399、单从以下事实就可以证实天堂的喜悦是多么巨大：在天堂里的每个人都乐于与他人分享他的喜悦和福乐，天堂里所有的人都是这样的特性，很显然，天堂的快乐是多么的不可估量。正如前文所述（268），在天堂，所有人与每个人以及每个人与所有人都有分享，这种分享源自爱主和爱邻两种天堂之爱，如前文所述。分享自己的快乐正是这些爱的本质。对主的爱之所以如此，是因为主的爱是一种与所有人分享一切所有的爱，因它愿意所有人都幸福。凡爱主的人，都有类似的爱，因为主在他们里面，天使相互分享自己的快乐便由此而来。下面会看到，对邻之爱也有这种性质。由此可以确定，分享自己的快乐是这些爱的本性。
而自我之爱和尘世之爱则不然。自我之爱掠夺并拿走别人的一切快乐，将它们引向自己，因为它只希望自己好；而尘世之爱则希望将属于邻舍的归为己有。因此，这些爱破坏别人的快乐，即使有分享的倾向，也是为了自己，而不是为了他人。因此，对于其他人来说，这些爱的本性不是分享，而是拿走，除非他人的快乐与自己有某种关系。自我之爱和尘世之爱掌管时便是这样，我经常被允许通过活生生的经历感知这一点。每当在世为人时沉溺这些爱的灵人靠近，我的快乐也常常会减退并消失。此外，我被告知，这类灵人只要接近天堂的任何社群，这个社群里的人的快乐就会照着他们接近的程度而减弱，令人惊奇的是，此时恶灵却很快乐。这一切都清楚地表明，人在肉身时他的灵是什么状态，在脱离肉身后还是那样，也就是说，它渴望或贪恋别人的快乐或财物，只要获得它们，就感到快乐。由此可见，自我之爱和尘世之爱都倾向于破坏天堂的喜乐，因而与渴望分享的天堂之爱截然对立。
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399. 从以下事实就能看出天堂的快乐何等之大: 在天堂, 每个人的快乐就是与他人分享自己的快乐和幸福; 由于天堂里的所有人都是这样, 故清楚可知天堂的快乐何等巨大. 因为如前所示(268节), 天堂里有所有人与每个人, 并每个人与所有人的共享. 这种共享从天堂的两种爱发出, 这两种爱就是对主之爱和对邻之爱, 如前所述; 分享自己的快乐就是这些爱的性质. 对主之爱之所以是这样, 是因为主的爱就是一种对与所有人分享它所拥有的一切的爱, 它愿意所有人都快乐. 凡爱主之人都有一种类似的爱, 因为主在他们里面; 天使彼此分享快乐便由此而来. 后面我们会看到, 对邻之爱也具有这种性质. 这一切表明, 分享自己的快乐就是这些爱的快乐. 而自我之爱和尘世之爱则不然. 自我之爱掠夺并拿走他人的一切快乐, 将其转向自己, 因为它只想着自己的幸福. 而尘世之爱却想将属于邻人的归为己有. 因此, 这些爱天生就想毁灭他人的快乐. 它们即便有分享的倾向, 也是为了自己, 而不是为了他人. 因此, 对于其他人, 这些爱的性质不是分享, 而是毁灭, 除非其他人的快乐与自我有某种关系. 自我之爱和尘世之爱掌权时便是这样, 我经常被允许通过活生生的经历发觉这一点. 每当在世为人时便陷入这些爱的灵人靠近, 我的快乐就会减退乃至消失. 我被告知, 这类灵人一接近天上的社群, 这个社群里的人的快乐就会照着他们的接近程度而减弱. 神奇的是, 这时, 恶灵却感到快乐. 我由此看出, 人在肉身时, 其灵是何状态, 因为它在脱离肉身后还是那样, 也就是说, 它觊觎或贪恋别人的快乐或财物, 并且只要获得它们, 就感到快乐. 由此可见, 自我之爱和尘世之爱都倾向于毁灭天堂的喜乐, 因而与渴望分享的天堂之爱截然对立.
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399. 單從每位天人皆樂於分享其快樂的事實, 即可知天國之樂是何等巨大。因為正如前面所說(268節), 在天國, 一個人的快樂是所有人的快樂, 所有人的快樂是一個人的快樂。
分享的心靈源于天國的兩種愛, 如前面所說, 就是愛主與愛鄰。樂於分享快樂, 是這兩種愛的本性。愛主之性如是, 因為主之愛乃是樂於與所有人分享其所有, 希望每個人獲得快樂。凡愛主之人也有這樣的愛, 因為主在他們裡面。後面我們會看到, 愛鄰之性亦複如是。由此可見, 愛主與愛鄰其本性就是樂於分享快樂。
愛自己與愛世界則不同。愛自己意圖奪去他人的快樂, 將之歸於自身, 因為它心中只有自己的利益。愛世界則希圖他人的財產歸於自身。所以究其性, 愛自己與愛世界樂於破壞他人的快樂。即便有分享的意願, 其目的還是為了自己的利益, 非為他人的利益。所以, 他們不願分享, 只想破壞, 除非他們能佔有和代表別人的快樂。
對於愛自己和愛世界其的如此性質, 我有大量活生生的經歷。若有靈在肉身時曾沉迷於這兩種愛欲, 當他靠近我時, 我的快樂就
會減退甚至消失。我被告知, 此等靈若靠近天國的社群, 社群內的人, 隨著這等靈靠近的程度, 其快樂也會相應減弱。啟得注意的是, 那些惡靈卻覺得快樂。我由此看出人的靈在肉體中是怎樣的狀態, 因為離開肉體以後, 其性不變。具體而言, 他們貪戀別人的快樂或財產, 若能得償所願, 就感覺快樂。由此可見, 愛自己和愛世界破壞天國之樂, 與樂於分享的天國之愛正好相對。
399. We may gather the magnitude of heaven's pleasure simply from the fact that for everyone there it is delightful to share their pleasure and bliss with someone else; and since everyone in the heavens is like this, we can see how immense heaven's pleasure is. For as I explained above (268), there is in heaven a sharing by everyone with each individual, and by each individual with everyone.
This kind of sharing flows from the two loves of heaven, which as noted are love for the Lord and love for our neighbor. These loves by nature want to share their pleasures. The reason love for the Lord is like this is that because the Lord's love is a love of sharing everything it has with everyone, it intends the happiness of everyone. Much the same love exists in individuals who love him, because the Lord is in them. So there is a mutual sharing of angels' pleasures with each other. We shall see later that love for our neighbor is like this as well. We may gather from all this that these loves by nature want to share their pleasures.
It is different for love for oneself and love for the world. Love for oneself takes away and carries off all the pleasure of others and diverts them to itself because it has only its own welfare in mind. Love of the world wants the possessions of the neighbor to be its own. So these loves by nature want to destroy pleasures for other people. If they have any tendency to share, it is for their own interests and not for others; so in relation to others (except insofar as they can appropriate and embody the pleasures of those others) they do not tend to share but to destroy.
I have very often been shown by vivid experience that this is what love for oneself and love for the world are like when they are in control. Whenever spirits who were engrossed in these loves when they lived as people in the world have come up to me, my own pleasure has waned and vanished. I have also been told that if people like these so much as move toward any heavenly community, the pleasure of the members of that community decreases in direct proportion to their presence. Remarkably, too, the evil people are then delighted. I could see from this what the state of the human spirit in the body is like, for it is much the same as it is after separation from the body. Specifically, they crave and covet the pleasures or assets of others, and to the extent that they acquire them they themselves are pleased. We can see from this that love for oneself and love for the world are destructive of heavenly joy and are therefore diametrically opposed to heavenly loves, whose nature is to share.
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399. One can confirm how great the delight of heaven must be from the fact alone that it is the delight of everyone in heaven to share his delights and blessings with others; and as such is the character of all in the heavens it is clear how immeasurable is the delight of heaven. It has been shown above (268), that in the heavens there is a sharing of all with each and of each with all. Such sharing goes forth from the two loves of heaven, which are, as has been said, love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour. To share their delights is the very nature of these loves. Love to the Lord is such because the Lord's love is a love of sharing everything it has with all, since it wills the happiness of all. There is a like love in every one of those who love Him, because the Lord is in them. From this comes the mutual sharing of the delights of angels with one another. Love towards the neighbour is also of such a nature, as will be seen in what follows. From this it can be established that it is the nature of these loves to share their delights. It is otherwise with the loves of self and of the world. The love of self takes away from others and robs others of all delight, and directs it to itself, for it wishes well to itself alone, while the love of the world wishes to have as its own the things belonging to the neighbour. Therefore these loves are destructive of the delights of others; or if there is any disposition to share, it is for the sake of themselves and not for the sake of others. Thus in respect of others it is the nature of those loves not to share but to take away, except so far as the delights of others have some relation to self. That the loves of self and of the world, when they rule, are such, I have quite often been permitted to perceive by living experience. As often as the spirits who were in these loves during their life as men in the world drew near, so often did my delight recede and vanish. Furthermore, I was told that at the mere approach of such to any heavenly society the delight of those in the society diminished just in the degree of their proximity; and what is wonderful, the evil spirits are then in their delight. All this made clear the state of the spirit of such a man while he is in the body, since it is the same as it is after it is separated from the body, namely, that it longs for or lusts after the delights or goods of another, and finds delight so far as it secures them. All this makes clear that the loves of self and of the world tend to destroy the joys of heaven, and are thus direct opposites of heavenly loves, which desire to share.
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399. One can see how great the delight of heaven must be from the fact that it is the delight of everyone in heaven to share his delights and blessings with others; and as such is the character of all that are in the heavens it is clear how immeasurable is the delight of heaven. It has been shown above (268), that in the heavens there is a sharing of all with each and of each with all. Such sharing goes forth from the two loves of heaven, which are, as has been said, love to the Lord and love towards the neighbor; and to share their delights is the very nature of these loves. Love to the Lord is such because the Lord's love is a love of sharing everything it has with all, since it wills the happiness of all. There is a like love in everyone of those who love the Lord, because the Lord is in them; and from this comes the mutual sharing of the delights of angels with one another. Love towards the neighbor is of such a nature, as will be seen in what follows. All this shows that it is the nature of these loves to share their delights. It is otherwise with the loves of self and of the world. The love of self takes away from others and robs others of all delight, and directs it to itself, for it wishes well to itself alone; while the love of the world wishes to have as its own what belongs to the neighbor. Therefore these loves are destructive of the delights of others; or if there is any disposition to share, it is for the sake of themselves and not for the sake of others. Thus in respect to others it is the nature of those loves not to share but to take away, except so far as the delights of others have some relation to self. That the loves of self and of the world, when they rule, are such I have often been permitted to perceive by living experience. Whenever the spirits that were in these loves during their life as men in the world drew near, my delight receded and vanished; and I was told that at the mere approach of such to any heavenly society the delight of those in the society diminished just in the degree of their proximity; and what is wonderful, the evil spirits are then in their delight. All this indicates the state of the spirit of such a man while he is in the body, since it is the same as it is after it is separated from the body, namely, that it longs for or lusts after the delights or goods of another, and finds delight so far as it secures them. All this makes clear that the loves of self and of the world tend to destroy the joys of heaven, and are thus direct opposites of heavenly loves, which desire to share.
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399. Quantum jucundum caeli est, solum constare potest ex eo, quod omnibus ibi jucundum sit communicare sua jucunda et beata alteri, et quia omnes tales sunt in caelis, patet quam immensum est jucundum caeli; nam ut supra (268) ostensum est, in caelis est communicatio omnium cum singulis, et singulorum cum omnibus. Talis communicatio profluit ex binis amoribus caeli, qui, ut dictum est, sunt amor in Dominum et amor erga proximum hi amores sunt communicativi suorum jucundorum: quod amor in Dominum talis sit, est quia amor Domini est amor communicationis omnium sui cum omnibus, nam omnium felicitatem vult; similis amor est in singulis qui amant Ipsum, quia Dominus in illis est, inde est communicatio jucundorum mutua angelorum inter se; quod amor erga proximum etiam talis sit, videbitur in sequentibus: ex quibus constare potest, quod illi amores sint communicativi suorum jucundorum. Aliter amores sui et mundi; amor sui abstrahit et aufert omne jucundum aliis, et in se derivat, nam sibi soli bene vult et amor mundi vult ut sua sint quae proximi; quare hi amores sunt destructivi jucundorum apud alios; si sunt communicativi, est propter se et non propter illos quare respective ad illos, nisi quantum jucunda illorum apud se aut in se sint, non communicativi sed destructivi sunt. Quod amores sui et mundi, cum regnant, tales sint, saepius per vivam experientiam datum est percipere. Quoties spiritus, qui in illis amoribus fuerunt dum vixerunt homines in mundo, approximarunt, toties jucundum meum recessit et evanuit; et quoque mihi dictum est, quod si tales modo appropinquant versus aliquam societatem caelestem, prorsus ad gradum praesentiae eorum diminuatur jucundum illorum qui in societate sunt; et quod mirum, mali illi tunc in suo jucundo sunt. Inde patuit, qualis status est spiritus hominis talis in corpore, nam similis est qualis est post separationem a corpore, quod nempe aveat seu concupiscat jucunda seu bona alterius, et quantum obtinet, tantum ei jucundum sit. Ex his videri potest quod amores sui et mundi sint destructivi gaudiorum caeli, ita prorsus oppositi caelestibus amoribus, qui sunt communicativi.