557、通过与天堂之爱的比较，就能确认自我之爱的性质。天堂之爱是因着功用的缘故而喜爱功用，或者因着良善的缘故而喜爱良善，人行善是为了教会、国家、社会和同胞的利益。这才是爱上帝和爱邻舍，因为一切功用和一切良善都来自上帝，是应当被爱的邻舍；相反，为了自己的缘故而爱这些活动的人，只爱把他们当作奴仆，因为他们对他有用。因此，在自我之爱中人的意愿就是：教会、国家、社会和同胞都要服侍自己，而不是自己服侍他们，因为他将自己置于这些邻舍之上，将他们置于自己之下。因此，任何人只要在自我之爱中，他就把自己与天堂分开，因为他使自己脱离了天堂之爱。
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557. 通过对比天堂之爱, 就能看出何为自我之爱. 天堂之爱在于为了功用而喜爱功用, 或为了良善而喜爱良善; 人做这一切是为了教会, 国家, 人类社会和同胞的利益. 事实上, 这才是爱神爱邻, 因为一切功用和一切良善皆来自神, 是那当爱的邻舍. 相反, 凡为了自己而爱这些活动的人只是把它们当作奴仆来爱, 因为它们服侍他. 由此可知, 陷入自我之爱的人, 其意愿就是: 教会, 国家, 人类社会和同胞都要服侍他, 而不是他服侍它们, 因为他将自己置于这些邻舍之上, 将它们则置于自己之下. 所以, 人越陷入自我之爱, 就越远离天堂, 因为他远离了天堂之爱.
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557. 將我欲與天國之仁愛對照, 其性質就顯而易見了。天國之仁乃是樂意為教會, 國家, 社會, 鄰人做有意義有價啟的事, 且是為了有意義有價啟的事物本身。這是真正的愛上帝與愛鄰人, 因為一切有意義有價啟的行為都出於上帝, 也正是我們所當愛的"鄰人"。反之, 做這些事若是為了自己, 就是把它們當作服侍自己的奴隸來熱愛。所以, 陷入我欲的人, 想要他的教會, 國家, 社會, 鄰人都成為他的奴隸, 而非為他們服務。他們將自己置於鄰人之上。所以, 當人陷入我欲時, 就使自己遠離了天國, 因為他使自己遠離了天國之仁。
557. We can gather what love for oneself is like by comparing it to heavenly love. Heavenly love is loving constructive activity for its own sake, or loving for their own sake the worthwhile things we do for our church, our country, the human community, and our fellow citizens. This is really loving God and loving our neighbor, since all constructive activities and all worthwhile actions come from God and are the neighbor whom we are to love. In contrast, people who love these activities for the sake of self love them only as slaves who wait on them. It follows that people devoted to a love for themselves want their church, their country, the human community, and their fellow citizens to be their servants rather than wanting to serve them. They station themselves above these neighbors and put them down. So to the extent that people are devoted to a love for themselves, they move themselves away from heaven because they move themselves away from heavenly love.
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557. The quality of the love of self can be confirmed from a comparison with heavenly love. Heavenly love is loving uses for the sake of uses, or goods for the sake of goods, which are done by man for the Church, his country, human society, and a fellow-citizen; for this is loving God and loving the neighbour, since all uses and all goods are from God, and are the neighbour who is to be loved. But he who loves these for the sake of himself loves them merely as servants, because they are serviceable to him; consequently, it is the will of one who is in self-love that the Church, his country, human societies, and his fellow-citizens, should serve him, and not he them, for he places himself above them and places them beneath himself. Therefore, so far as anyone is in the love of self he separates himself from heaven, because he removes himself from heavenly love.
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557. What love of self is can be seen by comparing it with heavenly love. Heavenly love consists in loving uses for the sake of uses, or goods for the sake of goods, which are done by man in behalf of the church, his country, human society, and a fellow-citizen; for this is loving God and loving the neighbor, since all uses and all goods are from God, and are the neighbor who is to be loved. But he who loves these for the sake of himself loves them merely as servants, because they are serviceable to him; consequently it is the will of one who is in self-love that the church, his country, human societies, and his fellow citizens, should serve him, and not he them, for he places himself above them and places them beneath himself. Therefore so far as any one is in love of self he separates himself from heaven, because he separates himself from heavenly love.
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557. Ex comparatione cum amore caelesti constare potest qualis est amor sui. Amor caelestis est amare usus propter usus, seu bona propter bona, quae homo praestat ecclesiae, patriae, societati humanae et concivi; hoc enim est amare Deum et amare proximum, quia omnes usus et omnia bona sunt a Deo, et quoque sunt proximus qui amandus. At qui amat illa propter se, is non amat illa aliter quam famulitia, quia serviunt sibi: inde sequitur, quod qui in amore sui est, velit ut ecclesia, patria. societates humanae, et concives serviant sibi, et non is illis; ponit se supra illos, et illos infra se. Inde est, quod quantum aliquis in amore sui est, tantum removeat se a caelo, quia ab amore caelesti.