3025. As long as people live the mental images of their memory vary, change, spread to many objects, are confined to fewer because of convictions. In short, they can even until death become worse, or become better. But with spirits it is not so. Moreover, the fact is that ideas can spread to many good things, thus having different relationships, be differently joined together, divided, and then contract new relationships, and so on. 1748, 1 Sept.
About someone who imagined he could do good and love the neighbor from his own power 1
I spoke with a certain one who was higher up toward the right at some distance, who said he was able to do good, and in fact just like that, from himself, but I was prompted to tell him that no one can do anything except from the will. If the will is not present, then he may be able, to be sure, to do apparent good, but it is recognized at once that this is not from the will. He said that he would like to try to do good and thereby force the will; then I was prompted to say that there must be a love that will rule....
Footnotes:
1. This incomplete and unnumbered paragraph seems to have been deleted and rewritten in the next article.
3025. As long as man lives, the ideas of his memory are varied, changed, diffused to [over] many objects, constrained to fewer things through persuasions; in a word, he can become better and better even till death. But it is not so with spirits. Besides it is thus with ideas, they can be diffused to many goods, so as to have other affinities, be otherwise conjoined, divided, and so contract new affinities, and so forth. - 1748, September 1.
(CONCERNING A CERTAIN ONE WHO SUPPOSED THAT HE WAS ABLE TO DO GOOD AND LOVE THE NEIGHBOR FROM HIMSELF.)
(I spoke with a certain one, who [was] on high to the right, at some distance, who said, that he can do good, yea [do] so from himself: but it was granted to tell him, that no one can do anything, save from will. If the will is not present, then indeed he can do apparent good: but this is immediately recognized as not belonging to the will. He said that he wished to attempt to do good, and so compel the will, then it was granted to say, that it was love, that rules the [will].)
3025. Quamdiu homo vivit, ideae ejus memoriae variantur, mutantur, diffunduntur ad plura objecta, coarctantur ad pauciora per persuasiones: verbo potest usque ad mortem pejor fieri, et melior fieri; at de spiritibus non item; praeterea sic se habet cum ideis, quod diffundi possint ad plura bona, sic habere affinitates alias, aliter conjungi, dividi, et sic novas affinitates contrahere, et sic porro. 1748, 1 Sept.
De quodam qui putabat se posse facere bonum et amare proximum ex semet 1
Cum quodam loquutus, qui superius ad dextrum ad aliquam distantiam 2
, qui dicebat se bonum posse facere, et quidem sic ex semet, sed ei dicere dabatur, quod nullus quidquam facere possit, nisi ex voluntate, si voluntas non adest, tunc quidem facere potest apparens bonum, sed hoc illico cognoscitur, quod non sit voluntatis; dicebat is quod vellet tentare bonum facere, et sic cogere voluntatem, tunc dicere dabatur, quod amor erit qui reget [voluntatem] 3
Footnotes:
1. paragraphus haec inabsoluta et non numerata potius deleta erat et e novo in articulo sequente scripta
2. This is how it appears in J.F.I. Tafel's edition; the Manuscript has distantem
3. This is how it appears in J.F.I. Tafel's edition; the Manuscript has reget