49、我知道许多人会对自己说：人如何能在理性的更深层次上明白与时空无关的某种东西呢？人如何能明白这种东西不仅存在，还是全有，是一切事物的真正源头呢？但请深入思考一下，想想爱或爱的任何情感，智慧或智慧的任何感知，甚至思维，是否在时空之中呢？你会发现，它们都不在时空之中。既然神性是爱本身和智慧本身，那么可知，不能想象神性在时空之中，也不能想象无限在时空之中。为了更清楚地理解这一点，请认真思考一下，你的思维是否在时空之中。假如你持续思考了十或十二小时，这段时间难道不可以像一两个小时，或也可以像一两天吗？表面持续的时间取决于产生思维的情感状态。如果你感到快乐，并且没有意识到时间的流逝，那么这十或十二小时的思考时间似乎不足一两个小时；但是，如果你感到悲伤，并且意识到时间的流逝，那么情况正好相反。由此清楚可知，时间只是一种表象，这种表象取决于产生思维的情感状态。这同样适用于关于空间距离的思维，无论行走时的距离，还是旅行时的距离。
49. I know that many will say to themselves, "How can anyone comprehend interiorly in his rational faculty something independent of space and independent of time, and see not only that it exists, but also that it is omni- or all-, and that it is the absolute from which all else springs?"
But think more interiorly and consider whether love or any of its affections, or wisdom or any of its perceptions - indeed whether thought - exists in space or in time, and you will discover that they do not. Since, then, the Divine is love itself and wisdom itself, it follows that the Divine cannot be conceived of as existing in space or in time, and so not the infinite either.
For a clearer perception of this, consider whether thought exists in time and space. Suppose it to continue for a period of ten or twelve hours. May this length of time not seem like an hour or two, and may it not also seem like a day or two? It seems to last as long as it does according to the state of the affection from which the thought springs. If the affection is one of enjoyment, during which no consideration is given to the time, thought for ten or twelve hours seems to last hardly one or two. On the other hand, if the affection is one of distress, during which attention is paid to the time, the contrary is the case.
From this it is apparent that time is only an appearance according to the state of the affection from which one's thought springs. It is similar with the length of the distance traveled in thought, whether you are walking or on a journey.
49. I realize that many people will be saying to themselves, "How can anyone grasp something on a deeper level of rationality, something that has nothing to do with space and time? How can anyone grasp the notion that this not only exists but is the All, the very source of everything?" Think more deeply, though. Think whether love or any of its desires, whether wisdom or any of its perceptions, whether even your thought itself is in space and time, and you will discover that they are not. Given the fact that Divinity is love itself and wisdom itself, then, it follows that Divinity cannot be conceived of in space and time, so neither can the Infinite.
To understand this more clearly, consider whether your thought is in time and space. Take the course of your thinking over ten or twelve hours--is it not true that this span of time can seem like one or two hours and can also seem like one or two days? It depends on the emotional state that underlies the thinking. If you are feeling happy with no awareness of the passage of time, the thoughts of ten or twelve hours can seem to take one or two hours, and if you are feeling distress and are conscious of the passage of time, it is just the reverse.
We can see from this that time is simply an appearance that depends on the emotional state that gives rise to our thoughts. The same is true of spatial distances in thought, whether on a walk or on a journey.
49. I know that many will say to themselves: How can anyone, interiorly in his rational (mind), comprehend anything apart from space and apart from time; and further comprehend not only that it is, but also that it is the All and the Self from which all things are? Think, however, interiorly whether love or any affection of love, or wisdom or any perception of wisdom, or indeed whether thought, is in space and in time, and you will find that they are not; and since the Divine is Love itself and Wisdom itself, it follows that the Divine cannot be conceived of in space and time; so neither can the Infinite. For a clearer perception of this, consider whether thought is in time and space. Suppose thought to go on for ten or twelve hours; may not this interval of time appear as one or two hours, or even as one or two days? The apparent duration is according to the state of the affection from which the thought has sprung. If the affection is one of joy in which one does not think of time, ten or twelve hours of thought seem no more than one or two; but the reverse is true if the affection is one of grief, when one thinks of time. From this it is clear that time is only an appearance according to the state of the affection from which thought springs. It is the same when one thinks of distance in space, either when taking a walk or when making a journey.
49. I know that many will say to themselves, How can one comprehend interiorly in his rational any thing apart from space and apart from time, and not only that this is, but also that it is the All and the Very, from which all things are? But consider interiorly whether love or any affection of it, or wisdom or any perception of it, or even thought, is in space and in time; and you will find that it is not. And since the Divine is love itself and wisdom itself, it follows that the Divine cannot be conceived of as in space and in time; so neither can the Infinite. For a clearer perception of this, carefully decide whether thought is in time and space. Suppose thought to go on for ten or twelve hours, may not this length of time seem to be no more than one or two hours, or may it not seem to be one or two days? The apparent duration is according to the state of affection from which the thought springs. If it is an affection of gladness in which there is no thought about time, ten or twelve hours of thought seem no more than one or two; but if it is an affection of sorrow in which time is attended to, the reverse will be true. All this makes clear that time is only an appearance in accordance with the state of affection from which the thought springs. The same is true of thought about distance in space, either when walking or when making a journey.
49. Scio quod plures secum dicturi sint, quomodo potest aliquis comprehendere interius in suo rationali aliquid absque spatio et absque tempore, et quod hoc non solum sit, sed etiam quod sit omne, et quod sit ipsum, ex quo omnia; sed cogita interius, num amor aut ulla ejus affectio, aut sapientia aut ulla ejus perceptio, imo num cogitatio sit in spatio et in tempore, ac deprehendes quod non sint; et cum Divinum est ipse Amor et ipsa Sapientia, sequitur quod Divinum non possit concipi in spatio et in tempore, ita nec Infinitum: ut hoc clarius percipiatur, expende num cogitatio sit in tempore et spatio; pone progressionem ejus 10 aut 12 horarum; annon hoc spatium temporis possit apparere ut unius horae aut duarum, ac etiam possit apparere ut unius diei aut duorum; apparet secundum statum affectionis ex qua cogitatio; si affectio laetitiae est, in qua non cogitatur de tempore, est cogitatio 10 aut 12 horarum, vix unius aut duarum; vicissim autem si affectio doloris, in qua attenditur ad tempus; ex quo patet, quod tempus sit modo apparentia secundum statum affectionis ex qua cogitatio; simile est cum spatii distantia in cogitatione, sive ambulas sive peregrinaris.