69.人越照着神性秩序生活，就越通过神性全知拥有关于善与真的智慧。原因在于，一切善之爱和一切真之智，换句话说，一切爱之善和一切智之真，皆来自主。这是基督教界一切教会所公认的。由此可知，若非靠着神，人不可能内在拥有任何智之真，因为神拥有全知，即无限的智慧。人的心智和天使天堂一样，被划分为三个层级。因此，它既能被提升至较高，甚至更高层级，也会降至较低，甚至更低层级。它升至高层的程度，就是进入智慧的程度，因为它进入同等程度的天堂之光中，唯有神才能做到这一点。而且，心智越如此被提升，就越成为一个真正的人。但是，它越降至低层，就越进入地狱的幻光中，并且越不是一个人，而是一个动物。这就是为何人会双脚站立，仰面朝天，并能将脸提升到顶点；而动物以平行于地面的姿势站立，并将整个脸面朝向地面，以致它很难仰面朝天。
人若将其心智提升向神，承认一切智之真皆来自祂，同时照秩序生活，就类似于人站在高塔上俯瞰人口密集的城市，并看见城市街道上所发生的一切。但是，人若确信一切智之真皆来自他里面的属世之光，即来自他自己，就类似于人依然呆在那高塔下面的洞穴中，通过狭小的洞口观看同一座城市，只能看到那城中一座房子的墙壁，并研究墙砖是如何砌成的。再者，人若从神汲取智慧，就好比高空飞翔的鸟儿窥探下面花园、树林和周围村庄的一切事物，然后朝那些对它有用的事物飞去。但这人若从自己获取诸如属于智慧之类的事物，不相信它们来自神，则好比紧贴地面飞行的大黄蜂，看见一个粪堆就飞到上面，以那里的恶臭为乐。
只要尚在人世，每个人都行走在天堂与地狱之间的路上，并由此处在平衡中。因此，他拥有自由意志，既能仰望神，也能向下注视地狱。若仰望神，他会承认一切智慧皆来自神，他的灵也真实地与天堂天使同在。但若向下看（如凡处于来自邪恶的虚假之人所做的那样），他的灵也真实地与地狱魔鬼同在。
69. 我們越是在生活中遵循聖規, 我們越能從上帝的全知中獲取關於善與理的智慧。這是因為一切對良善的仁愛,以及一切有關真理的智慧都來自於上帝。或者另外的說法, 一切關於仁愛的良善和一切關於智慧的真理都來自於上帝——所有基督徒世界中的眾教會都承認如此。因此, 除非從上帝而來, 我們裡面無法擁有任何真智慧, 因為上帝有全知, 有無限的智慧。
像天國一樣, 人的思想分為三個層級。因此, 人的思想可以被提升到一個更高的層級,並再往上升至更高層級。於是, 人的思想也可被降至一個更低的層級,並再降至更低層級。當我們的思想被提升到更高的層級時, 我們就進入智慧, 因為我們進入天國的光中。除非被上帝, 人的思想無法被提升。我們的思想越被提升至天國, 我們就越是人。我們越是被降至更低層級, 就越進入地獄那昏暗迷惑之光中。在那裡, 我們並非是人, 只不過是畜類而已。(這就是為何人用腳直立,臉朝天觀望, 甚至直望到頭頂的天空。然而, 獸類身體站立時與地面平行, 整個頭都朝下看地, 抬頭望天對它們有難度。)
[2]倘若我們提高思想望向上帝, 並承認一切真智慧來自於祂, 我們也遵循聖規而生活, 那麼我們就如同人站在一幢高層建築頂上, 向下看城市中人群流動, 觀察街上何事發生。然而, 如果我們完全確信一切真智慧來自於我們自己, 來自於自己屬世之光, 我們就像有人在這幛建築的底層, 蝸在一間小屋內, 從牆上的小洞往外看, 只能直到對街房子的牆身, 只能觀察這牆怎麼砌法,如何粉抹。
當上帝是我們汲取智慧的源頭, 我們就像一隻小鳥高飛, 往下觀賞花園,森林和村莊的一切景色, 並隨意飛到任何想去的地方。但是, 我們將自己當作汲取真智慧的源頭, 不相信上帝才是真正的源頭, 我們就像一隻黃蜂, 貼近地面飛行, 看到糞堆時便落在上面, 享受那裡的惡臭。
當我們活在這個世界時, 所有人都行走在天國與地獄之間的路上。因此, 我們處於一種平衡狀態, 可以自由選擇抬頭向上帝或低頭向地獄。如果我們選擇抬頭望向上帝, 就會認識到一切智慧來自上帝, 並且就我們的靈而言, 我們確實與天國中的天人在一起。如果我們低頭向地獄(當作惡之心而有偽謬想法時, 我們不可避免這樣做), 就我們的靈而言, 就真的與地獄中的魔鬼在一起。
69. The more we follow the divine design in the way we live, the more wisdom about goodness and truth we receive from God's omniscience. This is because all love for goodness and all wisdom about truth come from God. To put it another way, all the goodness of love and all the truth belonging to wisdom come from God - all the churches in the Christian world profess that it is so. Therefore we cannot inwardly have any true wisdom except from God, because God has omniscience, that is, infinite wisdom.
The human mind is divided into three levels, just as the angelic heaven is. The mind has the capability of being raised to a higher level and to another level higher still. Then again the mind can be brought down to a lower level and to another level lower still. As our minds are raised to the higher levels, we come into wisdom, because we come into the light of heaven. The mind cannot be raised except by God. The more our minds are raised to heaven, the more human we are. The more our minds are brought down to the lower levels, the more we come into the faint, deceptive light of hell. There we are not human, we are animals. (This is why people stand upright on their feet and look with their faces toward the sky, and are even capable of looking directly overhead. Animals, however, stand on their feet with their bodies parallel to the ground, looking down to the ground with their whole head, and only with difficulty can they raise their heads toward the sky.)
[2] If we lift our minds to God and acknowledge that all true wisdom comes from him, and we also follow the divine design in the way we live, we are like someone standing at the top of a tall building, who looks out on a crowded city below and watches what is happening in the streets. If, however, we are utterly convinced that all true wisdom comes from ourselves, from our own earthly light, we are like someone at the bottom of that same tall building who lurks in a room below ground looking at the same city through little holes in the wall, able to see the wall of only one of the houses in the city and to examine how its bricks are mortared.
When God is the source we draw on for wisdom, we are like a bird flying high, looking around at everything in the gardens, forests, and villages, and flying toward whatever we need. When we ourselves are the source we draw on for things related to wisdom without believing that those things actually come from God, we are like a hornet that flies near the ground and, on seeing a dunghill, lands there and enjoys the stench.
As long as we are living in the world, we all walk midway between heaven and hell. Therefore we are in an equilibrium. We can freely choose to look either upward to God or downward to hell. If we look upward to God, we recognize that all wisdom is from God and that in our spirits we are actually with angels in heaven. If we look downward (as we inevitably do if we have false thinking from an evil heart), in our spirits we are actually with devils in hell.
69. The reason why the wisdom about good and truth a person has from Divine omniscience is in proportion to the extent to which he lives according to the Divine order, is that all love of good and all wisdom about truth, in other words, all the good of love and all the truth of wisdom, come from God. This is borne out by the confession of all the churches in Christendom. It follows from this that a person cannot have inwardly any truth of wisdom except from God, since God has omniscience, that is, infinite wisdom. The human mind is, like the heaven of the angels, divided into three degrees; so it can be raised to a higher degree and one higher still, or be depressed to a lower degree and one lower still. To the extent, however, that it is raised to higher degrees, it enters into wisdom, because it enters to that extent into the light of heaven, and this could not be brought about except by God. To the extent it is raised into that light, a person is truly human; but to the extent that it sinks to the lower degrees, it comes into the deceptive light of hell, and the person is to that extent not human, but an animal. This is why man stands erect on his feet, with his face upturned to heaven, able to raise it to the zenith; and why an animal stands on its feet parallel to the ground, and fully faces that, so that it can only with difficulty lift its gaze to heaven.
[2] A person who lifts up his mind towards God, and acknowledges that all the truth of wisdom comes from Him, and at the same time lives in accordance with order, resembles someone standing on a lofty tower watching a densely populated city below him and seeing what goes on in its streets. But a person who convinces himself that all the truth of wisdom comes from his own natural enlightenment, that is, from himself, resembles someone living in a cellar under that tower, watching the same city through narrow holes; he can see no more than the wall of one house in the city, and study how the bricks in it hold together. Again, a person who draws wisdom from God is like a bird flying high, spying out everything in the gardens, woods and villages round about, and flying towards things that can be of service. But a person who derives what belongs to wisdom from himself, without believing that this still comes from God, is like a hornet flying close to the ground, and, when it sees a dunghill, flying up to it and taking pleasure in its stench.
[3] Every person, as long as he lives in the world, treads a path mid-way between heaven and hell; and he is in equilibrium, that is, he has free will to look up to God or down to hell. If he looks up to God, he acknowledges that all wisdom comes from God, and his spirit is really present among the angels in heaven. The person who looks down, as everyone does whose evil puts him under the power of falsities, is in his spirit really among the devils in hell.
69. From the Divine omniscience man has wisdom respecting what is good and true to the extent that he lives in accordance with the Divine order, because all love of good and all wisdom of truth, or all good of love and all truth of wisdom, are from God. That this is so is in accordance with the confession of all the churches in the Christian world. From this it follows that man cannot be interiorly in any truth of wisdom except from God, since God has omniscience, that is infinite wisdom. The human mind, like the angelic heaven, is divided into three degrees, and may therefore be lifted up into a higher and still higher degree or be let down into a lower and still lower degree; but so far as it is lifted up into the higher degrees it is lifted up into wisdom, because into the light of heaven; and this God only can do. Moreover, so far as the mind is thus lifted up it becomes a man; while so far as it is let down into the lower degrees it enters the delusive light of hell, and is not man but a beast. This is why man stands erect upon his feet and turns his face heavenward, and can raise it to the zenith, while a beast stands upon its feet in a position parallel with the earth, and turns its whole face in that direction; nor can it without difficulty raise its face heavenward.
[2] The man who lifts his mind to God and acknowledges that all the truth of wisdom is from God, and at the same time lives in accordance with order, is like one who stands upon a lofty tower and sees beneath him a populous city and all that is being done in its streets. But the man who confirms in himself the belief that all truth of wisdom is from the natural light in himself, that is, is from himself, is like one who remains in a cavern beneath that tower and looks through holes at the same city, seeing nothing but the wall of a single house in that city, and how its bricks are joined. Again, the man who derives wisdom from God is like a bird flying aloft, which looks around upon all things in the gardens, woods, and fields, and flies to those things that are of use to it; while the man who derives such things as pertain to wisdom from himself, with no added belief that they are from God, is like a hornet flying near the ground, which, seeing a dunghill, settles upon it and finds enjoyment in its stench. Every man, so long as he is living in the world, walks midway between heaven and hell, and is thereby in equilibrium, and thus in freedom of choice either to look upwards to God or downwards to hell. If he looks upwards to God he acknowledges that all wisdom is from God, and in spirit he is actually with the angels in heaven; while he who looks downward (as everyone does who is in falsities from evil) is in spirit actually with the devils in hell.
69. A man is in wisdom concerning good and truth from the Divine omniscience as far as he lives according to Divine order, because all the love of good and all the wisdom of truth, that is, all the good of love and all the truth of wisdom, are from God. This accords with the confession of all the churches in the Christian world; and it follows that a man cannot be interiorly in any truth of wisdom unless from God, because omniscience, that is, infinite wisdom, belongs to God. The human mind is divided into three degrees, like the angelic heaven, and can therefore be raised to a higher and still higher degree, and it can also be brought down to a lower and still lower degree. Moreover, so far as it is raised to the higher degrees it is exalted in wisdom, because so far it is raised into the light of heaven, and this can only be effected by God. So far as it is thus raised, it is a man, but so far as it is brought down to the lower degrees it sinks into the delusive light of hell, and becomes not a man, but a beast. For this reason also a man stands erect upon his feet, and looks with his face towards heaven, even directing it to the zenith. A beast on the other hand stands on its feet in a position parallel with the ground, looking full face downwards, and cannot look upwards except with difficulty.
[2] The man who raises his mind to God and acknowledges that all the truth of wisdom is from Him, and at the same time lives according to order, is like one who, standing upon a lofty tower, sees below him a populous city and all the activity of its streets. The man, however, who confirms in his own mind that all the truth of wisdom is from the natural light (lumen) within him, and thus from himself, is like one who remains in a cave at the foot of that tower, looking through clefts in it towards the same city, but who sees nothing there except the wall of one house, and how the bricks are built into it. Moreover, the man who derives wisdom from God, is like a bird flying on high, which surveys everything in the gardens, woods, and farms beneath, and flies towards whatever can be of use to its wants. The man, however, who derives from himself such things as pertain to wisdom, believing they can in no way be of God, is like the hornet which, flying close to the ground, lights upon the first dung-hill it sees, and delights in its stench. Every man while he lives in the world walks midway between heaven and hell. Consequently he is in equilibrium, and has freedom of will to look upward to God or downward to hell. If he looks upward to God, he acknowledges that all wisdom is from Him, and as to his spirit he actually is in the company of angels in heaven; but he who looks downward, as every one does who lives in falsity from evil, is as to his spirit actually in the company of devils in hell.
69. Quod homo tantum in sapientia de bono et vero ex Divina Omniscientia sit, quantum secundum Divinum ordinem vivit, est causa, quia omnis amor boni et omnis sapientia veri, seu omne bonum amoris et omne verum sapientiae, est a Deo; quod ita sit, etiam est secundum confessionem omnium Ecclesiarum in Christiano Orbe; ex quibus sequitur, quod homo non possit in ullo vero sapientiae interius esse, nisi a Deo, quia Deo Omniscientia est, hoc est, infinita sapientia. Mens humana distincta est in tres gradus, quemadmodum Coelum Angelicum, et inde potest in superiorem et superiorem gradum elevari, et quoque potest in inferiorem et inferiorem deferri, quantum autem in gradus superiores elevatur, tantum in sapientiam, quia tantum in lucem coeli, et hoc non potest fieri nisi a Deo; et quantum illuc elevatur, tantum est homo, at quantum in gradus inferiores defertur, tantum in lucem fatuam inferni, et tantum non est homo sed bestia; homo etiam ideo stat erectus super pedibus, et facie spectat versus coelum, et hanc potest elevare ad zenith, at bestia ideo stat super pedibus in situ paralelo cum terra, ac toto vultu illuc spectat, nec potest nisi cum aegritudine illum extollere ad coelum.
[2] Homo, qui ad Deum elevat mentem suam, et agnoscit quod omne verum sapientiae ab Ipso sit, et simul secundum ordinem vivit, est sicut qui in excelsa turri stat, et videt populosam civitatem infra se, et simul quicquid ibi in plateis agitur; at homo, qui confirmat apud se, quod omne verum sapientiae sit ex naturali lumine apud se, ita a se, est sicut qui in caverna sub illa turri moratur, et per foramina ibi ad eandem urbem spectat; is non nisi quam parietem unius domus in illa urbe videt, et quomodo lateres ibi cohaerent. Porro homo, qui sapientiam haurit ex Deo, est sicut avis volans in alto, et circumspicit omnia quae 1 in hortis, sylvis et villis sunt, et advolat ad illa quae ejus usus sunt; at homo qui talia quae sapientiae sunt haurit ex se, absque fide quod illa usque sint a Deo, est sicut crabro, qui volat juxta humum, et ubi videt sterquilinium, involat, et in ejus nidore se jucundat.
[3] Omnis homo, quamdiu vivit in Mundo, ambulat in medio inter Coelum et Infernum, et inde est in aequilibrio, et sic in libero arbitrio spectandi sursum ad Deum aut deorsum ad infernum; si spectat sursum ad Deum, agnoscit quod omnis sapientia a Deo sit, et is quoad spiritum suum actualiter cum Angelis in Coelo est; at qui deorsum spectat, quod facit omnis ille qui in falsis ex malo est, is quoad spiritum suum actualiter cum diabolis in Inferno est.
Footnotes:
1. Prima editio: que.