39、极乐、狂喜、幸福和快乐，总之，就是天堂的喜乐，无法用语言来形容，但在那里却被明显感觉到。仅仅通过感觉感知到的东西是无法描述的，因为它不落入思维观念，因而不落入话语。事实上，理解力只是看，并看见属于智慧或真理的事物，看不见属于爱或良善的事物。因此，这些幸福是无法言表的，但它们仍在与智慧相同的层级上上升。它们的种类是无限的，每一种都妙不可言。我听说过这一点，也感受过。
当一个人貌似凭自己，却靠着主逐出对邪恶与虚假的爱之欲望时，这些幸福的感觉就会进入。因为这些幸福的感觉是对良善与真理的情感的感觉，是对邪恶与虚假的爱之欲望的对立面。对良善与真理的爱之情感的幸福感觉源于主，因而源于至内在，从那里扩散到低层区域，甚至扩散到最低层，从而充满天使，使得他可以说完全就是快乐。这种幸福以无限多样性存在于对良善与真理的一切情感中，尤其存在于对智慧的情感中。
39. The blessings, felicities, delights, and gratifications - in a word, the happiness of heaven in its varieties - cannot be described in words, even though they are sensibly perceived in heaven. For anything perceived by sense alone cannot be described, because it does not fall within the compass of cognitive ideas, and so neither within the compass of words. It is the intellect alone that sees, and it sees such matters as are connected with wisdom or truth, but not such matters as are connected with love or good. Consequently the happiness of heaven in its varieties is inexpressible, but these nevertheless ascend in the same degree as wisdom. Its varieties are infinite, and each one ineffable. This I have been told and have also perceived.
[2] Still, these sensations of happiness enter as a person dismisses the lusts of a love of evil and falsity, doing so as though of himself, but yet from the Lord. For these sensations of happiness are the sensations of affections for goodness and truth, and they are opposed to the lusts of a love of evil and falsity. The happy sensations of the affections of a love for goodness and truth originate from the Lord, thus from one's inmost being, and spread from there into one's lower regions, even to the lowest. And they thus fill an angel, and cause his whole being to be as though consumed with delight.
Such sensations of happiness with its infinite varieties are present in every affection for goodness and truth - especially in an affection for wisdom.
39. Words cannot describe the varieties of heaven's bliss, rapture, pleasure, and delight--the joys of heaven--though these joys give us perceptible feelings in heaven. Anything we perceive only as a feeling is beyond description, because it does not fit neatly into mental concepts and therefore into words. Our discernment simply sees, and it sees things that have to do with wisdom or truth but not things that have to do with love or what is good. The result is that heaven's joys are inexpressible even though they are on the same rising scale as wisdom. They come in infinite variations, each one indescribable. I have both heard and felt this.
[2] However, these joys enter us only as we distance ourselves from compulsions to love what is evil and false, which distancing we do apparently with our own strength, but in fact from the Lord's strength. These joys are actually joys of loving desires for what is good and true, and they are directly opposed to the compulsions to love what is evil and false.
The joys proper to desires for what is good and true have their source in the Lord, so they come from the center of our being. From there they spread into our lower reaches, all the way to the lowest. So they fill angels and make them virtually nothing but delight. These joys, with all their infinite variations, are found in every desire for what is good and true, especially in the desire for wisdom.
39. The blessings, the happiness, the delights and pleasures, in a word, the joys of heaven, cannot be described in words; but in heaven they are perceptible to the feelings; for what is perceptible to feeling alone cannot be described because it does not fall into ideas of thought, and thus not into words. For it is the understanding alone that sees; and it sees the things that pertain to wisdom or truth, but not the things that pertain to love or good. For this reason these joys are inexpressible, yet they ascend in like degree with wisdom: their varieties are infinite, and each is ineffable. I have heard this, and I have also perceived it.
[2] These joys, however, enter as man, as if from himself but still from the Lord, puts away the lusts of the love of evil and falsity; for these joys are those of the affections of good and truth, and are the opposites of the lusts of the love of evil and falsity. The joys of the affections of the love of good and truth begin from the Lord, thus from the inmost; and thence they pour themselves forth into lower things, even to the lowest, and thus fill the angel, making him become as it were wholly a delight. Such joys, with their infinite varieties, are in every affection of good and truth, especially in the affection of wisdom.
39. The joys, satisfactions, pleasures, and delights, in a word, the happinesses of heaven, cannot be described in words, although in heaven they are perceptible to the feeling; for what is perceptible to the feeling only cannot be described, because it does not fall into ideas of thought, and thus not into words; for it is the understanding alone that sees; and it sees the things that pertain to wisdom or truth, and not the things that pertain to love or good. For this reason these happinesses are inexpressible; nevertheless they are exalted in a like degree with wisdom. Their varieties are infinite, and each is ineffable. This I have heard and perceived.
[2] And yet these happinesses enter as man puts away the lusts of love of evil and falsity as if of himself, although from the Lord; for these happinesses are the happinesses of the affections for good and truth, and are the opposites of the lusts of the love of evil and falsity. The happinesses of affections of the love of good and truth begin from the Lord, thus from the inmost; and they pour themselves forth therefrom into lower things even to the lowest, and thus fill the angel, making him to be as it were wholly a delight. Such happinesses in infinite variety are in every affection for good and truth, especially in an affection for wisdom.
39. Beatitudines, faustitates, jucunditates et amaenitates, verbo felicitates coeli, 1non possunt verbis describi, sed possunt in coelo sensu percipi; quod enim solo sensu percipitur, hoc non describi potest, quia non cadit in cogitationis ideas, et inde nec in voces; intellectus enim solum videt, et videt illa quae sapientiae seu veri sunt, non autem illa quae amoris seu boni sunt, quare felicitates illae sunt inexpressibiles, sed usque ascendunt simili gradu cum sapientia; varietates illarum sunt infinitae, et unaquaevis ineffabilis: audivi hoc et percepi hoc.
[2] Sed illae felicitates intrant sicut homo concupiscentias amoris mali et falsi tanquam ex se, sed usque ex Domino, amovet, sunt enim felicitates illae felicitates affectionum boni et veri, et hae concupiscentiis amoris mali et falsi oppositae sunt: felicitates affectionum amoris boni et veri inchoant a Domino, ita ab intimo, et inde se diffundunt in inferiora, usque ad ultima, ac ita implent angelum, ac faciunt ut totus sit quasi delitium. Tales felicitates cum infinitis varietatibus 2sunt in quavis affectione boni et veri, imprimis in affectione sapientiae.
Footnotes:
1 Prima editio: c�li. (ut videtur)
2 Prima editio: verietatibus