2060. Man or spirit ought to know nothing by their own power,
and then for the first time they are growing wise
It was said to spirits that one who knows little, as if it were nothing, for the first time is growing wise, which goes back to that same point [2043]: one who is nothing, is something, or as far as we are nothing, so far we are more, because only then is the Lord with us, and only then are we growing wise. For wisdom is not our own, but the Lord's; and so it is in other matters. The spirits were surprised when I said these words, and now they are thinking and keeping silence, though it is true nevertheless, and comes down to the same point as that the less we have of our own, the more we have from the Lord. 1748, 23 May.
2060. 1WHY A MAN OR A SPIRIT OUGHT TO KNOW NOTHING FROM HIMSELF; AND THAT WHEN THAT IS THE CASE, HE THEN FIRST BEGINS TO POSSESS WISDOM.
It was said to spirits that he who knows little, and, as it were, nothing from himself, begins then to be wise, which is equivalent to the saying that he who is nothing is some thing, or, as far as he is nothing he is more than nothing, because then first the Lord is with him, and then first he becomes wise, for this wisdom is not his own, but the Lord's; and so also in other things. The spirits wondered why I said these things, to them, and they are now pondering the matter in silence, when yet it is the truth, and it amounts to the same as the saying, that the less anyone has from his own proprium, the more he has from the Lord. - 1748, May 23.
Footnotes:
1. Nos. 2060 and 2061 are transposed, which seemed to be demanded by the asterisks affixed by Swedenborg himself.
2060. [Vide post 2[061]