588.为达到这一目的，人还被赋予将其觉知几乎提升至天堂天人所处之光的能力，以便他能明白，人必须意愿什么，必须由此做什么，明白他在世的幸福是短暂的，死后的祝福是永恒的。若他获得智慧，并使其意愿顺从它，就会幸福快乐。但若他使其觉知顺从意愿，就会倒霉悲惨。这是因为意愿生来倾向邪恶，甚至倾向穷凶极恶，所以，除非通过觉知加以控制，否则，任其意愿放纵之人会奔向大恶，他天生的野性会致使他因自私而掠夺、杀戮所有不迎合他、不迁就他贪欲之人。
此外，如果觉知不能被单独完善，意愿也无法藉此被完善，那么他将不是一个人，而是一个动物。因为若不单独完善觉知，将它提升至意愿之上，那么他将不能思考，也不能出于思维言谈，而只能发出噪声表达自己的情感，他也不能出于理智、而只能凭本能行动，更不可能认识与神有关的事，从而认识神自己，因而与祂联结，活到永远。人貌似凭自己运用思维和意愿，这一表象就是联结的互动元素，若没有互动，联结是不可能的，如同没有适应和运用就不可能有主动与被动的结合。神独自作用，人允许自己被作用，表面上看，人貌似凭自己配合，实际上是通过神这样做。对这些事实的正确认知会使人明白，若人的意愿之爱通过觉知被提升，它将是什么样，若未被提升，则又是什么样，因而人会是什么样。
588. 为达到这一目的, 人还被赋予将其觉知几乎提升至天堂天人所处之光的能力, 以便他能明白, 人必须意愿什么, 必须由此做什么, 明白他在世的幸福是短暂的, 死后的祝福是永恒的。 若他获得智慧, 并使其意愿顺从它, 就会幸福快乐。 但若他使其觉知顺从意愿, 就会倒霉悲惨。 这是因为意愿生来倾向邪恶, 甚至倾向穷凶极恶, 所以, 除非通过觉知加以控制, 否则, 任其意愿放纵之人会奔向大恶, 他天生的野性会致使他因自私而掠夺, 杀戮所有不迎合他, 不迁就他贪欲之人。
此外, 如果觉知不能被单独完善, 意愿也无法藉此被完善, 那么他将不是一个人, 而是一个动物。 因为若不单独完善觉知, 将它提升至意愿之上, 那么他将不能思考, 也不能出于思维言谈, 而只能发出噪声表达自己的情感, 他也不能出于理智, 而只能凭本能行动, 更不可能认识与神有关的事, 从而认识神自己, 因而与祂联结, 活到永远。 人貌似凭自己运用思维和意愿, 这一表象就是联结的互动元素, 若没有互动, 联结是不可能的, 如同没有适应和运用就不可能有主动与被动的结合。 神独自作用, 人允许自己被作用, 表面上看, 人貌似凭自己配合, 实际上是通过神这样做。 对这些事实的正确认知会使人明白, 若人的意愿之爱通过觉知被提升, 它将是什么样, 若未被提升, 则又是什么样, 因而人会是什么样。
588. For this purpose we have been granted the ability to lift our intellect almost all the way into the light enjoyed by the angels in heaven. This lifting allows us to see what we ought to will and what we ought to do in order to be successful during our time in this world and blessed with happiness after death to eternity. We become successful and blessed if we gain wisdom for ourselves and keep our will obedient to that wisdom. We become unsuccessful and unhappy, however, if we devote our intellect to obeying our will. The reason for this is that from the time we are born, our will has a tendency toward evils of various kinds, including evils that are horrendous. If our will was not restrained by our intellect and instead we let it run free, we would quickly fall into criminal behavior; because of our inborn savage animal nature, for purely selfish reasons we would wipe out and butcher everyone and anyone who failed to show us favor or indulge our lusts.
[2] For another thing, if our intellect were incapable of being perfected on its own and of then perfecting our will, we would not be human at all; we would be animals. If there were no separation between our will and our intellect and if the intellect could not rise above the will, we would be unable either to think or to say what we thought. We would only be able to make noises that expressed our feelings. We would not be able to act in reasonable ways, either; we would act on instinct alone. We would be completely incapable of knowing anything about God or seeing him through what we knew; as a result, we would be unable to form a partnership with him and live forever.
We have thoughts and we will things as if we did so on our own. This feeling that we think and will on our own is what allows for a reciprocal partnership [with the Lord]. No partnership can exist without reciprocation. For example, no partnership would exist between an active element and a responsive element if there were no adaptation or point of contact between them.
God alone is an active force. We allow ourselves to experience that active force and we cooperate with it to all appearances as if we were acting on our own, although inwardly we are actually acting from God.
From the statements just made, if you take them in the right way, you can see what human beings are like. You can see the quality of love the human will has if it is lifted up by means of the intellect; and you can see the quality of love the human will has if it is not lifted up.
588. 1 The purpose for which man has been given the ability to raise his understanding, almost into the light enjoyed by the angels of heaven, is so that he can see what he ought to will and so do, if he is to enjoy prosperity in the world for the time being and after death be blessed for ever. He becomes prosperous and blessed if he acquires wisdom, and keeps his will obedient to it. But he becomes unfortunate and wretched if he makes his understanding obedient to his will. The reason is that the will has from birth a tendency to evils, even monstrous evils. If therefore these are not held in check by the understanding, a person left to give free rein to his will would rush into villainy, and his inborn savagery would lead him to wreak havoc on and slaughter, for selfish motives, any who did not look kindly on him and indulge his longings.
[2] Moreover, if the understanding could not be perfected separately, and the will by its means, man would not be man, but an animal. But for that separation and but for the understanding's rise above the will, he could not think, and as a result of thought speak, but only make noises to express his affection. Nor could he act from reason, but only by instinct. Much less could he recognise what things belong to God and so recognise God, so as to be linked with Him and live for ever. A person's thinking and willing are as if they came from him, and this appearance is the reciprocal part of the linking. For linking is impossible without reciprocity, as is the linking of the active with the passive, if there is no accommodation or application. God alone acts, and man allows himself to be acted on, co-operating to all appearance as if of himself, though inwardly it is by God's doing. A correct perception of these facts will enable it to be seen what the love of a person's will is like, if it is raised by means of the understanding, as well as what it is like if not so raised; and so what the person is like.
Footnotes:
1. This and the following two sections are adapted from Interaction of the Soul and Body 14, 3-6.
588. For the sake of this end there has been given to man the ability to elevate his understanding almost into the light in which the angels of heaven are, that he may see what he must will and must do therefrom, that he may be prosperous in the world for a time and blessed after death to eternity. He becomes prosperous and blessed if he acquires for himself wisdom, and keeps his will in obedience thereto; but he becomes unprosperous and unhappy if he makes his understanding subservient to his will. This is because the will by birth inclines to evils, even to enormities; therefore unless it is held in check by means of the understanding, man left to the freedom of his will would rush into great wickedness, and from the ferine nature inherent in him would plunder and slaughter for his own sake all who did not favor him and indulge his cupidities. Moreover, if man were not able to perfect his understanding separately, and to perfect his will by means of it, he would not be a man, but a beast; for without that separation, and without the ascent of the understanding above the will, he would not be able to think, and from thought to speak, but would be able to express his affections by sounds only; nor would he be able to act from reason, but only from instinct; still less could he recognize what relates to God, and thereby God Himself, and thus be conjoined with Him and live for ever. For man exercises thought and will as if of himself; and this as if of himself, is the reciprocal element in conjunction, for conjunction without reciprocation is impossible, as there can be no conjunction of an active with a passive without adaptation or application. God alone acts; man permits himself to be acted upon, and cooperates to all appearance as if of himself, although interiorly from God. But from a right perception of these things, it can be seen what the love of man's will is when it is elevated by means of the understanding; also what it is when not elevated; thus what man is.
588. For the sake of regeneration man is endowed with the power of elevating his understanding almost into the light in which the angels of heaven are, that he may see what he ought to will and so to do in order to be prosperous in this world for a time, and blessed after death to eternity. He becomes prosperous and blessed if he procures wisdom for himself, and keeps his will in obedience to it; but he becomes unfortunate and unhappy if he submits his understanding to the guidance of his will. This is because the will by birth is inclined to evils, even to enormous evils. Unless, then, it were restrained by the understanding, a man, left to the freedom of his will, would rush into enormous evils; and from the savage nature inherent in him he would plunder and slay, for his own gratification, all who do not favor him and indulge his lusts.
Moreover, unless the understanding could be perfected separately, and the will by means of it, a man would not be a man but a beast; for without that separation, and the elevation of the understanding above the will, he would not be able to think and to speak from thought, but only to utter sounds expressive of his affection. He would not be able to act from reason, but from instinct; and much less would he be able to know the things that pertain to God, and God Himself by means of them, and so to be conjoined to God, and live for ever. For a man thinks and wills as of himself; and this "as of himself" is the reciprocal element in conjunction; for conjunction is not possible without reciprocation, as there can be no conjunction of an active with a passive without adaptation or responsive action. God alone acts, and man suffers himself to be acted upon and co-operates to all appearance as of himself, although interiorly from God. From a right perception of these truths may be seen the nature of the love of a man's will, if elevated by means of the understanding, and its nature if not so elevated; and thus the nature of the man.
588. Propter hunc finem data est homini facultas elevandi intellectum paene in lucem, in qua sunt Angeli coeli, ut videat quid illum oportet velle et inde facere, ut prosper sit in Mundo ad tempus, et beatus post mortem in aeternum; prosper et beatus fit, si comparat sibi sapientiam, ac voluntatem sub ejus obedientia tenet; at improsper et infelix, si intellectum suum mittit sub obedientiam voluntatis: causa est, quia Voluntas a nativitate inclinat ad mala, etiam enormia, quare nisi illa refraenetur per intellectum, homo libero voluntatis suae relictus rueret in nefaria, et ex insita ferina natura depopularetur et trucidaret sui causa quoscunque, qui sibi non favent et cupiditatibus ejus indulgent.
[2] Praeterea nisi Intellectus separatim potuisset perfici, et Voluntas per illum, homo non foret homo, sed bestia, non enim absque separatione illa, et absque ascensu intellectus supra voluntatem, potuisset cogitare, et ex cogitatione loqui, sed solum sonare suam affectionem; nec potuisset ex ratione agere, sed ex instinctu; minus potuisset cognoscere illa quae Dei sunt, et per illa Deum, et sic conjungi Ipsi, et vivere in aeternum; cogitat enim et vult homo sicut a se, et hoc sicut a se, est reciprocum conjunctionis, nam conjunctio absque reciproco non dabilis est, sicut non conjunctio activi cum passivo absque adaptatione seu applicatione; solus Deus agit, et homo se patitur agi, et cooperatur in omni apparentia sicut a se, tametsi interius a Deo. Sed ex his rite perceptis videri potest, qualis est amor voluntatis hominis, si elevatur per intellectum, tum qualis est si non elevatur, ita qualis est homo.