stead would arise a delight in glory, which on its own contains no heavenly life. The wise person then becomes no longer youthful but as one advanced in age, and eventually decrepit.
[3] Even though the wisdom of a wise person in heaven increases to eternity, still it is not possible for angelic wisdom ever to so approach Divine wisdom as to be able to touch it. The case is comparatively like what is said of a straight line drawn on either side of a hyperbola, that it continually approaches it but never touches it. It is also like what is said about squaring a circle.
It can be seen from this what is meant by the means by which Divine providence operates in order for a person to be human and to be perfected in intellect, and that these means are in common parlance called truths.
There are just as many means, too, by which a person is formed and perfected in will, but these in common parlance are called goods. It is owing to these that a person possesses love, whereas it is owing to the former that he has wisdom. The conjunction of the two form the person, for a person's character is such as the nature of the conjunction. This conjunction is what we call the marriage of good and truth.
335. 2. The working of divine providence is constantly done through means, out of pure mercy. Divine providence has both means and ways. The means are what serve to make us human and grow in perfection in discernment and volition. The ways are the manners in which these processes happen.
The means that serve to make us human and grow in perfection in discernment are summed up in the word "truths." They become concepts in our thinking, and we refer to them as facts in our memory. Essentially, they are the thoughts that give rise to what we know.
All these means are spiritual in and of themselves, but since they occur in our earthly concerns, they seem to be earthly because of this covering or clothing, which is earthly and even physical. They are infinite in number and infinite in variety. There are some less simple and some more simple; some less complex and some more complex; some less imperfect and some more imperfect; and some less perfect and some more perfect. There are means for giving form and completeness to our life on the civic, earthly level, for giving form and completeness to our life on the moral, rational level, and for giving form and completeness to our life on the spiritual, heavenly level.
[2] These means occur in sequence, one kind after another, from infancy to the last stage of our life, and then on to eternity. They intensify as they follow each other, with the earlier ones being means to the later ones. All the steps become part of whatever takes shape, like intermediate causes, because every effect of them, every final result, is active and therefore becomes a cause. So the subsequent ones are means in the sequence. Further, since this process goes on to eternity, there is no last or final step that closes the sequence. That is, just as eternity is without end, so wisdom that increases to eternity has no end. If there were an end of wisdom for the wise, that would be the end of their pleasure in wisdom, which consists of its endless increase and fertility. It would therefore be the end of the joy of their life. In its place would come a pleasure in their brilliance, and there is no heavenly life in this alone. The wise would no longer be young; they would seem to age, and eventually to become decrepit.
[3] Although the wisdom of the wise does increase forever in heaven, angelic wisdom never approaches divine wisdom closely enough to touch it. It is rather like a straight line drawn next to a hyperbola, constantly approaching but never touching; or we might think of the squaring of a circle.
This shows what is meant by the means that divine providence uses to make us human and to bring us toward perfection in discernment, and shows that the general term for them is "truths." There are the same number of means by which we are given form and completeness in volition, but the general term for these is "good." It is from these latter that we have love, while the former means provide us with wisdom. The union of these two kinds of means makes us human because the nature of that union determines our own nature. This union is what we refer to as "the marriage of goodness and truth."
335. II. THE OPERATION OF THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE IS EFFECTED UNCEASINGLY THROUGH MEANS OUT OF PURE MERCY. There are means and methods of the Divine Providence. Its means are the things from the exercise of which a man becomes a man and is perfected as to his understanding and his will; and its methods are the measures through which such things are effected. The means from the exercise of which a man becomes a man and is perfected as to his understanding are commonly termed truths. These become ideas in the thought, and in the memory they are said to be matters of memory; but in themselves they are rational conceptions from which the sciences are derived. All these means regarded in themselves are spiritual, but as they exist in natural things, from their covering or clothing they appear to be natural, and some of them to be material. These means are infinite in number and variety, and are more or less simple and compound, and also more or less imperfect and perfect. There are means for forming and perfecting natural civil life, also for forming and perfecting rational moral life, and also for forming and perfecting heavenly spiritual life.
[2] These means follow in succession, one after another, from infancy to the last age of man, and after that to eternity; and as they follow in their growth, so the former become the means of the later, since they enter into everything that is formed as mediate causes; for from such causes every effect or every conclusion becomes effective, and thus becomes a cause. Thus in succession the later become means; and as this process goes on to eternity, there is no last or ultimate which closes it. For as the eternal is without end so wisdom which increases to eternity is without end. If there were any end to wisdom in a wise man the delight of his wisdom, which consists in its perpetual multiplication and fructification, would perish; and so also would the delight of his life, and in its place would succeed the delight of glory, in which by itself there is no heavenly life. Then the wise man no longer becomes like a youth but like a man, old and at length decrepit.
[3] Although the wisdom of a wise man in heaven increases to eternity, yet there is no such approximation of angelic wisdom to the Divine Wisdom that it can reach it. It may be illustrated by what is said of a straight line drawn about a hyperbola, continually approaching but never touching it and by what is said about squaring the circle. Hence it may be evident what is meant by the means whereby the Divine Providence operates in order that a man may be a man and be perfected as to his understanding, these means being commonly termed truths. There is also an equal number of means by which man is formed and perfected as to his will, and these are commonly termed goods. From these man derives love, while from the former he derives wisdom. Their conjunction makes the man, for the nature of the man is according to the nature of their conjunction. This conjunction is what is called the marriage of good and truth.
335. (2) The operation of the Divine providence goes on unceasingly, through means, out of pure mercy. There are means and modes of the Divine providence. Its means are the things whereby man becomes a man and is perfected in respect to his understanding and his will; its modes are the ways whereby these things are accomplished. The means whereby man becomes a man and is perfected in respect to his understanding in general are called truths, which in the thought become ideas, and in the memory are called things. In themselves they are knowledges, of which sciences consist. All these means, viewed in themselves, are spiritual; but as they are in natural things, from their covering or clothing they appear as if natural, and some of them as if material. These means are infinite in number and infinite in variety; they are more or less simple or compound, also more or less imperfect or perfect. There are means for forming and perfecting natural civil life, for forming and perfecting rational moral life, and for forming and perfecting heavenly spiritual life.
[2] These means follow in succession, one kind after another, from infancy to the last period of man's life, and after that to eternity; and as they follow in their growth, so the prior become the means of those that come after, for they enter into every thing that is formed as mediate causes, since from these causes every effect or every conclusion becomes effective, and thus becomes a cause. Thus in succession the posterior [or last] become means; and as this process goes on to eternity no last or outmost which brings to an end is possible. For as the eternal is without end so the wisdom that increases to eternity is without end. If wisdom with a wise man were to come to an end, the delight of his wisdom, which consists in the perpetual multiplication and fructification of wisdom, would perish, and thus the delight of his life would perish; and the delight of glory, in which alone there is no heavenly life, would take its place, and the wise man is then no longer like a youth, but like an old man, and finally like one decrepit.
[3] Although the wisdom of a wise man increases to eternity in heaven there is still no such approximation of angelic wisdom to the Divine wisdom as to touch it. It may be compared to a straight line drawn near a hyperbola which is said to approach it continually but never to touch it; also to what is said about squaring the circle. All this makes clear what is meant by the means whereby the Divine providence operates in order that man may be a man, and may be perfected in respect to his understanding, and that these means are what are commonly called truths. Equally numerous are the means whereby man is formed and perfected in respect to his will; but these are what are commonly called goodnesses. From these man has love, while from the former he has wisdom. Their conjunction makes the man, for such as the conjunction is such is the man. This conjunction is what is called the marriage of good and truth.
335. II. Quod operatio Divinae Providentiae continue fiat per media ex pura misericordia. Sunt media et modi Divinae Providentiae; media sunt, ex quibus homo fit homo, ac perficitur quoad intellectum et quoad voluntatem; modi sunt, per quos illa fiunt. Media ex quibus homo fit homo, ac perficitur quoad intellectum, communi voce vocantur vera, quae fiunt ideae in cogitatione, et dicuntur res in memoria, et in se sunt cognitiones, ex quibus scientiae. Omnia illa media in se spectata sunt spiritualia; sed quia sunt in naturalibus, ex indusio seu vestitu suo apparent sicut naturalia, et quaedam sicut materialia. Media illa infinita sunt numero, ac infinita 1sunt varietate; sunt simplicia et composita minus et magis, et sunt imperfecta et perfecta minus et magis. Sunt media pro formanda et perficienda vita civili naturali; tum pro formanda et perficienda vita morali rationali; ut et pro formanda et perficienda vita spirituali coelesti.
[2] Media illa succedunt, unum genus post alterum, ab infantia usque ad aetatem hominis ultimam, et post illam in aeternum: et sicut succedunt crescendo, ita priora fiunt media posteriorum, ingrediuntur enim omne formatum sicut causae mediae, nam ex his omnis effectus seu omne conclusum est efficiens, et inde fit causa; ita posteriora fiunt successive media: et quia hoc fit in aeternum, 2non datur postremum seu ultimum, quod claudit; nam sicut aeternum est absque fine, ita sapientia quae in aeternum crescit est absque fine: si finis sapientiae foret apud sapientem, periret jucundum sapientiae ejus, quod consistit in perpetua multiplicatione et fructificatione ejus, et sic jucundum vitae ejus, et loco ejus succederet jucundum gloriae, in quo solo non est vita coelestis; fit homo ille sapiens tunc non amplius sicut juvenis, sed sicut senex, et tandem sicut decrepitus.
[3] Tametsi sapientia sapientis in Coelo crescit in aeternum, usque tamen non datur sapientiae angelicae approximatio ad sapientiam Divinam talis, ut illam possit contingere; est comparative sicut dicitur de linea recta circum hyperbolam ducta continue approximante et nusquam tangente; et sicut dicitur de quadrando circulo. Ex his constare potest, quid intelligitur per media, per quae Divina Providentia operatur, ut homo sit homo, ac ut perficiatur quoad intellectum, et quod haec media communi voce dicantur vera. Totidem etiam sunt media, per quae homo formatur et perficitur quoad voluntatem, sed haec communi voce dicuntur bona; ex his est homini amor, ex illis autem est homini sapientia: conjunctio illorum facit hominem, nam qualis illa est, talis est homo: haec conjunctio est quae vocatur conjugium boni et veri.
Footnotes:
1 Prima editio: infinita
2 Prima editio: aeternnm,