4341. What it is to be nothing
A certain upright spirit spoke with me, saying he is nothing, and he was asked what his conception was of being nothing, realizing that he had the idea that compared to the multitude of spirits and the whole universe, he is nothing. But I was inspired to tell him that this is one conception, but that there are many others, such as this, that he has no power from himself; then also, that he has no thought from himself; then that he has no life from himself; especially, that he is something dead from himself, something filthy, and nothing but evil from himself - thus that all goodness is from the Lord. These, I said, are several ideas of [being] nothing. 1749, 5 Aug.
4341. WHAT IT IS TO BE NOTHING.
A certain upright spirit spoke with me saying, that he was nothing. I asked him what conception he had of being nothing, [whereupon] I perceived that he had an idea of being nothing compared to the multitude of spirits and the whole universe. But it was given to say to him that this was one kind of conception, but that there were many others, as, for instance, that he had no power of himself, that he had no thought of himself, that he had no life of himself, and that in fact he was, in himself considered, merely a certain lifeless and defiled something that was altogether evil, and thus that all good is from the Lord. This is the proper idea of [being] nothing, - 1749, August 5.
4341. Quid nihil esse
Quidam probus spiritus mecum loquutus, dicens se nihil esse, quaesitum quem conceptum habeat de eo quod nihil sit, percepi quod haberet conceptum quod respective ad multitudinem spirituum et totum universum nihil sit, sed datum dicere, quod hoc unus conceptus sit, sed quod plures alii sint, nempe quod nullam potentiam habeat ex se: tum quod nullam cogitationem ex [se]: dein quod nullam vitam ex se: imprimis quod sit mortuum quoddam ex se, spurcum [ex] se, et nihil nisi malum: ita quod omne bonum a Domino: quod hae sint ideae nihili. 1749, 5 Aug.