97、⑻因此，这是圣治的一条律法：人要出于自由照着理性行动。出于自由照着理性行动，出于自主和理智行动，以及出于意愿和理解力行动是一回事。但出于自由照着理性行动，或出于自主和理智行动是一回事；而出于自由本身照着理性本身行动，或出于自主本身和理智本身行动是另一回事。因为一个出于对邪恶的爱而行恶，并将它合理化的人也是出于自由照着理性行动。然而，他的自由本质上不是自由，或不是自由本身，而是一种本身为奴役的地狱自由。他的理性本质上不是理性；相反，它要么是一种虚假的理性，要么是一种扭曲的理性，要么是通过合理化或确认显得理性的一种表象。尽管如此，它们都在圣治之下，因为如果意愿邪恶的自由，以及通过合理化或确认显得合乎理性的表象从属世人那里被拿走，他的自由和理性，并意愿和理解力就会毁灭，他也不能被引离邪恶，并被改造，从而不能与主结合，活到永远。这就是为何主保护人的自由，如同人保护他眼中的瞳仁。然而，主不断通过自由把人引离邪恶；祂能通过自由把人引离到何等程度，就在何等程度上通过自由植入良善。主以这种方式逐渐赋予人天堂自由，以取代地狱自由。
97. (8) Therefore it is a goal of Divine providence that a person act in freedom in accordance with his reason. To act in freedom in accordance with one's reason and to act in consequence of one's freedom and rationality are the same thing, as is also to act in consequence of one's will and understanding. But it is one thing to act in freedom in accordance with one's reason, or in consequence of one's freedom and rationality, and another to act in genuine freedom in accordance with genuine reason, or in consequence of genuine freedom and genuine rationality. For a person who does evil out of a love of evil and justifies it in himself, indeed acts in freedom in accordance with his reason; but still his freedom is in itself not freedom or genuine freedom, but infernal freedom, which in itself is servitude, and his reason is in itself not reason, but is either illusory or false reason, or reason appearing as reason as a result of justifications.
But still, each is of Divine providence. For if the freedom to will evil and by justifications to make it seemingly a matter of reason were to be taken from the natural person, his freedom and rationality would perish, and with them his will and understanding; and he could not be led away from evils and be reformed, and so be conjoined with the Lord and live to eternity. Therefore the Lord guards the freedom in a person as a person does the pupil of his eye.
Nevertheless, through the exercise of his freedom the Lord continually leads a person away from evils, and to the extent that the person can through the exercise of his freedom be led away, to the same extent the Lord uses the exercise of his freedom to implant goods. Thus He gradually replaces infernal freedom with heavenly freedom.
97. 8. This is why it is integral to divine providence that we act from freedom and in accord with reason. Acting freely and rationally and acting on the basis of our freedom and our rationality are the same thing, as is acting on the basis of our intent and discernment. There is a difference, though, between acting freely and rationally or on the basis of our freedom and our rationality on the one hand, and acting in ways that are truly free and rational or on the basis of genuine freedom and genuine rationality. This is because people who do evil out of a love for doing evil and who justify it are, in a way, acting freely and rationally. However, their freedom is not freedom in essence or real freedom. It is actually a hellish freedom that in essence is slavery. Their reason is not reason in essence, either. It is an imitation of reason, or distorted reason, or a facade made up of rationalizations.
Still, both ways of acting are under divine providence, for if we on the earthly level were deprived of the freedom to intend evil and to make it seem reasonable by rationalizations, that would be the end of our freedom and rationality and of our volition and discernment. We could not be led away from our evils and reformed, so we could not be united with the Lord and live forever. That is why the Lord protects our freedom the way we protect the pupil of our eye. The Lord, though, is constantly using our freedom to lead us away from our evils, and to the extent that he can do so through our freedom, he uses that freedom to plant good things within us. In this way, step by step he gives us heavenly freedom in place of hellish freedom.
97. VIII. THEREFORE IT IS OF THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE THAT MAN SHOULD ACT FROM FREEDOM ACCORDING TO REASON. To act from freedom according to reason, and to act from liberty and rationality are the same thing; and so also is to act from the will and the understanding; but it is one thing to act from freedom according to reason or from liberty and rationality, and another thing to act from freedom itself according to reason itself or from liberty itself and rationality itself. For a man who does evil from the love of evil and who confirms that evil in himself acts indeed from freedom according to reason; nevertheless, his freedom is not freedom in itself or freedom itself, but it is infernal freedom, which in itself is slavery; and his reason is not reason in itself, but it is either a spurious or a false reason, or what by confirmation appears to be reason. Still, however, they are both of the Divine Providence; for if freedom to will evil, and by confirmation to make it appear in harmony with reason, were taken away from the natural man, there would perish liberty and rationality, and with them will and understanding; and it would not be possible for him to be withdrawn from evils and reformed, and consequently to be conjoined to the Lord and live to eternity. Therefore the Lord guards freedom in man as man guards the pupil of his eye. Still, however, the Lord continually withdraws man from evils by means of his freedom; and as far as He can withdraw him by means of freedom He implants by means of freedom what is good. Thus in the place of infernal freedom the Lord successively endows man with heavenly freedom.
97. (8) Therefore it is [a law] of the Divine providence that man should act from freedom in accordance with reason. To act from freedom in accordance with reason, to act from liberty and rationality, and to act from the will and the understanding, are the same thing; but it is one thing to act from freedom in accordance with reason, or to act from liberty and rationality, and it is another thing to act from freedom itself in accordance with reason itself or to act from liberty itself and from rationality itself. For a man who does evil from the love of evil and confirms that evil in himself, acts from freedom in accordance with reason; and yet his freedom is not in itself freedom, or freedom itself, but it is an infernal freedom that is in itself slavery; and his reason is not in itself reason, but is either a spurious or a false reason, or what is made to appear by confirmations to be reason. Nevertheless they are both of the Divine providence; for if the freedom to will evil, and to make it appear by confirmations to be in accordance with reason were taken away from the natural man, liberty and rationality, and will and understanding with them, would perish, and he would have no ability to be withdrawn from evils and reformed, and thus conjoined with the Lord and live forever. Consequently the Lord guards freedom in man, as man guards the apple of his eye. And yet by means of freedom, the Lord continually withdraws man from evils; and so far as He is able to withdraw him by means of freedom, He implants what is good by means of freedom. Thus in the place of infernal freedom, the Lord gradually endows man with heavenly freedom.
97. VIII. Quod ideo Divinae Providentiae sit, ut homo ex libero secundum rationem agat. Ex libero secundum rationem agere, et ex Libertate ac Rationalitate agere, est idem, tum etiam ex voluntate ac intellectu; at aliud est ex libero secundum rationem, seu ex libertate et rationalitate agere, et aliud est ex ipso libero secundum ipsam rationem, seu ex ipsa libertate et ex ipsa rationalitate, agere, 1quoniam homo qui malum facit ex amore mali, et id apud se confirmat, ille quidem ex libero secundum rationem agit, sed usque liberum ejus non in se est liberum seu ipsum liberum, verum est liberum infernale, quod in se est servum, et ratio ejus non in se est ratio, sed est vel ratio spuria, vel falsa, vel apparens per confirmationes: at usque utrumque est Divinae Providentiae; nam si liberum volendi malum, et id sicut rationis facere per confirmationes, homini naturali tolleretur, periret libertas et rationalitas, et simul voluntas ac intellectus, et non potuisset abduci a malis, ac reformari, ita non conjungi Domino, et vivere in aeternum: quare Dominus Liberum apud hominem ita custodit, sicut homo pupillam oculi sui. Sed usque Dominus per liberum continue abducit hominem a malis, et quantum per liberum abducere potest, tantum per liberum implantat bona; ita successive loco liberi infernalis indit Liberum coeleste.
Footnotes:
1 Prima editio: agere;