377.⑶唯独仁产生不了善行，唯独信更不可能，而是仁与信一起方可产生善行。这是因为，无信之仁并非仁；无仁之信并非信，如前面（335－361）所说明的。因此，仁凭自身并不存在，信凭自身也不存在；所以不能说仁凭自身产生某些善行，或说信凭自身产生某些善行。意愿和理解力的情形也一样。意愿凭自身并不存在，也不会产生任何事物；理解力凭自身也不存在，或产生任何事物。所产生的一切事物皆出自这二者的共同行动，是被意愿激活的理解力的产物。这种相似性的原因在于，意愿是仁的居所，理解力则是信的居所。可以说，唯独信更不会产生善行，因为信是真理，它的功能就是产生真理，这些真理会照亮仁及其实践。关于真理的这种光照或启示，主教导说：
行真理的必来就光，要显明他所行的是靠神而行。（约翰福音3:21）
因此，当人照着真理行善时，他就行在光里，也就是说，聪明智慧地行善。
仁与信的结合就象丈夫与妻子的婚姻。一切属世的后代是由作为父亲的丈夫与作为母亲的妻子所生的。同样，一切属灵的后代，就是善与真的知识，则是由作为父亲的仁与作为母亲的信所生的。这一切清楚表明属灵的宗族是如何产生的。此外，在圣言中，就属灵之义而言，“丈夫”和“父亲”是指仁之善，“妻子”和“母亲”是指信之真。这一切还清楚表明，唯独仁或唯独信无法产生善行，就象唯独丈夫或唯独妻子无法生出子女一样。信之真不仅照亮仁，还决定它的品质，甚至滋养它。因此，人若有仁而无信之真，就象深夜在园子里散步，从树上抓取果子，却不知道这些果子是好是坏。由于信之真理不仅照亮仁，还决定它的品质，如前所述，故可知，仁若没有信之真，就象没有汁液的果子，如干瘪的无花果，或象榨出酒后的葡萄。由于前面还说到，真理滋养信，故可知，仁若丧失信之真，就无法得到滋养，好比人只能吃烤面包，喝池中的脏水。
377. (3)唯獨義產生不了善行, 唯獨信更是不可, 義信一起方可產生善行。
這是因為無信之義, 並非義; 同樣, 無義之信, 並非信; 在之前(335-361)有所說明。因此, 義就其自身, 無法存在; 信, 獨自也無法存在。因此不能說義產生某些善行, 或說信造就某些善行。
這樣的情形類似于意志與認知。意志不能獨自存在, 也不能產生什麼; 認知也不可單獨存在, 或產生什麼。所有的產物都來自於二者共同工作, 是意志啟動認知的產物。義與信, 意志與認知, 兩者如此類似的原因在於, 意志是義的住處, 認知是信的住處。
唯獨信更是不可產生善行, 因為信屬於真理的範疇, 而活出真理則是將真理付諸於行動。真理照亮或啟示意志及其實踐。關於這點, 主這樣說:"行真理的必來就光, 要顯明他所行的, 因為他們是靠上帝而行"(約翰福音3:21)。因此, 當人照著真理來行善時, 他行在光裡, 也就是說, 行得聰明,有智慧。
義與信的聯合如同丈夫與妻子的婚姻。一切屬世的子女由作為父親的丈夫與作為母親的妻子而生。同理, 一切屬靈的子女則是由作為父親的義與作為母親的信而生。屬靈的子女就是真理與良善的觀念。這些觀念能讓人們識別出屬靈家族的血緣關係來。事實上, 丈夫與父親在聖言中的屬靈含義是指與義相關的良善, 妻子與母親表示與信相關的真理。
由這些相似之處可再次清楚看出, 唯獨義不能, 唯獨信也不能產生善行; 正如唯獨丈夫不能, 唯獨妻子也不能生出任何子女來。
與信相關的真理不僅能照亮義, 它們還增強義的品質, 並且還供養著義。因此, 人有義而無信, 就好比晚間摸黑在園子裡散步, 在樹上抓些果子, 卻不知道好壞, 能吃不能吃。如上所述, 因為與信相關的真理不僅能照亮義, 還能增強其品質, 於是可知, 若缺乏與信相關的真理, 義就如同沒有汁液的果子, 好比乾燥的無花果, 或者榨酒之後被榨幹的葡萄。又如上所述, 與信相關的真理還供養著義, 於是可得出, 喪失這些真理的義就得不到食物, 好比人只能吃烤焦的麵包, 喝池中的髒水。
377. (c) Goodwill alone does not produce good actions; even less does faith alone produce them. Good actions are produced by goodwill and faith together. The reason for this is that goodwill without faith is not goodwill, and faith without goodwill is not faith, as I have shown above, 355-358. Goodwill does not exist all alone by itself, and neither does faith. As a result, it cannot be said that goodwill produces any good works on its own or that faith produces any good works on its own.
The situation is similar with the will and the intellect. There is no such thing as a will that exists all alone by itself; it would not produce anything. There is no such thing as an intellect that exists all alone by itself; it would not produce anything either. All productivity comes from both faculties working together; it comes from the intellect in connection with the will. This similarity exists because the will is the home of goodwill and the intellect is the home of faith.
I said, "even less does faith alone produce them," because faith is truth. To live our faith is to put truths into action. Truths enlighten goodwill and the practice of it. The Lord teaches that truths are enlightening when he says, "Those who do the truth come to the light so their works will be revealed, since those works were done in God" (John 3:21). Therefore when we follow truths in our doing of good works, we do good works "in the light," meaning intelligently and wisely.
The partnership between goodwill and faith is like the marriage between a husband and a wife. All their physical offspring are born to both the husband as their father and the wife as their mother. Likewise, all our spiritual offspring are born to goodwill as their father and faith as their mother. Spiritual offspring are concepts of goodness and truth. These concepts allow us to recognize the lineage of whole spiritual families. In fact, in the Word's spiritual meaning "a husband" and "a father" refer to goodness related to goodwill, and "a wife" and "a mother" refer to truth related to faith.
From these parallels it is again clear that goodwill by itself or faith by itself could not produce good works, just as a husband by himself or a wife by herself could not produce children.
The truths that relate to faith not only enlighten goodwill, they also enhance its quality and even nourish it. Therefore if we have goodwill but we have no truths related to faith, we are like someone walking in a garden at night, plucking pieces of fruit from the trees without knowing whether they are beneficial or harmful to eat. Since the truths related to faith not only enlighten goodwill but also enhance its quality, as I said, it follows that goodwill without truths that are related to faith is like pieces of fruit without any juice in them, like parched figs or like grapes after the wine has been pressed out of them.
Since truths nourish faith, as I also said, it follows that if goodwill lacks truths that are related to faith, that goodwill has no more nourishment than we would have from eating a piece of burnt toast and drinking filthy water from a pond.
377. (iii) Charity alone does not produce good deeds, much less does faith alone, but charity and faith together do.
This is because charity without faith is not charity, neither is faith without charity faith, as was shown above (355-361). Therefore charity by itself does not exist, neither does faith by itself; hence it cannot be said either that charity produces some good deeds by itself, nor that faith does by itself. This is similar to the case of the will and the understanding. The will does not exist by itself, so neither does it produce anything; nor does the understanding exist by itself, or produce anything. Everything that is produced comes from both acting together, and is the product of the understanding activated by the will. The reason why this is similar is that the will is the dwellingplace of charity, and the understanding is that of faith. Faith alone is said to be much less productive, because faith is truth, and its function is to create truths, and these enlighten charity and its exercise. The Lord teaches about this enlightenment when He said:
He who does the truth comes to the light, so that his deeds may be made apparent, since they are done in God, John 3:21.
When therefore a person does good deeds in accordance with truths, he does them in light, that is to say, intelligently and wisely.
[2] The linking of charity and faith is like a marriage between husband and wife. All natural offspring are born of the husband as father and the wife as mother. Likewise all spiritual offspring are born of charity as father and faith as mother; and these are items of knowledge about good and truth. These enable us to recognise the parentage of spiritual families. In the Word too husband and father mean in the spiritual sense the good of charity, wife and mother mean the truth of faith. From this it is plain too that neither charity alone nor faith alone can produce good deeds, just as neither a husband alone nor a wife alone can produce any offspring. The truths of faith not only throw light on charity, they also give it its quality and, moreover, nourish it. Therefore a person who possesses charity and not the truths of faith is like one walking in a garden by night, and snatching fruit from the trees without knowing whether they are good or bad to use. Since the truths of faith not only throw light on charity, but also give it its quality, as said above, it follows that charity without the truths of faith is like a fruit with no juice in it, such as a dried fig or a grape after the wine has been pressed out of it. Since truths nourish faith, as was also said above, it follows that if charity is deprived of the truths of faith, it gets no more nourishment than a person does from eating toasted bread and drinking dirty water from a pool.
377. (3) Good works are not produced by charity alone, still less by faith alone, but by charity and faith together. This is because charity apart from faith is not charity, and faith apart from charity is not faith (as shown above, n. 356-361). Wherefore charity cannot exist by itself or faith by itself; and it cannot be said that charity in itself produces any good works, or faith in itself. It is the same with these as with the will and understanding. The will by itself can have no existence and can therefore produce nothing; nor can the understanding have any existence by itself of produce anything; but all production is effected by both together, and is effected by the understanding from the will. There is this similarity, because the will is the abode of charity and the understanding is the abode of faith. It is said that still less can faith alone produce good works, because faith is truth, and faith operates to produce truths, and these illuminate charity and its exercises. That truths illuminate, the Lord teaches, saying:
He that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his works may be made manifest that they have been wrought in God (John 3:21).
Consequently when man does good works in accordance with truths, he does them in light, that is, intelligently and wisely. The conjunction of charity and faith is like the marriage of husband and wife. From the husband as a father and the wife as a mother all natural offspring are born; and in like manner from charity as a father and faith as a mother all spiritual off spring, which are knowledges of good and truth, are born. This makes clear how spiritual families are generated. Moreover in the Word "husband" and "father" signify in the spiritual sense the good of charity, and "wife" and "mother" the truth of faith. This again makes clear that neither charity alone nor faith alone can produce good works, as neither the husband alone nor the wife alone can produce offspring. The truths of faith not only illuminate charity, but also determine its quality, and, still further, nourish it; so that a man having charity but no truths of faith, is like one walking in a garden, at night, who plucks fruit from the trees, not knowing whether in its use it is good or bad fruit. As the truths of faith not only illuminate charity but also determine its quality, as before said, it follows that charity without the truths of faith is like fruit without juice, like a dried-up fig, or like a grape after the wine has been pressed out of it. As truths nourish faith, as has also been said, it follows that if charity is without truths of faith, it receives no nourishment except such as a man gets from eating burnt bread and drinking unclean water from some stagnant pond.
377. (3) Charity alone does not produce good works, still less does faith alone; but good works are produced by charity and faith together. This is because charity without faith is not charity, and faith without charity is not faith, as was shown above in Nos. 355-358; therefore charity cannot exist by itself, nor faith by itself. Thus it cannot be said that either charity or faith by itself produces any good works. The same is true of the will and the understanding. It is not possible for the will or for the understanding to exist by itself, and therefore neither by itself produces anything; but all production is the result of both acting together, and is effected by the understanding from the will. This similarity arises from the fact that the will is the seat of charity, and the understanding of faith. The proposition states that faith alone produces good works still less than charity alone, because faith is truth, and its function is to produce truths; and these illuminate charity and its exercise. This the Lord teaches in the words,
"He that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God" John 3:21.
So long, therefore, as a man does good works according to truths, he does them in the light, that is, intelligently and wisely.
The conjunction of charity and faith is like the marriage of a husband and wife. From the husband as a father, and from the wife as a mother, all natural offspring are born. Similarly, from charity as a father, and from faith as a mother, are born all spiritual offspring, which are the knowledges of good and truth. From this may be understood what is meant by the generation of spiritual families. In the Word also, in its spiritual sense, husband and father signify the good of charity, and wife and mother, the truth of faith. From this again it is evident that neither charity alone, nor faith alone, can produce good works, just as neither a husband alone, nor a wife alone, can produce children. The truths of faith not only illuminate charity, but they also determine its character, and moreover nourish it. A man therefore who has charity and not the truths of faith is like one walking in a garden at night, who plucks fruit from the trees without knowing whether it is good or bad. Since the truths of faith not only illuminate charity, but also determine its character, as was just stated, it follows that charity without the truths of faith is like fruit without juice, or like a parched fig, or like grapes from which the wine has been pressed. Further, since truths nourish faith, as has also been stated, it follows that if charity is without the truths of faith, it has no more nourishment in it than one would receive from eating burnt bread, and drinking with it polluted water from a stagnant pool.
377. III. QUOD SOLA CHARITAS NON PRODUCAT 1 BONA OPERA, MINUS ADHUC SOLA FIDES, SED QUOD CHARITAS ET FIDES SIMUL; causa est quia Charitas absque fide non est 2 charitas, neque Fides absque charitate est fides, ut supra 355-358, ostensum est, quare solitaria Charitas non datur, nec solitaria Fides, inde nec dici potest, quod Charitas per se aliqua bona opera producat, nec quod Fides per se; hoc simile est, quemadmodum cum Voluntate et Intellectu; solitaria Voluntas non datur, quare nec aliquid producit, neque solitarius Intellectus 3 datur, nec aliquid producit, sed omnis productio fit ab utroque simul, et fit ab Intellectu ex Voluntate; quod hoc simile sit, est quia Voluntas est habitaculum charitatis, 4 ac Intellectus est habitaculum fidei; dicitur, quod adhuc minus sola Fides, est quia Fides est Veritas, et ejus operatio est facere Veritates, et hae illuminant charitatem et ejus exercitia; 5 quod illuminent, docet Dominus, dicendo, QUI FACIT VERITATEM, VENIT AD LUCEM, ut manifestentur ejus Opera, quoniam in Deo facta sunt, Johannes 3:21 quare dum homo facit bona opera secundum veritates, facit illa in luce, hoc est, intelligenter et sapienter.
[2] Conjunctio Charitatis 6 et Fidei 7 est sicut conjugium mariti et uxoris; ex marito ut patre et ex uxore ut matre nascuntur omnes proles naturales; similiter 8 ex Charitate ut patre et ex fide ut matre nascuntur omnes proles spirituales, quae sunt cognitiones boni et veri; ex his cognoscitur generatio familiarum spiritualium; etiam in Verbo in spirituali sensu per Maritum et Patrem significatur Bonum Charitatis, ac per Uxorem et Matrem Verum fidei; ex his etiam patet, quod non sola Charitas nec sola Fides producere possit bona opera, sicut non solus maritus nec sola Uxor aliquas proles. Veritates fidei non modo illuminant charitatem, sed etiam qualificant illam, ac insuper nutriunt illam, quare homo qui charitatem 9 habet et non veritates fidei, est sicut ambulans in Horto tempore noctis, et arripit fructus ex arboribus, et nescit num sint boni usus aut mali usus. Quoniam veritates fidei non modo charitatem illuminant, sed etiam hanc qualificant, ut dictum est, sequitur quod charitas absque veritatibus fidei sit sicut fructus absque succo, sicut 10 torrida ficus, ac sicut uva postquam ex illa vinum est expressum: quoniam veritates nutriunt fidem, ut quoque dictum est, sequitur, quod si charitas est absque veritatibus fidei, non alia ei nutritio sit, quam est homini ex esu panis adusti et simul potu aquae immundae ex quodam stagno.
Footnotes:
1. Sic Errores Typographici.
2. Prima editio: et [symbol].
3. Sic Errores Typographici.
4. Prima editio: eharitatis.
5. Prima editio: excercitia.
6. Conjunctio Charitatis ubi in prima editione CogjunctioCharitatis.
7. Prima editio: Fides.
8. Prima editio: simillter.
9. Prima editio: eharitatem.
10. Prima editio: sieut.