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THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE.

ANGELIC WISDOM

CONCERNING

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE.

lYmUlattdflvm Ot latin, </
EMANUEL SWEDENBORO,
atnamt <tf Ou Lord Jan* CArdi

taiGINALLY PUBLISHED AT AMSTEEDAM, MDCCLXIV.

FROM THB LAST LONDON EDITION.

KEW YORK:
AMERICAN SWEDE.\BORG PRINTING AND PUI'.IISIIING SOCIETY.

P-iblished by Thx American Swbdenboro Printing and Publishing
Society, organized for the purpose of Stereotyping, Printing, and
Publishing Uniform Editions of the Theological Writings q^Emanuel
SwEDENBURO, atid incorporated in the State of New York a. d. 1850.

ADVEETISEMENT.
Ik this new Edition of Emanuel Swedenborg's invaluable
Treatise on the Divine Providence, an attempt has been made
to render the Translation a little more smooth, without making
It less faithful to the Original, or even less literal ; but there are
still some peculiarities of style, which it has been thought
advisable to retain, rather than to incur the risk of weakening
in any degree the force of the Author's sentiments.
The frequent occurrence of adjectives used as substantives
{internal, interior, &c., for instance) may be objected to by
many persons ; but, when practicable, this mode of rendering
the Latin neuter adjectives was generally thought preferable to
that of adding the substantive tJdng, or jcyrinci^le, &c., because
there is a danger of such words conveying an idea not strictly
in agreement with the Author's meaning.
The retention of the Latin word where no corresponding
one could be found in English, occurs but very rarely ; and it
may be fairly presumed, that in this work the reader will be as
little troubled with technicalities of language as in the gene
rality of works on abstract philosophy.

CONTENTS.
That the Divine Fbovidekou is the government or the divine hove
AND the divine WISDOM OF THE LoBD  1
L That the universe, with aU and every thing therein, was created
from the divine love by the divine wisdom  S
II That the divine love and the divine wisdom proceed from the
Lord as a one  4
IIL That this one, in a certain image, is in every created thing  5
IV. That it is of the Divine Providence that every created thing,
both in the whole and in part, should be such a one, and if it ia
not, that it should be made so  1
y That the good of love is not good, except so far as it is united to
the truth of wisdom ; and that the truth of wisdom is not truth,
except BO far as it is united to the good of love  10
VI. That the good of love not united to the truth of wisdom is not
good in itself, but only apparent good ; and that the truth of wis
dom not united to the good of love is not truth in itself, but only
apparent truth  14
VII. That the Lord does not suffer any thing to be divided ; therefore
it must either be in good and at the same time in truth, or it must
be in evil and at the same time in falsity  16
Vm. That that which is in good and at the same time in truth, is
something ; and that that which is in evil and at the same time
in falsity, is not any thing  19
IX. That the Divine Providence of the Lord causes evil and its at
tendant falsity to serve for equilibrium, relation, and purification,
and thereby for the conjunction of good and truth in others  21
That the Divine Fbovidence of the Lobd has fob its end a heaven
odt of the human baoe  i'j
I. That heaven is conjunction with the Lord  28
II. That a man by creation is such that he can be more and more
nearly conjoined to the Lord  32
IIL That a man becomes wiser in proportion as he is more nearly
conjoined to the Lord  34
rV. That a man becomes happier in proportion as he ia more nearly
conjoined to the Lord  81
V. That a man, in proportion aa he ia more nearly conjoined to the
Lord, appeara to himself to be more distinctly at hia own dis
posal, and perceives more evidently that he is the Lord's  43

Viu CONTENTS.
That the Divine Fbovidence of the Lobd, in all that it does, has 41
bospbct to what is infinite and eteenal 
L That what is mfinite in itself, and eternal m itself, is the same as
what is divine 
n. That what is infinite and eternal in itself cannot but have respect
to what is infinite and eternal from itself m finitea  81
TII, That the Divme Providence, in all that it does, has respect to
what is infinite and eternal from itself, especially m aavmg the
human race 
IV. That an image of what is mfinite and eternal exists m the angelic
heaven  •¦ ^0
V. That to respect what is infinite and eternal in forming the angelic
heaven, that it may. be before the Lord as one man, the image
of himself, ia the inmost end or purpose of the Divine Provi
dence  **

That ihebe abb laws of the Divine Pbovidenoe which abe unknown
TO MEN  '"
That it is a law of the Divine Pbovidenoe that a man should aot
fbom libebtt aooobdinq to beason  71
I. That a man has reason and free-will, or rationality and liberty ;
and that these two faculties are from the Lord in him  t^
IL That whatever a man does from liberty, whether it be of reason
or not, provided It be according to his reason, appears to him as
his own act  74
IIL That whatever a man does from liberty, according to his thought,
is appropriated to him aa his own, and remains  IS
IV. That a man by these two facultiea ia reformed and regenerated
by the Lord ; and that without them he could not be reformed
and regenerated  81
V. That a man, by meana of those two faculties, can be reformed and
regenerated so far as he can be led by them to acloiowledge, that
all the truth and good which he thinks and does, is from the
Lord, and not from himself  87
VI. That the conjunction of the Lord with a man, and the reciprocal
conjunction of a man with the Lord, is effected by these two
facultiea  92
VIL That the Lord preaerves these two faculties in a man inviolable,
and as sacred, in every proceeding of his Divine Providence  98
VIII. That, therefore, it ia of the Divine Providence, that a man
should act from liberty according to reaaon  97
That it is a iaw of the Divine Pbovidenoe, that a man as fbom him
self SHOULD EEMOVE EVILS AS SINS IN THE EXTERNAL MAN, AND- THAT
THUS AND NO OTHEBWISE THE LoBD OAN REMOVE EVILS IN THE INTERNAL
MAM, AND THEN AT THE SAME TIME IN THE EXTEBNAL  .00
L That everv man haa an external and an internal of thought  101

COMTENTS. IX
Wa
IL That the external of a man's thought is in itaelf such aa is its
internal  ,  lOfl
III. That the internal cannot be purified from the concupiscences of
evil ao long aa evila in the external man arc not removed, because '
they obatruct  Ill
IV. That evils in the external man cannot bo removed by the Lord
but by meana of the man  ,  114
V That therefore a man ought to remove evils from the external man
as from himself  118
VI. That the Lord then purifies him from the concupiscences of evil in
the internal man, and from evils themselves in the external  119
VIL That it is the continual endeavor of the Divine Providence of
the Lord to join a man to himself and himself to a man, that be
may be able to give him the felicities of eternal life ; which can
not be done except in proportion aa evila with their concupis
cences are removed  12S
That it ib a law of the Divine Providence, that a man should not
BE forced by external means to think and will, and so TO BE
LIEVE AND LOVE THE THINGS WHIOH ABE OP RELIGION ; BUT THAT A MAN
SHOULD LEAD, AND SOMETIMES FOECE HIMSELF TO IT  l1!9
I. That no one ia reformed by miracles and signs, because they force  ISO
II. That no one is reformed by visions, and by conversing with the dead,
because they force  IM
IIL That no one ia reformed by threats and punishments, because they
force  Iil6
IV. That no one is reformed in states which are not of rationahty and
liberty  i;i8
V. Tliat it ia not contrary to rationality and liberty for a man to force
, himself  145
VI. That the external man is to be reformed by the internal, and not
contrariwise  '.  160
That it is a law of the Divine Providence, that a man should be
led and taught fbom the lobd out of heaven by the word, and bt
dooteine and preaching from THE Word, and this in all appear
ance AS FBOM himself  154
I. That a man is led and taught of the Lord alone  166
IL That a man ia led and taught of the Lord alone, by the angelic
heaven and froni it  16!
III. That a man is led of the Lord by influx, aud taught by illumi
nation  166
IV. That a man is taught of the Lord by the Word, and by doctrine
and preaching from the Word, and thus immediately from him
alone  171
V That a man is led and taught of the Lord in externals to all ap
pearance as of himself . .  174

Z CONTENTS. Ita.
That it is a law of the Divine Pbovidenoe, that a man should not
eeboeive and feel ant thing of the operation of the Divine Fbo
videnoe, but yet should know and acknowledge it  178
I. That if a man perceived and felt the operation of the Divine Pro
vidence, he would not act from liberty according to reason, nor
would any thing appear to him as his own. It would be the same
if he foreknew events  176
IL That if a man plainly saw the Divine Providence, he would in
terfere with the order and tenor of its progresa, and would pervert
and destroy it  18C
III. That if a man manifestly saw the Divine Providence, he would
either deny God, or make himself a god  182
IV. That it ia granted a. man to see the Divine Providence on the
back and not in the face, alao in a spiritual state, and not in a
natural state  187
That self-derived prudence is nothing, and only appears as if it
WAS, AND ALSO OUGHT SO TO APPEAB ; BUT THAT THE DlVINE FrOVIDENOE
ntOM THINGS THE MOST SINGULAR IS UNIVERSAL  191
I. That all a man's thoughts are from the affections of his life's love,
and that there do not, and cannot exist, any thoughts at all without
tliose affections  198
II. That the affections of a man's life's love are known to the Lord alone... 197
HI. That the affections of a man's life's love are led of the Lord by his
Divine Providence, and at the same time hia thoughts, from which
human prudence ia derived  200
IV. That the Lord by hia Divine Providence connects together the
affectiona of the whole human race into one form, which is the
human  201
V. That heaven and heU are in such a form  • 204
VL That those who have acknowledged nature alone, and human
prudence alone, constitute heU, and those who have acknowledged
Qod and hia Divine Providence, conatitute heaven  206
VII. That all theae things cannot be effected, unleaa it appears to a man
that he thinks and disposes from himself  210
That the Divine Providence has bespect to things eternal, and not
TO things tempobart, except so fab as thet accobd with things
etebnal  214
L That temporary thing" relate to dignities and riches, therefore to
honora and emoluments in this world  216
II. That eternal things relate to apiritual honora and richea, which are of
love and wiadom, in heaven  •.  218
IIL That things temporary and eternal are separated by man, but are
joined by the Lord  218
IV. That the conjunction of things temporary and etemal m a man ia
the Divine Providence of the Lord  220

CONTENTS. n
Na
That a man is not admitted intebiorlt into the truths of fahu
and the goods of ohabity, except so far as he oan be kept in
them to the end of life  221
I. That a man may be admitted into the wisdom of spiritual things, and
also into the love of them, and yet not be reformed  222
II. That if a man afterwards recedes from them, and runs counter to
them, he profanea what ia holy  226
III. That there are aeveral kinds of profanation of what ia holy, and
that this kind is the worst of all  229
IV. That therefore the Lord does not admit a man interiorly into the
truths of wisdom, and at the same time into the goods of love,
except ao far as he can be kept in them to the end of life  232
That the laws of permission are also laws of the Divine Providenge 234
I. That the wisest of men, Adam, and his wife, suffered themselves to be
seduced by a serpent, and that God did not prevent this by his
Divine Providence  24.1
IL That their first-bom son, Cain, slew his brother Abel, and God did not
prevent it by speaking to him, but only cursed him after the act.... 242
III. Tliat the Israelitiah nation worshiped a golden calf in the wilder
ness, and acknowledged it as the God which brought them out of
the land of Egypt ; yet Jehovah saw this from Mount Sinai, not far
off, and did not prevent it  248
IV. That David numbered the people, and a pestilence was therefore
aent among them, by which many thousands of men perished, and
that God did not send the prophet Gad to him before the act, but
after it, to denounce punishment  244
V. That Solomon was permitted to establish idolatrous worahip  246
VI. That many kings after Solomon were permitted to profane the
temple and the holy things of the church  246
VII. That that nation waa permitted to crucify the Lord  247
That every worshiper of self and of nature confirms himself against
the Divine Providence,
L When he sees ao many impious persons in the world, and so many of
their impieties, in which at the aame time some glory, and on account
of which nevertheleas they receive no puniahraent from Qod  249
II. When he sees the impious promoted to honors, and made nobles and
primates ; that they moreover abound in wealth, and live elegantly
and magnificently, while the worshipers of God remain in contempt
and poverty  260
IIL When he conaidera that wars are permitted, by which ao many men
are alaughtered, and their possessions plundered  361
rV. When he thinks, according to hia perception, that victories declare
on the side of prudence, and not always on the aide of justice, and
that it makes no difference whether the general be a good or a
wicked man  ,,... S6I

Xa. CONTENTS. Ho
7%at the merely natwral man confirms himielf against the Divine Prom
denee,
I. When he considers the religions of vaiious nations, and that there are
some who are totally ignorant of a God, some who adore the suu
and moon, and some also who adore idols and graven images  254
TL When he reflects upon the Mahometan religion, and conaiders thit it
b received by ao many empirea and kingdoms  268
IIL When he sees that the Christian religion is received only in the
amalleat quarter of the habitable globe, called Europe, and that
there it is divided  2""
IV. Because in many kmgdoms, where the Christian religion is received,
there are some who claun to themselves divine power, and desire to
be worshiped as gods, and because they invoke dead men  267
V. Because, among those who profess the Christian religion, there are
some who place salvation in certain words which they think and
speak, and not in any good they do  268
VI. Because there have been, and still are, so many heresies in the
Chrbtian world, such as thoae of the Quakers, Moravians, Anabap
tists, and others  269
VII. Because Judaism still continues  :  200
That a doubt may be inferred against the Divine Providence,
I. Because the whole Christian world worship God under three persons,
which is three Gods ; and because heretofore they have not known
that God is one in person and in essence, in whom there is a trinity,
and that that God ia the Lord  262
IL Because heretofore it was not known, that in every, particular of
the Word there is a spiritual sense, and that therein its holiness
consists  264
III. Because heretofore it was not known that the very essence of the
Christian religion consists in shunning evils as sins  265
IV. Because it was not known heretofore that a man lives as a man
after death, and this was not discovered till now  274
That evils abe febmittbd fob a certain end, which is salvation  276
I. That every man is in evil, and that he is to be withdrawn from evil
that he may be reformed  ,  277
II. That evila cannot be removed except they appear  278
III. That in proportion as evils are removed, they are remitted  279
IV. That thus the permission of evil is for a certain end, which is
salvation  281
That the Divine Pbovidencb is equally with the wicked and the
GOOD  288
L That the Divine Providence, not only with the good, but alao with
the wicked, is universal in things the moat particular, and yet that
it ia not in their evils  28*

CONTENTS. XUl Ko.
n. That the wicked continually lead themselves into evils, but that the
Lord continually withdraws them from evUs  295
[II. That the Lord cannot entirely lead the wicked out of evils and into
goods, 80 long aa they consider self-derived intelligence to be all,
and the Divine Providence nothing  297
rV. That tlie Lord governs hell by oppositea, and the wicked who
are in the world he governs in hell aa to interiors, but not as to
exteriors  209
Thai .-he Divine Pbovidenoe appbopriates neither evil nor good to any
ONn, but that self-debived peudenoe appropriates both  308
L What self-derived prudence is, and what that prudence which is not
aelf-derived  810
II That a man from self-derived prudence persuades himself, and con
firms in himself the idea, that every good and truth ia in and from
himaelf, and in like manner every evil and falaity  312
III That every thing, of which a man is persuaded, and in which he is
confirmed, remains aa his proprium  817
IV. That if a man would believe, as is the truth, that every thing good
and true is from the Lord, and every thing evil and false from hell,
lie would neither appropriate to himself good, and make it merito
nous, nor would he appropriate to himself evil, and make himself
guilty of it  320
That every man mat be befobmed, and that there is no such thing as
predestination  822
I. That the end of creation is a heaven out of the human race  823
II. That thence it ia of the Divine Providence, that every man is capa
ble of being saved, and that those are saved who acknowledge a
God and lead a good life  326
IIL That it is a man's own fault if he ia not aaved  827
IV. That thus all are predestined to heaven, and none to hell  829
TuAt THE Lord cannot act against the laws of the Divine Pbovi
denoe, because to aot against them would be to act against his
divine love and his divine wisdom, consequently against himself  331
J. That the operation of the Divine Providence in saving a man begins
at hia birth, and continues to the end of his life, and afterwards to
eternity  332
IL That the operation of the Divine Providence is continually effected
by means which are out of pure mercy  835
IIL That momentaneoua salvation from immediate mercy ia impos
sible  388
IV. That momentaneoua salvation from immediate mercy is the fiety
flying serpent in the church  ,  840

ANGELIC WISDOM

CONCERNING

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE.

THAT THE DIVINE FBOVIDENCE IS THE GOVERNMENT OF THB
DIVINE LOVE AND THE DIVINE WISDOM OF THE LORD.
1. In order that it may be understood what the Divine Pro
vidence is, and that it may be seen to be the government of the
Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom of the Lord, it will be
useful that the propositions which have been advanced and illus
trated respecting the Divine Love and the Divine Wfedom, in
the treatise on that subject, should be known. They are as
follows : That in the Lord the Divine Love is of the Divine
Wisdom, and the Divine Wisdom is of the Divine Love, n. 34
— 39. That the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom cannot
but be and exist in other things created from Itself, n. 47 — 51.
That all things in the universe were created from the Divine
Love and the Divine Wisdom, n. 52, 53, 151 — 156. That aU
things in the universe are recipients of the Divine Love and the
Divine Wisdom, n. 54 — 60. That the Lord appears before the
angels as a sun, and that tho heat thence proceeding is love,
and the light thence proceeding is wisdom, n. 83 — 88, 89 — 92,
93—98, 296—301. That the Divine Love and the Divine
Wisdom, which 'proceed from the Lord, form a one, n. 99 —
102. That the Lord from eternity, who is Jehovah, created
the universe and all things therein from Himself, and not from
nothing, n. 282 — 284, 290 — 295. These propositions are illus
trated in the treatise, entitled Angelic Wisdom concerning
THE Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom.
2. . From these propositions, compared with the views given
in the same work respecting creation, it may indeed appear,
that what is called the Divine Providence is the government of
the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom of the Lord : but as
creation was there treated of, and not the preservation of the
etate of things after creation, which last is the government of
1

2, 3 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENING
the Lord, therefore we shall now. treat on this subject; con
sidering, in this first article, the preservation of the union of
the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom, or the Divine Good
and the Divine Truth, in the things which are created ; oi
which we shall speak in this order : I. That the universe, with
all and every thing therein, was created from the Divine Love
by the Divine Wisdom, it That the Divine Love and the
Divine Wisdom proceed from the Lord as a one. HI. That
this one, in a certain image, is in every created thing. IV.
That it is of the Divine Providence, that every created thin^,
both in the whole and in part, should be such a one ; and if it
is not, that it should be made so. V. That the good of love is
not good, except so far as it is united to the truth of wisdom_ ;
and that the truth of wisdom is not truth, except so far as it is
united to the good of love. YI. That the good of love not
united to the truth of wisdom is not good in itself, but only
apparent good; and that the truth of wisdom not united to the
good of love is not truth in itself, but only apparent truth.
VIL That the Lord does not suffer any thing to be divided ;
tlierefore it must either be in good and at the same time in
truth, or it must be in evil and at the same time in falsity.
"VIII. That that which is in good and at the same time in truth,
is something ; and that that which is in evil and at the same
time in falsity, is not any thing. IX. That the Divine Pro
vidence of the Lord causes evil and its attendant falsity to serve
fcr equilibrium, relation, and purification, and thereby for the
conjunction of good and truth in others.
3. I. TJiat the universe, with all omd &u&ryjhmg tJwrein,
was created from the Divine Love h/ the Di/oine Wisdom. That
the Lord from eternity, who is Jehovah, is, as to his essence.
Divine Love and Divine Wisdom ; and that from Himself he
created the universe and all things therein ; was shown in the
treatise concerning The DrvnnE Love and the Divine Wis
dom : whence it follows, that the universe, with all and every
thing therein, was created from the Divine Love by the Divine
Wisdom. In the same treatise it was also shown, that love
without wisdom cannot do any thing, nor wisdom without love :
for love without wisdom, or the will without the understanding,
cannot think of any thing, nor can it see, be sensible of, or
speak of any thing ; therefore neither can it do any thing. In
like manner, wisdom without love, or the understanding without
the will, cannot think of any thing, neither can it see, or be
sensible of, or speak of any thing ; nor, therefore, can it do
any thing : for if love be taken away, there is no longer any
volition, and consequently no action. And as this is the case
with man when he does any thing, much more was it the case
with God, who is love itself and wisdom itself, when he created
and made the universe and all things therein. Tliat the universe,
2

THE DIVINE FBOVIDENCE. 3, 4
with all and every thing appertaining to it, was created from
the Divine Love by the Divine Wisdom, is a proposition which
may be confirmed from all things which are the objects of sight
in the world : take for this purpose any object in particular, and
if you examine it with some degree of wisdom, you will be con
firmed. Take a tree, or its seed, its fruit, its flower, or its
leaf, and, collecting all your wisdom, view it with a good mi
croscope, and you will see in it wonderful things ; whilst the
interiors, which you do not see, are still more wonderful. Ob
serve the order in which the parts succeed each other during the
growth of a tree from the seed till it produces new seed ; and
consider whether there be not in every successive stage a con
tinual endeavor to propagate itself further ; for the ultimate to
which it tends is seed, in which its prolific principle exists anew.
If then you reflect upon it spiritually, (and this you can do if
you choose,) will you not see wisdom displayed ? This you will
do especially if you so far think spiritually as to perceive that
the prolific principle is not from the seed, nor from tho sun of
this world, which is pure fire, but that it is in the seed from
God the Creator, who possesses infinite wisdom ; and that it is
in it not only when created, but also continually afterwards ;
since, as support is perpetual creation, subsistence is perpetual
existence : for, as the work ceases if you take away will from
action, or as speech ceases if you deprive it of thought, or as
motion ceases when the producing effort is withdrawn ; £o in
like manner, if you take away the cause from the effect, the
effect perishes, and so on. Every created substance indeed is
endued with power ; but power does not operate from itself, but
from him who bestowed it. Examine also any other subject on
earth, as a silk-worm, a bee, or any other insect ; view it first
naturally, afterwards rationally, and lastly spiritually : then if
you can think elevatedly, yon will be astonished at every thing ;
and if you permit wisdom to speak in you, you will say in
astonishment. Who does not see a divine principle in these
things ? — they are all effects of the Divine Wisdom. This will
be the case still more, if you regard the uses of all things which
are created, perceiving how they proceed in regular order even
unto man, and from man to the Creator from whom they are ;
and that upon the conjunction of the Creator with man the
connection of all things depends, and, if you will acknowledge
it, the preservation of all things. That the Divine Love created
all things, but nothing without the Divine Wisdom, will be seen
in what follows.
4. II. That the Divine Love amd the DiA}ine Wisdom proceed
from the Lord as a one. This also is evident from what was
shown in the treatise concerning The Divine Love and the
Divine Wisdom, especially from the following articles therein :
That Esse and Existeee [to be and to exist] in the Lord are
3 B

4 ANGELlfi WISDOM CONCERNING
distinctly one, n. 14 — 17. That in the Lord infinite things are
distinctly one, n. 17 — 22. That the Divine Love is of the Divine
Wisdom, and the Divine Wisdom of the Divine Love, n. 34^
39. That love without a marriage with wisdom cannot do any
thing, n. 401 — 403. That love does nothing but in conjunction
with wisdom, n. 409, 410. That spiritu^ heat and spiritual
light, in -proceeding from the Lord as a sun, form a one, as the
divine love and the divine wisdom in the Lord are a one, n. 99
— 132. Although from what is shown in treating of these
articles, the truth of this proposition is evident, yet, as it ia
not known how two things distinct from each other can act as a
one, I will here show that a one does not exist without a form,
but that the form itself makes a one ; and next, that the form
makes a one, so much the more perfectly in proportion as the
things which enter into it are distinct from each other, and
nevertheless united. That a one does not exist without a form,
hut that the form itself makes a one. Every one who thinks
intently on the subject may see clearly, that a one without a
form does not exist, and if it does exist that it is a form : for
whatsoever exists derives from its form that which is understood
by quality, predicate, change of state, relation, and the like ;
wherefore that which is not in a fonn has no quality, and that
which has no quality has not any thing ; the form itself giving
all these. And forasmuch as all things which are in a form, if
the form is perfect, have mutually respect to each other, as one
link in a chain has to another ; therefore it follows, that the
form itself makes them a one, and, consequently, a subject, of
which may be predicated quality, state, affection, and therefore
something, according to the perfection of the form. Such a
one is every thing which is an object of sight in the world, and
such a one also is every thing which is not an object of sight,
whether it be in interior nature or in the spiritual world ; such
a one is man, and such a one is a human society ; such a one is
the church, also the imivcrsal angelic heaven before the Lord ;
in a word, such a one is the created universe, not only in
general, bu.t in every particular. Now, in order that all and
every thing may be forms, it is necessary that he who created
ail things should be form itself, and that from form itself aU
things which are created should exist in forms : this, therefore,
is what is shown in the treatise concerning The Divine Love
AND the Divine Wisdom, under the following heads : viz.
That the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom are a substance
and a form, n. 40—43. That the Divine Love and the Divine
Wisdom are substance and form in themselves, consequently,
the self-subsisting and the one only subsisting essence or prin
ciple, n. 44—46. That the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom
in the Lord are a one, n. 14^17, n. 18—22. And that they
proceed as a one from the Lord, n. 99—102, and in other places,
4

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 4, 5
TJiat the form makes-a one so much the more perfectly im. propor
tion as ths things which enter into it a/re distinct from each other,
and n^mertliAess united. This is comprehended with difiiculty
unless the understanding be elevated, because there is an ap
pearance that form cannot make a one except when there is a
similarity in the things which constitute it. On this subject I
have frequently conversed with the angels ; who said that this
is an arcanum, which the wise among them perceive clearly,
but the less wise obscurely : that nevertheless it is a truth, that
a form is so much the more perfect in proportion as the things
which constitute it are distinct from each other, but still united
in a particular manner. They confirmed this by reference to
the societies in the heavens, which, taken together, constitute
the form of heaven ; and to the angels of each society, of which
it may be affirmed, that the more every individual has a distinct
identity of character, in which he freely acts, and thus loves
his associates from himself or from his own affection, the more
perfect is .the form of the society. They also illustrated it by
the marriage of goodness and truth, which, the more distinctly
they are two, can more perfectly form a one ; and, in like
manner, by love and wisdom ; showing that what is indistinct
is confused, whence results all imperfection of form. But how
things perfectly distinct are united, and thus make a one, they
confirmed by many instances ; especially by the nature or con
stitution of man, in which innumerable things are quite dis
tinct, and yet united, — distinct by their coats, but united by
ligaments. They also stated, that it is the same with love and
all things appertaining to it, and with wisdom and all things
appertaining to it, which are not perceived otherwise than as a
one. More on this subject may be seen in the treatise concern
ing The Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom, n. 14 — 22,
and in the work concerning Heaven and Hell, n. 56 and 489.
This is adduced because it is an arcanum of angelic wisdom.
5. III. That'this one, in a certain image, is in every created
thing. That the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom, which
in the Lord are a one, and which proceed as a one from hinij
are in a certain image in every created thing, may appear from
what is proved throughout the treatise concerning The Divine
Love and the Divine Wisdom, but especially in n. 47 — 51,
54—60, 282—284, 290—295, 316—318, 319—326, 349—357 ;
in which places it is shown, that the divine principle is in every
created thing, because God the Creator, who is the Lord from
eternity, from himself produced the sun of the spiritual world,
and by that sun all things in the universe ; consequently, that
that sun, which is from the Lord, and in which is the Lord, is
not only the first, but the one only substance, from which all
things are ; and forasmuch as it is the one only substance, it
follows that it is in every created thing, but with infinite variety
5

5, 6 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
according to different uses. Now, as in the Lord there ifl
Divine Love and Divine Wisdom, and in the sun from him
divine fire and divine effulgence, and from the sun spiritual
heat and spiritual light, and these two form a one, it follows,
that this one is in a certain ima^e in every created thing.
Hence it is, that all things in the universe have relation to good
and truth, and, indeed, to the conjunction of them ; or, what
is the same, that all things in the universe have relation to love
and wisdom, and to their conjunction ; for good is of love, and
truth is of wisdom, inasmuch as love calls all which appertains
to it good, and wisdom calls all which appertains to it truth.
That there is a conjunction of these in every created thing, will
be seen in what follows.
6. It is acknowledged by many, that there is one only
substance, which is also the first, from which all things are ;
but what that substance is, it is not known. It is thought to be
so simple that nothing can be simpler, and that it may be com
pared to a point which has no dimensions, and that from an
infinite number of such points, the forms of dimension exist.
This, however, is a fallacy originating from the idea of space :
for from this idea there appears to be such a smallest particle ;
when, nevertheless, it is a truth, that in proportion as a thing
is more simple and more pure, it is more full and complete.
It is on this account, that the more interiorly any object is
inspected, the more wonderful, perfect, and beautiful are the
things seen in it ; and consequently, that in the first substance
are the most wonderfiil, perfect, and beautiful things -of all.
The reason of this is, that the first substance is from the spi
ritual sun, which, as before stated, is from the Lord, and in
which is the Lord ; therefore, that very sun is the one only sub
stance, which, forasmuch as it is not in space, is all in all, and
in the greatest and least things in the created universe. As
that sun is the first and one only substance, from which all
things are, it follows that there are in it infinitely more things
than can appear in the substances thence derived, which are
called substantiate, and lastly materiai. Ilie reason why the
former cannot appear in the latter, is, because they descend
from that sun by degrees of two kinds, according to which all
perfections decrease. Hence it is that, as was said above, the
more interiorly any object is viewed, the more wonderful, per
fect, and beautiful are the things seen in it. These observations
are made in order to confirm the truth, that in a certain image
the Divine is in every created thing, but that it appears less
and less in descending by degrees, and still less when, the infe
rior degree being separated from the superior degree by the
closing of the latter, it is choked up with earthy matter. Such
truths, however, cannot but seem obscure, unless what is said
in the treatise on The Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom,

the divine tkovidence. 6 — 8
concerning the spiritual sun, n. 53—172 ; concerning degrees,
n. 173 — 281 ; and concerning the creation of the univei'se, a.
282-^357, has been first read and understood.
7. IV. That it is of t/ie Di/uine Providence, that every
created thing, hoth in the whole and inpa/rt, should be such a one,
and if it is not, that it should he made so; that is, that in every
created thing there should be sonicthing from the Divine Love,
and at the same time from the Divine Wisdom ; or, wliat is the
same, that in every created thing there should be good and
truth, or a conjunction of good aud truth : for as good is of
love, and truth is of wisdom, as was said above, n. 5, so in
what follows, instead of love and Avisdom, tlie words good and
truth will be used, and instead of the union of love and wisdom,
the marriage of good and truth.
8. From the preceding article it is evident that the Divine
Love and the Divine Wisdom, which in the Lord are one, and
from the Lord proceed as one, exist in a certain image in every
thing created by him ; and it may now be expedient to speak
particularly of that oneness or union, which is called the mar
riage of good and truth. That marriage is, I. in the Lord
himself ; for, as before said, the Divine Love and the Divine
Wisdom in him are one. H. It is from the Lord, for in every
thing which proceeds from him love and wisdom are perfectly
united ; and these two proceed from the Lord as a sun, — the
Divine Love as heat, and the Divine Wisdom as light. III.
They are received by the angels indeed as two, but are united
in them by the Lord : and it is the same with the men of the
church. IV. It is from the influx of love and wisdom from the
Lord as one into the angels of heaven and men of the church,
and from the reception thereof by angels and men, that the
Lord in the Word is called the Bridegroom and the Husband,
and heaven and the church the bride and the wife. V. As far
therefore as heaven and the church in general, and an angel of
heaven and a man of the church in particular, are in that
union, or in the marriage of good and truth, so far are they an
image and likeness of the Lord ; because these two in the Lord
are one, and indeed they are the Lord. VI. Love and wisdom
in heaven and in the church in general, and in an angel of hea
ven and in a man of the church, are one, when the will and
the understanding, and when therefore good and truth, make
one ; or, what is the same, when charity and faith make one ;
or, what is still the same, when doctrine from the Word and a
life according to it make one. VII. But in what manner these
two make one in man, and in all things appertaining to him, is
shown in the treatise concerning The Divine Love and the
Divine Wisdom, Part V., where the creation of man, and
particularly the correspondence of the will and the understanding
with the heart and the lungs, are treated of, from n. 385 to 432
7

9 — 11 angelic wisdom CONCERNING
9. But how these make one in the things which are below
or without man, as well in the things of the animal kingdom
as in those of the vegetable kingdom, will be shown in many
places in what follows ; previous to which these three things are
to be premised : First, That in the univei-se, and in all and
every thing therein, which was created by the Lord, there was
a marriage of good and truth. Secondly, That this marriage
after the creation was separated in man. Thirdly, That it is of
the Divine Providence that what is separated should be made
one, and thus, that the marriage of good and truth should be
restored. These three particulars are abundantly confirmed in
the treatise on The Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom,
and therefore need no fui'ther confirmation. Every one also
may see from reason, that since a marriage of good and truth
existed by creation in every created thing, and since this was
afterwards separated, the Lord must operate continually, that
it may be restored ; consequently, that its restoration, and the
conjunction thereby of the created universe with the Lord
through man, is of the Divine Providence.
10. V. That the good of love is not good, except so far as
it is united to the truth of wisdom, a/nd that the truth of wisdom
is not truth, except so far as it is united to the good of lm)e.
Good and truth derive this from their origin. Good in its origin
is in the Lord, and so is truth ; becaiise the Lord is good itself
and truth itself, and these two in him are one. Hence it is,
that good in the angels of heaven and in men on the earth is
not good in itself, except so far as it is united to truth, and that
truth is not truth in itself, except so far as it is united to good.
That all good and all truth is from the Lord, is well known ;
hence, as good makes one with truth, and truth with good, it
follows that, in order to good being good in itself, and truth
being truth in itself, they must make one in the recipient,
which is an angel of heaven and a man on the earth.
11. It is known indeed that all things in the universe have
relation to good and truth ; because by good is understood that
which universally comprehends and involves all things of love,
and by truth is understood that which universally comprehends
and involves all things of wisdom : but it is not yet known that
good is not any thing unless united to truth, and that truth is
not any thing unless united to good. It appears indeed as if
good were something without truth, and as if truth were some
thing without good ; but still they are not : for love, all things
appertaining^ to which are called good things, is the esse of a
thing, a,nd wisdom, all things appertaining to which are called
truths, is the emstere of a thing from that esse, as is shown in
the treatise on The Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom,
!»• 14 — 16; wherefore, as an esse without existere is not any
thing, nor existere -without an esse, so good without truth is not
8

the divine providence. 11, 12
any thing, nor truth without gOod. In like manner, what is
good without relation to something? — can it be called good?
lor it is of no affection and of no perception. This, together
with the good which affects, and which causes itself to be per
ceived and felt, has relation to truth, because it has relation to
that which is in the understanding. Say barely to any one,
good, and not this or that is good, and is good any thing ? But
by virtue of this or that which is perceived as a one with good,
it is something. This is not united to good anywhere but in
the understanding, and every thing of the understanding has
relation to truth. It is the same with volition ; to will without
knowing, perceiving, and thinking what a man wills, is nothing,
but together with these it becomes something. All volition is
of love, and has relation to good ; and all knowledge, percep
tion, and thought are of the understanding, and have relation
to truth. Hence it is evident, that merely to will is nothing,
but to will this or that, is something. It is the same with alt
use, because use is good. Use, unless it be determined to
something with which it may be a one, is not use ; therefore it
is not any thing. Use derives its being something from the
understanding, and that which is thence conjoined or adjoined
to wse has relation to truth : from this use derives its quality.
From these few hints it may appear that good without truth is
not any thing; therefore, that neither is truth without gocd
any thing. It is said that good with truth, and truth with good,
are something ; hence it follows, that evil with false, and false
with evil, are not any thing : for the latter are opposite to the.
former, and opposition destroys ; in the present case, it de
stroys that which is something. But more of this in what
follows. 12. But there exists a marriage, of good and truth in the
cause, and there exists a marriage of good and truth from the
cause in the effect. The marriage of good and truth in the
caiise, is the marriage of the will and the understanding, or of
love and wisdom : in all that a man wills and thinks, and which
he thence concludes and intends, there is this marriage. This
marriage enters the effect and produces it; but in carrying into
effect, these two appear distinct : because then what is simulta
neous constitutes what is successive ; as when a man wills and
thinks to be nourished, to be clothed, to have a dwelling, to do
any business or work, or to converse, he first wills and thinks
at the same time, or concludes upon and intends, and when he
has determined them to effect, then one thing succeeds after
another ; but still they continually make one in the will and in
the thought. The uses in these effects belong to love or good,
and the naeans for obtaining the uses belong to the understand
ing or truth. These general views any one may confirm by
particulars, if he but distinctly perceive what has relation to
9

12  14 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENINO
the good of love and what to the truth of wisdom, and also dis-
tincfly perceive how it is referable to the cause and how to the
effect. 13. It has occasionally been said, that love makes the life %t
man ; but love separate' from wisdom, or good separate from
truth in the cause, is not meant ; because love separate, or good
separate, is not any thing : wherefore the love which makes the
inmost life of man, which is from the Lord, is love and wisdom
together. Neither also is the love, which makes the life of man
80 far as he is a recipient, separated in the cause, but in the
effect ; for love cannot be understood without its quality, and
its quality is wisdom. Quality or wisdom cannot exist except
from its esse, which is love ; hence it is that they are one ; and
it is the same with good and truth. Now since truth is from
good, as wisdom is from love, therefore both taken together are
called love or good ; for love in its form is wisdom, and good in
its form is truth : from its form and from no other source is all
its quality. Hereby then it may appear that good is not in the
least good, any further than as it is united to its truth, and
that truth is not in the least truth, any further than as it is
united to its good-
14. VI. That the good of love not united to the truth of
wisdom is not good in itself, hut only apparent good ; and that the
truth of wisdom, not united to the good of love is not truth in itself,
but onVg appa/rent truth. The truth is, that there does not exist
any good which is good in itself, unless it be united to its truth,
nor any truth which is true in itself unless it be united to its
good ; nevertheless, there does exist good separate from truth,
and truth separate from good : this is in hypocrites and flatter
ers, in all the wicked whatsoever, and in those who are in na
tural good and not in spiritual good. These can do good to the
church, to their country, to society, to their fellow-citizens, to
the needy, the poor, and to widows and orphans ; and they can
also understand truths, from the understanding think them,
and from thought speak and teach them. But still, not being
from interior principles of good and truth, neither these good
deeds nor truths are really such in the persons just mentioned,
but are only such outwardly, and therefore merely in appear
ance ; because they are only for the sake of self and the world,
and not for the sake of good itself and truth itself, conse
quently not grounded in good and truth. Hence they are only
of the mouth and of the body, and not of the heart ; and may
be compared to gold and silver enclosing dross, or rotten wood
or dung ; and truths thus uttered may be compared to respired
air which is dispersed, or to an ignis-fatuus which vanishes.
Still they outwardly appear as genuine ; and though they are
only apparent with those who speak them, they may seem other
wise tx) those who hear and receive them, and to whom this ia
10

the divine providence. 14 — 10
unknown ; for what, is external affects every one according to
his internal, because truth enters, from whatever mouth it be
uttered, into the hearing of another, and is received by the
mind according to its state and quality. With those who are
hereditarily in natural good, and in no spiritual good, the case
is nearly similar ; for the internal of all good and of all truth
is spiritual, and this shakes off falsities and evils ; but the
natural principle alone favors them, and to favor evils and fal
sities and to do good do not accord.
15. The ground and reason why good can be separated from
truth, and truth from good, aud when separated still appear as
good and truth, is, because man has a faculty of acting, which
is called liberty, and a faculty of understanding, which is called
rationality ; from the abuse of which faculties man can appear
different in externals from what he is in internals ; therefore a
wicked man can do good and speak truth, or the devil can imi
tate an angel of light. But on this subject see the following
propositions in the treatise on The Divine Love and the Di
vine Wisdom. That the origin of evil is from the abuse of
the faculties which are proper to man, and are called rationality
and liberty, n. 264 — 270. That these two faculties exist as well
in the wicked as in the good, n. 425. That love without a mar
riage with wisdom, or good without a marriage with truth,
cannot do any thing, n. 401. That love does nothing but in
conjunction with wisdom or the understanding, n. 409. That
love joins itself co wisdom or the understanding, and causes
wisdom or the understanding to be reciprocally joined to it,
n 410, 411, 412. That wisdom or the understanding, by means
oi' the power given it by love, can be elevated, and perceive
tie things which are of the light from heaven, and receive them,
n. 413. That love can in like rnanner be elevated, and receive
the things which are of the heat from heaven, if it loves its
consort wisdom in that degree, n. 414, 415. That otherwise
love draws down wisdom or the understanding from its elevation,
that it may act as one with it, n. 416 — 418. That love is puri
fied in the understanding, if they are elevated together, n. 419
— 421. That love purified by wisdom in the understanding be
comes spiritual and celestial ; but that love defiled in the under
standing becomes sensual and corporeal, n. 422 — 424. That it
is the same with charity and faith and their conjunction, as it
is with lOve and wisdom and their conjunction, n. 427 — 430.
What .charity is in heaven, n. 431.
16. VII. That the Lord does not suffer amy thing to he
divided ; therefore it must either he in good and at the same time
in truth, or it must he in evil and at the same time m falsity. The
divine providence of the Lord has especially for its end, and
operates, that man may be in good and at the same time in
truth, since thereby lie is his own good and his own love, and
11

16,. 17 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
also his own truth and his own wisdom ; for by this man is man,
being in such case an image of the Lord. But because man,
while he lives in the world, can be in good and at the same time
in falsity, likewise in evil and at the same time in truth, yea,
can be in evil and at the same time in good, and thus as it
were a double man ; and since this division destroys that image,
and consequently the man ; therefore the divine providence of
the Lord, in all and singular its operations, is directed against
the existence of such division. Because, also, it is less hurtful
to man to be in evil and at the same time in falsity, than to be
in good and at the same time in evil, therefore the Lord per
mits the former, not as willing it, but as not able to resist it
consistently with the end in view, which is salvation. Tho
reason why man can be in evil and at the same time in truth,
and why the Lord cannot resist it, on account of the end, which
is salvation, is, because the understanding of man can be ele
vated into the light of wisdom, and see truths, or acknowledge
them when he hears them, his love at the same time remainir.g
below. Thus he can be with his understanding in heaven, bat
with his love in hell ; and to be so, cannot be denied him, be
cause the two faculties of rationality and liberty, by which he
is man, and is distinguished from beasts, and by which alone
he can be regenerated, and consequently saved, cannot be taken
away from him. For by them man can act according to wisdom,
and also according to the love not of wisdom, and from the
wisdom above can see the love beneath ; thus he can see his
own thoughts, intentions, affections, and therefore the evils
and falsities, as well as the goods and truths of his life and
doctrine, without a knowledge and acknowledgment of which
in himself he cannot be reformed. Of these two faculties
something has already been said, and more will bo said in what
follows. This is the reason why man can be in good and at the
same time in truth, also in evil and at the same time in falsity,
and likewise in both alternately.
17. Man can with difficulty in this world come into either
the one or the other conjunction or xmion, that is, of good and
truth,_ or of evil and falsity ; for so long as he lives here, he is
kept in a state of reformation or regeneration. But after death
every man comes into the one or the other, because he is then
no longer in a state to be reformed and regenerated : he then
remains such as his life has been in the world, that is, such as
his ruling love has been. Therefore, if his life has been a life
of the love of evil, every truth which he has acquired in this
world from masters, preaching, or the Word, is taken away
from him; and, being taken away, he imbibes the falsity
which accords with his evil as a sponge does water. On the
other ha/ d, if his life has been a life of love and o-ood, every
falsity which he has imbibed by hearing or by reading in the

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 17  19
world, and which he has not confirmed in himself, is removed,
and in its place is given truth which accords with his good. This
is meant by these words of the Lord, " Take the talent from
him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents ; for unto every
one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance ; but
from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he
hath" (Matt. xxv. 28, 29; xiii. 12 ; Mark iv. 25 ; Luke viii. 18 ;
xix. 24—26).
18. The reason why every one after death must either be in
good and at the same time in truth, or in evil and at the same
time in falsity, is, because good and evil cannot be joined,
neither good and at the same time the falsity of evil, nor evil
and at the same time the truth of good, for they are opposites,
and opposites combat each other, until one destroys the other
They who are in evil and at the same time in good, are under
stood by these words of the Lord to the church, of Laodicea in
the Apocalypse : " I know thy works, that thou art neither
cold nor hot ; I would thou wert either cold or hot ; but because
thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee
out of my mouth" (iii. 15, 16). Also by these words of the
Lord : " No man can serve two masters ; for either he will hate
the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and
despise the other" (Matt. vi. 24).
19. VHI. That that which is im, good and at tlie same tnmse
in truth, is somethijig ; and that that wTiioh is in evil and at tlie
same time im, falsity, is not amy thimg. That that which is in
good and at the same time in truth, is something, may be seen
above, n. 11 ; thence it follows, that what is evil and at the
same time false is not any thing. By not being any thing, is
meant that it has no power, and nothing of spiritual life. Ihey
who are in evil and at the same time in falsity, all of whom are
in hell, have indeed power among themselves ; for a wicked
spirit can do evil, and also does do evil a thousand ways.
Nevertheless he can only from a principle of evil do evil to
the wicked, but cannot in the least do evil to the good ; or if
he does evil to the good, which sometimes is the case, it is by
conjunction with their evil ; thence come temptations, which
are infestations arising from evil spirits about a man, and
consequent combats,* whereby the .good may be delivered from
their evils. As the wiclsed have no power, the universal hell
before the Lord is not only as nothing, but it is really nothing
as to power : that it is so, I have seen confirmed by much
experience. It is wonderful, however, that all the wicked think
themselves powerful, and all the good think themselves not
powerful. The reason of which is, that the wicked attribute
every thing to self-derived prudence, — therefore to cunning and
malice, and nothing to the Lord ; while the good attribute
13

19 — 22 ANGELIC WISDOM CONOERNIKG
nothing to self-derived prudence, but every thing to the Lord,
who is omnipotent. Another reason why evil and its attendant
falsity are not any thing, is, because they have no spiritual life ;
and this is the reason why the life of the infemals is not called
life, but death : wherefore since everjr something appertains to
life, there cannot be any thing appertaining to death.
20. They who are in evil and at the same time in truths,
may be compared to eagles which soar aloft, but, when their
wings are taken away, fall down. For men do the same after
death, when they become spirits. They who understood truths,
spake them, and taught them, aud yet had no regard to God in
their life, elevate themselves on high by their intellectual powers,
and sometimes enter heaven, and feign themselves angels of
light ; but when truths are taken away from fhem, and they
are sent forth, they fall down into hell. Eagles also signify
men of rapine, who have intellectual sight, and wings signify
spiritual truths. It was said, that they are such who had no
respect to God in their life : by having respect to God in their
life, is meant nothing else but to think this or that evil a sin
against God, and therefore not to do it.
21. IX. That the Dimine Providence of tlie Lord causes evil
and its attendant falsity to serve for equHHyri/um, relation, and
pwrification, and theremjfor the conjunct/ion of good and truth im
others. From the foregoing considerations it may appear, that
the Divine Providence of the Lord continually operates, that in
man truth may be united to good and good to truth, because
this union is the church and is neaven ; for this union is in the
Lord, and is in every thing that proceeds from the Lord. From
this union it is, that heaven is called a marriage, and also the
c'tiurch, and hence the kingdom of God in the Word is likened
to a marriage. From this union it is, that the sabbath in the
Israelitish church was the most holy worship, for it signified
this union. Hence also it is, that in the Word, and in all and
every thing therein, there is a marriage of good and truth ; on
which subject see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem
CONCERNING THE Saceed Sceiptitee, n. 80 — 90. The mar
riage of good and truth is from the marriage of the Lord with
the church, and the latter from the marriage of love and wisdom
in the Lord : for good is of love, and truth is of wisdom. Hence
it may be seen, that it is the perpetual object of the Divine
Providence to unite in man good to truth and truth to good ;
for so man is united to the Lord.
22. But as many have broken and do break this marriage,
especially by the separation of faith from charity, — for faith is
of truth, and truth is of faith, and charity is of good, and good
is of charity, — and thereby conjoin in themselves evil and fal
sity, and thus have become, and do become, opposite, it is pro-

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE. 22  25
vided of the Lord that these nevertheless may serve for the con
junction of good and truth in others, by equilibrium, by relation,
and by purification.
23. The conjunction of good and truth in others is in-ovided
for of the Lord by equilihrium, between heaven and hell ; for
from hell continually exhale evil and its concomitant false,
but from heaven continually exhale good and its concomitant
truth ; and every man is kept in this equilibrium as long as he
lives in the world, and is thus in the liberty of thinking, will
ing, speaking, and acting, in which he may be reformed. Con
cerning this spiritual equilibrium, from which is derived the
liberty of man, see the work on JEIeaven and Hell, n. 589 —
596, and n. 597—603.
24. The conjunction of good and truth is provided for ot
the Lord by relation ; for good is not known as to its quality,
but by relation to what is less good, and by opposition to evil.
All the perceptive and sensitive principles are thence derived,
because their quality is thence ; for thus all delight is perceived
and felt from what is less delightful, and by what is disagree
able ; all beauty from what is less beautiful, and by what is
ugly ; in like manner, all good which is of love from what is
less good, and by evil ; and all truth which is of wisdom from
what is less true, and by what is false. There must be variety
in every thing, from its greatest to its least ; and when there is
variety also in its opposite, from its least to its greatest, and
equilibrium intercedes, then according to the degrees on both
sides relation is established, and the perception or sensation of
the thing either increases or is diminished. But it is to be noted,
that what is opposite may take away, and also may exalt per
ceptions and sensations ; it takes them away when it mixes it
self, and exalts them when it does not mix itself: on which
account the Lord exquisitely separates good and evil, lest
they should be mixed, in man, as he separates heaven and
hell. 25. The conjunction of good and truth in others is provided
for of the Lord hy purification, which is effected in two ways, —
in one by temptations, and in the other by fermenta^tions.
Spiritual temptations are no other than combats against evils
and falsities, which are exhaled from hell and affect ; by them
man is purified from evils and falsities, and in him good is
joined to truth, and truth to good. Spiritual fermentations are
effected many ways, as well in the heavens as in the earths ;
but in the world it is not known what they are, and how they
are effected : for they are evils and corresponding falsities, which,
being let in upon societies, act like ferments put into meal and
fermentable liquors, by which heterogeneous things are sepa
rated, and homogeneous things are conjoined and become pure
and clear. This is what is understood by these words of the
15

25 — 27 angelic wisdom conceening
Lord, " The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a
woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole
was leavened" (Matt. xiii. 33 ; Luke xiii. 21).
26. These uses are provided by the Lord from the conjunc
tion of evil and falsity, which is in those who are in hell ; for
the kingdom of the Lord, which is not only over heaven,^ but
also over hell, is a kingdom of uses ; and the Providence of the
Lord is, that there should not be an^ -s^s-^on or any thing, from
and by which use is not performed.

THAT THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE OF THE LORD HAS FOR ITS
END A HEAVEN OUT OF THE HUMAN RACE.
27. That heaven is not from any angels created such from
the beginning, and that hell is not from any devil who was
created an angel of light and cast out of heaven, but that hea
ven and hell are from the human race, — heaven from those who
are in the love of good and thence in the understanding of
truth, and hell from those who are in the love of evil and thence
in the understanding of falsity, — ^has been made known and
proved to me by a long intercourse with angels and spirits ;
concerning which see also what is shown in the work on Hea
ven AND Hell, n. 311 — 316 ; as well as in the tract on The
Last Judgment, n. 14 — 27; and in the Continuation con
cerning THE Last Judgment and the Spiritual World,
from beginning to end. Now, since heaven is from the human
race, and heaven is a dwelling with the Lord to eternity, it
follows that that was the end of creation intended by the Lord ;
and as it was the end of creation, it is the end of his divine
providence. The Lord did not create the universe for his own
sake, but for the sake of those with whom he will dwell in hea
ven ; for spiritual love is such, that it wishes to give what it has
to another, and in proportion as it can do this, it is in its esse,
in its peace, and in its bbssedness. This property spiritual love
derives from the divin*- ^ve of the Lord, which possesses it in
an infinite degree. lXzy.-^> it follows, that the divine love, and
consequently the divine providence, has for its end a heaven,
which may consist of men made angels, and who are making
such, to whom the Lord can give all the beatitudes and felicities
which belong to love and wisdom, and give them out of himself
in them. Nor can he do otherwise; because his image and
likeness from creation is in them. His image in them is wis
dom, and his likeness in them is love ; and the Lord in them is
love united to wisdom and wisdom united to love, or what is the
16

the divine PEOVIDENCE. 27, 28
name, he is good united to truth, and truth united to good ;
which union was treated of in the preceding article. But as it
is not known what heaven is in general or in many, and what
heaven is in particular or in one ; or what heaven is in the
spiritual world, and what heaven is in the natural world, and
yet it is important to know this, because it is the end of th©
Divine Providence, therefore I am desirous to place this subject
in some degree of light, in the following order. I. That heaven
is conjunction with the Lord. II. That a man by creation is
such, that he can be more and more nearly conjoined to the
Lord. III. That a man becomes wiser in proportion as he is
more nearly conjoined to the Lord. IV. That a man becomes
happier in proportion as he is more nearly conjoined to the
Lord. V. That a man, in proportion as he is more nearly con
joined to the Lord, appears to himself more distinctly to be at
his own disposal, and yet perceives more evidently that he is
the Lord's.
28. I. That heaven is conjunction with the Lord. Heaven
IS not heaven from the angels, but from the Lord ; for the love
and wisdom, in which the angels are, and which constitute
heaven, are not from them, but from the Lord, and are really
the Lord in them. And since love and wisdom, which are of
the Lord, and are the Lord in heaven, constitute the life of the
aijigels, it is evident that their life is of the Lord, and indeed
that it is the Lord. That they live from the Lord, the angels
themselves confess. Hence it may appear that heaven is con-
1 'unction with the Lord. But as the conjunction with the
Jord is various, and consequently one has not the same heaven
afi another, it also follows, that heaven is according to conjunc-
ti3n with the Lord. That there is a conjunction nearer and
nearer, and also one more and more remote, will be seen in the
following article. At present we shall state how that conjunc
tion is effected, and what it is. There is a conjunction of the
Lord with the angels, and of the aiigels with the Lord, and
thus a reciprocal conjunction. The Lord flows into the life's
love of the angels, and the angels receive the Lord in wisdom,
and by this in their turn conjoin themselves to the Lord. But
it is to be well observed, that it appears to the angels as if they
conjoinejl themselves to the Lord by wisdom, when nevertheless
the Lord conjoins them by wisdom to himself; for their wisdom
is also from the Lord. It is the same if it is said, that the
Lord conjoins himself to the angels by good, and that the
angels in their turn conjoin themselves to the Lord by truth ;
for all good is of love, and all truth is of wisdom. But as this
reciprocal conjunction is an arcanum, which few can understand
unless it be explained, I will unfold it, so far as it can be done,
by such things as may be comprehended. In the treatise con
cerning The Divine Love and the Divini; Wisdom, n. 404,
17

28, 29 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENINO
405, it is shown in what manner love conjoins itself to wisdom,
viz., by the affection of knowing, whence is derived the affec
tion of truth ; by the affection of understanding, from which
is derived the perception of truth ; and by the affection of
seeing that which is known and understood, from which is de
rived thought. The Lord flows into all these affections, which
are derivations from the life's love of every one ; and the angels
receive that influx in the perception of truth, and in thought ;
for in these the influx appears to them, but not in the affections.
Now as perceptions and thoughts appear to the angels as if they
were their own, although they are from affections, which are
from the Lord, therefore there is still an appearance that the
angels reciprocally conjoin themselves to the Lord, when never
theless the Lord conjoins them to himself ; for affection itself
produces such perceptions and thoughts, affection, which is of
love, being the soul of them ; for no one can perceive and think
any thing without affection, and every one perceives and thinks
according to affection ; from which it is evident, that the reci
procal conjunction of the angels with the Lord is not from them,
but only seems to be from them. Such a conjunction also the
Lord has with the church, and the church with the Lord, and
it is called the celestial and spiritual marriage.
29. All conjunction in the spiritual world is effected by
inspection. When any one there thinks of another from the
affection of speaking with him, the other immediately becomes
present, and one sees the other face to face. The same thing
happens when any one thinks of another from the affection of
love ; but by this affection conjunction is produced, and by the
other presence only. This is peculiar to the spiritual world ;
the reason of which is, that all there are spiritual. It is not so
in the natural world, in which all are material. In the natural
world, the same takes place with men in the affections and
thoughts of their spirit ; but as in the natural world there are
spaces, while in the spiritual world spaces are only appearances,
therefore in the latter that which has place in the thought of
any spirit is actually effected. These things are stated, in order
that it may be known in what manner is effected the conjunction
of the Lord with the angels, and also the apparent reciprocal
conjunction of the angels with the Lord ; for all the angels turn
their faces to the Lord, and the Lord looks at them in the fore
head, and the angels direct their eyes towards the Lord. The
reason is, because the foreheadcorresponds to love and its affec
tions, and the eyes correspond to wisdom and its perceptions.
Yet the angels from themselves do not turn their faces to the
Lord, but the Lord turns them to himself; he turns them by
influx into their life's love, and by it enters into their percep
tions and thoughts, and so converts them. Such a circulation
of the love to tne thoughts, and from the thoughts to the love

TEE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 29  32
from love, has place in all the human mind ; which circulation
or circle may be called the circle of life. On this subject see
some particulars also in the treatise en The Divine Love and
THE Divine Wisdom ; as. That the angels constantly turn
their faces to the Lord as the sun, n. 129 — 134. That all the'
interiors both, of the minds and of the bodies of angels are in
like manner turned to the Lord as a sun, n. 135 — 139. That
every spirit, of whatsoever quality, in like manner turns him
self to his ruling love, n. 140 — 145. That loye conjoins itself
to wisdom, and causes wisdom to be reciprocally conjoined to it,
n. 410 — 412. That the angels are in the Lord, and the Lord
in them ; and, forasmuch as the angels are recipients, that the
Lord alone is heaven, n. 113 — 118.
30. The Lord's heaven in the natural world is called the
church, and an angel of this heaven is a man of the church
who is conjoined to the Lord, and who also, after his departure
out of the world, becomes an angel of the spiritual heaven :
from which it is evident, that what is said of the angelic heaven,
is to be understood of the human heaven, which is called tho
church. This reciprocal conjunction with the Lord, which con
stitutes heaven in man, is revealed by the Lord in these words
in John : " Abide in me, and I in you." " He that abideth in
me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit : for
without me ye can do nothing" (xv. 4, 5, 7).
31. Hence it may appear, that the L&rd is heaven, not only
in common to all, but also in particular to each individual
there ; for every angel is a heaven in its least form : and from
as many heavens as there are angels, heaven in common exists.
That this is the case may be seen in the work on Heaven and
Hell, n. 51 — 58. Let not then any one cherish this error,
which enters into the first thoughts of many, that the Lord is
in heaven among the angels, or that he is with them as a king
is in his kingdom : as to appearance in the sun there, he is'
above them ; but as to their life of love and wisdom, he is in
them. 32. II. TImI a moM hy creation is such, that he- cam he more
and more nearly conjoimed to the Lord, may appear from what is
shown concerning^egrees, in the treatise on The Divine Lovfi
AND THE Divine vVisDOM, Part HI., particularly from the fol
lowing articles : That there are three discrete degrees or degrees
of altitude in a man by creation, n. 230 — 235. That these three
degrees are in every man by birth ; and that as they are opened,
a man is in the Lord and the Lord in him, n. 236 — 241. And
that all perfections increase and ascend with degrees, and accord
ing to them, n. 199 — -204. From which it is evident, that a man
by creation is such, that by degrees he can be more and more
nearly conjoined to the Lord. Put it should be well understood
what degrees are ; that they are of two kinds — discrete degrees
19 0

32, 33 augelio wisdom concerning
or degi'ees of altitude, and continuous degrees or degrees of
latitude ; and what is the difference between them : also, that
every man by creation, and thence by birth, has three discrete
degrees or degrees- of altitude ; that he comes into the first
degree, which is called the natural degree, when he is bom ;
and that he can increase this degree in himself by continuity,
till he becomes rational ; that he comes into the second, which
is called the spiritual degree, if he live according to the spiritual
laws of order, which are principles of divine truth ; and that
he may also come into the third or celestial degree, if he live
according to the celestial laws of order, which are principles of
divine good. These degrees are actually opened in a man by the
Lord according to his life in the world, but not perceptibly and
sensibly till after his departure out of the world ; and as they
are opened and afterwards perfected, so a man is more and more
nearly conjoined to the Lord. This conjunction by nearer ap
proach may be increased to eternity, and indeed is increased in
the angels to eternity ; but still an angel cannot arrive at the
first degree of the Lord's love and wisdom, or attain it, because
the Lord is infinite, and an angel is finite, and there is no
proportion between infinite and finite. Since no one can
xMderstand the state of a man, and the state of his eleva
tion and approximation to the Lord, except he knows these
degrees, therefore they are particularly treated of in the treatise
on The Divine Love And the Diveste Wisdom, n. 173 — ^281 ;
which see.
33. We shall briefly show how a man can be more nearly
conjoined to the Lord, and then how that conjunction appears
nearer and nearer. How a mam is more and more nearly conjoined
to the Lord : This is done, not by science alone, or by intelli
gence alone, or even by wisdom alone, but by a life conjoined
to them. The life of a man is his love, and love is manifold. In
geneial there is a love of evil and a love of good. The love of
evil is the love of adultery, revenge, fraud, blasphemy, and the
depriving others of their goods. The love of evil, in thinking
and in doing these, feels pleasure and delight. The derivations,
which are affections of this love, are as many as there are evils ¦
to which it has determined itself; and the perceptions and
thoughts of this love, are as many as there are falsities which
favor those evils and confirm them. These falsities make one
with the evils, as the understanding makes one v;ith the will ; and
they are not separated from each other, because one is of the
other. Now,_ as the Lord fiows into the life's love of every one,
and by his affections into his perceptions and thoughts, and not
"Me versa, as was said above, it follows that he cannot conjoin
himself more nearly than is permitted by the removal of the
love of evil with its affections, which are lusts; and as these
rusxde in the natural man, and whatsoever a man does from the'
'10

• THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE. 33, 34
natural man, he feels as if he acted from himself, therefore he
ought, as from himself, to remove the evils of his love, and
then, in proportion as he removes them, the Lord approaches
nearer, and joins himself to him. Any one may see from
reason that lusts, with their delights, obstruct and shut the door
against the Lord, and that they cannot be cast out by the Lord
so long as a man himself keeps the door shut, and presses from
without and prevents it from being opened. That a man himself
ought to open it, is evident from the Lord's words in the Reve
lation : " Behold, I stand at the door, and knock ; if any man
hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him, and
will sup with him, and he with ma" (iii. 20). Hence it is evi
dent, that in proportion as any one shuns evils as diabolical, and
as obstacles to the Lord's entrance, he is more and more nearly
conjoined to the Lord, and he the most nearly, who abominates
them as so many black and fiery devils ; for evil and the devil
are one, and the falsity of evil and Satan are one ; because as
the influx of the Lord is into the love of good and its affections,
and by these into the perceptions and thoughts, all which derive
from the good in which a man is principled that which consti
tutes them truths — so the influx of the devil, that is, of hell, is
into the love of evil and its affections, which are lusts, and by
these into the perceptions and thoughts, all which derive from
the evil in which a man is principled that which makes them
falsities. Hov3 that conjunction appears nearer and nearer : In
proportion as evils are removed in the natural man by shunning
and turning away from them, in such proportion a man is more
nearly conjoined to the Lord. And as love and wisdom, which
are the Lord himself, are not in space, — for affection which is of
love, and thought which is of wisdom, have nothing in common
with space, — therefore the Lord according to conjunction by love
and wisdom appears nearer ; and, on the contrary, according to
the rejection of love and wisdom, more remote. Space does not
exist in the spiritual world, but in that world degrees of distance
and presence are appearances according to similitudes and dissi
militudes of affections ; for as before said, affections which are oi
love, and thoughts which are of wisdom and in themselves spi
ritual, are not in space ; on which subject see what is stated in
the treatise on The Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom,
n. 6 — 10, n. 69 — 72, and elsewhere. The conjunction of the
Lord with a man, in whom evils are removed, is understood by
these words of the Lord ; " The pure in heart shall see God"
(Matt. V. 8) : and by these ; " He that hath my commandments,
and keepeth them, I will make my abode with him." To have
his commandments is to know them, and to keep his command
ments is to love them ; for it is also said there , " he who keepeth
my commandments, he it is who loveth me."
34. HI. That a man becomes wiser inproportion as lie is more
21

34, 3S ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
nearly congoined to the Lord. As there are three degrees of life
in a man by creation, and thence by birth, as noticed above, n.
32, there are in him especially three degrees of w^isdom. These
are the degrees which are opened in a man according to conjunc
tion ; they are opened according to love, for love is conjunction
itself But the ascent of love according to degrees is not per
ceived except obscurely by a man, whereas the ascent of wisdom
is clearly perceived in those who know and see what wisdom is.
The reason why the degrees of wisdom are perceived, is, that
love enters by the affections into the perceptions and thoughts,
and these show themselves in the internal sight of the mind,
which corresponds to the external sight of the body : hence it is
that wisdom appears, and not so the affection of love which
produces it. Tfie case is the same with all things which are
actually done by a man. It is perceived how the body effects
them, but not how the soul does : so also it is perceived how
a man meditates, perceives, and thinks, but not how the soul of
his meditations, perceptions, and thoughts, which is the affecticn
of good and truth, produces them. There are three degrees of
wisdom — the natural, spiritual, and celestial. A man is in tie
natural degree of wisdom while he lives in the world. This
degree then can be perfected in him to its height, and yet lie
cannot enter into the spiritual degree : because this degree is
not continued from the natural degree by continuity, but is
joined to it by correspondences. He is in the spiritual degi'(\e
of wisdom after death ; and this degree also is such, that it can
be perfected to its height, but yet cannot enter the celestiiil
degree of wisdom, because this degree also is not continued
from the spiritual by continuity, but is joined to ,it by corre
spondences. Hence it may appear, that wisdom can be elevated
in a triplicate ratio, and that in each degree it can be perfected
in a simple ratio to its height. He who comprehends the eleva
tions and perfections of these degrees, can in some measure
¥erceive what is said of angelic wisdom, — that it is ineffable.
his also is so ineffable, that a thousand ideas of thought of the
angels from their wisdom cannot present more than one idea of
the thought of men from their wisdom ; thus nine hundred and
ninety-nine ideas of the thought of angels cannot enter; for
they are supernatural. That this is the case, it has often been
given me to know by lively experience. But, as was said before,
no one can come into that ineffable wisdom of the angels, but
by conjunction with the Lord, and according to it ; for the Lord
only opens the spiritual degree and the celestial degree, and in
those only who are wise from him ; and those are wise from the
Lord, who cast out from themselves the devil, that is evil.
35. But let not any one believe, that a person has wisdom
because he knows many things, and perceives them in a certain
.ii;ht, and can speak of them intelligDntly, unless it be con-
22 I

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 35  38
joined to love ; for love by its affections produces it. If it is not
conjoined to love, it is like a meteor in the air which vanishes,
and like a falling star ; but wisdom conjoined to love is like
the permanent light of the sun, and like, a fixed star. A man
has the love of wisdom, in proportion as he has an aversion to
the diabolical crew, which are the concupiscences of evil and
falsity. 36. Wisdom, which comes by or according to perception,
is the perception of truth from- the affection of it, especially
the perception of spiritual truth ; for there are civil truth, moral
truth, and spiritual truth. Those who are in the perception of
spiritual truth from the affection of it, are also in the perception
of moral and civil truth ; for the affection of spiritual truth is
the soul of them. I have sometimes discoursed about wisdom
with the angels, who said, that wisdom is conjunction with the
Lord, because the Lord is wisdom itself; and that a man comes
into that conjimction who rejects, and in the same proportion
only as he rejects, hell from himself. They said, that they
represented to themselves wisdom as a magnificent and highly
adorned palace, to which there is an ascent by twelve steps ;
and that no one comes to the first step, but from the Lord by
conjunction with him ; that every one ascends according to con
junction; and that as he ascends, he perceives that no one is
wise from himself, but from the Lord ; also, that the things
concerning which he is wise, compared with those concerning
which he is not, are as a few drops to a great lake. By the
t^velve steps to the palace of wisdom, are signified principles of
good conjoined to those of truth, and principles of truth con
joined to those of good.
37. IV. That a man becomes happier inproportion as he is
more nearlg conjovned to the Lord. The same things which are
said above, n. 32, 33, 34, of the degrees of life and of wisdom
according to conjunction with the Lord, may also be said of the
degrees of felicity ; for felicities or Iseatitudes and delights
ascend, as the superior degrees of the mind, which are c^led
spiritual and celestial, are opened in a man ; and these degrees,
after his life in the world, increase to eternity.
38. No man who is in the delight of the concupiscences of
evil can know any thing of the delight of the affections of good
in which exists the angelic heaven ; for these two kinds of
delight are altogether opposite to each other in internals, and
thence interiorly in externals, though in the surface itsejf there
is but little difference. For every love has its delights, even the
love of evil in those who are in concupiscences ; as the love of
committing adultery, of revenge, fraud, theft, outrage, and, in the
most wicked, the love of blaspheming the holy things of the
church, and spitting out their virulence against God. The
source of these delights is the love of dominion from the love of
23

38  40 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
self These delights are from the concupiscences which possess
the interiors of the mind, fiow from them into the body, and
there excite uncleannesses, which titillate the fibres. Thus,
fi-om the delight of the mind, according to its concupiscences,
arises delight of the body. Of what kind the unclean things
are, which titillate the fibres of the body, it is given every one
to know, after death, in the spiritual world. They are in general
cadaverous, excrementitious, stercoraceous, nidorous, and urin
ous matters ; for the hells abound with such unclean things ; and
that they are correspondences, see some passages in the treatise
on The Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom, n. 432,
423, 424. But such foul delights, after the subjects of them
enter into hell, are turned into direful punishments. These
things are stated, that the nature of the felicity of heaven,
which is now to be spoken of, may be better understood ; for
every thing is known from its opposite.
39. The beatitudes, blessednesses, delights, and pleasant
nesses, — ^in a word, the felicities of heaven, cannot be described
in words, though in heaven they can be perceived by the sense ;
for what is perceived by the sense alone cannot be described,
because it does not come within the ideas of thought, or con
sequently into words : since the understanding alone sees, and
sees the things which are of wisdom or of truth, but not the
things which are of love or of good ; therefore those felicities
are inexpressible. But still they ascend in a similar degree with
wisdom ; the varieties of them are infinite, and each of these
ineffable. This I have heard, and have perceived. These felici
ties, however, enter as a man removes the concupiscences of the
love of evil and falsity, as if of himself, but nevertheless of the
Lord ; for they are the felicities of the affections of good and truth,
which are opposite to the concupiscences of the love of evil and
falsity. The felicities of the affections of good and truth begin
from the Lord, therefore from the inmost, thence diffusing
themselves to the inferiors', even to the ultimates, and so filling
the angel, and causing him to be as it were all delight. Such
felicities, with infinite varieties, are in every affection of good
and truth, especially in the affection of wisdom.
40. The delights of the concupiscences of evil, and those of
the affections of good, cannot be compared ; because the devil
is inwardly in the delights of the concupiscences of evil, and the
Lord is inwardly in the delights of the affections of good. If
they are to be compared, the delights of the concupiscences of
evil can only be compared with the lascivious delights of frogs in
stagnant waters, and of serpents in stenches ; but the delights
of the affections of good may be compared to those of the mind
in gardens and shrubberies. For things similar to what affect
frogs and serpents, affect also those in the hells who are in the
con cupiscences of evil ; and things similar to what affect the mind
24

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 40  43
in gardens and shrubberies, affect also those in the heavens who
are in the affections of good : because, as was said above, corre
spondent unclean things affect the wicked, and correspondent
clean things affect the good.
41. Hence it may appear, that in proportion as any one is
more nearly conjoined to the Lord, he becomes happier. But
this happiness rarely manifests itself in the world, because a man
is then in a natural state, and what is natural does not commu
nicate with what is spiritual by continuity, but by correspond
ences ; and this communication is only felt by a certain quiet
and peace of mind, which is especially produced after combats
against evils. When, however, a man puts off the natural and
enters into the spiritual state, as is the case after his departure
out of the World, then the felicity above described successively
manifests itself.
42. V. That a man, inproportion as he is more nearly con
joined to the Lord, appea/rs to himisdf to he more distinctly at his
own disposal, and perceives more eoidemil/g that he is the Lord's.
In judging from appearance, it might be supposed, that tho
nearer any one is conjoined to the Lord, the less he is free, or
at his own disposal. There is such an appearance with all the
wicked, as well as with those who believe from religion that they
are not under the yoke of the law, and that no one can do good
from himself; for both these sorts of persons can see no other
wise, than that, not to be at liberty to think and to will evil, but
only good, is not to be at one's own disposal ; and they conclude
from the appearance in themselves, that because those who are
conjoined to the Lord neither will nor can think and will evil,
tl^refore this is to be not at their own disposal ; when, never
theless, it is altogether the contrary.
43. There is infernal liberty, and there is celestial liberty.
To think and to will evil, and, so far as civil and moral laws do not
prevent, to speak and to do it, is from infernal liberty ; but to think
and to will good, and, as far as opportunity is given, to speak
and to do it, is from celestial liberty. Whatsoever a man thinks,
wills, speaks, and does, from freedom, he perceives as his own,
for a man derives all liberty from his love. Those therefore who
are in the love of evil, perceive no otherwise, than that infernal
liberfy is real liberty, while those who are in the love of good,
perceive that celestial liberty is real liberty ; and to each, con
sequently, the opposite appears to be servitude : yet it cannot be
denied that only one of the two is liberty, for two kinds of
liberty, in themselves opposite, cannot both be liberty ; nor can
it be denied that to be led by good is liberty, and to be led by
evil is servitude ; for to be led by good is to be led by the Lord,
and to be led by evil is to be led by the devil. Now since every
thing which a man does from freedom or liberty, appears to him
as his own, — ^for, as was said above, it is of his love, and to act
25

43  45 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENING
from his love is to act from liberty, — ^it follows, that conjunction
with the Lord causes a man to appear to himself free, conse
quently at his own disposal ; and the nearer his conjunction with
the Lord is, the more free he appears, consequently the more at
his own disposal. The reason why he appears to himself mme
distjnctly at his own disposal, is, that such is the Divine Love,
that what is its own it wills to be another's, therefore to be men's
and angels' : all spiritual love is such, and especially Divine
Love. Besides, the Lord never forces any one, because nothing
to which any one is forced appears as his own, and what does
not appear as his own cannot be made of his love, and so appro
priated as his own. A man therefore is led by the Lord continu
ally in freedom, and is also reformed and regenerated in fi-eedom.
But on this subject more will be said in what follows; and
something also may be seen above, n. 4.
44. The reason, however, why a man, the more distinctly he
appears to himself at his own disposal, the more evidently per
ceives that he is the Lord's, is, that in proportion as he is more
nearly conjoined to the Lord, he becomes wiser, as was shown
above, n. 34, 35, 36; and wisdom teaches this, and he also
perceives it. The angels of the third heaven, because they are
the wisest of the angels, also perceive this, and likewise call it
liberty itself; but to be led by themselves they call servitude.
They declare also the reason of this, namely, that the Lord
does not flow immediately into the things which are of their
perception and thought from wisdom, but into the affections of
the love of good, and through the latter into the former ; that
they perceive the influx in the affection from which is derived
their wisdom; that then all which they think from wisdqjpi
appears as from themselves, therefore as their own ; and that by
this reciprocal conjunction is effected.
45. As the Divine Providence of the Lord has for its end a
heaven out of the human race, it follows that it has for its end the
conjunction of the human race with him, concerning which see
n. 28 — 31 ; also, that it has for its end that a man may be more
and more nearly conjoined to him (see n. 32, 33), for thus he
entere an interior heaven : also, that it has for its end, that a
man by such conjunction may become wiser (see n. 34, 35, 36) ;
and that he may become happier (see n. 37 — 41) ; because a man
possesses heaven from wisdom, and according to it ; and by it
also felicity : and lastly, that it has for its end, that a man may
appear to himself more distinctly as his own, and yet may pei*-
ceive more evidently that he is the Lord's (see n. 42, 43, 44).
All these things are of the Divine Providence of the Lord,
because all these things constitute heaven, which is the end
proposed.

26

the divine providesob. 46

THAT THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE OF THE LORD, IN ALL THAT IT
DOES, HAS RESPECT TO WHAT IS INFINITE AND ETERNAL.
46. It is well known in the Christian world, that God is
infinite and eternal ; for in the doctrine of the trinity, which
has its name from Athanasius, it is said that God the Father is
infinite, eternal, and omnipotent ; in like manner, God the Son,
and God the Holy Ghost ; and that nevertheless there are not
three Infinites, Eternals, and Omnipotents, but one. From
this it follows, that as God is infinite and eternal, nothing but
infinite and eternal can be predicated of God. But what infinite
and etemal is, cannot be comprehended by finite beings, and
yet it can : it cannot be comprehended, because finite is not
capable of infinite ; and yet it can be comprehended, because
there are abstract ideas given, by which it can be seen that
things exist, though not what is their quality. Such ideas are
fiven of infinite, as, that God, because he is infinite, or the
)ivine, because it is infinite, is Esse itself; that it is essence and
substance itself; that it is love itself and wisdom itself, or that
it is good itself and truth itself; therefore that it is itself, yea,
that it is man himself : then also if it be said that infinite is
all, — ^that Infinite Wisdom is Omniscience, and Infinite Power is
Omnipotence. Still, however, these things fall but obscurely
within the thought, and from being incomprehensible perhaps
come to be denied ; unless the things which thought derives
from nature be abstracted from the idea, especially what it
dsrives from those two things proper to nature, space and time ;
for these cannot but terminate ideas, and cause abstract ideas
tc) be as nothing. But if these can be abstracted by .a man as
they are by an angel, then infinite can be comprehended by
means of the things above mentioned ; and it can also be compre
hended that a man is something, because he was created by an
infinite God who is all ; and that a man is a finite substance,
because he was created by an infinite God, who is substance
itself; also, that a man is wisdom, because he was created by an
infinite God who is wisdom itself, and so on ; for unless the
infinite God were all, substance itself, and wisdom itself, a man
would not be any thing ; therefore he would either be nothing,
or only an idea of being, according to those visionaries who are
called idealists. From what is shown in the treatise on The
Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom, it is evident, that
the Divine Essence is love and wisdom, n. 28 — 39. That the
Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom are substance itself and
form itself; and that it is self-subsisting and sole-subsisting,
n. 40 — 46. And that God created the universe and all
things therein from Himself, and not from nothing, n. 282,
283, 284. Thence it follows, that every created thing, and
27

46  i8 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
especially a man, and in him love and wisdom, are somethii.^,
and not merely an idea of being j for if God was not infinite,
there would be no finite ; also, if infinite was not all, there
would not be any thing : and if God had not created all things
out of Himself, there would be nothing ; in a word, we are
BECAUSE God is.
47 Now, as the Divine Providence is the subject here
treated of, and it is intended in this article to show how it has
respect, in all that it does, to what is infinite and eternal, and
as this cannot be set forth distinctly except in a certain order ;
therefore the order shall be as follows : I. That what is infinite
in itself and eternal in itself is the same as what is divine. H.
That what is infinite and etemal in itself cannot but have respect
to what is infinite from itself in finites. HI. That the Divine
Providence, in all that it does, has respect to what is infinite
and eternal from itself, especially in saving the human race.
IV. That an image of what is infinite and eternal exists in the
angelic heaven from the human race saved. V. That to have
respect to what is infinite and eternal in forming the angelic
heaven, in order that it may be before the Lord as one man,
the image of himself, is the inmost end or purpose of the Diviiie
Providence. 48. I. That what is infinite in itself and eternal in itself is
the same as what is divine, may appear from what is shown in
many places in the treatise on The Divine Love and the
Divine Wisdom. That what is infinite in itself and eternal in
itself is divine, is grounded in the idea of the angels, they
meaning by infinite no other than the divine esse, and by eternal
the divine existere. But that what is infinite in itself and
eternal in itself is divine, can be seen, and yet cannot be seen
by men : it can be seen by those who think of infinite not from
space, and of eternal not from time ; but cannot be seen
by those who think of infinite and eternal from space and
time : therefore it can be seen by those who think more ele
vatedly, that is, more interiorly in the rational mind ; but it
cannot be seen by those whose thought is lower, that is, more
exterior. Those, by whom it can be seen, think that infinity of
space cannot exist, nor therefore infinity of time, which is
eternity from which all things began, because that which is
infinite is without a first and last end, or without bounds.
They think also, that neither can there exist infinite from itself,
because from itself supposes a limit and beginning, or a prior
from which it is derived ; consequently, that ifeis a vain thing to
speak of infinite and etemal from itself, because that would be
like speaking of esse from itself, which is contradictory ; for
infinite from itself would be infinite from infinit-^, and esse from
itself would be esse from esse, and such infinite i*nd ess^ would
either be the same with infinite, or it would be finite. From
28

the divine pbovidenoe. 48 — 50
these and similar considerations, which can be seen interiorly in
the rational mind, it is evident that there exist infinite in itself,
and eternal in itself, and that both together are the Divine,
from which are all things.
49. I know that many will say within themselves. How can
any one comprehend interiorly in his rational mind any thing
without space and without time ; and that they not only are,
but also that they constitute the all — the very thing from which
all things are derived : but think interiorly, whether love or any
affection thereof", or wisdom or any perception thereof, or even
whether thought, is in space and in time ; and you will find
that they are not : and since the Divine is Love itself and
Wisdom itself, it follows that the Divine cannot be conceived in
space and in time, therefore neither can infinite. That this may
be more clearly perceived, consider whether thought is in time
and space. Suppose a progression of it during ten or twelve
hours : may not this space of time appear as but of one or two
hours, and may it not also appear as of one or two days?
for it appears according to the state of the affection from which
the thought is derived. If it is an affection of joy, in which
time is not regarded, the thought of ten or twelve hours seems
scarcely of one or two ; but the reverse happens if the affection
is of grief, in which time is attended to. Hence it is evider.t,
that time is only an appearance according to the state of affec
tion from which thought is derived. It is the same with the
distance of space in thought, whether in walking, or in going a
journey. 50. As angels and spirits are affections which are of love,
and thoughts thence derived, consequently they also are not in
space and time, but only in the appearance thereof The ap
pearance of space and time is to them according^ to the states of
the affections, and thence of the thoughts. Therefore, when
any one thinks of another from affection, intently desiring to
see him or speak with him, the other actually presents himself.
Hence it is, that there are present with every man spirits who
are in a similar affection with him, — evil spirits with him who
is in the affection of similar evil, and good sp-hits with him
who is in the affection of similar good ; and they are as really
present as any one can be with company shut up in the same
room. Space and time contribute nothing to presence ; because
affection and its consequent thought are not in space and time,
and spirits and angels are affections and thoughts derived from
them. That this is the case, it has been given me to know from
lively experience of several years ; and also from this circum
stance, that I have conversed with many persons after death, as
well with those in Europe and its various kingdoms, as with
those in Asia and Africa, and their various kingdoms ; and they
were all near me : whereas, if they had been in space and time,
29

50 — 52 angelic wisdom conceening
a journey must have inten^ened, and time for that journey.
Indeed, every man knows this to be the case from something
inherent in himself or in his mind, as was proved to me by
this consideration, — that no one thought of any distance of
space, when I related that I had conversed with any person who
died in Asia, Africa, or Europe, — as for example, with Calvin,
Luther, Melancthon, or with any king, governor, or priest, in
a remote country ; and it did not even enter into any one's
thoughts to ask. How could he converse with those who lived
there, and how could they come to him and be present, when
nevertheless lands and seas intervene ? From this consideration
also it was evident to me, that no one thinks from space and
time, when he thinks of those who are in the spiritual world.
That, notwithstanding, they have an appearance of space and
time there, may be seen in the work on Heaven and Hell, n.
162—169, 191—199.
51. From these considerations then it may appear, that
infinite and etemal, consequently the Lord, is to be thought of
without space and time ; and that he can be so thought of, like
wise that he is so thought of, by those who think interiorly in
the rational mind ; and that then infinite and eternal is the
same with the Divine. Thus do angels and spirits think. By
virtue of thought abstracted from time and space are compre
hended the Divine Omnipresence and the Divine Omnipotence,
and likewise the Divine from eternity, and not at all by thought
in which is included an idea from space and time. Hence it is
evident, that we can think of God from eternity, but never of
uiture from eternity; consequently that we can think of the
creation of the universe by God, but not any thing at all of
creation from nature ; for space and time are proper to nature,
but the Divine is without them. That the Divine is without
space and time, may be seen in the treatise on The Divine
Love and the Divine Wisdom, n. 7 — 10, 69 — 72, 73 — 76,
and elsewhere.
52. II. That what is infinite and eternal in itself, cannot but
ha/06 respect to what is i/rhfinite and eternal from itself in finites.
By infinite and eternal in itself is meant the Divme itself, as
was shown in the preceding article. By finites are meant all
things created from the Divme, and especially men, spirits, and
angels ; and to have respect to what is infinite and etemal from
itself, is to respect the Divine, that is, himself, in them, as a
man respects or beholds his image in a glass. That this is the
case, is abundantly shown in the treatise on The Divine Love
AND the Divine Wisdom, especially where it is demonstrated,
that in the created universe there is an image of man, and that
it is an image of what is infinite and etemal, n. 317, 318, there
fore an image of God the Creator, that is, of the Lord from
eternity. But it is to be understood, that the Divine in itself
30

THE DIVINE PBOVIDENOE. 52  54
IS in the Lord, but the Divine from itself is the Divine from the
Lord in things created.
53. For the better understanding of this, however, it may
be expedient to illustrate it. The Divine cannot respect or
regard any thing but what is divine, and cannot respect what is
divine anywhere but in things created from itself That such is
the case, is evident from this consideration, that no one can
respect another but from something of his own existing in him
self; he who loves another, regards him from his own love in
himself; he who is wise, regards another from his own wisdom
in himself. He may see indeed that the other either does or
does not love him, and that he is either wise or not wise ; but
this he sees from love and wisdom jn himself ; therefore he
conjoins himself to him in proportion as the other's love for him
corresponds with his love for the other, or in proportion as the
other is wise like himself; for they thus act as one. It is the
same with the Divine in itself ; for the Divine in itself cannot
respect if self from another, as from a man, spirit, or angel ; for
they have nothing of the all-creating Divine in itself, and to
respect the Divine from another, in which there is nothing cf
the Divine, would be to respect the Divine from what is net
divine, which is impossible. Hence it is, that the Lord is sd
conjoined to a man, spirit, and angel, that all which has relatioa
to the Divine is not from them but from the Lord. For it is
a known thing, that all the good and all the truth which any
one has, is not from himself but from the Lord ; and indeed
that no one can even name the Lord, or utter his names, Jesus
and Christ, but from him. From this then it follows, that
infinite and eternal, which is the same with the Divine, respects
all things infinitely in finite subjects, and that it conjoins itself
to them according to the degree of the reception of wisdom and
love in them. In a word, the Lord cannot have his mansion
and dwell with a man and angel, but in his own, and not in their
proprium, for that is evil ; and if it were good, still it is finite,
which in itself, and from itself, is not capable of infinite.
From these considerations it is evident, that it can never be
possible for finite to respect infinite, but that it is possible
for infinite to respect what is infinite from itself in finite
subjects. 54. It appears as if infinite could not be conjoined to finite,
because there is no proportion between infinite and finite, and
because finite is not capable of infinite ; but nevertheless con
junction is given, as well because infinite out of itself created
all things, according to what is shown in the treatise on The
Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom, n. 282, 283, 284, as
because infinite cannot respect any thing else in finites but what
is infinite from itself, and that this can appear with finite beings
as in them. Thus is established a proportion between finite and
31

54  56 angelic wisdom CONCEBNUfG
infinite, not n-om finite, but from infinite in finite; and thus
also finite is capable of infinite, not finite in itself, but as if in
itself, originating in infinite from itself in it. But of this more
in what now follows.
55. in. That tlie Divine Providence in all that it does has
respect to what is infinite and etemal from itself, especially i/a
saving the human race. Infinite and etemal in itself is the
Divine itself, or the Lord in himself; but infinite and eternal
from itself is the proceeding Divine, or the Lord in others
created out of himself, therefore in men and in angels, and this
Divine is the same with the Divine Providence ; for the Lord by
the Divine from himself provides, that all things may be con
tained in the order in whjch and for which they were created ;
and as the proceeding Divine effects this, it follows that all that
is the Divine Providence.
56. That the Divine Providence in all that it does has
respect to what is infinite and etemal from itself, may appear
from this consideration, that every created thing, from the First,
who is infinite and eternal, proceeds to ultimates, and from
ultimates to the First from whom it proceeded, as was shown in
the treatise concerning The Divine Love and the Divine
Wisdom, in the part which treats of the creation of the uni
verse ; and as in all its progression, the First from which it is
derived exists intimately, it follows, that the proceeding Divine
or the Divine Providence, in all that it does, respects some
image of what is infinite and eternal. This it does in all things ;
but insome in a manner evidently perceptible, and in others not.
It presents that image in a manner evidently perceptible in the
variety which exists in all things, and in the fructification and
multiplication of all things. An image of what is infinite and
eternal in the variety ofaUthings appears in this, that there does
not exist, nor can exist to eternity, any one thing the same
with another. This is manifest to the eye in the faces of men
from the first creation, and therefore also from their minds,
of which their faces are the types, and also from their affections,.
perceptions, and thoughts, for of these the mind consists.
Hence it is that there do not exist in the universal heaven, nor
indeed can there exist to eternity, two angels or two spirits the
same. The same is true in regard to every object of sight in
both worlds, as well in the natural as in the spiritual ; hence it
may appear that the variety is infinite and eternal. An image of
what is infinite and etemal im,the fructification and nmltipUca-
tion of all things, is evident from the faculty which is inherent
in seeds in the vegetable kingdom, and in prolification in the
animal kingdom, especially in the spawn of fishes, which is
such, that, if they were to fructify and multiply according to it,
they would in an age fill the spaces of the whole world, and even
of the universe ; from which consideration it is evident, that, in
32

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCJE. 56  58
that faculty there lies concealed an effort to propagate itself to
infinity : and as fructifications and multiplications have not
failed from the beginning of creation, and will never fail to
eternity, it follows that in that faculty there is also an effort to
propagate itself to eternity.
57. It is the same in men as to their affections which are
of love, and their perceptions which are of wisdom ; the variety
f both these is infinite and eternal ; in like manner their fructi-
lications and multiplications, which are spiritual. No man
possesses affection and perception so like another as to be the
same, nor is it possible to eternity. Moreover, affections can be
fructified and perceptions multiplied without end. That sciences
can never be exhausted, is well known. This faculty of fructi
fication and multiplication without end, or to infinity and
eternity, exists in things natural with men, in things spiritual
with spiritual angels, and in things celestial with celestial
angels. Affections, perceptions, and knowledges, are such not
only in general, but also in every particular, even the least con
stituent thing. They are such, because they exist from what is
infinite and eternal in itself, by what is infinite and eternal from
itself. But since what is finite has not any thing of the divine
in itself, therefore there is not any thing divine, not even the
least, in a man or an angel as his own : for a man or an angel is
finite, and merely a receptacle, which in itself is dead ; his living
principle being from the proceeding Divine, which is joined to
him by contiguity, and which appears to him as his own. That
this is the case, will be seen in what follows.
58. The reason why the Divine Providence respects what is
infinite and eternal from itself, especially in saving the human
race, is, because the end of the Divine Providence is to form a
heaven out of the human race, as was shown above, n. 37 — 45 ;
and this being the end, it follows, that it is the reformation and
regeneration of man, therefore his salvation, which the Divine
Providence particularly regards, since heaven exists from those
who are saved or regenerated. And as to regenerate a man is
to unite in him good and truth, or love and wisdom, as they are
united in the Divine which j roceeds from the Lord, therefore
the Divine Providence especially regards this in saving the
human race ; the image of what is infinite and eternal not
existing in a man, except in the marriage of good and truth.
That the proceeding Divine effects this in the human race
is known from those who, being filled with the proceeding
Divine, which is called the Holy Spirit, have prophesied, of
whom mention is made in the Word ; and from those who, being
illuminated, see divine truths in the light of heaven ; and it is
especially in the angels, who sensibly perceive the presence,
influx, and conjunction thereof; yet they perceive also, that such
conjunction is no other than what may be called adjunction.
33

59  61 ANGEUO WISDOM CONCERNINa
59. Although not heretofore known, the Divine Providence^
in all its proceedings with a man, has respect to his eternal state ;
for it cannot regard any thing else, because the Divine is infinite
and eternal, and the infinite and eternal, or the Divine, is not
in time, consequently things future are present to it ; and_ as
the Divine is such, it follows, that in all and every thing which
It effects, there is respect to eternity. Those, however, who
think from time and space, perceive this with difficulty, not
- ily because they love temporal things, but because they think
trom what is present in the world, and not from what is present
in heaven, the latter being as absent from them as the end of
the earth. But those who are in the Divine, when they think
from the present, think also from what is eternal, because they
think from the Lord, saying with themselves. What is that
which is not eternal ? is not what is temporal comparatively as
nothing, and does it not also become nothing when it is ended ?
Not so what is eternal, which alone is, because its being has no
end. To think thus, is, while thinking from the present, to
think at the same time from what is eternal ; and when a man so
thinks, and also lives accordingly, then the proceeding. Divine
in him, or the Divine Providence, in all its progress, respects
the state of his eternal life in heaven, and leads him to it. That
the Divine in every man, as well evil as good, regards what is
eternal, will be seen in what follows.
60. IV. That an image of whatis infinite and etemal exisis
in the angelic lieamen. Among the things necessary to be known,
is also the angelic heaven ; for every one who has any religion
thinks of heaven, and wishes to go thither ; but heaven is not
granted to any but those who know the way to it and walk
therein. This way likewise may in some measure be known
from a knowledge of the nature and quality of those who con
stitute heaven, and that no one becomes an angel or goes to
heaven but he who takes with him the angelic principle out of
the world, in which angelic principle there is a knowledge of
the way derived from walking in it, and a walking in the way
through a knowledge of it. In the spiritual world also there
are actually ways, wliich extend towards every society of heaven,
and towards every society of hell ; and every one sees his way as
from himself The reason of this is, that there are ways there
for every love, each opening that which leads to its associates ;
and no one sees any other ways than those of his own love.
From this consideration it is evident, that angels are no other
than celestial loves, for otherwise they would not have seen the
ways leading to heaven. But this may appear more cleai from
a descrintion of heaven.
61. Every spirit of a man is affection and thought thence
derived ; and as every affection is of love, and thought is of the
understanding, every spirit is his own love and his own under-
34

the divine providence. 61 — 63
igtanding ; which is the reason that when a man thinks only from
his spirit, as he does when he meditates at home with himself,
he thinks from the affection which is of his love. Hence it may
appear, that when a man becomes a spirit, which is the case
after death, he is the .affection of his love, and no other thought
but what is of his affection. He is an evil affection, which is
cupidity, if he has been principled in the love of evil ; and a good
affection, if he has been principled in the love of good ; and
every one has a good affection in proportion as he has shunned
evils as sins, or an evil affection, in proportion as he has not so
shunned them. Now as all spirits and angels are, affections, it
is evident that the universal angelic heaven is nothing but the
love of all the affections of good, and thence the wisdom of all
the perceptions of truth. As, likewise, all good and truth is
from the Lord, and the Lord is love itself and wisdom itself, it
follows, that the angelic heaven is an image of him ; and as the
Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom is in its form a man, it
also' follows, that the angelic heaven cannot be otherwise than iii
such a form. But more will be said of this in the following article,
62. The reason why the angelic heaven is an image of what
is infinite and eternal, is, because it is an image of the Lord,
who is infinite and etemal. The image of his infinity and eter
nity appears in thisy that there are myriads of myriads of angels,
of which heaven consists ; that they constitute as many societies
as there are general affections of celestial love, and that each
angel in every society is distinctly his own affection ; that from
so many affections in general and in particular exists the fonn
of heaven, which is as one before the Lord, just as a man is one ;
and that this form is made more and more perfect to eternity,
according to the increase of members, the union becoming mbrfe
perfect in proportion as more enter the form of the divine love,
which is the form of forms. From these considerations it is
manifest, that an image of what is infinite and eternal is appa
rent in the angelic heaven.
6§. From the knowledge of heaven afforded by this short
description, it is evident, that affection, which is of the love of
good, constitutes heaven in a man : but who knows this at the
present day ? Who, indeed, knows what the affection of the love
of good is, or that the affections of the love of good are innume
rable, and even infinite ? For, as before observed, every angel
is distinctly his own affection, and the form of heaven is the
form of all the affections of the divine love there. No one can
unite all these affections into that form, but he who is love itself
and at the same time wisdom itself, and at once infinite and eter
nal ; for in all the form there is something of infinite and eternal ;
it is infinite in its conjunction, and etemal in its perpetuity. If
what is infinite and etemal were taken away from it, it would
instantly fall in pieces. Who else can unite affections into
35 D

63 — 66 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
form, — ^who else, indeed, can unite one constituent thereof? for
one constituent thereof cannot be united except from the uni
versal idea of all, nor the universal idea of all, except from the
particular idea of each. There are myriads of myriads who
compose that form, and there are myriads who enter it every
year, and will do so to eternity. All infants enter it, and as
many adults as are affections of the love of good. From these
considerations again may be seen an image of what is infinite
and etemal in the angelic heaven.
64. V. That to respect what is infinite and eternal informing
the angelic heaven, that it may he hefore the Lord as one man, the
image of himself, is the inmost end or piirpose of the Divine Pro
vidence. That the universal heaven is as one man before the
Lord, and in like maimer every society in heaven ; that in con
sequence every angel is in a perfect human form, and that this
is the case because God the Creator, who is the Lord from eter
nity, is a man, may be seen in the work on Heaven and Hell,
n. 59 — 86. Also, that hence there is a correspondence of all
things of heaven with all things of man, n. 87 — 102. That the
universal heaven is as one man, has not been seen by me, be
cause the universal heaven cannot be seen by any but the Lord
only ; but that an entire society of heaven, greater or less, appears
as one man, has sometimes been seen ; and then it was told me,
that the greatest society, which is heaven in its whole complex,
appears in like manner, but before the Lord only ; and that this
is the reason why every angel is in all the particulars of his form
a man. 65. As the universal heaven is in the sight of the Lord as
one man, therefore heaven is distinguished into as many general
societies as there are organs, viscera, and members in a man ; and
each general society into as many less general or particular so
cieties as there are larger parts in each viscus or organ. From
this it is evident what heaven is. Now as the Lord is perfect
man, and heaven is the image of him, therefore being in heaven
is called being in the Lord. That the Lord is perfect man
may be seen in the treatise on the Divine Love and the
Divine Wisdom, n. 11—13, and n. 285—289.
66. From these considerations, this arcanum, which may be
called angelic, can in some measure be seen, — that every affec;-
tion of good, and at the same time of truth, in its form is a man ;
for whatever proceeds from the Lord, derives from his divine love
its being an affection of good, and from his divine wisdom its
being an affection of truth. The affection of truth, which pro
ceeds from the Lord, appears as perception, and thence thought
of truth, in an angel and a man ; because perception and thought
are attended to, while the affection from which they proceed ia
but little observed, notwithstanding it proceeds from the Lord
, with, the affection of truth as one.
36

TSE DIVINE providence. • 67  7C
67. Now as a man by creation is a heaven in its least form,
aud thence an image of the Lord ; and as heaven consists of as
many affections as there are angels, and every affection in its
form is a man, it follows, that it is the continual design of the
Divine Providence, that a man should be made a heaven in form,
and thence an image of the Lord : and this, being done by the
affection of good and truth, that a man should be made that af
fection. But although this is the continual design of the Divine
Providence, its inmost end or purpose is, that a man should be in
a particular society in heaven, or in a certain part in the divine
celestial man, for thus he is in the Lord. This is effected with
those whom the Lord can lead to heaven ; and since he foresees
this, he also continually provides that a man should be brought
into a state to be led ; for every one who suffers himself to be
led to heaven is prepared for his place in heaven.
68. Heaven, as was said above, is divided into as many
societies as there are organs, viscera, and members in a man ; and
in these, no one part can have any other place than it§ own :
since, therefore, angels are such parts in the divine celestial
man, and none are made angels but such as have been men in
the world, it follows, that the man who suffers himself to be led
to heaven is continually prepared by the Lord for his particular
place, which is done by such an affection of good and truth
as corresponds to it : and into this his proper place every man-
angel is enrolled after his departure out of the world. This is
the inmost purpose of the Divine Providence concerning heaven.
69. But the man who does not suffer himself to be led to
and enrolled in heaven, is prepared for his place in hell ; for a
man from himself continually tends to the lowest hell, but is
continually withheld by the Lord ; and he who cannot be with
held is prepared for a certain place there, in which he is also
enrolled immediately after his departure out of the world. This
place is opposite to a certain place in heaven, for hell is in oppo
sition to heaven ; therefore, as a man-angel, according to the
affection of good and truth, has his place assigned him in heaven,
so a man-devil according to the affection of evil and falsity, has
his place assigned him in hell ; for two opposites, disposed in a
similar situation against each other, are held in connection. This
is the inmost purpose of the Divine Providence concerning hell.

THAT THERE ARE LAWS OF THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE WHICH
ARE UNKNOWN TO MEN.
70. That there is a Divine Providence, is known ; but what
the nature of it is, is not known. The reason why the nature of
the Divine Providence is not known, is, that its laws are secret,
37

70, 71 ¦ ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENING
hitherto hid in wisdom among the angels. But they are now to be
revealed, in order that what belongs to the Lord may be ascribed
to him, and that a man may not have ascribed to him that which
is not his : for most people in the world attribute all things to
themselves, and to their own prudence ; or what they cannot so
attribute, they call accidents and contingencies ; not knowing that
human prudence is nothing, and that accidents and contingencies
are vain words. It is said that the laws of the Divine Providence
are arcana, hitherto hid in wisdom among the angels ; the reason
of which is, that in the Christian world the understanding in
things divine is closed by religion, and it is thence become so
dull and resisting in regard to such subjects, that a man cannot,
because he will not, or will not because he cannot, understand
any thing more of the Divine Providence than merely that it
exists, or to reason whether it does exist or not, and likewise
whether it is universal only, or also particular. The under
standing, closed up by religion, could proceed no further in
things divine. But as it is acknowledged in the church, that a
man cannot from himself do good which in itself is really good,
or from himself think truth which in itself is really truth ;
and these are one with the Divine Providence, so that a belief
in one depends upon a belief in the other ; therefore, lest one
should be affirmed and the other denied, and so both fall to the
ground, the nature of the Divine Providence is to be fully re
vealed. This however cannot be done, unless the laws bo
disclosed by which the Lord provides and governs what relates
to the will -and understanding of man : for these laws enable a
•man to know the nature and quality of Providence, and he. and
only he, who knows its natm-e and quality, can acknowledge it,
for in such case he sees it. This is the reason why the laws of
the Divine Providence, hitherto hid in wisdom among the angels,
are now revealed.

THAT IT IS A LAW OF THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE, THAT A MAN
SHOULD ACT FROM LIBERTY ACCORDING TO REASON.
71. That a man has the liberty of thinking and willing as he
pleases, but not the liberty of speaking whatsoever he thinks,
or of doing whatsoever he wills, is well known. The liberty,
therefore, which is here understood, is spiritual, and not natural
liberty, except when they make one ; for to think and to will is
spiritual, but to speak and to act is natural. Tliey are also ma
nifestly distinguished in a man ; for he can think what he does
not speak, and will what he does not perform ; from which it as
evident,- that what is spiritual and what is natural in him are
38

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 71  73
distinguished from each other, so that he cannot pass from one
to the other, but by a determination to do so. This determi
nation may be compared to a door, which is first to be shut and
opened ; the door stands as it were open in those who think and
will from reason, according to the civil laws of the kingdom
and the moral laws of society, for they speak what they think,
and do what they will ; but it stands as it were shut in those
who think and will contrary to those laws. He who attends to
what he wills and to his consequent acts, will perceive that such
a determination occurs, sometimes even several times in one
discourse and in one action. This is premised, in order that it
may be known, that by acting from liberty according to reason,
is meant to think and will freely, and thence to speak and do
freely, that which is according to reason.
72. But as there are few who know, that this can be a law
of the Divine Providence, on this account especially, that a man
has hereby also the liberty of thinking what is evil and false,
and yet the Divine Providence continually leads a man to think
and will what is good and true, — ^therefore, for the clearer per^
ception of it, we shall proceed distinctly, and according to the
following order : I. That a man has reason and free-will, or ratir
onality and liberty ; and that these two faculties are from the Lord
in him. H. That whatever a man does from liberty, whether it
be of reason or not, provided it be according to his reason,
appears to him as his own act. HI. That whatever a man
does from liberty, according to his thought, is appropriated
to him as his own, and remains. IV. That a man by these two
faculties is reformed and regenerated of the Lord ; and that
¦«dthout them he could not be reformed and regenerated. V.
That a man by means of these two faculties can be reformed,
and regenerated, so far as he can be led by them to acknow
ledge,, that all the truth and good which he does and thinks is
from the Lord, and not from himself. VI. That the conjunction
of the Lord with a man, and the reciprocal conjunction of a man
with the Lord, is effected by these two faculties. VII. That
the Lord preserves these two faculties in a man inviolable, and as
sacred, in every proceeding of his Divine Providence. VHI.
That therefore it is of the Divine Providence, that a man should
act from liberty according to reason. ,
73. I. That a man has reason and freewill, or rationality one
liberty ; and that these two faculties are from the Lord in him.
That a man has the faculty of understanding, which is rationality,
and the faculty of thinking, willing, speaking, and doing that
which he understands, which is liberty; and that these two
faculties are from the Lord in him, was discussed in the treatise
on The Divine Love and the Divine Wbdom, n. 264 — 270,
425 ; and also above. But as several doubts may occur re
specting both these faculties, when they are thought of, I am
39

73 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENISG
desii'ous in this preliminary part to add a few observations con
cerning the liberty of acting according to reason in a man. It ia
first, however, to be observed, that all liberty is of love, insomuch '
that love and liberty are one ; and since love is the life of a man,
liberty also is of his life ; for every delight enjoyed by a man is
from his love, no delight being afforded from any other source ;
and to act from the delight of love is to act from liberty, for
delight leads a man as a river does that which is borne away by
its ^stream. Now as there are several kinds of love, some in
agreement, and others contrary, it foUo^'S, that in like manner
there are several kinds of liberty. They may however be re
duced in general to three kinds, — natural, rational, and sj)iritual.
Every man, by virtue of the hereditary principle received at his
birth, has natural libeety ; under the influence of which he
loves nothing but himself and the world : his first life is nothing
else ; and as all evils exist from these two kinds of love, and;
thence also become objects of love, it follows, that to think and
will evils is his natural liberty ; and that when he has con
firmed them in himself by reasonings, he does them from liberty
according to his reason. When a man thus acts it is by virtue of
the faculty called liberty ; and when he thus confirms evils, it is
by virtue of the faculty called rationality. For example : it is
by virtue of the love in which a man is bom, that he has the will
to commit adultery, frauds, blasphemy, and revenge ; and when
he confirms these evils in himself, and thereby makes them
lawful, he then, from the delight of the love of them, thinks and
wills them freely as according to reason, and, so far as civil laws
do not restrain, speaks of and does them. It is from the Divine
Providence of the Lord, that a man is allowed so to do, because
he has free-will or liberty. A man is in this liberty by nature,
because by birth ; and those are in this liberty who have con
firmed it in themselves by reasonings from the delight of the
love of self and of the world. Eational libeety is grounded
in the love of fame for the sake of honor or interest. The
delight of this love is to appear externally as a moral character.
As a man loves this reputation, he does not defraud, or commit
adultery, or indulge in a spirit of revenge or blasphemy ; and
as, by his reason, he confirms himself in abstinence from such
crimes, he also from liberty, according to his reason, acts sin '
cerely, justly, chastely, and friendly ; indeed, from reason he cai
speak well in favor of such virtues. But if his rational faculty
is only natural, and not at the same time spiritual, thi« liberty
is only external and not internal liberty, for nevertheless he does
not interiorly love those virtues, but only exteriorly, as before
remarked, for the sake of reputation ; and therefore the good
actions which he does are in themselves not good. He can say
also, that they ought to be done for the sake of the public gOod ;
but this he does not say from any love of the public gooa» bu*

the divine PROVIDENCE. 73, 74
trom the love of his own honor or interest ; consequently, his
liberty derives nothing from the love of the public good, neither
does his reason, for it complies with his love. This rational
liberty therefore is interior natural liberty ; and, from the Divine
Providence of the Lord, this liberty also is left to every one.
Spiritual liberty is grounded in the love of eternal life. Into
this love and its delight no one comes, but he who thinks that
evils are sins, therefore does not will them, and at the same time
looks to the Lord. As soon as a man does this, he is in that
liberty ; for no one has power not to will evils because they are
sins, and therefore not to do them, but from an interior or
superior liberty, which is from his interior or superior love.
This liberty does not at first appear as liberty, but yet it is so ;
and afterwards it appears to be so, when a man acts from real
liberty according to real reason, by thinking, willing, speaking,
and doing what is good and true. This liberty increases, as
natural liberty decreases and becomes subservient ; and it joins
itself with rational liberty, which it purifies. Every one may
come into spiritual liberty, provided he be willing to think that
these is an etemal life, and that the delight and blessedness of
life in time for a time, is only as a transient shadow, compared
with the delight and blessedness of life in eternity to etemitj ;
and this a man may think if he chooses, because he possessijs
rationality and liberty, and because the Lord, from whom these
two faculties are derived, continually gives him the power.
74. II. That whatever a man does from liberty, whether it he
of reason or not,provided it he according to his reason, appears to
him, as his own act. What the rationality is, and what the liberty,
which are proper to a man, cannot be known more clearly, than
by a comparison of men with beasts ; for the latter have not any.
rationality or faculty of understanding, or any liberty or faculty
of willing freely, and thence have no understanding and will ;
but instead of understanding they have science, and instead of
will, affection, both of which are natural : and as they have not
those two faculties, therefore they have no thought, but instead
of thought internal sight, which makes one with their external
sight by correspondence. Every affection has its companion as
a consort ; the affection of natural love having science, tho
affection of spiritual love, intelligence, and the affection of ce
lestial love, wisdom. For affection without its companion, or
what may be called its connubial partner, is nothing ; for it is
like esse without existere, or like a substance without a form,
of which nothing can bo predicated. Hence it is, that in every
created thing there is something which may be referred to the
marriage of good and truth, as was abundantly shown above.
In beasts there is a marriage of affection and science ; the affec
tion being that of natural good, and the science that of natural
truth. Now as affection and science in beasts act entirely as
41

74, 75 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
one, and their affection cannot be elevated above thei sciencCj
nor their science above their affection, and if they are elevated,
they are elevated both together ; and as they have no spiritual
mind, to which or into the light and heat of which they can be
elevated ; therefore they have not the faculty of understanding
or rationality, or the faculty of free-will or liberty, but only
mere natural affection, with its science. Their natural affection
is that of feeding themselves, of providing a habitation, of pro
pagating their kind, and of shunning and flying from harm,
vidth all the requisite science or knowledge ; and such being
their state of life, they cannot think within themselves, " I will
do this, and will not do that," or, " I know, or do not know,
such a thing," still less, " I understand such a thing, or I love
such a thing ;" but they are carried away of their particular
affection by science, without rationality and liberty. The cause
of their being so carried away is not from the natural, but from
the spiritual world ; for nothing exists in the natural world un
connected with the spiritual world, from which is every cause
producing an effect. Something on this subject may be also
seen below, n. 96. '
75. It is otherwise with a man, who has not only the affec
tion of natural love, but also the affection of spiritual love, ancj
that of celestial love; for the human mind consists of three
degrees, as was shown in the treatise concerning The Divine
Love and the Divine Wisdom, Part IH. : a man can therefore
be elevated from natural science into spiritual intelligence, and
thence into celestial wisdom : and from intelligence and wisdom
he can look up to the Lord, and thus be joined unto him,
whereby he lives to eternity. But this elevation as to affection
would not be possible, if he had not the faculty of elevating his
understanding from rationality, and that of willing to do so
from liberty. A man by these two faculties can think v.'ithin
himself concerning the things which with his bodily senses he
perceives without himself, and can also think in a superior
sphere conceming the things which he thinks of in an inferior
sphere : for every one can say, " I thought this," or " I think
this," also, " I willed this, and I will this," and likewise, " I un
derstand this that it is so, I love this because it is such," and so
on. Hence it is evident, that a man thinks as it were above his
thought, which he sees as if it were beloM" him. This power he
derives from rationality and liberty, — from rationality in respect
that he can think in a superior sphere, and from liberty in
respect that from affection he wills so to think ; for if he liad not
the liberty of so thinking, he would not have the will, or con
sequently the thought. Wherefore those who will not under
stand any thing but what is of the world and its nature, or
what is moral and spiritual good and truth, cannot ba elevated
from knowledge or science into intelligence, and still less into
42

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 75  77
wisdom ; for they have obstracted those faculties ; and therefore
they cause themselves to be men in no other respect than that
from their inherent rationality and liberty they can understand
if they will, and also that they have the power to will. From
these two faculties a man has the power to think, and from
thought to speak ; in other faculties men are but beasts, and
often indeed from the abuse of these faculties become worse
than beasts.
76. Every one from rationality not obscured may see or
comprehend that a man, without an appearance that it is his own,
cannot be in any affection of knowing, or in any affection of
understanding ; for all delight and pleasure, therefore every
thing of the will , is from the affection which is of love. Who
can will to know and will to understand, unless he has some
pleasure of affection ? And who can have the pleasure of
affection, unless that by which he is affected appears as his
own ? If , it were none of his, but all of another's, that is, if a
person from his own affections should infuse any thing into the
mind of another, who had no affections of knowing and under
standing as from himself, would the other recei»ve it ? would he
indeed be able to receive it ? would he not be as that which is
called brute, or as a stock ? Hence it may plainly appear, that
although every thing which a man perceives and thence thinks
and knows, and according' to perception wills and does, enters
by influx, still it is of the Divine Providence of the Lord, that it
should appear as the man's ; for otherwise, as before observed, he
would receive nothing, therefore could not be gifted with any
intelligence and wisdom. It is well known, that no good and
liiuth is a man's, but all the Lord's, and yet that it appears to a
man as his own ; and as all good and truth so appears, therefore
all things also of the church and of heaven, consequently all
things of love and wisdom, and of charity and faith, so appear ;
and yet none of them is his. No one can receive them from
the Lord, unless it appears to him that he perceives them as
from himself. From these considerations this truth may be
manifest, that whatsoever a man does from liberty, whether it
be of reason or not of reason, provided it be according to his
reason, ajDpears to him as his own.
77. Who is not able to understand, by virtue of the faculty
which is called rationality, that this or that good is useful to the
community, and that this or that evil is noxious to the commu
nity ; as that justice, sincerity, and conjugal chastity, are
beneficial to the community, and that iniustice, insincerity, and
whoredom committed with the wives of others, are injurious to
the community ; consequently that these evils are in themselves
mischievous, and that those various kinds of good are in them
selves beneficial ? Who therefore, if he be so disposed, cannot
make those species of good and evil the good and evil of hia
43

77, 78 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
reason, since he has both rationality and liberty ? His ration- ¦
ality and liberty also disclose themselves, appear, govern, and
enable him to perceive and to have power, in proportion as, for
the above reasons, he shuns those evils in himself; and in the
same proportion as he does this, he respects those kinds of good,
as a friend does his friends. From these circumstances it is in
a man's power afterwards, by virtue of the faculty which is called
rationali'ty, to form conclusions respecting the various kinds of
good which are useful to the community in the spiritual world,^
aud respecting the various kinds of evil which are noxious there,
provided that he perceives the different kinds of evils to be sins,
and considers the different kinds of good to be works of charity.
These conclusions, also, a man may make the conclusions of
his reason, if he chooses, because he has rationality and liberty ;
and his rationality and liberty disclose themselves, appear,
govern, and enable him to perceive and to possess power, in
proportion as he shuns those evils as sins ; and in proportion as
he does this, he respects the good as charity, as one neighbour
respects another mutually from love. Now as the Lord, for the
sake of reception and conjunction, wills, that whatsoever a man
does freely according to reason may appear to him as his own,
and this is according to reason itself, it follows, that a man can,
by virtue of reason, because it is for his eternal felicity, be will
ing to shun the above evils as sins, and, by imploring the divii e
power of the Lord, can effect what he wills.
78. III. That whatever a man does from Ubertg obccordAng to
his thought, is appropriated to him as Ms oum, and remains. The
reason is, because the proprium of a man and his liberty make
one. The proprium of a man is of his life, and what he does
from his life, he does from liberty. Moreover, the proprium of
a man is that which is of his love : for love is the life of every
one, and what a man does from his life's love, he does' from
liberty. The reason why a man acts from liberty according to
his thought is, that whatever is of the life or of the love of any
one, is also the object of thought, and is by thought confirmed,
and when it is confirmed, then he does it from liberty according
to his thought. For whatsoever a man does, he does from the
will by the understanding ; and liberty is of the will, and
thought is of the understanaing. A man can also act from liberty
contrary to reason ; and again, not from liberty according to
reason ; but such acts are not appropriated to him, being only
the acts of his lips and of his body, and not of his spirit and of
his heart ; yet the acts which are of his spirit and of his heart,
when they are also made the acts of his lips and of his body, are
appropriated to him : that this is the case might be illustrated
by many considerations, but this is not the proper place for it.,
By being appropriate! to a man is meant to enter into his life,
and to be made of his ife, consequently to be made his prcprimn .
44

THE DIVmE PEOVIDENCE. 78, 79
That a man,however, has not any thing which is pre per to himself,
but that it appears to him as if it were so, will be seen in what
follows. We shall here only observe, that all the good which a
man does from liberty according to reason, is appropriated to
him as his ow^n, because, in thinking, willing, speaking, and
acting, it appears to him as his own ; nevertheless, good is
not of a man, but is of the Lord in him, as may be seen above,
n. 76. But how evil is appropriated to a man will be seen in its
proper article.
79. It is also said, that whatever a man does from liberty
according to his reason remains ; for no one thing which a man
has appropriated to himself can be eradicated, because it is
made an object of his love and at the same time of his reason,
or of his will and at the same time of his understanding, and
thence of his life. It may be removed indeed, but not cast
out ; and when it is removed, it is transferred as it were from
the centre to the circumference, and there abides. This is
meant by its remaining. For example : if a man in his child
hood and youth has appropriated to himself a certain evil by
doing it from the delight of his love, — as, if he has defrauded,
blasphemed, revenged, committed whoredom, — then as he has
done these things from liberty according to his thought, he has
also appropriated them to himself; but if he afterwards repents,
shuns them, and considers them as sins which are to be abhorred,
and thus from liberty according to reason desists from them,
then there are appropriated to him the good principles to which
those evils are opposite. These good principles then consti
tute the centre, and remove the evils towards tlie circumfer
ence further and further according to his aversion and abhor
rence of them ; but still they cannot be so cast out as to be said
to be extirpated, although by such removal they may appear
as if extirpated ; which is effected by a man's being detained
from evil and held in good by the Lord. This is the case with
respect to all hereditary evil, and at the same time all actual
evil of a man. I have also seen it proved by experience with
some in heaven, who, because they were kept in good by the
Lord, thought themselves to be without evils ; but to prevent
their thinking that the good in which they were was their own,
they were let down from heaven aad into their evils, till they
acknowledged that they were in evils from themselves, but in
good from the Lord ; after which acknowledgment they were
carried back into heaven. Let it be known therefore, that
these good principles are no otherwise appropriated to a man,
ihan as they are constantly of the Lord in him ; and that in
proportion as a man acknowledges this, the Lord grants that
good may appear to him as his own, that is, that a man may
appear to himself to love his neighbour or to have chari'.y as
from himself, to believe or to have faith as from himself, to do
45

79  82 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEBNINO
good and to understand truth, and therefore to be wise as from
himself; from which coiisiderations every enlightened person
may see, what and how strong is the appearance in which the
Lord wills that a man should be ; and the Lord wills this for the
sake of his salvation, for no one without that appearance can
be saved. On this subject, see also what is shown above, n.
42—45. 80. Nothing is appropriated to a man which he only thinks,
nor yet that which he thinks to will, except he at the same time
wills it to such a degree, that when opportunity is given he
does it ; and the reason is, that when a man does it from this
ground, he does it from the will by the understanding, or from
the affection of the will by the thought of the understanding.
So long, however, as anything is an object of the thought only,
it cannot be appropriated, because the understanding does not
join itself with the will, nor the thought of the understanding
with the affection of the will ; but the will and its affection join
themselves with the understanding and its thou^t, as is shown
abundantly in the treatise on The Divine Love and the
Divine Wisdom, Part the Fifth. This is meant by these words
of the Lord : " Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth
a man, but that which cometh out of the heart through the
mouth, that defileth a man" (Matt. xv. 11, 17, 18, 19). By
the mouth in a spiritual sense is meant the thought, because
the thought speaks by the mouth ; and by the heart in that
sense is meant the affection which is of love. If a man thinks
and speaks from this affection, then he defiles himself. By the
hsart also is signified the affection which is of love or of will,
aid by the mouth, the thought which is of the understanding,
in Luke vi. 45.
81. The evils which a man thinks allowable, although he
does them not, are also appropriated to him ; allowableness in
thought being from the will, for it is consent ; therefore, when a
man thinks any evil allowable, he loosens the internal restraint,
respecting it, and is' kept from doing it only by external
restraints, which are fears ; and because the spirit of the man
favours such evil, therefore, when external restraints are re
moved, he does it freely ; and- in the mean time continually does
it in his spirit. But on this subject see The Dogteine op
Life foe the New Jerusalem, n. 108- — 113.
82. IV- That a man by these two faculties is reformed and
regenerated by the Lord ; and that without them he could not be ¦
reformed and regenerated. The Lord teaches that unless a man
be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God, John iii. 3,
5, 7 ; but what it is to be born again, or to be regenerate, is
known to few. The reason of this is, that it has not been
known what love and charity are, nor therefore what faith is ;
for he who does not know what love and charity are, cannot
46

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 82, 83
know what faith is ; because charity and faith make one, like
good and truth, and like affection which is of the will and
thought which is of the understanding ; concerning which union,
see the treatise on The Divine Love and the Divine Wis
dom, n. 427—431, and The Doctrine of the New Jeru
salem, n. 13 — 24 ; also see above, n. 3 — 20.
83. The reason why no man can enter into the kingdom of
God unless he be bom again, is, th^t a man hereditarily from his
parents is born into evils of every kind, with the faculty of being
made spiritual by the removal of those evils ; and unless he be
made spiritual, he cannot enter into heaven. To be made
spiritual from natural, is to be bom again, or to be regenerated.
But in order that it may be known how a man is regenerated,
these three things are to be considered : what his first state is,
which is a state of damnation ; what his second state is, which
is a state of reformation ; and what his third state is, which is a
state of regeneration. Thefi/rst state of a man, which is a state of
damnation, every man has hereditarily from his parents, for he is
thence born into the love of self and the love of the world, and
into evils of every description from these two kinds of love s&
fountains. The delights of these kinds of love are the delighte
by which' he is led, and these delights prevent him from knowing
that he is in evils ; ' for every delight of love is felt no otherwis e
than as good ; and therefore also a man, unless he is regenerated,
knows no other' than- that to love himself and the world above
all things- is essential good, and that to domineer over all, and
possess the wealth of all others, is the supreme good. This is
the source of all evil ; for he regards no other person from a
principle of love but himself alone; or if he regards another
from a principle of love, it is as one devil regards another, or
as one thief another, when they act as one. Those who confirm
in themselves these kinds of love, and the evils fiowing from
them, from the delight thereof, remain natural and become
sensual-corporeal ; and in their own thought, which is that of
their spirit, they are insane ; but still, while they are in the
world, they can speak- and act rationally and wisely, being as
men possessed of rationality and liberty ; yet this also they do
from a love of self and of the world. Such men after death,
when they become spirits, cannot have any other delight than
what they had in their spirits in the world, aud that is the delight
of infeinal love, which is turned into what is unpleasant, dolor
ous, and direful, signified in the Word by torment and hell-fire.
Hence it is evident that the first state of a man is a state of
damnation ; and that those are in it who do not suffer themselves
to be regenerated. The second state of a man, vMch is a state of
reformation, is, when a man begins to think of heaven from the
joy that is therein, and thus to think of God, from whom he
nas the joy of heaven. At first, however, he thinks thus from
47

33, 85 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENING
the deli'ght of the love of self, heavenly joy being to him that
delight ; and so long as the delight of that love reigns, together
with the delights of the evils flowing therefrom, he cannot
understand otherwise than that to go to heaven is to pour out
prayers, to hear preachings, to receive the Lord's supper, to
give to the poor, to help the needy, to endow churches and
hospitals, and such like things. Nor does a man in this state
know otherwise than that barely to think the things that religion
teaches effects salvation, whether it be that which is called faith,
or that which is called faith and charity. The reason wliy he
understands no other than that to think these things effects
salvation, is, because he thinks nothing of the eviis in the
delights of which he is, and so long as their delights remain,
the evils also remain ; for their delights arise from the concu
piscence of them, which continually inspires them and also
produces them, when no fear operates to prevent it. So long
as evils remain in the concupiscences, and thence in the delights
of the love of them, there is neither any faith, charity, piety,
nor worship, except only in externals, which appear before the
world as if they were real, but yet are not. They may therefore
be compared to waters flowing from an impure fountain, which
cannot be drunk. So long as a man is such that he thinks ot
heaven and of God from religion, and nothing of evils as sins,
he is still in his first state : but he comes into the second, or
state of reformation, when he begins to think that there is such
a thing as sin, and still more when he thinks that this or that
is a sin, and when he explores it a little in himself, and does not
will it. Tlie third state of a man, which is a state of regeneration.
takes up and continues the prior state ; it begins when a man
desists from evils as sins, proceeds as he shuns them, and is
[perfected as he fights against them ; and then as he overcomes
from the Lord he is regenerated. With the regenerate man the
order of life is changed, and from natural he is made spiritual ;
for the natural principle separate from the spiritual is contrarj'
to order, and the spiritual principle is according to order ; there
fore a regenerate man acts from charity, and makes what belonge
to his faith conformable to his charity. But still he is only
made spiritual in proportion as he is in traths ; because every
man is regenerated by truths, and a life according to them ; for
by truths he knows life, and by life he performs truths : he thus
conjoins goodness and truth, which is the spiritual marriage, in
which is heaven.
85. The reason why a man is reformed and regenerated by
those two faculties which are called rationality and liberty, and
that without them he cannot be reformed and regenerated, is,
because by rationality he can understand and know what is
evil and what is good, and thence what is false and what is
true ; and by liberty he can will that which he understands and
48

the divine providence. 85 — 87
knows. But so long as the delight of the love of evil reigns, he
cannot freely will what is good and true, and make them prin
ciples of his reason, therefore he cannot appropriate them to
himself; for, as was shown above, the things which a man
does from liberty according to reason, are appropriated to him
as his own, and unless they are appropriated as his own, he
is not reformed and regenerated. Then also he first acts from
the delight of the love of goodness and truth, when the delight
cf the love of evil and false is removed ; for two kinds of delight
of love which are opposite to each other cannot exist at the same
time. To act from the delight of love, is to act from liberty ;
and when reason favors the love, it is also to act according to
reason. 86. Since a man, as well he who is wicked as he who is good,
nas rationality and liberty, so a wicked as well as a good man
can understand truth and do good : but a wicked man cannot
do so from liberty according to reason, whereas a good man
can ; because a wicked man is in the delight of the love of evil,
and a good man is' in the delight of the love of good. The
truth therefore which a wicked man understands, and the good
which he does, are not appropriated to him ; but they are
appropriated to a good man ; and without appropriation as his
own, reformation and regeneration do not take place. For
evils with falsities are with the wicked as it were in the centre,
and good principles with truths in the circumference ; but good
principles with truths are in the centre with the good, and evils
with falsities in the circumference ; and in both cases the things
which are of the centre diffuse themselves to the circumference,
as heat from fire in the centre, and cold from ice in the centre.
Thus good in the circumference with the wicked is defiled by the
evils of the centre, and evils in the circumference with the good
are rendered mild by the good principles of the centre ; and
this is the reason why evils do not condemn a regenerate man,
and good actions do not save an unregenerate man.
87. V. That a m,an, hy means of those two faculties, can be
reformed a/nd regenerated so far as he can he led hy them to
acknowledge, that all the truth and good which he thinks and does
is from the Lord, and not from himself. What reformation
and regeneration are, was stated above ; and also that a man,
by the two faculties of rationality and liberty, is reformed and
regenerated : and as this is effected by those faculties, it may
be expedient to say something more concerning them. A man by
virtue of rationality has power to understand, and by virtue of
liberty has power to will, both as from himself; but the power
of willing good from liberty, and thence of doing it according
to reason, no one has but the regenerate. A wicked man can
will only evil from liberty, and do it according to his thought,
which by confirmations he makes as it were of reason ; for evil
49

87  89 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
can be confirmed as well as good, but it is by fallacies and ajv
pearances, which, when they are confirmed, become falsities ;
and when evil is confirmed, it appears as of reason.
88. Every one, who has any thought from interior under
standing, may see, that the power of willing and of under
standing is not from a man, but from Him who has power itself,
that is, who has power in its essence. Consider only, whence
is power ? Is it not from him who has it in its essential ground ;
that is, who has it in himself, and consequently from himself?
Power therefore in itself is divine. To all power there will be
leave, which is to be given, and thus a determination from what
is interior or superior to self The eye cannot see from itself,
nor the ear hear from itself, neither can the mouth speak from
itself, nor the hands act from themselves ; there must be leav(!
given, and thence determination from the mind. Nor can the
mind think and will this or that from itself, unless there be
something interior or superior by which it is determined to it.
It is the same with the power of understanding and the power
of willing; these cannot be given by any other than. by Him
who in and of himself is able to will and to understand. From
such considerations it is evident, that those two faculties, which
are called rationality and liberty, are from the Lord, and not
from a man ; and as they are from the Lord, it follows, that a
man wills nothing from himself, and understands nothing from
himself, but only as if it were from himself That this is the
case, every one may confirm in himself, who knows and believes
that the willing of all good, and Ithe understanding of all truth,
is from the Lord, and not from man. That a man cannot dram
any thing from- himself, and cgnnot do any thing from himself, is
taught by the Word in John iii. 27 ; xv. 5. .
89. Now as all volition is from love, and all understanding
is from wisdom, it follows, that to be able to will is from the
divine love, and to be able to understand is from the divine
wisdom, therefore, both from the Lord, who is divine llisyye
itself and divine wisdom itself Hence it follows, that to act
from liberty according to reason, is from no other source.
Every one acts according to liberty, because liberty, like love,
cannot be separated from volition ; but in a man there exists an
interior volition or interior will, and an exterior volition or
exterior will, and he can act according to the exterior, and at
the same time not according to the interior ; in this case he acts
the hypocrite and flatterer ; and yet exterior volition is from
liberty, because it is from the love of appearing otherwise than
he is, or from the love of some evil which he intends from the
love of his interior will. But, as was said above, a wicked man
cannot from liberty according to reason do any thing but evil,
for he cannot from liberty according to reason do good. He
can indeed do good, but not from interior liberty, which is his
50

the divine PROVIDENCE. 89  91
proper liberty, and from which his exterior liberty derives its
quality of being not good.
90. It is said that a man can be reformed and regenerated in
proportion as he can be led, by the above two faculties, to ac
knowledge that all the good and all the tru:h which he thinks
and does is from the Lord, and not from himself. The reason'
why a man cannot acknowledge this but by those two faculties,
is because they are from the Lord ; and they are of the Lord in'
him, as is evident from what was said above ; it follows there
fore, that a man cannot do this from himself, but from the Lord ;
yet still he can do it as if it were from himself: this power the
Lord gives to every one. Let it be supposed that he believes
from himself ; still, when he becomes wise, he will acknowledge
that it is not from himself. Otherwise, the truth which he
thinks, and the good which he does, are not true and good in
themselves ; for the man, and not the Lord, is in them ; and
the good in which a man is, if it be for the sake of salvation, is
meritorious good ; but the good in which the Lord is, is not
meritorious. 91. But that the acknowledgment of the Lord, and the
acknowledgment that all good and all truth is from him, cause
a man to be reformed and regenerated, is what few persons cun
see with the understanding ; for it may be thought, of what con
sequence is such acknowledgment, seeing that the Lord is omiii-
potent, and wills the salvation of all, and thence can and wJI
effect it, if he be moved to compassion ? But to think thus is
not from the Lord, nor consequently is it from the interior light
of the understanding, that is from any illumination ; therefore
what acknowledgment operates, shall be here briefly explained'.
In the spiritual world, where spaces are appearances only, wis--
dom produces presence, and love produces conjunction ; and!
vice versa. There is given an acknowledgment of the Lord
from wisdom, and there is given an acknowledgment of the
Lord from love. The acknowledgment of the Lord from wisdom',
which viewed in itself is only a knowledge of him, is given from
doctrine ; and the acknowledgment of the Lord from love is
given from a life according to doctrine ; the latter giviag coht
junction, but the former presence. This is the reason why thosef
who rej ect doctrine concerning the Lord remove themselves froia
him ; and as they also reject life, they separate themselves from!
him : whereas those who do not reject doctrine, but life, are
present, yet separated. They are like friends who converse
together, but do not mutually love each other ; and like twoy
of which the one speaks with the other as a friend, but hates
him as an enemy. That this is the case, is also known froia the
common idea, that he who teaches well and lives well, is saved,
but not he who teaches well and lives ill ; and that he who
does not acknowledge God, cannot be saved. From this coBsi-
51 E

91, 92 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
deration it is evident, what sort of a religion it is, to think of
the Lord from faith, as it is called, and not" to do any thing from
charity. Hence th,e Lord says, " Why call ye me Lord, Lord,
and do not the things which J say ? Whosoever cometh to
me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, is like a man
that built a house, and laid the foundation on a rock : but he
that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foun
dation built a house upon the earth" (Luke vi. 46 — 49).
92. VI. ThattheconjvnctionoftheLordwitliaman,andth0
reciprocal conjunction of a man with the Lord, is effected by these
two f amities. Conjunction with the Lord and regeneration are
one, for in proportion as any one is conjoined to the Lord, he is
regenerate : therefore, all that is said above of regeneration may
be said of conjunction, and what is here said of conjunction may
be said of regeneration. That there is a conjunction of the Lord
with a man, and a reciprocal conjunction of a man with the Lord,
the Lord himself teaches in John : " Abide in me, and I in you.
He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth
much fruit" (xv. 4, 5). " At that day ye shall know, that ye
are in me, and I in you" (xiv. 20). Any one may see from
reason alone, that there is no conjunction of minds unless it be
reciprocal, and that reciprocation conjoins. If one loves an
other, and is not loved in return, in this case, as the one
approaches the other retires ; but if he is loved in return, then
as one approaches the other approaches also, and conjunction is
effected : for love wills to be beloved ; this is inherent in it ; and
in proportion as it is beloved again, it is in itself and in its
d(!light. Hence it is evident, that if the Lord only loved a man,
and were not in his turn to be beloved by him, the Lord would
approach and he would retire ; thus the Lord would continually
will to meet the man and to enter in to him, and the man would
turn himself away and depart. With those who are in hell such
is the case, but with those who are in heaven there is a mutual
conjunction. As the Lord wills conjunction with a man for the
sake of his salvation, he provides also that in the man there should
be a reciprocal principle, by which the good which he wills and
does from liberty, and' the truth which he thinks and speaks
from his will according to reason, should appear to him as being
from himself; and that such good in his will and truth in his
understanding should appear as his own. Indeed, they appear
to a man as from himself, and as his own, altogether as if they
were so ; there is no distinction. Consider only whether a man
with any one of his senses perceives otherwise. Of this appear
ance as if from himself, see above, n. 74 — 77 ; and of appro
priation as his own,n. 78 — 81 : the only difference is, that a man
ought to acknowledge that he does not do good and think truth
from himself, but from the Lord ; and, consequently, that the
good which he does and the tmth which he thinks are not his
52

THB DIVINE PEOVIDENCE. 92  95
own. To think thus from some degree of love in the will,
because it is the truth, effects conjunction ; for thus a man
looks to the Lord, and the Lord looks to him.
93. What the difference is between those who believe all
good to be from the Lord, and those who believe good to -be
from themselves, it has been granted me to hear and to see in
the spiritual world. Those who believe good to be from the
Lord, turn their faces to him, and receive the delight and bless
edness of good ; but those who believe good to be from them
selves, look to themselves, and think that they have deserved
it ; and as they look to themselves, they cannot but perceive the
delight of their own good, which is not the delight of good, but
the delight of evil ; for a man's selfhood is evil, and the de
light of evil perceived as good is hell. Those who have done
good, and thought it was from themselves, if they do not after
death receive the truth, that all good is from the Lord, mix
with infernal genii, and at length act as one with them ; whereas,
those who receive that truth are reformed. But no others receive
it except those who have respected God in their life : and to
respect or look up to God in the life, is nothing else but to
shun evils as sins.
94. Conjunction of the Lord with a man, and reciprocal con
junction of a man with the Lord, is effected by his loving his
neighbour as himself, and loving the Lord above all things.
To love his neighbour as himself, is nothing else than not to act
insincerely and unjustly with him, not to hate him and burn
with revenge against him, not to blaspheme and defame him,
not to commit adultery with his wife, and not to do any other
such like things against him. Who cannot see that those who
do such things, do not love their neighbour as themselves?
But those who refrain from such things, because they are evils
against their neighbour and at the same time sins against God,
deal sincerel}', justly, friendly, and faithfully with their neigh
bour ; and as the Lord does in like manner, a reciprocal con
junction is effected. When conjunction is reciprocal, whatso
ever a man does to his neighbour, he does from the Lord, and
whatsoever he does from the Lord is good ; and then his neigh
bour is not to him the mere person, but good in the person.
To love the Lord above all things, is nothing else than not to
do evil to the Word, because the Lord is therein ; or to do
evil to the holy things of the church, because the Lord is
therein ; or to do evil to the soul of any one, because the soul
of every one is in the hand of the Lord. Those who shun these
evils as enormous sins, love the Lord above all things ; but this
none can do except such as love their neighbour as themselves,
for love to the Lord and love to the neighbour are in con
junction. 95. Forasmuch as there is a conjunction of the Lord with
53

95, 96 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
man, and of man with the Lord, therefore there are two tables
of the law, one for the Lord and the other for man. In pro
portion as a man as from himself obeys the laws of his own
table, in the same proportion the Lord enables him to obey the
laws of his table. But the man who does not keep the laws of
his own table, all of which relate to the love of his neighbour,
cannot keep the laws of the Lord's table, all of which relate to
the love of the Lord. How can a murderer, a thief, an adul
terer, and a false witness, love the Lord ? Does not reason
dictate, that to be such, and to love the Lord, is contradictory ?
Is not the devil such a one, and can he do otherwise than hate
the Lord ? But when a man turns away from murders, adul
teries, thefts, and false testimony, as infernal, he can then love
the Lord ; for then he turns his face from the devil to the Lord,
and when he turns his face to the Lord, love and wisdom are
given him, — these principles entering into a man by his face,
and not by the hinder part of his head. As in this and in
no other manner conjunction with the Lord is effected, there
fore those two tables are called the covenant, and a covenant
is between two.
96. VII. That the Lord preserves these two faculties in a man
invioldble, and as sacred, in e/oery proceeding of his Divine Provi
dence. The reasons are, that a man, without those two faculties.,
would not have understanding and will, and, therefore, would
not be a man ; also, that a man, without those two faculties,
could not be conjoined to the Lord, and therefore, could not be
refonned and regenerated ; and further, that, without those two
faculties, he would not have immortality and eternal life.
That this is the case, may indeed be seen from the knowledge
respecting liberty and rationality (which are those two faculties),
which was given in the foregoing pages ; but it cannot be seen
clearly, unless the reasons be presented to the view as conclu
sions, wherefore it may be expedient to illustrate each. That a
man, without those two faculties, would not have will and under
standing, and, therefm'6, would not be a man : for a man has wiU
from no other source than from the power of willing freely as
from himself; and freely to will, as from himself, is from the
faculty continually given him by the Lord, which is called
liberty ; and a man has understanding from no other source than
from, the power as of himself to understand whether a thing be
of reason or not ; and to understand whether it be of reason
or not, is from that other faculty continually given him by
the Lord, which is called rationality. These faculties join them
selves together in a man like the will and the understanding ;
for instance, because a man can will, he can also understand,
for volition is not given without understanding, — understanding
being its consort or companion, without which it cannot exist :
wherefore with the faculty which is called liberty, is given tho
54

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE. 96
faculty which is called rationality. Further, if you take away
volition from understanding, you understand nothing ; and in
proportion as you will, in the same proportion you can under
stand, provided there be at hand and at the same time are
opened those assistances which are called knowledges, for these
are like instruments in the hands of artificers. It is said that
in proportion as you will you can understand, that is, in
proportion as you love to understand ; for will and love act
as one. This indeed appears as a paradox ; but it appears so
to those only who do not love to understand, and therefore
will not, and those who will not, say they cannot. But who
they are that cannot understand, and who they that can with
difficulty understand, will be shown in the following article.
Without confirmation, it is evident, that if a man had not will
from the faculty which is called liberty, and understanding from
the faculty which is called rationality, he would not be a man.
Beasts have not these faculties. It appears as if they could also
will, and could understand, but they cannot ; it is natural affec
tion, which in itself is desire, with its concomitant science,
which alone leads and prompts tShem to do what they do. There
is indeed a civil and moral principle in their science ; but they
are not above science, because they have no spiritual principle,
which enables them to perceive the moral principle, and thence
to think it analytically. They can indeed be taught to do any
thing ; but this is only the natural principle, which adds itself
to their science, and at the same time to their affection, and is
reproduced either by sight or by hearing, but is never made
a principle of thought, and still less of reason in them. Some
thing on this subject may be seen above, n. 74. That a mam,
without those two faculties could not he conjoined to the Lord, a/nd,
therefore, could not he reformed and regenerated, was shown
above ; for the Lord resides in those two faculties in men, in the
wicked as well as in the good, and by them he joins himself to
every man. Hence it is that a wicked man, as well as a good
man, can understand, and has in his power the will of good
and the understanding of truth ; and it is from the abuse of
those faculties that they are not in act. That the Lord resides
in those faculties in every man, is owing to the influx of the
will of the Lord, his desire to be received by a man, to make his
abode with him, and to give him the felicities of eternal life.
These things are of the will of the Lord, because they are of
his divine love. It is this will of the Lord, which causes it to
appear in a man that he of himself thinks, speaks, wills, and
acts. That the influx of the will of the Lord produces this
effect, may be confirmed by many particulars from the spiritual
world ; for sometimes the Lord fills an angel with his divine
Principle, so that the angel knows no other than that he is the
lOrd. Li this manner "were those angels filled who were seen
66

96, 97 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
by Abraham. Hagar, and Gideon, and who therefore called
•themselves Jehovah, as mentioned in the Word. So, also, .one
spirit can be filled by another, until he does not know but that
he is the other, as has often been seen -by me. Moreover, it ia
known in heaven that the Lord effects all things by volition, and
that what he wills is done. Hence it is evident, that it is those
two faculties by which the Lord conjoins himself to a man, and
by which he- causes a man to be reciprocally conjoined to him.
But how a man by those two faculties is reciprocally conjoined,
consequently, how by them he is reformed and regenerated,
was mentioned before, and more will be said of it hereafter.
That a man without those twofaculUes would not have immortality
and etemal life, follows, from what has just been said, — ^that by
them conjunction is effected with the Lord, and also reforma
tion and regeneration. By conjunction a man has immortality,
and by reformation and regeneration eternal life. And since
by those faculties there is conjunction of the Lord with every
man, with the wicked as well as the good, as before stated,
therefore every man has immortality ; but he alone has eternal
life, that is, the life of heaven, in whom there is a reciprocal
conjunction from inmost parts to ultimates. Hence may be
seen the reasons why the Lord preserves those two faculties
in man inviolable, and as sacred, in every proceeding of his
Divine Providence.
97. VIII. That therefore it is of the Divine Providence thit
a man should act from liberty accordmig to reason. To act from
liberty according to reason, and to act from liberty and ration
ality, is the same thing, as is also to act from the will, and the
understanding ; but it is one thing to act from liberty according
to reason, or from liberty and rationality, and another to act
from liberty itself according to reason itself, or from genuine li-
'berty and genuine rationality. For the man who does evil from the
love of evil, and confirms it in himself, acts indeed from liberty-
according to reason, but nevertheless his liberty is in itself not
liberty, or not essential liberty, but it is infernal liberty, which
is in itself slavery ; and his reason is in itself not reason, but it
is either spurious or false reason, or reason only appearing such
from confirmations. Still, however, both are of the Divine
Providence ; for if the free power of willing evil, and of making
it appear like reason by confirmations, were taken away from
itiie natural man, liberty and rationality would perish, and at
•the same time the will and the understanding ; and it would
not be possible for him to be withdrawn from evils and reformed,
or consequently to be conjoined to the Lord, and live to eter
nity. Wnerefore the Lord guards liberty in a man, as a man
'guards the apple of his eye. But still the Lord by liberty con
tinually withdraws a man from evils, and, so far as by liberty he
can withdraw him, in the same degi-ee by liberty he implai'ta
56

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 97 — ^99
foods : thus, successively, in place of infernal liberty he invests
im with celestial liberty.
98. It was said above, that every man has a faculty of
willing which is called liberty, and a faculty of understanding
which is called rationality : it is, however, well to be observed,
that these faculties are as it were inherent in a man, for the
essential human principle resides in them ; but, as before ob
served, it is one thing to act from liberty according to reason,
and another to act from essential liberty according to es
sential reason. None act from essential liberty according to
essential reason but those who have suffered themselves to be
regenerated by the Lord : all others act from liberty ac
cording to their thought, which they make like reason. Ne
vertheless, every man, unless he be born an idiot or extremely
stupid, may attain to essential reason, and thereby to essential
liberty. The causes why he does not attain thereto are several,
as will be seen in what follows. We shall here only point out
to whom essential freedom or essential liberty, and, at the same
time, essential reason or essential rationality, cannot be given,
and to whom they are given with difficulty. Essential liberty
and rationality cannot be given to those who are born idiots ;
or to those who afterwards become idiots, so long as they
remain such. Essential liberty and rationality cannot be given
to such as are born stupid and silly, or to some who becoir-e
such from the torpor of idleness, or from sickness, which per
verts or entirely closes the interiors of the mind, or from the
love of a beastly life. Neither can essential liberty and ration
ality be given to those in the Christian world, who altogether
deny the Lord's divinity and the sanctity of the Word, and have
kept this denial confirmed in themselves to the end of life ; for
this is understood by the sin against the Holy Ghost, which is
not forgiven in this world, or in that which is to come. Matt.
xii. 31, 32. Neither can. essential liberty and rationality be
given in those who attribute all things to nature, and nothing to
the Divine Being, and have made this a part of their faith by
reasonings from visible objects : for all such are atheists. Es
sential liberty and rationality are given with difficulty in those
who have confirmed themselves much in falses of religion ;
because the confirmer of what is false is the denier of truth.
But those who have not so confirmed themselves may attain to
true libertj'- and rationality, of whatsoever religion they may be ;
on which subject see what is adduced in The Doctrine of the New,
Jerusalem concerning the Sacred Scriptwre, n. 91 — 97. Infapts
and children cannot come into essential liberty and rationality
before they grow up, because the interiors of the mind in a man
are successively opened ; and in the mean time they are like
seeds in unripe fruit, which cannot germinate in the ground.
99. It was said, that essential liberty and rationality cannot
57

99, 100 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
be given in those who have denied the Lord's divinity and tho
sanctity of the Word ; or in those who have confirmed themselves
for nature against the divine principle ; and hardly in those who
have confirmed .themselves much in falses of religion : but still
these have not lost those faculties themselves. I ha,ve heard
atheists, that were become devils and satans, who understood
arcana of wisdom as well as angels, yet only when they heard
.them from others ; but when they returned into their own
thoughts they did not understand them ; the reason of which was
that they would not. It was shown them that they also could will
to understand them if the love and consequent delight of evil did
not prevent them ; and this also they understood when they heard
it ; yea, they affirilied that they could, and were able, but that
they did not will to be able, because thereby they would not be
able to will what they did will, which was evil from the delight of
the concupiscence thereof. Such wonderful things in the spiritual
world have I often heard ; from which I was fully confirmed
that every man has liberty and rationality, and that every one
may come into essential liberty and rationality, if he shuns evils
as sins. But the adult who does not come into essential liberty
and rationality in the world can never come into them after
death ; for then whatever is the state of his life which has been
acquired in tha world, such it remains to eternity.

THAT IT IS A LAW OF THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE, THAT A MAN
AS FROM HIMSELF SHOULD REMOVE EVILS AS SINS IN THE
EXTERNAL MAN, AND THAT THUS AND NO OTHERWISE THE
LORD CAN REMOVE EVILS IN THE INTERNAL MAN, AND
THEN AT THE SAME TIME IN THE EXTERNAL.
100. Every one may see from reason alone, that the Lord,
who is good itself and truth itself, cannot enter into a man unless
the evils and falsities in him are removed ; for evil is opposite to
good, and falsity is opposite to truth ; and two opposites never
can be mixed, but when one approaches the other a combat
ensues, which continues until one gives place to the other ; that
which gives place departing and the other succeeding. In such
opposition are heaven and hell, or the Lord and the devil. Cai;
any one think from reason that the Lord can enter where the
devil reigns,_ or that heaven can be where hell is ? Who does
not see, by virtue of the rationality given to every man of sound
mind, that, in order that the Lord may enter, the devil must be
cast out, or in order that heaven may enter, hell is to be re
moved ? This opposition is meant by the words of Abraham out
of heaven to the rich man in hell : " Between us and vou there
58

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE 100, 101
is a gi'eat gulf fixed, so that they which would pass from heiice
to you cannot ; neither can they pass to us that would come
from thence" (Luke xvi. 26). EviHtself is hell, and good itself
is heaven, or, what is the same, evil itself is the devil, and good
itself is the Lord ; and a man in whom evil reigns is a hell in its
least form, and a man in whom good reigns is a heaven in its
least form. This being the case, how can heaven enter into
hell, when between them so great a gulf is fixed that there is no
passing from the one to the other ? Hence it follows that hell
is entirely to be removed, that the Lord may be able to enter
with heaven.
101. But many, especially those who have confirmed them
selves in faith separate from charity, do not know that they are
in hell when they are in evils, nor do they know, indeed, what
evils are, because they think nothing of them ; saying, that they
are not under the yoke of the law, and therefore that the law
does not condemn them ; also, because they cannot contribute
any thing to their own salvation, that they cannot remove any
evil from themselves ; and, moreover, that they cannot do any
good from themselves. These are they who omit to think of
evil, and because they omit to think of it they are continually
in it. That these are they who are meant by the goats spoken
of by the Lord in Matthew, ch. xxv., and of whom it is said,
verse 41, " Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, pre
pared for the devil and his angels," may be seen in the Doctrine
of the New Jerusalem concerning Faith, n. 61 — 68. For those
who think nothing of evils in themselves, that is, who do not
explore themselves, and afterwards desist from them, cannot but
be ignorant what evil is, and then love it from the delight
thereof; for he who does not know what evil is loves it, and he
who omits to think of it is continually in it, being like a blind
man who does not see ; for the thought sees good and evil as the
eye sees what is beautiful and ugly ; and he is in evil who thinks
and wills it, as well as he who believes that evil does not appear
before God, and that it is forgiven if it appears, for thus he
thinks that he is without evil. If such persons abstain from
doing evils, they do not abstain because they are sins against
God, but because they are afraid of the laws and of their repu
tation ; thus they do evils in their spirit continually, for it is the
spirit of man which thinks and wUls ; and therefore that which
a man thinks in his spirit in the world he does after his depar
ture out of the world, when he becomes a spirit. In the spiritual
world, into which every man comes after death, it is not asked
wbat has your faith been, or what your doctrine, but what has
your life been ? Thus the inquiry is concerning the nature aud
quality of the life ; for it is known that such as any one's life is,
such is his faith, and such his doctrine ; because the life forms
to itself doctrine, and forms to itself faith.
59

102  104 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
102. From what has just been said it may appear, that it is
a law of t...e Divine Providence, that evils should be removed by
a man, for without the removal of them the Lord cannot be con
joined to him, and lead him from self into heaven. But as it is
not known, that a man ought as from himself to remove evils i'l
the external man, and that unless he does this as from himself.
the Lord cannot remove evils in him in the internal man, there
fore we shall proceed to exhibit this to the view of reason in its
light, in the following order. I. That every man has an ex
ternal and an internal of thought. II. That the external of a
man's thought is in itself such as is its internal. IH. That the
internal cannot be purified from the concupiscences of evil so
long as evils in the external man are not removed, because they
obstruct. IV. That evils in the external man cannot be removed
by the Lord, but by means of the man. V. That therefore a man
ought to remove evils from the external man as from himself.
VL That the Lord then purifies him from the concupiscences of
evil in the internal man, and from evils themselves in the ex
ternal. VII. That it is the continual endeavour of the Divine
Providence of the Lord, to join a man to himself, and himself to
a man, that he may be able to give him the felicities of etemal
life ; which cannot be done, except in proportion as evils with
their concupiscences are removed.
103. I. Tliat every man has an external and an internal of
thought. By the external and internal of thought is here under
stood the same as by the external and internal man, which
means nothing else but the external and the internal of the will
and understanding, for the will and understanding make the
man ; and as these two manifest themselves in the thoughts,
they are called the external and internal of thought. Now as
it is not a man's body, but his spirit, which wills and under
stands, and thence thinks, it follows, that this external and
internal is the external and internal of a man's spirit. Bodily
action, whether exerted in speech or in work, is only an effect
from the internal and external of a man's spirit ; for the body
is merely obedience.
104. That every man in an advanced age has an external
and an internal of thought, therefore an external and an in
ternal of will and understanding, or an external and an internal
of the spirit, which is the same with the external and internal
man, is evident to every one who attends to the tboughts and
intentions of another from his speech or actions, and also to his
own thoughts and intentions, when he is in company and when
he is not ; for any one may speak in a friendly manner with
another in external thought, and yet be his enemy in internal
thought ; any one may speak of love towards his neighbour, and
ef love towards God, from external thought and at the same
time from its affection when, nevertheless, in hia internal
60

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 104  106
thought he makes light of his neighbour, and does not fear
God ; any one also, from external thought and xfifection, may
speak of the justice of civil laws, of the virtues of moral life,
and of the things which" relate to spiritual doctrine and life,
and yet, from internal thought and its affection, when he is
alone by himself, may speak against civil laws, against moral
virtues, and against the things which relate to spiritual doctrine
and life. This is the case with such as are in the concupiscences
of evil, and still wish to appear before the world not to be in
them. Mo^t people also, whilst they hear others speaking,
think with themselves. Do they think interiorly in themselves,
as they express their thoughts in their speech ? Are they to be
believed or not ? What is it they intend ? It is known that
flatterers and hypocrites have a double thought ; for they can
restrain themselves, and take care that their interior thought
shall not be opened, and indeed can conceal it more and more
interiorly, and as it were shut up the door lest it should appeal.
That exterior and interior thought is given to a man, is evidently
manifest from this consideration, that he can from his interior
thought see his exterior thought, and also reflect upon it, and
judge of it, whether it be evil or not evil. This quality of his
mind a man derives from the two faculties, which he has from the
Lord, called liberty and rationality, from which, if he had not
an external and an internal of thought, he could not perceive
and see any evil in himself, and be reformed ; neither could he
even speak, but only ijtter sounds like a beast.
105. The internal of thought is from the life's love and its
affections and consequent perceptions ; while the external is
from the things which are in the memory, and which are sub
servient to the life's love for confirmations and for means to
attain its end. A man, from infancy to youth, is in the external
of thought derived from the affection of knowing, which then
makes his internal ; and there transpires also something of con
cupiscence and thence of inclination derived from the life's love
connate from his parents. But afterwards, as he lives, his life's
love is formed, the affections and consequent perceptions of
which make the internal of his thought ; and from the life's
love is produced the love of means, the delights of which, and
the sciences excited thence from the memory, make the exter
nal of his thought.
106. II. That the external of a ma/nHs thought is in itself
sv,Gh as is its internal. That a man from head to foot is such as
his life's love is, was shown above : here, therefore, it may be
expedient to premise som.ething concerning the life's love, before
we proceed to speak of the affections, which, together with per
ceptions, make a man's internal, and of the delights of the
affections, which, together with the thoughts, make his ex
ternal. Loves are manifold ; but there are two loves like lords
61

106 — 108 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENING
and kings— celestial love and infernal love. Celestial love la
love to the Lord and towards the neighbour, and infemal love
is the love of self and of the worid. These loves are opposite
to each other, as are heaven and hell ; for he who is in the love
of self and of the world wills not good to any one but himself,
but he who is in love to the Lord and towards his neighbour
wills good to all. These two loves are the loves of a man's
life, but with much variety ; celestial love is the life's love of
those whom the Lord leads, and infernal love is the life's love of
those whom the devil leads. But the life's love of no one can
exist without derivations, which are called affections. The de
rivations of infernal love are affections of evil and of falsity,
properly called concupiscences ; and the derivations of celestial
love are affections of good and truth, properly called dilections.
The affections of infernal love, which properly are concupis
cences, are as many as there are evils ; and the affections of
celestial love, which properly are dilections, are as many as
there are goods. The love dwells in its affections, as a lord in
his domain, or as a king in his kingdom. Its dominion or king
dom is over the things which belong to the mind, that is, which
belong to the will and the understanding of a man, and thence
to his body. The life's love of a man, by its affections and the
perceptions thence derived, and by its delights and the thoughts
thence derived, governs the whole man, — the internal of his
mind by its affections and the perceptions thence derived, and
the external of his mind by the delights of its affections and the
thoughts thence derived.
107. The form of this government may in some measure be
seen by comparisons. Celestial love with the affections of good
and truth and the perceptions thence derived, and at the same
time with the delights of these affections and the thoughts thence
derived, may be compared to a beautiful tree with branches,
leaves, and fruits. The life's- love is that tree ; the branches
with the leaves are the affections of good and truth with their per
ceptions and the fruits are the delights of the affections with
their thoughts. But infernal love, with its affections of evil and
falsity, which are concupiscences, and at the same time with the
delights of these concupiscences and the thoughts thence derived,
may be compared to a spider and the web which encompasses it.
The love itself, is the spider ; the concupiscences of e^^il and fal
sity, with their interior wiles, are the retiform threads nearest
to the seat of the spider ; and the delights of these concupis
cences, with deceitful machinations, are the more remote threads
where flies are caught, entangled, and devoured.
108. From these comparisons may be seen indeed the con
junction of all thing's of the will and understanding, or of
the mind of a man, with his life's love, but yet not rationally.
Such conjunction may be seen rationally thus : There are every
62

THE DIVINE FROVIDENOE. • 108, 109
¦where three things together which make one, and are called
end, cause, and effect ; of which the life's love in a man is the
end, the affections with their perceptions are the cause, and the
delights of the affections with their tJioughts are the effect ; for
in such a manner as the end by the cause comes into effect, so
also love by its affections descends to its delights, and by its
perceptions to its thoughts. Effects are really in the delights
of the mind and their thoughts, when the delights are of the
will and the thoughts are of the understanding thence derived,
consequently, when there is a full consent therein. They are
in this case effects of the spirit, which, although they do. not
come into bodily action, are still as it were in act, when there
is consent ; and they are also then together in the body, and
dwell there with the life's love, and aspire after action, which is
produced when nothing hinders. Such are the concupiscences
of evil, and evils themselves in those who make evils allowable
in their spirit. Now as the end joins itself with the cause, and
by the cause with the effect, so the life's love joins itself with
the internal principle of thought, and by that with its external.
Hence it is evident, that the external of a man's thought is
in itself such as is its internal ; for the end infuses all its quality
into the cause, and through the cause into the effect, theio
being nothing essential in the effect but what is in the cause,
and through the cause in the end ; and as the end is thus the
very essential principle which enters the cause and the effect,
therefore the cause and effect are called the middle end and the
ultimate end.
109. It appears sometimes as if the external of the thought
of a man was not in itself such as is its internal ; but this hap
pens because the life's love, with its internals about it, places
below itself a substitute which is called the love of means, and
appoints it to take heed and guard lest any thing of its con
cupiscences should appear;' consequently tliat substitute (or
deputy) from the craftiness of its prince, which is the life's love,
speaks and acts according to the civil institutions of the king
dom, according to the morals of reason, and according to the
spirituals of the church, so cunningly indeed and ingeniously,
that no one sees but that persons are such as their speech and
actions seem to indicate ; and at length, by encompassing tl •
selves with a veil, they scarcely know any otherwise thenise. ««.
Such are all hypocrites; and such are priests, who in their
hearts make light of their neighbour, and fear not God, yet
preach concerning the love of their neighbour and the love of
God ; such are judges, who decide under the influence of bribes
and friendships, while they profess a zeal for justice, and speak
of judgment from reason ; such are merchants, insincere and
frauduTent at heart, when they act sincerely for the sake of in
terest ; such are adulterers, -when from that rationality which
63

109  111 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
every mar. possesses th.ey speak of the chastity of mamage,
and so in other instances. But these same persons, if they
strip the love of means, the substitute of their life's love, of
the garments of purple and fine linen with which they have in
vested it, and clothe it in its domestic dress, then they think,
and sometimes in communication with their intimate friends,
who are in a similar life's love, even speak directly the contrary.
It may be supposed, when from the love of means they have
spoken so justly, sincerely, and piously, that then the quality
of their internal thought was not in the external of their
thought ; but nevertheless it was, there being hypocrisy and the
love of self and the world in those whose cunning it is, for the
sake of honor or interest, to seek reputation by an outward ap
pearance. This quality of the intemal is in the external of
their thought, when they so speak and act.
110. But with those who are in celestial love, the internal
and external of thought, or the internal and external man,
make one when they speak, nor do they know any difference.
Their life's love, with its affections of good and their percep
tions of truth, is as the soul in whatever they think, and
thence speak and do. If they are priests, they preach from
love towards their neighbour and love to the Lord ; if they are
judges, they judge from justice itself; if they are merchants,
they act from sincerity itself; if they are married men,' they
love their wives from chastity itself ; and so on. Their life's
love also has a love of means, as its substitute, which it teaches
and leads to act from prudence, and clothes in garments of
zeal for the truths of doctrine and at the same time for the
goods of life.
111. III. That the internal can/not he pv/rified from the con
cupiscences of evil so long as evils in the external mom, a/re not
removed, because they obstruct, follows from what was said above,
that the external of a man's thought is in itself such as is
the internal of his thought, and that they adhere together not
only as one within, but also as from, the other ; therefore one
of them cannot be separated without the other. So it is with
every external which is from an internal, with every posterior
which is from a prior, and with every effect which is from a
cause. Now, since concupiscences, together with craftiness,
make the internal of thought with the wicked, and the delights
of concupiscences, together with machinations, make the ex
ternal of then- thought, and the latter are joined with the
former in one, it follows, that the internal cannot be piu-ified
from concupiscences so long as evils in the external man are
not removed. It must be obs|rved, that it is a man's intemal
will which is in concupiscences, and his internal understand
ing which is in craftiness ; also, that it is his external will which
is in the delights of concupiscences, and his external under-
64

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. Ill, 112
standing which is in machinations from craftiness. Every one
may see that concupiscences and their delights make one, also
that craftiness and machinations make one, and that these four
are in one series, and make together, as it were, one bundle :
from which consideration it is again evident, that the internal,
which consists of concupiscences, cannot be cast out except by
the removal of the external, which consists of evils. Concu
piscences by their delights produce evils ; but when evils are
oelieved to be allowable, which happens by consent of the will
and understanding, then the delights and evils make one. That
consent is equivalent to act, is well known ; and is also what
the Lord says : " Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after
her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart"
(Matt. V. 28). It is the same with other evils.
112. Hence then, it may appear, that in order to a man's
being purified from the concupiscences of evil, evils are to be
entirely removed from the external man ; for until this is done,
there is no outlet given to concupiscences, and if no outlet be
fiven to them, concupiscences remain within, breathe forth
elights from themselves, and so force a man to consent, con
sequently, to action. Concupiscences enter the body by the
external of thought ; therefore when there is consent in the
external of thought, they are immediately in the body, the de
light which is felt being there. That such as is the mind, such
is the body, consequently the whole man, may be seen in the trea
tise concerning The Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom,
n. 362 — 370. Tbe proposition under consideration may be illus
trated by comparisons, and also by examples : — By comparisons
thus : concupiscences with their delights may be compared to
fire, which the more it is fomented the more it burns ; and the
freer its course, the wider it spreads itself, until, if in a city,
it consumes the houses, and if in a wood, the trees. The con
cupiscences of evil are also compared in the Word to fire, and
evils proceeding from them to a conflagration. The concupis
cences of evil with their delights appear likewise as fires in the
spiritual world ; infernal fire being nothing else. Tliey may
also be compared to deluges and inundations of waters, on the
removal of mounds or dykes. They may also be compared to
gangrenes and imposthumes, which bring death to the body as
1;hey spread, or are not cured. By examples, it is clearly evident,
that if evils in the external man are not removed, concupiscences
with their delights increase and exuberate. A thief, in proper
tion as he practises stealing, has the concupiscence of stealing,
till at length he is unable to desist. The same is true of a
fraudulent person, in proportion as he defrauds. It is the same
also with hatred and revenge, with luxury and intemperance,
with fornication and blasphemy. It is weL known that the love
of dominion grounded in the love of self increases in proportion
65

112 — 114 angelic wisdom concerning
as it is indulged, and in like manner the love of possessing goods
gi'ounded in the love of the world ; it appears as if there was net
bound or end to them. From these considerations it is evident,
that in proportion as evils in the external man are unremoved,
the concupiscences thereof abound ; and in proportion as evils
are freed from restraint, concupiscences increase.
113. A man cannot perceive the concupiscences of his own
evil. He perceives the delights of them indeed, but he reflects
little upon them ; for dolights occupy the thoughts, and take
away reflections ; therefc re if he did not from some other source
Imow that they are evils, he would call them goods, and would
commit them from liberty according to the reasoiuof his thought ;
and when he does thiSj he appropriates them to himself In
proportion as he confirms them as allowable, he enlarges the
court of his reigning love, which is his life's love. Its court is
composed of concupiscences ; for they are as it were its ministers
and guards, whereby it governs the exteriors which constitute
its kingdom. But such as the king is, such are his ministers
and guards, and such is his kingdom : if the king is a devil,
then his ministers and guards are insanities, and the people of
his. kingdom are falsities of every kind, which his ministers,
whom they call wise, although they are insane, by reasonings
from fallacies and by fantasies, make to appear as truths, and
to be acknowledged as truths. Can such a state of a man be
changed otherwise than by removing evils in the external man ?
So also the concupiscences which adhere to evils are removed ;
otherwise no egress is afforded to concupiscences, for they are
shut in, like a besieged city, or as an ulcer skinned over.
114. IV. That evils in the external man cannot be removed
by the Lord but hy means of the man. In all Christian churches
it is received as a doctrine that a man, before he approaches
the holy communion, is to examine himself, to see and acknow
ledge his sins and to repent, by desisting from them and rejecting
them because they are from the devil ; and that otherwise his
sins are not forgiven, and he is condemned. The English,
although they are in the doctrine of faith alone, nevertheless,
in the prayer at the holy communion, openly teach self-exami
nation, the acknowledgment and confession of sins, repentance,
and a new life, threatening those who do not comply in these
words, that otherwise the devil will enter into them as he did into
Judas, and fill them with all iniquity, and destroy them, body and
soul. The Germans, Swedes, and Danes, who are also in' faith
alone, teach the same in the prayer at the holy communion,
tnreatemng also that otherwise infemal punishment and eternal
damnation will be incurrer. by reason of the mixture of what is
sacred and profane. These things are read by the priest with a
loud voice before those who are about to receive the Lord's supper
and are heard by them with a full acknowledgment that they
66

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 114, 115
are true. Nevertheless, the same persons, when they hear a
sermon the same day on faith alone, and then that the law does
not condemn them because the Lord has fulfilled it for them ;
that from themselves they cannot do any good but what is
meritorious, and thus that works have nothing of salvation in
them, but faith only ; they return home entirely forgetful of their
former confession, and reject it in proportion as they think of
the sermon on faith alone. Which doctrine now is true, — ^the
latter or the former ? (for two things contrary to each other
cannot both be true) — ^that without an examination, knowledge,-
acknowledgment, confession, and rejection of sins, therefore!
without repentance, there is no remission of them, consequently
no salvation, but eternal damnation ; or that such things
contribute nothing towards salvation, because full satisfaction
for all the sins of men was made by the Lord through the passion
of the cross for those who are in faith, and that those who are-
in .faith only with a confidence that it is so, and in dependence
on the imputation of the Lord's merit, are without sins, ancV
appear before God like those who have their faces clean washed ?
From the above it is evident, that the common religion of all
the churches in the Christian world is, that a man ought l,o'
examine himself, to see and acknowledge his sins, and after
wards to desist from them ; and that otherwise there is no ssl-'
vation, but condemnation. That this moreover is Divine Trulli
itself, is obvious from those passages in the Word in which men
are commanded to repent ; as from these : Jesus said, " Brii g
forth therefore fruits worthy of Repentance." " Now also tl -e '
axe is laid unto the root of the trees : every tree therefore which
bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the
fire" (Luke iii. 8, 9). Jesus said, " Except ye repent, ye shall'
all likewise perish" (Luke xiii. 3, 5). " Jesus preached tho
gospel of the kingdom of God ; saying Repent ye, and believe'
the gospel" (Mark i. 14, 16). Jesus sent forth his disciples,
who "went out, and preached that men should repent" (Mark'
vi. 12). Jesus said unto the apostles, that they should preach ¦
" Repentance and Remission of Sins among all Nations'^
(Luke xxiv. 47). " John did preach the baptism of Repentance
FOR THE Remission of Sms" (Mark i. 4 ; Luke iii. 3). Think
on this subject also from some degree of understanding ; and if
you have any religion, you will see that repentance from sins
is the way to heaven, that faith separate from repentance is not
faith, and that those who are not in faith in consequence of not
being in repentance are in the way, to hell.
115.,Those who are in faith separate from charity, a.x$^ have
confirmed themselves therein from the saying of Paul to the
Romans, " that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of'
the law" (iii. 28), adore this saying as those who adore the sun,
and become like those who, fixing their eyes steadily upon th©
67 F

115- -117 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
sun, whereby the sight becomes dim, do not see any thing in tbe
midst of light ; for they do not see what is understood there by
the deeds of the law, — ^that they are not the commandments of
the decalogue, but the rituals described by Moses in his books,
which are everywhere there called the law ; and, therefore, lest
the commandments of the decalogue should be understood, he
explains it by saying, " Do we then make void the law through
faith ? God forbid : yea, we establish the law" (verse 31 of the
same chap.). Those who, from the above saying, have confirmed
themselves in faith separate from charity, by looking at that
passage as at the sun, do not see where Paul enumerates the
laws of faith, that they are the very works of charity ; and what
is faith without its laws ? Neither do they see where he enu
merates evil works, saying that those who do them cannot enter
into heaven. From which it is evident, how much blindness is
induced from this one passage misunderstood.
116. The reason why evils in the external man cannot be
rem.oved but by means of the man is, because it is of the Divine
Providence of the Lord that whatsoever a man hears, sees.
thinks, wills, speaks, and does, should appear altogether as hia
own. That without this appearance a man would have no re
ception of divine truth, no determination to do good, no appro
priation of love and wisdom, or of charity and faith, and thence
no conjunction with the Lord, consequently no reformation and
regeneration, and thereby salvation, is shown above, n. 71 —
95, and the following. That without this appearance it is
evident there can neither be repentance from sins nor even
faith ; and that a man, without that appearance, is not a man,
but is void of rational life like a beast. Let him who is so dis
posed consult his own reason, as to whether it does not appear
that a man thinks from himself of good and truth, as well spirit
ual as moral and civil. Let him then receive this doctrinal, — -
that all good and truth is from the Lord, and nothing from the
man : and will he not acknowledge this consequence, that a man
ought to do good and think truth as from himself, but still to
acknowledge that they are from the Lord ; therefore, also, that
a man ought to remove evils as from himself, but nevertheless to
acknowledge that he does it from the Lord ?
117. There are many who do not know that they are in
evils, because they do not commit them in externals ; for they
are afraid of civil laws, as well as of the loss of reputation, and
thus they acquire a custom and habit of shunning evils aa
detrimental to their honor and interest. But if they do not
shun evils from a principle of religion, because they are sins,
and against God, then the concupiscences of evils with their
delights remain in them, like impure waters obstructed or stag
nant. Let them explore their thoughts and intentions, and
they will find these concupiscences-, provided they know what
. 68

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 117  119
Bin is. There are many such persons, who, having confirmed
themselves in faith separate from charity, and because they
believe that the law does not condemn, do not even attend to
sins, and indeed doubt whether there be any such thing, or
think that if there be, they are not such in the sight of God,
because they are forgiven. Such also are natural moralists, who
think civil and moral life, with the prudence belonging to it,
effects all things, and the Divine Providence nothing. And,
such aro those who studiously affect the reputation and name
of honesty and sincerity for the sake of honor or interest. But
those who are such, and at the same time spurn religion, be
come after death spirits of concupiscences, who appear to them
selves as if they were real men, but to others at a distance as
priapuses ; and like owls they see in the dark, and not at all in
the light.
118. From these considerations now follows the confirmation
of Article V., which is, that therefore a man ought to remove evils
from the external man as from himself. This may also be seen
explained in The Doctrine of Life foe the New Jeeusalem,
in three articles ; one of which is, that no one can shun evils as
sins, so as interiorly to have an aversion for them, except by
combats against them, n. 92 — 100 ; another, that a man ought
to shun evils as sins, and to fight against them as from himself,
n. 101 — 107 ; the third, that if any one shuns evils from any
other cause than because they are sins, he does not shun them,
but only causes them not to appear before the world, n. 108
—113. 119. VI. ThattheLordthenpuHfteshim from the concupi
scences of evil in theinternal man, and from evils themselves in the
eosternal. The reason why the Lord purifies a man from the
concupiscences of evil, when the man removes evils as from
himself, is because the Lord cannot purify him until he does
this ; for there are evils in the external man, and concupiscen
ces of evil in the internal, and these cohere together like the
roots of a tree to their trunk. Unless, therefore, the evils are
removed, there is no opening ; for they obstruct and close the
door, which cannot be opened by the Lord except by means of
the man as was shown above. "When a man does so open the
door as from himself, then the Lord immediately extirpates the
concupiscences. Another reason is, because the Lord acts upon
the inmost of a man, and from the inmost upon the next in
order, even to the ultimates ; and in the ultimates the man is
entire. So long therefore as the ultimates are kept closed by
the main himself, there cannot be any purification effected by
the Lord, but only such an operation in the interiors as the
Lord produces in hell, of which the man is a form who is in
concupiscences and at the same time in evils ; and that operation
is a disposition only that one may not destroy another, and
69

119  121 ANGELIC WLSDOM CONCERNING
that goodness and truth may not be violated. Tliat the Lord
continually urges and presses that a man may open the door
to him, is evident from his own words in the Reyelation, " Be
hold, I stand at the door, and knock : if any man hear my
voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup
with him, and he with me" (iii. 20).
120. A man knows nothing at all of the state of the inte
rior of his mind, or of his internal man, and yet there are in
finite things there, not one of which comes to his knowledge ;
for the intemal of a man's thought, or his internal man, is
his spirit itself, and in it there are things as infinite or innumer
able as there are in a man's body. They must, indeed, be fully
as innumerable ; for a man's spirit is in its form a man, and all
things thereof correspond to all the things of a man as to his
body. Now, since a man has no knowledge from any sensation,
how his mind or soul operates upon all things of his body jointly
and severally, so neither does he know how the Lord operates
upon all things of his mind or soul, that is, upon all things ot
his spirit. The operation is continual and the man has no share
in it ; but yet the Lord cannot purify him from any concupi
scence of evil in his spirit or internal man, so long as he keeps
his external closed. There are evils by which a man keeps his
external closed, each of which appears to him as one, although
there are infinite numbers in each ; and when a man removes
this seeming one, the Lord removes the infinite numbers in it.
This is what is meant by the Lord's purifying a man from the
concupiscences of evil in the internal man, and from evils them
selves in the external.
121. It is thought by many, that merely to believe that
which the church teaches, purifies a man from evils ; and it is
thought by some, that to do good purifies ; by some, to know,
speak, and teach such things as are of the church ; by some,
to read the Word and books of piety ; by some, to frequent
churches, to hear sermons, and especially to receive the holy
supper ; by some, to renounce the world, and study piety ; by
some, to confess themselves guilty of all-sins ; and so on. But,
nevertheless, none of these things do at all purify a man unless
he examines himself, perceives his sins, acknowledges them,
condemns himself on account of them, and repents by desisting
from them ; and all these things he must do as from himself
but still from an acknowledgment of the heart that he does
them from the Lord. Before they are done, the acts just men
tioned avail nothing, for they are either meritorious or hypocri
tical ; and they appear in heaven before the angels either like
beautiful harlots smelling offensively from their defilement, like
deformed women appearing handsome by means of paint, like
actors and mimics on the stage, or like apes in human apparel.
But when evils are removed, the acts before enumerated beconw
70

THE DIVINE PEOvrDSBfOE. 121  123
acts of the love, and then the doers thereof appear in heaven
before the angels as beautiful men, and as their associates and
companions. 122. But it should be well known, that a man in doing the
work of repentance ought to look up to the Lord alone. If he
looks up to God the Father only, he cannot be purified ; nor if
to the Father for the sake of the Son ; nor if to the Son as a
man only ; for there is one God, and the Lord is he ; for his
divine and human essence constitute one person, as is shown in
The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem conceening the Lord.
In order that every one in the work of repentance might look to
the Lord alone, he instituted the holy supper, which confirms, to
those who repent, the remission of sins ; and it confirms it, be
cause in that supper or communion every one is kept looking to
the Lord only.
123. VII. That it is the continual endeavowr of the Divine
Providence of the Lord, to join a man to himisdf and himself to
a man, that he may he able to give him the felicities of etemal
life ; which cannot be done, except inproportion as evils with their
concupiscences are removed. That it is the continual endeavour
of the Divine Providence of the Lord to join a man to himself
and himself to a man ; that it is this conjunction which is called
reformation and regeneration ; and that a man has thence salva
tion, was shown above, n. 27 — 45. Who does not see that
conjunction with God is salvation and eternal life ? This is seen
by every one who believes that men by creation are images and
likenesses of God (Gen. i. 26, 27), and who knows what an
image and likeness of God is. Who that has sound reason,
when he thinks from his rationality, and wills to think from his
liberty, can believe that there are three Gods, equal in essence,
and tnat the Divine Esse or Divine Essence can be divided ?
That there is a trine in one God, may be thought and compre
hended, as are comprehended the soul and body in an angel
and in a man, and the sphere of life proceeding from them :
and as this trine in one exists in the Lord only, it follows, that
conjunction must be with him. Make use of your rationality,
and at the same time of your liberty of thinking, and you will
see this truth in its light, only first admitting, that there is a
God, and that there is a heaven and eternal life. Now since
God is one, and man by creation was made an image and like
ness of him, and since, by infernal love, and its concupiscences
and their delights, he came into the love of all evils, and thence
destroyed in himself the image and likeness of God, it follows,
that it is the continual endeavour of the Divine Providence of
the Lord to conjoin a man to himself and himself to a man,
and thus to make a man into his image. It follows also, that
this is in order that the Lord may .be able to give a man the
felicities of eternal life, for such is the nature of the divine
71

123, 124 angelic wisdom conceening
love. But the reason why be canno); give those felicities, nof
make a man an image of himself, unless a man as from hiinself
remove sins in the external man, is, because the Lord is not
only divine love, but also divine wisdom, and 'divine love does
nothing but from and according to its divine wisdom. It is
according to his divine wisdom that a man cannot be conjoined
to the Lord, and so reformed, regenerated, and saved, unless
he is permitted to act from liberty according to reason, for
thereby a man is a man ; and whatsoever is according to the
divine wisdom of the Lord, that also is of his Divine Pro
vidence. 124. To what has been said I will add two arcana of angelic
wisdom, from which the nature of the Divine Providence may
be seen. The first is, that the Lord never acts upon any par
ticular principle in a man separately, but upon all together :
the other is, that the Lord acts from inmost principles and from
ultimate or lowest principles at the same time. The reason why
the Lord never acts upon any particular principle im, a man sepqr
rately, but upon all together, is, because all things of a man are
in such a connection, and by their connection m such a form,
that they act not as several, but as one. It is knowp that a
man is in such a connection, and by that connection in such a
form as to his body ; and in a similar form, by virtue of the
connection of the whole, is the human mind also, for that is
the spiritual man, and is indeed truly a man. Hence it is that
a man's spirit, which is his mind in the body, is a man in eveiy
particular of its form, and therefore after death a man is equally
a man as in the world, with this difference only, that he has pijj;
off that covering which constituted his body in the world. Now,
as the human form is such, that all its parts make a one which
acts as one, it follows, that one part cannot be removed out of
its place and changed as to its state, but in agreement with the
rest ; for if one were removed out of its place and changed ^s
to its state, the form which must act as one would suffer. Froj^
this it is evident, that the Lord never acts upon any particular
part or principle, unless upon all together. Thus does he act
upon the universal angelic heaven, because that in his sight i$
as one man ; so also does he act upon every angel, because every
angel is a heaven in its least form ; and so also does he act upoi)
every man, proximately upon all things of his mind, and through
these upon all things of his body ; for a man's mind is his spint
and according to its conjunction with the Lord is an angel, ana
his body is obedience. But it is to be well observed, that the
Lord acts also singularly, yea most singularly upon every par
ticular of a man, yet at the same time through all things of
his form ; but he does not change the state of any part, or of
any thing in particular, except so far as is suitable to the whole
form. Of this, however, more will be said in what follows,

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE. 124, 125
where it will be demonstrated, that the Divine Providence of
the Lord is universal,' because it is in particulars, and that it is
particular because it is universal. The reason why the Lord acts
fror)i inm,ost and from, ultiinate principles at the same time, is,
because in this way and no other all and singular things are
contained in connection ; intermediate principles depending
successively upon the inmost even to the ultimate, and in ulti
mate principles they exist all together ; for it is shown in the
treatise On the Divine Love and the Divtne Wisdom, part
the third, that in the ultimate principle there is the simultane
ous derived from the first of all principles. Hence also it is,
that the Lord from eternity, or Jehovah, came into the world,
and there put on and assumed the human nature in ultimate
principles, that he might be from first principles and in ultimate
at the same time ; thus from first principles by ultimate might
govern the universal world, and so save men ; whom he is able
to save according to the laws of his Divine Providence, which
are also the laws of his divine wisdom. In this manner, there
fore, is true, what is known in all Christian countries, that no
mortal could have been saved, except the Lord had come into
the world, respecting which The Doctrine of the New Jeej-
SALEM CONCEENING Iaith, h. 36, may be consulted. It is on
this account that the Lord is called the First and the Last.
125. These angelic arcana are premised, in order that it
may be comprehended, how the Divine Providence of the Lord
operates, that he may conjoin a man to himself, and himself to
a man. This is not effected upon a particular of a man sepa
rately, but upon the whole of him together ; and it is done from
his inmost and his ultimate principles at the same time. His
life's love is the inmost of a man ; the things which are in the
external of his thought are the ultimates ; and the things which
are in the internal of his thought are the intermediates. The
n-ature and quality of these principles, in a wicked man, was
shown in the foregoing pages ; from which consideration it is
again evident, that the Lord cannot act from inmost and ulti
mate principles at the same time, except together with a man,
for a man is together with the Lord in ultimate principles ;
tberefore, as a man acts in ultimate principles, which are at his
disposal, because subject to his free-will, so the Lord acts from
his inmost principles, and upon the successive to the ultimate.
The things which are in a man's inmost principles, and in the
successive from the inmost to the ultimate, are altogether un
known to him, and therefore he is totally ignorant how and
what the Lord works there ; but since they cohere as one with
the ultimate principles, it is hot therefore necessary for a man
to know more than that he ought to shun evils as sins, and
look up to the Loid. In this and in no other way can his life's
73

125—128 ANGEI.IC WISDOM CONCEENINO
love, which by birth is infemal, be removed by the Lord, and
a love of celestial life be implanted in its place.
126. When the love of celestial life is implanted by the
Lord in place of the love of infernal life, then, in place of the
concupiscences of evil and falsity are implanted affections of
good and truth, in place of the delights of the concupiscences
of evil and fal-sity are implanted the delights of the affections
of good, and in place of the evils of infemal love are implanted
the goods of celestial love ; then, also, instead of cunning is
implanted prudence, and instead of thoughts of malice are im
planted thoughts of wisdom. Thus a man is born again, and
becomes a new man. What goods succeed in the place of evils,
may be seen in The Docteine of Life for the New Jeru
salem, n. 67—73, 74—79, 80—86, 87—91. Also, that in
proportion as a man shuns and turns away from evils as sins,
he loves the truths of wisdom, n. 32 — 41 ; and that in the
same proportion he possesses faith, and becomes spiritual, n.
42—52. 127. That it is according to the religion common in the
universal Christian world, that a man should examine himself,
perceive his sins, acknowledge them, confess them before God,
and desist from them, and that this is repentance, remission of
sins, and thence salvation, was shovm above from the prayers
read before the holy communion in all the Christian churches.
The same may also appear from the creed that has its name
fiom Athanasius, which likewise is received in the whole Chris
tian world, and at the end of which are these words : — "The
Lord shall come to judge the quick and the dead, at whose
coming those that have done good shall go into life everlasting,
and those that have done evil into everlasting fire."
128. Who does not know from the Word, that the life of
every one after death is according to his actions ? Open the
Word, read it, and you will clearly see it ; but in this case remove
your thoughts from faith, and justification by it alone. That
the Lord m his Word everywhere teaches this, let these few
passages testify: "Every tree that bringeth not forth good
FRUIT is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Therefore by their
FRUITS ye shall know them" (Matt. vii. 19, 20). " Many will
say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in
thy name ? and in thy name done many wonderful works ? And
then will I profess unto them, I never knew you : depart from
me, ye that work iniquity" (Matt. vii. 22, 23). " Whosoever
heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken
him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock : but
every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them
NOT, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house
upon the sand" (Matt. vii. 24, 26 ; Luke vi. 46—49). " The Son
74

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE. 128
of Man shall come in the glory of his Father, and then he shall
EEWAED EVEEY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS WOEKs" (Matt. Xvi. 27).
" The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a
nation bringing forth the fruits theeeof" (Matt. xxi. 43).
" Jesus said. My mother and my brethren are these, which
hear the word of God and do it" (Luke viii. 21). " Then ye
shall begin to stand without and to knock at the door, saying.
Lord, open unto us ; but he shall answer and say unto you, 1
know you not whence ye are ; depart from me all ye workers
of iniquity" (Luke xiii. 26 — 27). " And shall come forth, they
that have done good, unto the resurrection of life ; and they that
have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation" (John v.
29). " We know that God heareth not sinnees : but if any man
be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth"
(ix. 31). "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do
them" (John xiii. 17). " He that hath my commandments,
and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me ; and I will love
him, and will come to him, and will make my abode with him
(John xiv. 15, 21 — 24). " Ye are my friends, if ye do what
soever I command you. I have chosen you, that ye should
BEING forth fruit, and that your feuit should remain"
(John XV. 14, 16). " The Lord said unto John, Unto the angel
of the church of Ephesus write, I know thy woeks : I have
against thee, that thou has left thy first love, repent and do
THE FIRST WORKS ; or clsc I wiU remove thy candlestick out of
hs place" (Rev. ii. 1, 2, 4, 5). " Unto the angel of the church
oi' Smyrna write, I know thy works" (Rev. ii. 8). " Untq the
a.igel of the church in Pergamos write, I know thy woeks.
Repent" (Rev. ii. 12, 13, 16). " Unto the angel of the church
in Thyatira write, I know thy works and CHARnv ; and thy
last works to be more than the first" (Rev. ii. 18). " Unto
the angel of the church in Sardis write, I know thy works,
that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. I have
NOT FOUND THY WORKS PERFECT BEFORE GoD. RePENt" (Rcv.
iii. 1, 2, 3). " And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia
write, I KNOW thy works" (Rev. iii. 7, 8). " Unto the angel
of the church of the Laodiceans write, I know thy woeks.
Repent" (Rev. iii. 14, 16, 19). " I heard a voice from heaven
saying. Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from
henceforth ; theie woeks do follow them" (Rev. xiv. 13).
" A book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead
were judged, all according to their works" (Rev. xx. 12, 13).
" Behold, I come quickly ; and my reward is with me, to give
EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS WORk" (RoV. Xxii. 12). TlieSO
passages are in the New Testament : there are still more in the
Old, out of which I will adduce only this : " Stapd in the gate
of the Lord's house, and proclaim there this word : Thus saith
Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and
75

128, 129 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
your doings ; trust ye not in lying words, saying. The temple
of Jehovah, The temple of Jehovah, The temple of Jehovah are
these. Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear
falselv, and come and stand before me, in this house, which ig
called by my name, and say. We are delivered to do all these
abominations? Is this house become a den of robbers ? Behold,
even I have seen it, saith Jehovah" (Jer. vii. 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11).

THAT IT IS A LAW OF THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE, THAT A MAIS
SHOULD NOT BE FORCED BY EXTERNAL MEANS TO THINK
AND WILL, AND SO TO BELIEVE AND LOVE THE THINGS
WHICH ARE OF RELIGION ; BUT THAT A MAN SHOULD LEAD,
AND SOMETIMES FORCE HIMSELF TO IT.
129. This law of the Divine Providence follows from the
two preceding, which are. That a man should act from liberty
according to reason, of which see n. 71 — 99 : and this from
himself, although from the Lord, therefore as if from himself,
of which see n. 100 — 128. And since to be forced is not to act
from liberty according to reason, and is not from himself, but
from what is not liberty and from another, therefore this law
of the Divine Providence follows in order after the two former.
Every one knows also that no person can be forced to think
that which he will not think, and to will that which he thinks
not to will ; or therefore to believe that which he does not be
lieve, and especially that which he will not believe ; or to love
that wh ich he does not love, and especially that which he will not
love ; for a man's spirit, or his mind, is in full liberty to think,
will, believe, and love. It is in this liberty by virtue of influx
from the spiritual world, which does not force, (for a man's
spirit or mind is in that world ;) but not by virtue of influx
from the natural world, which is not received, unless they act
as one. A man may be compelled to say, that he thinks and
wills such and such things, and that he believes and loves such
and such things ; but if they are not or do not become objects
of his affection and thence of his reason, he nevertheless does
not think, will, believe, and love them. A man may be com
pelled also to speak in favour of religion, and to act accordhig
to it ; but he cannot be compelled to think in favour of it from
any faith, and to will it from any love. Every one also, in
kingdoms where justice and judgment are preserved, is re
strained from speaking and acting against religion ; yet still,
no one can be forced to think and will in favour of it ; for it is
ill the liberty of every one to think with hell, and to will in
76 ,

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 129, 130
favour of it, as likewise to think and will in favour of heaven.
But reason teaches what the one is, and what the other ; also
what portion awaits the one, and what the other ; and the will
from reason has its option and election. Hence it may appear
that what is external cannot force what is internal : neverthe
less, this is sometimes the case ; but that to do so is hurtful,
will be shown in the following order. I. That no one is reformed
by miracles and signs, because they force. II. That no one is
reformed by visions and by conversations with the dead, because
they force. IH. That no one is reformed by threats and pun
ishments, because they force. IV. That no one is reformed
in states which are not of rationality and liberty. V. That it
is not contrary to rationality and liberty for a man to force him
self. VI. That the external man is to be reformed by the in
ternal, and not contrariwise.
130. I. That no one is reformed by miracles and signs, be
cause they force. It has been previously shown, that a man has
an internal and an external principle of thought ; and that the
Lord in a man fiows through the internal of thought into its ex
ternal and so teaches and leads him ; also, that it is from tl e
Divine Providence of the Lord, that a man should act from li
berty according to reason ; but both these laws of man's beir g
would be nullified if mii-acles were performed, and the m^ji
by them were compelled to believe. That such would be the
case, may be rationally seen thus : it cannot be denied that
miracles induce a belief, and strongly persuade, that that is
true which is said and taught by him who performs miracles ;
and that this at first so occupies the external of man's thought, as
in a manner to fascinate and enchain it : but the man is hereby
deprived of his two faculties, called rationality and liberty, by
which he is enabled to act from freedom according to reason ;
and then the Lord cannot fiow-in through the internal into the
external of his thought, but only leaves him to confirm from
his rationality that thing which by the miracle was made an
object of his belief. The state of a man's thought is such, that
from the internal thereof he sees a thing in the external as it
were in a glass ; for, as was said above, a man can see his
thought, which can only be from interior thought. When he
sees an object as in a glass, he can also turn it this way or
that, and fashion it, till it appears to himself beautiful ; and
this object, if it be a truth, may be compared to a living and
beautiful virgin or youth. But if the man cannot turn it this
way or that, and so fashion it, but only believe it from persua
sion induced by a miracle, in this case, if it be a truth, it may
be compared to a virgin or youth cut out of stone or wc od, in
which there is no life. It may also be compared to an object
constantly before the sight, which, itself only being seen, hides
all that is on each side and behind it. It may also be compared
77

130 — 132 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENING
to one continual sound in the ear, which takes aw^ the per
ception of harmony arising from several sounds. Such is the
degree of blindness and deafness induced in the human mind
by miracles. It is the same with every thing confirmed, which
is not seen from some rationality before it is confirmed.
131. From these considerations it may appear, that faith
induced by miracles is not faith, but persuasion ; for there is
nothing rational in it ; still less any thing spiritual, it being
merely external without any internal principle. It is the same
with all that a man does from such persuasive faith, whether he
acknowledge God, or worship him at home or at church, or per
form acts of kindness. When a miracle alone leads a man to
the acknowledgment of God, to worship, and to piety, he acts
from the natural man, and not from the spiritual ; for a miracle
infuses faith by an external, and not by an intemal way, there
fore from the world, and not from heaven : but the Lord does
not enter into a man by any other than by an internal way,
which is by the Word, and by doctrine and preachings derived
from the Word ; and as miracles shut up this way, therefore at
this day no miracles are wrought.
132. That such is the nature of miracles may plainly appear
from those wrought before the Jewish and Israelitish people.
Although they saw so many miracles in the land of Egypt,
aJ'terwards at the Red Sea, others in the desert, and especially
u pon Mount Sinai, when the law was promulgated, yet, in the
s])ace of a month, when Moses tarried upon that mountain, they
IT ade themselves a golden calf, and acknowledged it for Jehovah
rt ho brought them out of the land of Egypt (Exod. xxxii. 4, 6, 6).
The same also may appear from the miracles wrought afterwards
in the land of Canaan, notwithstanding which the people so
often departed from the worship that was commanded ; aud
from the miracles which the Lord wrought before them when
he was in the world, notwithstanding which they crucified him.
The reason why miracles were wrought among the Jews and
Israelites was, because they were altogether external men, and
were introduced into the land of Canaan merely that they might
represent a church and its internal principles" by the external
things of worship ; and a wicked man may be a representative as
well as a good man. The external things of worship among
them were rituals, all which signified spiritual and celestial
things. Even Aaron, although he made the golden calf, and
commanded the worship of it (Exod. xxxii. 2 — 6, 35), could,
nevertheless, represent the Lord and his work of salvation.
And as they could not, by the intemal principles of worship,
be led to represent these things, therefore they were led, yea
forced and compelled to it, by miracles. The reason why tney
could not be brought to such representation by the intemal
principles of worship was, "because they did not acknowledge
78 y J

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 132  134
the Lord, although the whole Word, which was among them,
treats of him only ; and he who does not acknowledge the Lord
cannot receive any intemal worship. But, after the Lord
manifested himself, and was received and acknowledged in the
churches as the eternal God, miracles ceased.
133. The effect of miracles upon the good, however, is dif
ferent from what it is upon the wicked. 'Hie good do not desire
miracles, but they believe the miracles which are recorded in
the Word ; and if they hear any thing of a miracle, they attend
no otherwise to it than as a light argument which confirms
their faith, for they think from the Word, consequently from
the Lord, and not from a miracle. It is otherwise with the
wicked : they indeed may be driven and forced into faith, and
even into worship and piety, but only for a short time ; for
their evils being shut in, the concupiscences thereof and the de
lights thence derived continually act against the external of
their worship and piety ; and in order that these evils may escape
from confinement and break out, they think about the miracle,
and at length call it a delusion or an artifice, or an operatic; i
of nature, and so return into their evils ; and he who returns
into his evils after worship, profanes the truths and goods crf
worship, and the lot of profaners after death is the worst of all.
These are those who are meant by the Lord's words in Mat:.
xii. 43, 44, 45, whose last state is worse than their first. Besides,
if miracles were to be wrought before those who do not believe
in consequence of the miracles recorded in the Word, they must
be continually performed, and constantly presented to their
view. From these considerations, the reason may appear why
miracles are not performed at this day.
134. II. That no one is reformed hy visions and hy conversing-
with the dead, heca/use they force. Visions are of two kinds,
divine and diabolical : divine visions are effected by representa
tives in heaven, and diabolical visions are effected by magic in
hell. There are also fantastical visions, which are illusions of
an abstracted mind. Divine visions, which, as was said, are
produced by representatives in heaven, are such as the prophets
had, who, when they were in them, were not in the body, but
in the spirit ; for visions cannot appear to a man when his body
is awake. Therefore, when they appeared to the prophets, it is
said also that they were then in the Spirit ; as is plain from the
following passages : Ezekiel says, " The Spirit took me up, and
brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea,
to them of the captivity; so the vision that I had seen weni
up from me" (xi. 1, 24). Again, he says, that the Spirit lifted
him up between the earth and the heaven, and brought hijn in
the VISIONS of God to Jerusalem (viii. 3). In like manner he
was in a vision of God, or in the Spirit, when he saw four ani
mals, which were cherubim (i. x.) ; as also when he saw the new
79

134 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENING
temple and the new earth, and an angel measuring them (xl.
xlviii.). That he was then in the visions of God, he declares
(xl. 2, 26) ; and that he was in the Spirit (xliii. 5). In a similar
state was Zechariah, when he saw a man riding among the
myrtle trees (i. 8) ; when he saw the four horns and a man with
a measuring line in his hand (ii. 1, 3) ; when he saw a candle
stick and two olive trees (iv. 1, 3) ; when he saw a flying roll
and an ephah (v. 1, 6) ; when he saw four chariots coming out
from between two mountains, and horses (vi. 1, and following
verses). In a similar state was Daniel, when he saw four beasts
ascending out of the sea (vii. 1, and following verses) ; and when
he saw the battle of the ram and the he-goat (viii. 1, and fol
lowing verses). That he saw these things in a vision of his
spirit is stated in chap. vii. 1, 2, 7, 13 ; viii. 2 ; x. 1, 7, 8 ; and
that the angel Gabriel was seen of him in a vision (ix. 21).
John also was in a vision of the spirit, when he saw the things
which he has described in the Revelation ; as when he saw the
seven candlesticks and the Son of Man in the midst of them
(i. 12 — 16) ; when he saw a throne in heaven, and one sitting
on the throne, and four animals, which were cherubim, round
about it (iv.) ; when he saw the book of life taken by the Lamb
(v.) ; when he saw horses coming forth out of the book (vi.) ;
when he saw seven angels with trumpets (viii.) ; when he saw
the bottomless pit opened, and locusts coming forth out of it
(ix.) ; when he saw the dragon and his war with Michael (xii.) ;
when he saw the two beasts, one coming out of the sea, and
the other from the earth (xiii.) ; when he saw the woman sitting
upon the scarlet beast (xvii.), and Babylon destroyed (x-viii. , ;
when he saw the white horse, and him that sat thereon (xix.) ;
when he saw the new heaven and the new earth, and the holy
Jerusalem coming down out of heaven (xxi.) ; and when he saw
the river of the water of life (xxii.). That he saw these things
in a vision of the Spirit is declared (i. 10 ; iv. 2 ; v. 1 ; vi. 1 ;
xxi. 10). Such were the visions, which appeared out of heaven,
before the sight of their spirit, and not before the sigh,t of their
body. Such visions do not exist at this day ; for if they did,
they would not be understood, because they are effected by rep
resentatives, the particulars of which signify intemal things
of the chm-ch, and arcana of heaven. That visions were also
to cease when the Lord came into the world, is foretold by
Daniel (xi. 24). Diabolical visions sometimes have existed, being
induced by enthusiastic spirits and visionaries, who from the
delirium they were in called themselves the Holy Ghost : but
those spirits are now collected by the Lord, and cast into a hell
separate from the hells of others. From what has been said it is
evident, that no one can be reformed by any other visions than
those which are recorded in the Word. There are also fantas
tical visions, but these are mere illusions of an abstracted mind.
80

the DIVIJJE PEOVIDENCE. 134*  138
134*. That neither can any one be reformed by speaking
with the dead, is evident from the Lord's words concerning the
rich man in hell, aiid Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham ; for
the rich man said, "I pray thee, father Abraham, that thou
wouldst send Lazarus to my father's house: for I have five
brethren ; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come
into this place of torment. Abraham said unto him, They
have Moses and the prophets ; let them hear them. But he
said. Nay, father Abraham, but if one went unto them from
the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him. If they
hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded
though one rose from the dead" (Luke xvi. 27 — 31). Speaking
with the dead would have the same effect as miracles before-
mentioned, viz. : that a man would be persuaded and compelled
to worship for a short time ; but as such compulsion deprives
a man of rationality, and at the same time shuts in his evils, as
was said above, the charm or intemal restraint becomes dis
solved, and the inclosed evils break out with blasphemy and
profanation. This only happens, however, when spirits induce
some dogmatic principle of religion, which is never done by any
good spirit, still less by any angel of heaven.
135. Nevertheless, to speak with spirits, though rarely with
angels of heaven, is allowed, and has 'been for many ages back ;
but when it is allowed, the spirits speak with a man in his
mother tongue, and only a few words. Those, however, who
sj)eak by permission of the .Lord, never say any thing which
takes away the freedom of reason ; nor do they teach ; for the
Lord alone teacbes a man, though mediately through the Word
in illumination, which will be spoken of presently. That this
is the case, has been made known to me by experience. I have
discoursed with spirits and angels now for several years ; nor
durst any spirit, neither would any angel, say any thing to me,
much less instruct me, about any thing in the Word, or any
doctrinal derived from the Word ; but the Lord alone, who was
revealed to me, and afterwards continually did and does appear
before my eyes as the §un in which he is, even as he appears to
the angels, taught me and illuminated me.
136. III. That no one is reformed by threats and punishments,
because they force. It is known that the external cannot force
the internal, but that the internal can force the external. It is
also known, that the internal is so averse to force from the
external, that it turns itself away ; and also that external delights
allure the internal to give its consent and its love : it may also
be known, that there exists internal constraint and intemal
liberty. But all these points, although they are known, should,
nevertheless, be illustrated ; for there are many things which
when they are heard are immediately perceived to be as stated,
because they are truths, and they are thence affirmed ; but if
81

136 ANGELIC -WISDOM CONCEENING
not at the same time confirmed by reasons, they may be invali
dated by arguments from fallacies, and at length denied. The
things, therefore, which are now mentioned as known, are to
be resumed and rationally confirmed. Fiest, That the external
cannot force the internal, hut tliat the intemal can force the ex
ternal. Who can be forced to believe and to love ? It is no
m.ore possible for any one to be forced to believe, than to bo
forced to think that a thing is so and so when he does not think
it su : and it is no more possible for any one to be forced to
love, than to be forced to will that which he does not will ; for
belief is of the thought, and love is of the will. But the internal
may be restrained by the external from speaking ill against the
laws of the kingdom, the morals of life, and the sanctities of
the church. The internal may be thus forced or restrained by
threats and punishments, and also is and ought to be restrained ;
but such internal is not an internal properly human, but an
internal that a man has in common with beasts, which also can
be forced. The human intemal resides above this animal in
ternal ; and it is the former which is here meant, and which
cannot be forced. Secondly, Tliat the internal is, so averse to
force from the external, that if turns itself away. The reason ot
this is, that the internal wills to be at liberty, and loves liberty ;
for liberty is of a man's love or of his life, as was shown above.
Therefore when liberty perceives itself to be forced, it withdraws
itself as it were within itself, and averts itself, regarding force
as its enemy ; for the love, which makes a man's life, is ex
asperated, and causes him to think, that thus he is not his own,
consequently, that he does not live to himself. The reason why
a man's internal is such, is grounded in the law of the Divine
Providence of the Lord, that a man should act from liberty-
according to reason. Hence it is evident, that to force men to
divine worship by threats and punishments, is hurtful. But
there are some who suffer themselves to be forced to religion,
and some who do not. Those who suffer themselves to be forced
to religion are many of the papists ; but it is the case with those
in whose worship there is nothing internal, but all is external.
Those who do not suffer themselves to be forced are many of
the English nation, and hence it is that there is an internal
in their worship ; what is in the external is from the internal.
The interiors of these latter, as to religion, appear in spiritual
light like white clouds ; but the interiors of the former, as to
religion, appear in the light of heaven like dark clouds. Both
these appearances are to be seen in the spiritual world, and
whoever will may see them when he enters that world after
death. Moreover, constrained worship shuts in evils, which then
lie concealed like fire in wood under the ashes, which continues
to kindle and spread till it breaks out into a flame ; whereas
worship which is not constrained, but spontaneous, does not
82

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE. 136
shut in evils, which, therefore, are like fires that immediately
burn out and are dispersed. From these considerations it is
evident, that the internal has such a repugnance to restraint,
that it averts itself. The reason why the internal can force
the external, is, because the internal is as a master, and the
external as a servant. Thirdly, That external delights allure
the intemal to give its consent and also its love. Delights are of
two kinds — ^those of the understanding and those of the will.
The delights of the understanding are also delights of wisdom,
and the delights of the will are also delights of love ; for wisdom
is of the underetanding, and love is of the will. Now, since the
delights of the body and its senses, which are external delights,
act as one with the internal delights, which are of the under
standing and the will, it follows, that as the internal refuses
constraint from the external, insomuch as to turn itself away,
so the internal gratefully beholds delight in the external, inso
much as to turn itself to it ; thus is produced consent on tho
part of the understanding, and love on the part of the will. All
infants in the spiritual world are introduced into angelic wisdom,
and by it into celestial love, by delights and pleasantness from
the Lord; first, by beautiful objects in houses and pleasant
things in gardens; then, by representatives of spiritual things,
whicli affect the interiors of their minds with pleasure; and,
lastly, by truths of wisdom, and so by goods of love : thus con
tinually by delights in their order; first, by the delights of
the love of the understanding and its wisdom, and lastly, by
the delights of the love of the will, which becomes their life's
love, under which the other things, which have entered by
delights, are kept subordinate. This is done, because all of
the understanding and will is to be formed by the external
before it is formed by the internal ; all of the understanding
and will being formed first by the things which enter through
the senses of the body, especially the sight and hearing ; but
when the first understanding and the first will are formed,
then the internal of thought regards them as the external of its
thought, and either conjoins itself with them or separates itself
from them ; conjoining itself with them if they are delightful,
and separating itself from them if they are not. But it ought
to be well understood that the internal of the understanding, does
not join itself with the internal of the -will, but that the internal
of the will joins itself with the intemal of the understanding,
and causes a reciprocal conjunction ; which, however, is formed
by the internal of the will, and not at all by the internal of the
understanding. Hence it is, that a man cannot be reformed by
faith alpne, but by the love of the will which forms faith to
itself. Fourthly, ITiat there exists intemal constraint aird
internal liberty. Internal constraint exists with those wh<)se
worship is altogether external, and in no degree internal ;- for
83 G '

136  138 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
their internal is to think and will that to which their external
is forced. Such are those whose worship is directed to men,
both living and dead, and thence to idols, and who are in the
faith of miracles. In these there is no internal, but what is, at
the same time, external. But in those whose worship is internal,
there exists internal constraint, of which there are two hinds,
one from fear and another from love. Intemal constraint from
fear exists in those whose worship originates in the fear of infer
nal torment and its fire ; but in this case the internal is not the
internal of thought, before treated of, but the external of thought,
which is here called internal, because it is of thought. The
internal of thought, which was before treated of, cannot be
forced or constrained by any fear ; but it can be constrained by
love and by the fear of losing it. The fear of God in a genuine
sense is no other than this. To be constrained by love and by
the fear of losing it, is to be constrained by onesself ; and it will
be afterwards seen, that to force onesself is not against liberty
and rationality.
137. From this it may appear, what is constrained worship,
and what is unconstrained. Constrained worship is corporeal,
inanimate, obscure, and gloomy: corporeal, because it is of
the body and not of the mind ; inanimate, because there is no
life in it; obscure, because there is no understanding in it;
and gloomy, because there is no delight of heaven in it. But
unconstrained worship, when it is genuine, is spiritual, living,
lucid, and joyful : spiritual, because there is spirit from the Lord
in it ; living, because there is life from the Lord in it ; lucid,
because there is wisdom from the Lord in it ; and joyful, because
there is heaven from the Lord in it.
138. ly. That no one is reformed im, states which are not
of ratioriality and liberty. It was shown above, that nothing is
appropriated to man but what he does from liberty according to
reason ; the cause of which is, that liberty is of the will, and
reason of the understanding ; and when a man acts from Hberty
according to reason, then he acts from his will through his un
derstanding, and that which is done in conjunction of both is
appropriated. Now since the Lord wills that a man should he
reformed and regenerated, in order that he may enjoy etemal
life or the life of heaven, and no one can be reformed and rege
nerated unless good be appropriated to his will, that it may be
as it were his own, and truth to his understanding, that it like
wise may be as it were his own ; and since nothing can be
appropriated to any one but what is from the liberty of his will
a<5Co_rding to the reason of his understanding, it follows, that no
one IS reformed in states which are not of liberty and rationality.
There are several states which are not of liberty and rationality;
but in general they may be referred to these: States of fea/r,
oj misfortune, mental disorder, bodily sickness, ignoranee, and
84

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE. 138, 139
blindness of the understanding ; but of each of these states
Bomething shall be distinctly mentioned.
139. The reason why no one is reformed in a state of feae,
is, because fear takes away free-will and reason, or liberty and
rationality ; for, while love opens the interiors of the mind, fear
closes them, and when they are closed, a man thinks little, and
only what offers itself to the mind and senses. Such is the
effect of all kinds of fear which assail the mind. It was shown
before, that a man has both an internal and an external of
thought. Fear can never invade the internal of thought, this
being always in freedom because it is in its life's love ; but it
can invade the external of thought, and when it does this, the
internal is closed, in which case the man can no longer act from
liberty according to his reason, and therefore cannot be reform
ed. The fear which invades the external of thought and closes
the internal is chiefly the fear of the loss of honour or of gain ;
but the fear of civil punishments, and of external ecclesiastical
punishments, does not close it, because these laws only prescribe
punishments for those who speak and act against the civil insti
tutions of a kingdom and the spiritual ones of the church, and
not for those who think against them. The fear of infernal
pimishment indeed invades the external of thought, but only
for some moments, hours, or days, and afterwards it is restored
to liberty by the internal of thought, which is properly of a man's
spirit and life's love, and is called the thought of the heart.
But fear for the loss of honour and gain invades the external ot
a man's thought, and, when it invades it, closes the internal of
thought above against the infiux from heaven, and renders a
man's reformation impracticable. The reason is, because the
life's love of every man is by birth the love of self and of the
world ; and the love of self makes one with the love of honour,
and the love of the world makes one with the love of gain ; there
fore when a man is in possession of honour or of gain, he, out of
fear for the loss of them, confirms in himself means which are
subservient to them, and which are as well of a civil as an ec
clesiastical nature, both respecting government. He also that
is not yet in possession of honour or gain, if he aspires to them,
acts in like manner, but out of fear for the loss of reputation,
which is valued for the sake of them. It is said that this fear
invades the external of thought, and closes the intemal above
against influx from heaven ; and the latter is said to be closed
¦when it acts entirely as one with the external ; for then it is not
in itself, but in the external. Since, however, the loves of self
and of the world are infernal loves, and the sources of all evils,
of what nature the internal of thought is, in itself, with those
in whom these loves reign or are the life's loves, appears evident;
'namely, that it is full of the concupiscences of evils of all kinds.
Th»s is unknown to the se who, from the fear of the loss of dignity
85

139  142 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
and wealth, are in a powerful persuasion concerning the religion
in which they are principled, especially a religion which invcilves
the idea that they shall be worshiped as deities, and at the same
time as Plutos in hell. These can burn as it were with zeal for
the salvation of souls, and this nevertheless from infernal fire.
As this fear especially takes away rationality itself and liberty
itself, which are of celestial origin, it is evident that it is an ob
stacle to a man's being reformed.
140. The reason why no one is reformed in a state of jhs-
foetune, if he then only thinks of God and implores assistance,
is, because it is a state of constraint ; and therefore when he
comes into a state of liberty, he returns into the former state in
which he had thought little if any thing about God. Not so
those who had feared God before, while in a state of liberty.
By the fear of God is meant a fear to offend him, and to offend
him is to sin ; and this is not really of fear but of love. Who that
loves any one, does not fear to do him harm, and fear it the
more in proportion as he loves him ? Without this fear, love
is lifeless and superficial, appertaining to the thought only,
and not to the will. By states of misfortune are meant states
of desperation from dangers, as in battles, duels, shipwrecks,
falls, fires, imminent or unexpected loss of wealth, also loss ot
office, and thence of honour, and other similar cases. To think
of God, in these only, is not from God but from self; for then
the mind is as it were imprisoned in the body, therefore not in
liberty, and thence not in rationality either, without whicL
there cannot be reformation.
141. The reason why no one is reformed in a state of
mental disorder, is, because disease of the mind takes away
rationality, and thereby the liberty of acting according to reason ;
for a disordered mind is not sound, and it is the sound mind
which is rational, and not the diseased mind. Such disorders
of the mind are melancholy, spurious and false consciences,
phantasies of various kinds, grief of mind from misfortunes,
anxieties and anguish of mind arising from disease of the body,
which are sometimes erroneously considered as temptations.
Genuine temptations have for their object spiritual things, in
which the mind is wise ; but the former have for their object
natural things, in which the mind is insane.
142. The reason why no one is reformed in a state of
bodily SICKNESS, is, bocause reason then is not in a free state ;
for the state of the mind depends upon that of tbe body. When
the body is sick, the mind also is sick, if from no other cause
tlian its being removed from the worid ; for a mind removed
from the worid thinks indeed of God, but not from God, for
It IS not in the liberty of reason. A man has liberty of reason
from this circumstance, that he is in the midst between heaven
and the wori 1, and can think from heaven and from the world,
86

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 142  144
also from heaven conceming the world, and from the world
concerning heaven. When therefore a man is '.» sickness, and
thinks of death, and of the state of his soul after death, he is
not then in the world, but is abstracted in spirit, in which
state alone no one can be reformed ; but he may be confirmed
by this, if he was reformed before he was visited with sickness.
It is the same with those who renounce the world and all .busi
ness in it, and give themselves up solely to thoughts concerning
God, heaven, and salvation : but on this subject more elsewhere.
Therefore, such persons, if they are not reformed before the
sickness, become after it, if they die, such as they were before
it : hence it is vain to think a person can repent, or receive any
faith under sickness ; for there is nothing of action in such re
pentance, and nothing of charity in such faith ; therefore in
both, all is of the mouth and nothing of the heart.
143. The reason why no one is reformed in a state op
IGNORANCE, is, bccausc all reformation is effected by truths
and a life according to them ; therefore, those who do not know
truths cannot be reformed ; but if they desire truths from the
affection thereof, they are reformed in the spiritual world after
death. 144. Nor can persons be reformed in a state of blind
ness OF the understanding. They also are ignorant of
ti'uths, and consequently of life ; for the understanding must
tcsach them, and the will do them; and when the -will does
what the understanding teaches, it has life according to truths ;
but "when the understanding is blinded, the will also is closed,
and does not from liberty according to reason any thingbut the
evil confirmed in the understanding, which is falsity. Religion
also, as well as ignorance, blinds the understanding, when it
teaches a blind faith ; and so does false doctrine : for as truths
open the understanding, so falsities close it ; they close it above,
but open it below, and the understanding, open only below,
cannot see truths, but merely confirms whatever it wills, espe
cially what is false. The understanding is also blinded by the
lusts of evil. So long as the will is in such lusts, it forces the
understanding to confirm them ; and so far as the lusts of evil
are confirmed, the will cannot be in affections of good, and from
them see truths, and so be reformed. For example : when
a man is in the lust of adultery, his will, which is in the delight
of his love, forces his understanding to confirm it, by saying
What is adultery? Is there any harm in it? Is there not
the same harm in the connection between husband and wife ?
Cannot ¦ children equally be born from adultery? Cannot a
woman admit several without any harm? What has any
spiritual consideration to do in this case ? Thus does the un
derstanding, which is then the harlot of the will, thmk ; and
so stupid is it made by its whoredom with the will, that it can-
87

144, 145 angelic wisdom concernincJ
not see that conjugial love is spiritual celestial love itself, which
is an image of the love of the Lord and of the church, from which
also it is derived, and thus that in itself it is holy, being essen
tial chastity, purity, and innocence ; that it makes men loves
in form, for married pairs can love each other mutually from
their inmost souls, and so form themselves into loves ; and that
adultery destroys this form, and with it the image of the Lord ;
and, what is horrible, that the adulterer mixes his life with the
life of the husband in his wife, for a man's life is in the seed.
As this is profane, therefore hell is called adultery, and on the
contrary heaven is called marriage : the love of adultery also
communicates with the lowest hell, but love truly conjugial with
the inmost heaven ; and the members of generation of both
sexes also correspond to societies of the inmost heaven. These
particulars are adduced, that it may be known how much the
understanding is blinded when the will is in the lust of evil ;
and that in a state of blindness of the understanding no one
can be reformed.
146. V. That it is not contrary to rationality and liberty
for a man to force himself. It was shown before, that a man has
an internal and an - external of thought ; that they are distinct
as prior and posterior, or as superior and inferior ; and that, as
they are so distinct, they can act separately, and can act in
conjunction. They act separately, when a man speaks and acts
from the external of his thought otherwise than he interiorly
thinks and wills ; and they act in conjunction, when he speaks
and does what he interiorly thinks and wills. The latter case
is common with the sincere, but the former with the insincere.
Now, since the internal and the external of the mind are so
distinct, the internal can also combat with the external, and by
that compel it to consent. Combat takes place when a man
thinks evils to be sins, and therefore wills to desist from them ; for
when he desists, the door is opened, upon which the concu
piscences of e-vil which besieged the intemal of thought are cast
out by the Lord, and in their place are implanted affections of
good, and thisin the internal of thought. But as the delights
of the concupiscences of evil, which besiege the external of
thought, cannot be cast out at the same time, therefore a com
bat takes place between the internal and the external of thought;
the_ internal desiring to cast out those delights, because they are
delights of evil, and do not accord with the affections of good,
which the internal is now in, and instead of the delights of
evil to introduce delights of good, which do accord. The de
lights of good are what are called goods of charity. From
this contrariety arises a combat, whi(3i, if it becomes grievous,
is called temptation. Now since a man is a man by virtue of
the intemal of his thought, this being the man's spirit itself, it
is evident that a man forces himself, when - e foices the external
88

the divine PEOVIDENCE. 145 — 147
of his thought to consent to or to receive the delights of his
affections, which are goods of charity. That this is not contrary
to rationality and liberty, however, but conformable to them, is
evident ; for rationality causes the combat, and liberty executes
it. Liberty itself also, with rationality, resides in the internal
man, and from the internal in the external. When, therefore,
the internal conquers, which is the case when it has reduced
the external to consent and obedience, then liberty itself and
rationality itself are given to the i4an by the Lord ; fer then he
is delivered by the Lord from infernal liberty, which in itself is
slavery, and placed in celestial liberty, which in itself is real
liberty, and he is privileged to associate with angels. That
those are slaves who are in sins, and that the Lord makes those
free who receive truth from him through the Word, he himself
teaches in John viii. 31 — 36.
146. Let us take an example by way of illustration : suppose
a man, who has perceived delight in frauds and clandestine
thefts, to see and acknowledge that they are sins, and therefore
to will to desist from them ; when he desists, there arises a
combat of the internal man with the external. The internal
man is in the affection of sincerity, but the external as yet in
the delight of defrauding ; which delight, because it is altogether
opposite to the delight of sincerity, does not recede, unless it ;iS
compelled, nor can it be compelled without a combat; and
v/hen he overcomes, the external man comes into the delight of
the love of sincerity, which is charity ; afterwards successively
the delight of defrauding becomes undelightful to him. It is
similar with other sins, as with adultery and fornication, revenge
and hatred, blasphemy and lying. But the most difficult com
bat of all is that with the love of dominion from the love of self;
he who subdues this, easily subdues other evil loves, because it
is their head.
147. It shall also be briefly shown, in what manner the
Lord casts out the concupiscences of evil which besiege the inter
nal man from his birth, and plants affections of good in lieu of
them, when a man as from himself removes evils as sins. It
was shown above, that a man has a natural mind, a spiritual
mind, and a celestial mind ; that he is in the natural mind only
BO long as he is in the concupiscences of evil and their delights,
and that so long the spiritual mind is shut ; but as soon as,
after self-examination, he acknowledges evils as sins against God
because they are contrary to the divine laws, and therefore wills
to desist from them, then the Lord opens the spiritual mind,
and enters into the natural by the affections of truth and good ;
he also enters into the rational, and from it disposes into order
the things which are below contrary to order, in the natural.
It is this which appears to a man as a combat, and in those who
have indulged much in the delights of evil, as temptation ; for
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147 — 150 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
it gives pain to the mind when the order of its thoughts is
inverted. Now as the combat is against the tnings which are
in the man himself, and which he feels as his own, and no one
can fight against himself except from what is interior in himself,
and from liberty there, it follows that the internal man then
fights against the external, also that he does it from liberty,
and that he forces the external to obedience ; this, therefore, is
to force himself It is evident that this is not contrary to liberty
and rationality, but according to them.
148. Moreover, every man wills to be free, and not to re
move liberty but slavery from himself Every boy, who is under
a master, wills to be his own master, and so to be free. It is
the same with every man-servant under his master, and every
maid-servant under her mistress. Every virgin also wills to
depart out of her father's house and marry, that she may act
freely in her own house ; and every youth who wills to work, or
traffic, or exercise some office, while he is in servitude under
others, wills to be emancipated, that he may be his own master.
All those who serve of their own accord for the sake of liberty,
force themselves : and in forcing themselves they act from liberty
according to reason, but from interior liberty, from which ex
terior liberty is regarded as a servant. These considerations
are adduced, in order to confirm the position, that for a man to
force himself is not contrary to rationality and liberty.
149. One reason why a man does not in like manner desire
to come out of spiritual servitude into spiritual liberty, is, that
he does not know what spiritual servitude and spiritual liberty
are. He has not the truths which teach it, and without them
spiritual servitude is believed to be liberty, and spiritual liberty
to be servitude. Another reason is, because the religion of the
Christian world has closed the understanding, and the doctrine
of faith alone has sealed it ; for they have both placed about
themselves, like an iron wall, this tenet, that theological things
are transcendent, therefore are not to be approached from any
rationality, and that they are for the blind and not for those who
see._ By this the truths have been hid which would teach what
spiritual liberty is. A third reason is, because few examine
themselves, and see their sins ; and he who does not see them,
and desist from them, is in the liberty of them, which- is in
femal liberty, — in itself servitude : and from this, to see celestial
liberty, which is liberty itself, is like seeing light in darkness,
and seeing under a black cloud that which is above it from the
sun. Hence it is, that it is not known what celestial liberty is,
and that the difference between this and infemal liberty is like
the difference between what is alive and what is dead. .
150. VI. That the external m.an is to be reformed by the
internal, and not contrariwise. By the internal and the external
man is meant the same as by the internal and the external of
90

the divine providence. 150, 161
thought, which have often been treated of before. The reason
why the external is reformed by the intemal, is, because the in
ternal fiows into the external, and not vice versa. That there
is a spiritual influx into natural, and not the contrary, is Imown
in the learned world ; and that the internal man is first to be
purified and renewed, and thereby the external, is known in the
church. The reason why it is known, is, because the Lord and
reason declare it ; the Lord teaches it in these words : " Wo
unto you, hypocrites ! for ye make clean the outside of the cup
and the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess :
thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and the
platter, that the outside of them may be clean also" (Matt.
xxiii. 26, 26). That reason declares it, is shown abundantly in
the treatise on The Divine Love astd the Divine Wisdom : for
what the Lord teaches, he also enables a man to j)erceive by
reason, and this in two ways ; one of which is, that he sees in
himself that a thing is so and so, as soon as he hears it ; and
the other, that he understands it by reasons. To see in himself
is ill his internal man, and to understand by reasons is in his
external man. Who, when he hears it declared, does not see
in himself that the internal man is first to be purified, and by
that the external ? But he who does not receive a general idea
of this by influx from heaven, may be led il»to a mistake when
he consults the external of his thought ; for from this alone no
one sees otherwise than that external works, which are of char
ity and piety, are saving without intemal principles. It is the
same in other things ; as that sight and hearing flow into
thought, and smell and taste into perception, and thus that what
is external flows into what is internal ; when, nevertheless, it is
quite the contrary. That things seen and heard appear to flow
into the thought is a fallacy ; for the understanding sees in the
eye and hears in the ear, and not contrariwise. So it is in other
cases. 161. But here it may be expedient to observe briefly in-
\vhat manner the intemal man is reformed, and thereby the
external. The internal man is not reformed by knowing, under
standing, and being wise, alone ; or, consequently, by thinking
alone ; but by willing that which knowledge, intelligence, and
wisdom teach. When a man Icnows, understands, and has
wisdom to see, that there are a heaven and a hell, and that all
evil is from hell, and all good from heaven ; if then he does not
will evil because it is from hell, but wills good because it is
from heaven, he is in the first step of reformation, and in the
entrance out of hell into heaven. When he advances further,
and wills to desist from evils, he is in the second step of refor
mation, and is then out of hell, but not yet in heaven, which
he sees ah-^ve him. There must be this internal, in order that
91

151, 162 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENINO
a man may be reformed ; but unless the external, as well as the
internal, be reformed, the man is not reformed. The external
is reformed by the internal, when the former desists from the
evils which the latter does not will because they are infernal,
and more so when he therefore shuns them and fights against
them. Thus, the internal is to will, and the external is to do ;
for unless a person does that which he wills, there is within a
S)rinciple which wills it not, and at length he comes not to will it.
j^rom these fe-w- considerations it may be seen, how the external
man is reformed by the internal. This also is what is meant by
the Lord's words to Peter : " Jesus said. If I wash thee not, thou
hast no part with me. Peter saith unto him. Lord, not my
feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him.
He that is washed, needeth not save to wash his feet, but is
clean every whit" (John xiii. 8, 9, 10). By washing is here
meant spiritual washing, which is purification from evils : by
washing the head and the hands is meant to purify the internal
man, and by washing the feet is meant to purify the external.
That when the internal man is purified, the external is to be
purified is meant by these words : " He that is washed, needeth
not save to wash his feet." That aU purification from evils is
from the Lord, is meant by these words : " If I wash thee not,
thou hast no part with me." That washing among the Jevs
represented purification from evils ; that this is signified by
washing in the Word ; and that by washing the feet is signified
the purification of the natural or external man, is abundantly
shown in the Aecana Coelestia.
152. Since every man has an internal and an external, and
both are to be reformed in order that the man may be reformed ;
and since no one can be reformed except he examine himself,
see, and acknowledge his evils, and afterwards desist from them,
it follows, that not only is the external to be explored, but also
the internal. If the external only is explored the man does not
-see any thing but what he has or has not actually committed ;
as, that he has not committed murder, adultery, or theft, or
borne false witness, &c. Thus he explores the evils of his
body, and not those of his spirit ; and yet the latter are to be ex
plored in order that any one may be reformed ; for a man lives a
spirit after death, and all the evils which are in him remain ;
and the spirit is no otherwise explored than by the man's at
tending to his thoughts, especially to his intentions, for these are
thoughts froni the will. ]i the will, evils are in their origin and
root, that is, in their concupiscences and delights ; and unless
they are seen and acknowledged, the man is still m evils, although
he may not have extemally committed them. Ihat to think from
intention, is to will and to do, is evident from these words ol
the Lord : " Whosoever locketh on a woman, to lust aft,er her,

THE DIVINE PEC-VIDENCE. 162  154
hath committed adultery with her already in his heart" (Matt.
V. 28). Such is the search of the intemal man, by which tho
external man is essentially explored.
153. I have often wondered, that although the whole Chris
tian world is informed that evils are to be shunned as sins,
otherwise they are not remitted, and that if not remitted, there
is no salvation, yet nevertheless scarce one in a thousand knows
it. This was inquired into in the spiritual world, and it was!
found to bo so ; for every one in the Christian world is informed
of it from the prayers read before those who receive the holy
supper, it being plainly declared therein ; and yet when they
are asked whether they know this, they answer that they do
not, and did not kno-w- it ; the reason of which is, that they did
not think about it, and most of them only thought of faith, and
of salvation by it alone. I have also wondered, that faith alone
so shuts the eyes, that those who have confirmed themselves in
it, when they read the Word, see nothing of what is there said
concerning love, charity, and works. It is as though they had
smeared over all things in the Word with faith, as he who
smears over a writing with paint, by which nothing which is
underneath appears ; or if any thing appears, it is absorbed by-
faith, and said to be faith.

THAT IT IS A LAW OF THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE, THAT A MAN
SHOULD BE LED AND TAUGHT FROM THE LORD OUT OF
HEAVEN BY THE WORD, AND BY DOCTRINE AND PREACHING
FROM THE WORD, AND THIS IN ALL APPEARANCE AS FROM
HIMSELF.
154. In appearance a man is led and taught from himself,
but in truth he is led and taught from the Lerd only. Those
who confirm in themselves the appearance, and not at the same
time the truth, are not able to remove from themselves evils
as sins ; but those who confirm in themselves the appearance,
and at the same time the truth, are able ; for evils as sins are
removed in appearance by man, and in truth by the Lord.
The latter persons can be reformed, but the former cannot.
Those who confirm in themselves the appearance, and not at
the same time the truth, are all interior idolaters ; for they are
worshipers of self and the world. If they have no religion,
they become worshipers of nature, and thus Atheists ; but it
they have any religion, they become worshipers of men, and
at the same time of images ; and these are they who are meant
ill the first commandment of the decalogue, who worship other
gods. But those who confi^nn in themselves the appearance,
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154  167 ANGELIC -WISDOM CONCEENINO
and at the same time the truth, become worshipers of the Lord;
for the Lord elevates them from their proprium (or own proper
life), which is principled in appearance, and leads them into
light, in which is the truth, and which is the truth, and gives
them to perceive interiorly, that they are not led and taught of
themselves, but of the Lord. The rational faculty of both these
descriptions of persons may appear to many as similar, but it is
dissimilar : the rational faculty of those who are principled in
appearance, and at the same time in the truth, is a spiritual
rational ; but the rational faculty of those who are principled in
appeartmce, and not at the same time in the truth, is a natural
rational. The latter rational faculty may be compared to a gar
den as it is in the light of winter ; while the spiritual rational
faculty may be compared to a garden as it is in the light of
spring. But on this subject more will be stated, in the following
order. I. That a man is led and taught of the Lord alone.
II. That a man is led and taught of the Lord alone by the an
gelic heaven and from it. IIL That a man is led of the Lord
by influx, and taught by illumination. IV. That a man is
taught of the Lord by the Word, and by doctrine and preaching
from the Word, thus immediately by him alone. V. That a
man is led and taught of the Lord in externals, to all appearance
as of himself
155. I. That a ma,n is led and taught of the Lord alone.
This fiows, as a universal consequence, from all that was shown
in the treatise concerning The Divine Love and the Divine
Wisdom ; as well from what is there demonstrated concerning
the divine love of the Lord and his divine wisdom, in part the
first ; as from what is said concerning the sun of the spiritual
world, and the sun of the natural world, in part the second ; and
also concerning degrees, in part the third ; concerning the crea
tion of the universe, in part the fourth ; and concerning the cre
ation of man, in part the fifth.
156. The reason why a man is led and taught of the Lord
alone, is, because he lives from the Lord alone ; for the will
of Ms life is led, and the understanding of his life is taught.
This, however, is contrary to appearance ; for it appears to a
man as if he lived from himself, and yet the truth is, that he
lives from the Lord, and not from himself. Now, since there
cannot be given to a man, so long as he is in the world, a sen
sible perception that he lives from the Lord only, because ithe
appearance that he lives from himself is not taken away from
him (for without it a man is not a man), therefore this must be
evinced by reasons, which are afterwards to be confirmed by ex
perience, and lastly by the Word.
157. That a man lives from the Lord alone, and not from
himself, may be evinced by these reasons : that there is one
only essence, one only substance, and one only forac', from

THE divine PEOVIDENCE. 157
•which are aU the essences, substances, and forms that are
created ; that the one only essence, substance, and form, is the
divine love and the divine wisdom, from which are all things
that have relation to love and wisdom in a man ; that moreover
it is good itself and truth itself, to which all things have relation ;
and that these are life, from which are the life of all things and
all things of life: also, that the self-subsisting and sole-subsisting
l^rinciple is omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent ; and that
this self-subsisting and sole-subsisting principle is the Lord from
eternity, or Jehovah. Fiest, That there is one only essence, one
onl/y substance, and one only form, from which a/re all tlie essences,
substances, and forms that are created. It was shown in the
treatise on The Divine Lo-ve and the Di-vinb Wisdom, n.
44 — 46, and in part the second of the same work, that the sun
of the angelic heaven, which is from the Lord, and in which is
the Lord, is that sole or only substance and form, from which
all things are created ; and that nothing does exist, or can exist,
which is not from it. That all things are from it by derivations,
according to degrees, is shown there in part the third. Who
does not perceive and acknowledge from reason, that there is
one sole Essence, from which is all essence, or one sole Esse,
from which is all esse? What can exist without an Esse, and
what is that Esse from which is all esse, but Esse itself, aud that
which is Esse itself, is also the sole Esse, and in itself Esse.
This being the case, and every one perceiving and acknowledg
ing this from reason, or at least being capable of perceiving and
acknowledging it, what else then follows but that this Esse,
which is the Divine itself, which is Jehovah, is all in all things
which are and exist ? It is the same thing if it be said, that
there is one sole substance, from which are all things ; and since
a substance without a form is nothing, it follows also, that there
is one sole form, from which are all things. That the sun of
the angelic heaven is that sole substance, and form ; and how
that essence, substance, and form, is varied in things created,
is demonstrated in the above-mentioned treatise. Secondly,
That the one only essence, substance, and form, is the divine love
and the divine wisdom ; from which are all things that home rela
tion to love and wisdom in man, is also fully shown in the trea
tise on The Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom. Whatever
things in a man appear to live, have relation to the will and the
understanding in him ; and that these two principles constitute
his life, every one from reason perceives and acknowledges.
Why else is it so constantly said, I will this or I understand
tnis, or I love this or I think this ? And since a man wills
what he loves, and thinks what he understands, therefore all
things of the will have relation to love, and all things of the
understanding to wisdom : and as these two principles cannot
exist in any one from himself, but from him who is love itself
96

157 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENING
and wisdom itself, it follows that it is from the Lord from
eternity or Jehovah. If this were not the origin of those prin
ciples, a man would be love itself and wisdom itself, therefore
God from eternity, at which human reason itself is struck with
horror. Can any thing exist but from what is prior to itself,
and can this prior exist but from what is still prior to it, and
thus finally from the first, which is in itself? Thirdly : That
in lihe manoier, it is good itself and truth itself, to which all
things have relation. It is received and acknowledged by every
one who has reason, that God is good itself and truth itself, and
that every thing good and true is from him ; therefore, also,
that what is good and true cannot come from any other source
than from good and truth itself These things are acknowledged
by every rational man as soon as they are heard. When it is
next said, that every thing of the will and understanding, or
every thing of love and wisdom, or every thing of affection and
thought with the man who is led of the Lord, has relation to good
and truth, it follows, that all which such a man wills and under
stands, or which he loves and is wise in, or by which he is affected
and which he thinks, is from the Lord. Hence it is, that every
one in the church knows that every thing good and every thing
tme from a man, is in itself not good and true, but only that
which is from the Lord. As this is a truth, it follows, that all
that which such a man wills and thinks is from the Lord. That
neither can a wicked man will and think from any other origin,
will be seen in what follows. Fourthly, That those principles
are life, from which are the life of all things and all things of
life, IS abundantly shown in the treatise on The Divine Love
AND the Divine Wisdom. Human reason also, at the first hear
ing, receives and acknowledges, that all a man's life is of his
will and understanding ; for if the will and understanding be
taken away, he does not live ; or, what is the same, that all ^
man's life is of his love and his thought, for if love and thought
be taken away, he does not live. Now because every thing of the
will and understanding, or every thing of love and thought in a
man is from the Lord, as was said above, it follows, that every
thing of life is from him. Fifthly, That the self-subsisting and
solensuhsisting principle is omnipresent, omniscient, and omni
potent. This also every Christian acknowledges from his doc
trine, and every Gentile from his religion ; hence also, every one,
in whatever place he is, thinks that God is where he is, and that
he should pray to God as present ; and since every one so thinks,
and so prays, it follows, that he cannot think otherwise than
that God is everywhere, therefore omnipresent ; in like manner,
that he is omniscient and omnipotent ; therefore every one
praying to God implores from his heart, that he would lead him,
because he is able to do so. Thus every one then acknowledges
the divine omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence; lie
96

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE. 167  169
acknowledges, because he then turns his face to the Lord, from
whom that truth then flows. Sixthly, That this self-subsisting
and solesuhsisting principle is the Lord from eternity, or Jeliovah.
In The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Lord,
it is shown, that God is one in essence and. in person, and that
that God is the Lord ; that the divine itself, which is called
Jehovah the Father, is the Lord from eternity; that the divine
human is the Son conceived from his divine from eternity, and
born in the world ; and that the divine proceeding is the Holy
Spirit. It is said to be self-subsisting and sole-subsisting,
because it was stated before, that the Lord from eternity, or
Jehovah, is life itself, being love itself and wisdom itself, or good
itself and truth itself, from which are all things. That the Lord
created all things out of himself, and not out of nothing, may
be seen in the treatise on The Divine Love and the Divine
Wisdom, n. 282—284, n. 349 — 367. By the above considera
tions, this truth, that a man is led and taught of the Lord alone,
is conflrmed by reasons.
168. This same truth is confirmed, not only by reasons, but
also by living perceptions among the angels, especially the angels
of the third heaven. These perceive the influx of divine love
and divine wisdom from the Lord ; and because they perceive
it, and from their wisdom know that these principles are life,
therefore they say that they live from the Lord, and not from
themselves ; and th^ not only say this, but also love and desire
that it may be so. Yet they are still in all appearance as if they
lived from themselves, in a stronger appearance, indeed, than
ot;her angels ; for as was shown above, n. 42 — 45, inproportion,
as any one is more nearly conjoined to the Lord, he appea/rs to
hi/mselfmore distinctly as his own, and perceives more evidently
tliat lie is the Lord''s. It has been granted me also to be in a
similar perception and appearance now for many years ; from
which I am fully convinced, that I neither will nor think any
thing from myself, but that it appears as from myself; and it
is also given me to desire and love this. The same may be
confirmed by many other considerations from the spiritual world,
but these two may be sufficient at present.
159. That the Lord alone is lite, is evident from tncse pas
sages in the Word : " I am the resurrection and the life : ho
that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live"
(John xi. 25). " I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John
xiv. 6). " God was the Word. In him was life ; and the life
was the light of men" (John i. 1, 4). The Word there is the
Lord. " As the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to
the Son to have life in himself" (John v. 26). That a man is
led and taught of the Lord only, is evident from these passages :
" Without me ye can do nothing" (John xv. 5). " A man can
receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven" (John iii
97

159  162 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
27). "A man cannot make one hair white or black" (Matt, t
36) ; by a hair in the Word is signified the least of all things.
IGO. That the life of the wicked is also from the same origin,
will be demonstrated hereafter in its proper article. It will here
only be illustrated by comparison. From the sun of the world
flow both heat and light ; and they flow alike into trees which
bear evil fruit and into those which bear good fruit, and they
vegetate and grow alike. The forms into -which the heat flows,
cause the difference ; it is not the heat itself It is similar with
light, which is variegated in colours according to the forms into
which it flows. There are beautiful and lively colours, and there
are ugly and dull colours, yet still the light is the same. It is
similar with the influx of spiritual heat, which in itself is love ;
and of spiritual light, which in itself is -wisdom, from the sun
of the spiritual world. The forms into which they flow, cause
the difference, but not that heat which is love and that light
which is wisdom in themselves. The forms into which they flow
are human minds. From these considerations then it is evident,
that a man is led and taught of the Lord alone.
161. But what the life of animals is, was shown abov3,
namely, that it is a life of affection merely natural, with its coif-
comitant science; and that it is a mediate life corresponding to
the life of those which are in the spiritual world.
162. II. Tliat a man is led and taught of the Lord alone,
by tlie angelic heaven, and from it. It is said that a man is kd
of the Lord by the angelic heaven, and from it ; but that it ; s
by the angelic heaven, is according to appearance, whereas, that
it is from it, is according to the truth. The reason why there
is an appearance that it is by the angelic heaven, is, because the
Lord appears above that heaven as the sun ; and the reason why
it is a truth that it is from that heaven, is, because the Lord
in that heaven is as the soul in a man : for the Lord is omni
present, and is not in space, as was shown before; therefore
distance is an appearance, according to conjunction with him,
coiijunction being according to the reception of love and wisdom
from him ; and since no one can be conjoined to the Lord as he
is in himself, therefore he appears to the angels at a distance as
a sun : nevertheless he is in the universal angelic heaven like
the soul in a man, and in like manner in every society of heaven,
and in every angel there; for a man's soul is not only the soul
of the whole, but also of each part of him. Since, however, it
is from appearance that the Lord rales the universal heaven, and
by it the world from the sun which is from him, and in which
he is (concerning which sun see the treatise on The Divinb
Love and the Divine Wisdom, Part II.); and since it is
allowable for any man to speak from appearance, nor can he
indeed do otherwise, therefore also it is allowable for any one,
who is not principled in wisdom itself, to think, that tbe Lord
98

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 162  164
lules all and every thing from his sun, and also that he rules the
world by the angelic heaven. From such appearance also the
angels of the inferior heavens think ; but the angels of the supe
rior heavens, although they speak from appearance, think from
the truth, which is that the Lord rules the universe from the
angelic heaven, which is from himself. That the simple and
the wise speak alike, but do not think alike, may be illustrated
from the sun of the world. Of this sun all men speak from the
appearance that it rises and sets ; but the wise, although they
speak in like manner, still think that it stands immovable, which
also is the truth, while the contrary is an appearance. The same
may also be illustrated from appearances in the spiritual world ;
for in that world there appear spaces and distances as in the
natural world, but still they are appearances according to the
dissimilitude of affections and thoughts thence derived. It is the
same with the appearance of the Lord in his sun.
163. But how the Lord leads and teaches every man from
the angelic heaven must be briefly explained. In the treatise
on The Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom, and above, in
this treatise on The Divine Providence, also in the work on
Heaven and Hell, published in London in the year 1758, from
things seen and heard, it is made known, that the universal
angelic heaven appears before the Lord as one man, and in like
manner each society in heaven, and that thence it is, that each
particular angel and spirit is in a perfect human form. More
over, in the above-named treatises it is shown, that heaven is
not heaven from ihe proprium of the angels, but from the recep
tion of divine love and divine wisdom from the Lord by the angels.
Hence it may appear, that the Lord rules the universal angelic
heaven as one man ; that that heaven, because it is a man, is
the very image and likeness of the Lord ; that the Lord himself
rules that heaven, as the soul rules its body ; and, because the
universal human race is ruled by the Lord, that it is not ruled
by heaven,'but from heaven by the Lord, consequently from him
self, because, as was said, he himself is heaven.
164. But as this is an arcanum of angelic wisdom, it can
only be comprehended by the man whose spiritual mind is opened,
such a man, by virtue of conjunction with the Lord, being an
angel ; and by such a one, from what has been premised, the
following particulars may be comprehended : 1. That all, men as
well as angels, are in the Lord, and the Lord in them, according
to conjunction with him, or, what is the same, according to
their reception of love and wisdom from him. 2. That every
one of these has his place appointed in the Lord, therefore in
heaven, according to the quality of his conjunction with or re
ception of hiin 3. That every one in his place has his state
distinct from the state of others ; and that from the common
Iwdy he derives his task according to his situation, his function,,
09 "

164 — ^166 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENINQ
and his necessity, just in the same manner as does any par-
ticular part in the human body. 4. That every man is initiated
into his place by the Lord according to his life. 5. That every
man from infancy is introduced into that Divine Man, whose
soul and life is the Lord, and that he is led and taught from his
divine love according to his divine wisdom, in him and not out
of him ; but because liberty is not taken away from any man
that he cannot otherwise be led and taught than according to
reception as if from himself 6. That those who receive are
conducted to their places, through infinite windings and mean-
derings, as it were, nearly in the same manner as the chyle is
conveyed through the mesentery and lacteal vessels into its re
ceptacle, and thence through the thoracic duct into the blood,
and so into its proper place. 7. That those whodo not receive,
are separated from those who are within the Divine Man, as ex
crement and urine are secreted and separated by a man. These
are arcana of angelic wisdom, which a man may in some measure
comprehend ; but there are many which he cannot.
165. III. That a man is led of the Lord by influx, and
taught hy illumination. The reason why a man is led of the Lord
by influx, is, because to be led and also to flow-in are predicated
of love and of the will ; and the reason why he is taught of the
Lord by illumination, is, because to be taught and to be illumi
nated are properly predicated of wisdom and of the understanding.
It is well known that every man from his own love is led of him
self, and according to it by others, and not by the understanding.
He is led by the understanding and according to it, only when
the love or the will makes the understanding : and when this is
the case, it may also be said of the understanding, that it is led ;
but yet the understanding is not then led, but the will from
which it is derived. It is called influx, because it is customary
to say, that the soul flows into the body, that influx is spiritual
and not physical, and that a man's soul or life is his love or will,
as was shown before ; also, because influx is comparatively like
the influx of the blood into the heart, and from the heart into
the lungs. That there is a correspondence of the heart with
the will, and of the lungs with the understanding, and that the
conjunction of the will with the understanding is like the influx
of the blood out of the heart into the lungs, is shown in the treatise
on The Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom, n. 371—432. .
166. But the reason why a man is taught by illumination, is,
because to be taught and also to be illuminated are predicated
of the understanding ; for the understanding, which is a man's
internal sight, is no otherwise illuminated by spiritn.al light than
as a man's eye or external sight is by natural light. In like
manner also both are taught ; but the intemal sight, which is
of the understanding, by spiritual objects, and the external sight,
which is of the eye, by natural objects. There are spiritual

the Divrsi: peovidenoe. 166, 167
light and natural light, both alike as to external appearance, but
unlike as to intemal ; for natural light is from the sun of the
natural world, and- thence in itself void of life ; but spiritual
light is from the sun of the spiritual world, and thence in itself
living ; it is this which illuminates the human understanding,
and not natural light. Natural* and rational illumination is not
from the latter light, but from the former. It is called natural
and rational illumination, because it is spiritual-natural ; for
there are three degrees of light in the spiritual world, — celestial
light, spiritual light, and spiritual-natural light. Celestial light
is a ruddy flaming light, and is with those who are in the third
heaven ; spiritual light is a white shining light, and is with those
who are in the middle heaven; and spiritual-natural light is
such as is the light of day in our world, and is with those who
are in the last or lowest heaven, as well as with those who are
in the world of spirits, which is midway between heaven and
hell ; but this light, in the latter world, is with the good like
the light of summer, and with the wicked like the light of winter
upon earth. It is to be observed, however, that all the light of
the spiritual world has nothing in common with the light of the
natural world ; they being as different as life and death. From
these considerations it is evident, that natural light, such as we
have before our eyes, does not illuminate the understanding,
but spiritual light. Men are ignorant of this, because heretofore
they knew nothing of spiritual light. That spiritual light is in
its origin divine wisdom, or divine truth, is shown in the work
on Heaven and Hell, n. 126 — 140.
167. As the light of heaven has now been spoken of, it
may be expedient to say something also of the light of hell.
This is also of three degrees : the light in the lowest hell being
like the light of burning coals; the light in the middle hell like
that from the flame of a wood flre ; and the light in the highest
hell like the light of candles, and to some like the light of the
moon by night. These lights, however, are not natural, but
spiritual; for all natural light is dead, and extinguishes the
understanding. Those who are in hell have the faculty of un
derstanding, which is called rationality, as was shown before,
and rationality itself is from spiritual light, and not in the least
from natural light ; but the spiritual light which they have from
rationality is turned into infernal light, as the light of day into
the darkness of night. Yet all who are in the spiritual world,
as well those who are in the heavens as those who are in the
hells, see in their own light as clearly as man does in his by day :
the reason of which is, that the eye of every one is formed for
the reception of the light in which he is ; consequently, the eyes
of the angels of heaven for the reception of the light in whicli
they are, and the eyes of the spirits of hell for the reception of
their light. With the latter it is comparatively as with owl? and
101

167, 168 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENING
bats, which see objects as clearly in the night as other birds see
them in the day ; for their eyes are formed for the reception of
their own light. But the difference between these kinds of light
appears clearly to those who look out of. one light into another:
as when an angel of heaven looks into hell, he sees nothing
there but mere darkness ; and when a spirit of hell looks into
heaven, he sees nothing there but darkness ; the reason of which
is, that celestial wisdom is as darkness to those who are in hell,
and, on the other hand, infemal insanity is as darkness to those
who are in heaven. Hence it may appear, that such as a man's
understanding is, such is his light ; and that every one comes
into his own light after death, for he does not see in any other :
and in the spiritual world, where all are spiritual even as to
their bodies, the eyes of all are formed to see from their own
light ; the life's love of every one making to itself an under
standing, and so also a light ; for love is as the fire of life, from
which is the light of life.
168. As few know any thing of the illumination, in which
exists the understanding of the man who is taught of the Lord,
therefore something must be said conceming it. There is in
terior and exterior illumination from the Lord, and there is also
interior and exterior illumination from man. Interior illumi
nation from the Lord is that by which a man at first hearing
perceives whether what is said be true or not true ; and exterior
illumination is derived thence in the thought. Interior illumi
nation from man is from confirmation alone; and exterior
illumination from man is from science alone. But to speak of
each more particularly : A rational man hy interior illumination
from the Lord immediately perceives, on hearing them, whether
things are true or not ; as for example, that love is the fife of
faith, or that faith lives from love. A man from interior illumi
nation also perceives this, that whatever a nian loves he wills,
and what he wills he does, consequently, that to love is to do :
he a,lso perceives this, that whatever a man believes from love,
he likewise wills and does, consequently, that to have faith is
also to do ; and likewise, that an impious man cannot have the
love of God, or therefore the faith of God. A rational man also,
from interior illumination, immediately perceives the following
truths, when he hears them : viz. That God is one ; that he is
omnipresent ; that every good is from him : also, that all things
have relation to good and truth ; and that every thing good is
from Good itself, and every thing true from Truth itself. These,
and other similar truths, a man perceives interiorly in himself
when he hears them : the reason of which is, that he has ra
tionality, and this is in the light of heaven, which illummates.
Exterior illumination is that of the thought derived from interior
illumination, and the thought is in this illumination in propor
tion as it remains in the perception which it has from interior
102

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE. 168  170
Illumination, and at the same time possesses knowledges of things
true and good, for from these it supplies itself with reasons for
conflrmation. The thought, by virtue of this exterior illumi
nation, sees a thing on both sides, — on one side seeing the
reasons which confirm it, and on the other the appearances which
invalidate it : the latter it dispels, and the former it collects.
But interior ilbumination from, man is totally different : a man,
by virtue of this illumination, sees a thing on one side, and
not on the other ; and when he has confirmed it, he sees it in a
light similar in appearance to the light treated of above, but
it is the light of winter. For example : a judge, who, in con
sequence of bribes and for the sake of interest, judges unjustly,
after he has confirmed his judgment by the laws and by reasons,
does not see any thing but justice in his judgment. Some see
injustice ; but, because they do not desire to see it, darken and
blind themselves, and so do not see it. It is the same with a
judge who passes judgment under the infiuence of friendship,
from the desire of conciliating favour, and from the influence of
connections. With persons of such a character, the same thing
happens in respect to whatever they receive from the mouth of
a man of authority, or from a man of reputation or fame, or in
respect to whatever they have hatched out of their own self-
derived intelligence. They are blind reasoners ; for their sight
is grounded in false principles, which they confirm ; and falsity
closes up the sight, and truth opens it. Such persons do not
see any thing true from the light of truth, nor any thing just
from the love of justice, but from the light of confirmation,
which is infatuating light. They appear, in the spiritual world,
like faces without a head, or like faces similar to human faces,
behind which there are heads of wood ; and they are called
rational beasts, because they have rationality in their power.
Exterior illumination from man, hOwever, has place with those
who think and speak from science alone impressed upon the
memory ; and these of themselves are but little able to confirm
any thing.
169. Such are the different kinds of illumination, and thence
of perception and thought. There is an actual illumination
from spiritual light, although the illumination itself from that
light does not appear to any one in the natural world, because
natural light has nothing in common with spiritual light : but
such illumination has sometimes appeared to me in the spiritual
world, being seen among those who were in illumination from
the Lord, as something luminous about the head, and ruddy,
similar to the colour of the human face. With those who were
in illumination froni themselves, there was such a luminous
appearance, not about the head, but about the mouth and
above the chin.
170. Besides these illuminations there is also another, b"?
103

170 — 172 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
which it is revealed to a man in what faith, and in what in-
telligence and wisdom he is, which revelation is such that ho
himself perceives it in himself. He is admitted into a society
where there is genuine faith, and where there are time intel
ligence and wisdom, and there the interior of his rationality
is opened, from which he sees and even acknowledges of what
kind are his faith, and his intelligence and wisdom. I have seen
some retm-ning thence, and have heard them confess that they
had had no faith, although in the world they thought they had
much, and in an eminent degree above others; and in like
manner they confessed respecting their intelligence and -wisdom.
Tliey were some of those who were principled in faith alone,
and in no charity, and who were in self-derived intelligence.
171. IV. That a man is taught of the Lord by the Word,
and hy doctrine and preachings from the Word, and thus imme
diately from him alone. It was said and shown above, that a
man is led and taught of the Lord alone, and that from heaven,
and not by heaven, or by any angel there ; and since he is led
of the Lord alone, it follows, that he is led immediately, not
mediately ; but how this is done, is now to be explained.
172. In the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem conceenhwi
the Sacred Scripture, it is shown, that the Lord is the Word,
and that all doctrine of the church is to be drawn from the Word.
Now, because the Lord is the Word, it follows, that the man
who is taught from the Word, is taught of the Lord alone. But
as this is difficult to be comprehended, it may be expedient to
illustrate it in this order : 1. That the Lord is the Word, because
the Word is from him and concerning him. 2. And because
it is the divine truth of the divine good. 3. That thus to be
taught from the Word, is to be taught from him. 4. And that
this being effected mediately by preaching does not take away
the immediate teaching. First, That the Lord is the Word,
because it is from him and concerning him,. That the Word is
from the Lord, is denied by no one in the church ; but that the
Word is concerning the Lord alone, this indeed is not denied, but
¦neither is it known : it is shown, however, in the Doctrine of
the New Jerusalem concerning the Lord, n. 1 — 7, and n. 37
— 44 ; and in the Doctrine of the New Jerusaiem concern
ing the Sacred Scripture, n. 62 — 69, n. 80 — 90, n. 98. 99, 100.
Now as the Word is from the Lord alone, and concerning the
Lord alone, it follows, that when a man is taught from the Word,
he is taught from the Lord, for the Word is divine. Who can
communicate what is divine, and plant it in the heart, but the
Divine Being himself, from whom it is, and of whom it treats ?
Wherefore, the Lord, where he speaks of his conjunction with
his disciples, says, that they should abide in him, and his
words in them (John xv. 7) ; that his words are spirit and life
(John vi. 63) ; and that he maketh his abode with those who
104

THE DIVINE PRO-VIDENCE. 172
keep his words, xiv. 20 — 24. To think, therefore, frcni the
Lord, is to think from the Word, as by the Word. That all
things of the Word have communication with heaven, is shown
in The Doctrine of the New Jeeusalem concerning the
Sacred Scripture, from beginning to end ; and, as the Lord is
heaven, it is meant that all things of the Word have communica
tion with the Lord himself. The angels of heaven have commu
nication indeed, but this also from the Lord. Secondly, That
tlie Lord is the Word, because it is the divine truth of the divine
good. That the Lord is the Word, he teaches in John in these
words : " In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and God was the Word : and the Word was made
flesh, and dwelt among us," i. 1, 14. This passage has here
tofore been no otherwise understood, than as implying that
God taught men by the Word, therefore it has been explained
by supposing it an elevated expression, involving that the Lord
is not the Word itself; the reason of which is, that man did not
know that by the Word is meant the divine truth of the divine
good, or what is the same, the divine wisdom of the divine
love. That these are the Lord himself, is shown in the treatise
On the Di-vinb Love and the Divine Wisdom, part the first ;
and that these are the Word, is shown in The Doctrine of
THE New Jerusalem concerning the Saceed Sceiptueb, n.
1 — 86. How the Lord is the divine truth of the divine good,
may also be briefly shown in this place. A man is not a man
from his face and body, but from the good of his love and the
truths of his wisdom ; and because a man is a man by virtue of
these principles, every man is also his o-wn truth and his own
food, 01' his own love and his o-wn wisdom ; and without these
e is not a man. But the Lord is goodness itself and truth
itself, or, what is the same, love itself and wisdom itself; and
these are the Word, which in the beginning was with God, and
which was God, and which was made' flesh. Thirdly, That
thus to be taught from the Word, is to he taught from the Lord
liimsdf, because it is to be taught from goodness itself and truth
itself, or from love itself and wisdom itself, which are the Word,
as was said ; but every one is taught according to the under
standing of his love, and what is over and above does not re
main. All those who are taught of the Lord in the Word, are
instructed in a few truths in the world, but in many when they
become angels ; for the interiors of the Word, which are divine
spiritual and divine celestial things, are implanted at the same
time, but are not opened in a man till atxer his death, when
in heaven, where he is in angelic wisdom, which, compared
with human, and therefore with his former wisdom, is ineffable.
That the divine spiritual and the divine celestial things which
constitute angelic wisdom, are in all and every particular of
the Word, may be seen in The Docteine of the New
105

172 — 174 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENLSO
Jerusalem conceening the Saceed Sceiptuke, n. 5 — 26.
Fourthly, That this being effected mediately hy preaching does
not take away tlie immediate teaching. The Word cannot other
wise be taught than mediately by parents, masters, preachers,
books, and especially by reading it ; but still it is not taught
from them, but by them from the Lord. This is also agreeable
to what is known to preachers, who say, that they do not speak
from themselves, but from ¦ the spirit of God ; and that every
thing true, as well as every thing good, is from God. They are
able indeed to say this, and make it enter into the understanding
of many, but not into the heart of any one ; and that which is
not in the heart, perishes in the understanding : by the heart
is meant the man's love. It may hence be seen, that a man is
led and taught of the Lord alone ; and immediately from him,
when from the Word. This is an arcanum of arcana of angelic
wisdom. 173. That by the Word those also have light who are out
of the church, and have not the Word, is shown in The Doc-
TElNB OF THE NeW JeEUSALEM CONCEENING THE SaCEED
ScEiPTUEE, n. 104 — 113 : and because a man has light through
the Word, and from light has understanding, and this is the
case with the wicked as well as the good, it follows, that from
light in its origin there is light in its derivations, which are per
ceptions and thoughts on any subject whatever. The Lord says,
that " without him they can do nothing" (John xv. 5) ; that "a
man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven"
(.lohn iii. 27) ; and that our " Father which is in heaven, maketh
his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on
the just and on the unjust" (Matt. v. 45). By sun is meant
here, as elsewhere in the Word, in its spiritual sense, the divine
good of the divine love, arid by rain the divine truth of the
divine -wisdom. These are given to the evil and to the good,
and to the just and to the unjust ; for if they were not, no one
would have perception and thought. That there is one sole life,
from which all have life, was shown above ; and perception and
thought are of life ; therefore from the same fountain from which
is life, are also perception and thought. That all light, which
makes the understanding, is from the sun of the spiritual world,
which is the Lord, was abundantly shown above.
174. V. That a man is led and taught of the Lord in ex
ternals to all appearance as of himself. Tliis is done in his
externals, but not in his internals ; no one knows how the Lord
leads and teaches a man in his internals, any more than he
knows how the soul operates in order that the eye may see, the
ear hear, the tongue and the mouth speak, the heart impel the
blood, the lungs respire, the stomach digest, the liver and pan
creas distribute, the kidneys secrete, and innumerable othei
things. These do not come within a man's perception and sen
106 ^ ^

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE 174, 175
sation ; and it is similar with the things \^hich are done of the
Lord in the interior substances and forms of the mmd, which
tilings are infinitely more numerous. The operations of the
Lord therein do not appear to a man ; but their effects, which
are many, do appear, and also some causes of the effects. These
are externals in which the man is together with the Lord ; and
because externals make one with internals, for they cohere in
one series, therefore no disposition can be made in internals by
the Lord, otherwise than according to that which is made in ex
ternals by" means of the man. Every one knows that a man
thinks, wills, speaks, and acts to all appearance as from him
self; and any one may see, that without such appearance a man
would have no will and understanding, consequently no affection
and thought, and also no reception of any thing good and true
from the Lord. This being the case, it follows, that without
such appearance there would be no knowledge of God, no charity
and faith, consequently no reformation and regeneration, and
therefore no salvation. From which it is evident, that this ap
pearance was given to man by the Lord for all those uses ; but
principally that he might have a receptive and a reciprocal prin
ciple by which the Lord may be conjoined to him and he to the
Lord, and that by such conjunction he may live to eternity. It
is this appearance which is here meant.

THAT IT IS A LAW OF THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE THAT A MAN
SHOULD NOT PERCEIVE AND FEEL ANY THING OF THE OPERA
TION OF THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE, BUT YET SHOULD KNOW
AND ACKNOWLEDGE IT.
176. The natural man, who does not believe in the Divine
Providence, thinks within himself. What is the Divine Provi
dence, when I see that t;he wicked are promoted to honours,
and acquire wealth more frequently than the good ; that many
such like things succeed with those who do not believe in the
Divine Providence better than -with those who do ; and even
that infidels and impious persons can occasion injuries, losses,
and misfortunes, and sometimes death, to the faithful and pious,
and this by craft and malice ? The natural man also thinks to
himself. Do not I see from experience itself, as in open day,
that deceitful machinations, provided a man by ingenious cun
ning can make them appear to be faithful and just, prevail over
fidelity and justice ? What am I to think then of other cases,
but that they are necessities, consequences, and fortuitous inci
dents, in which nothing from the Divine Providence appears ? .
Are not necessities to be ascribed to nature? Are not conse
quences produced by causes flowing from natural or civil order?
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175, 176 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENINO
And are not fortuitous incidents either derived from causes
which are not known or from no causes at all ? Such are the
thoughts of the natural man, who attributes nothing to God, but
all things to nature : for he who does not attribute any thing
to God does not attribute any thing to the Divine ProvidencH
either, for God and the Divine Providence make one. But the
spiritual man says or thinks with himself otherwise. Although.
in thought, he does not perceive, or with his eyes see the Divino
Providence in its operations, he nevertheless knows and ac
knowledges it. Now since the above-mentioned appearances
and consequent fallacies have blinded the understanding, which
cannot receive any sight unless the fallacies which induced
blindness, aud the false principles which induced darkness, be
dispelled ; and since this cannot be done except by truths, in
which there is a power of dispelling false principles, therefore
these truths are to be opened ; but that this may be done dis
tinctly, it may be expedient to observe the following order. I.
That if a man perceived and felt the operation of the Divine
Providence, he would not act from liberty according to reason,
nor would any thing appear to him as from himself. It would
be the same if he foreknew events. II. That if a man plainly
saw the Divine Providence, he would interfere with the order
and tenor of its progress, and would pervert and destroy it. HI.
That if a man plainly saw the Divine Providence, he would
either deny God or make himself a god. IV. That it is granted
a man to see the Divine Providence on the back, and not in the
face ; also in a spiritual state, and not in a natural state.
176. I. That if a man perceived and felt the operation of the
Divine Providence, he would not act from liberty accordvng to
reason, nor would any thing appear to him as his own. It would
he the same if he foreknew events. That it is a law of the Divine
Providence that a man should act from liberty according to rea
son ; also, that whatever a man wills, thinks, speaks, and does,
should appear to him as from himself; and that without such
appearance nO man would have any thing his own, or be his
own man, therefore would have nothing proper to himself, and
thus no imputation, without which it would be indifferent whether
he should do evil or good, and whether he should have the faith
of God or a persuasion from hell ; in a word, that in such a case
he would not be a man, was shown above under several articles
to the evidence of the understanding. We shall now proceed
toshow, that if a man perceived and felt the operation of the
Divine Providence, he would have no liberty of acting accord
ing to reason, and no appearance of acting as from himself,
because if he perceived and felt it, he would also be led by it;
• for the Lord by his Divine Providence leads all, and a man docs
not lead himself except in appearance, as was also shown above ;
therefore if he had a lively perception and sensation of being

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 176 — 178
led, he would not be conscious of life_ and in such case -«'ould
scarcely differ from a statue, when operated upon to utter sounds
and to act. Supposing him, however, still conscious of life,
yet he would only be led like one bound hand and foot, or like
a horse before a cart. Who does not see, that in this case the
man would have no liberty, and if he had no liberty, he would
also have no reason ; for every one thinks from liberty and in
liberty, and whatever he does not think from liberty and in li
berty, does not appear to him from himself, but from another.
Indeed, if you weigh this interiorly, you will perceive that he
would also have no thought, much less reason, and consequently
would not be a man.
177. It is the continual operation of the Divine Providence
of the Lord, to withdraw a man from evils : supposing now any
one were to perceive and feel this continual operation, and yet
were not to be led as one bound, would he not continually re
sist it, and in such case would he not either strive with God, or
mix self with the Divine Providence? If he did the latter, he
would make himself also God ; if the former, he would loose
himself from all bonds, and deny God. This is very evident,
that there would be two powers continually acting against each
other, — the power of evil from the man, and the power of good
from the Lord ; and when two opposites act against each other,
then either one overcomes, or both perish ; but in this case,
if one overcomes, both perish ; because the evil which is of the
man does not receive good from the Lord in a moment, nor does
the good from the Lord cast out the evil from the man in a mo
ment ; for if either the one or the other were done in a moment,
life would not remain in the man. These and many other hurt
ful consequences would ensue, if a man were manifestly to per
ceive and feel the operation of the Divine Providence. But this
will be clearly demonstrated by examples in what follows.
178. The reason, also, why it is not granted a man to fore
know events, is, that he may be able to act from liberty accord
ing to reason ; for it is knowm, that whatever a man loves, he
desires to effect, and leads himself to it by reason ; also, that .
there is nothing that a man revolves in his reason which is not
from a desire that it may come into effect by thought. K,
therefore, he knew the effect or event from divine prediction,
reason would become quiescent, and with reason, love ; for love
with reason terminates in the effect, and from that begins anew.
It is the very delight of reason, that from love in the thought
it may see the effect, — not in the effect, but before it, or not in
the present, but in the future. Hence a man has what is called
Hope, which in reasor increases and decreases, as it sees or
expects the event. This delight is fulfilled in the event, but
afterwards is obliterated with the thought concerning the event ;
and it would be the same with an event foreknown. A. man's
109

178, 179 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
mind is continually in these three principles, which are called
end, cause, and effect. If one of these is wanting, the human
mind is not in its life. The affection of the will is the end from
which ; the thought of the understanding is the cause by which ;
and the action of the body, the speech of the mouth, or exter
nal sensation is the effect of the end by the thought. That the
human mind is not in its life, when it is only in the affection of
the will, and in nothing else, and in like manner when it is
only in the effect, is evident to any one ; therefore the mind has
not any life from one of the principles separately, but from the
three in conjunction. This life of the mind would be diminished
and would recede in an event predicted.
179. Forasmuch as a foreknowledge of the future takes
away the essential human principle, which consists in acting
from liberty according to reason ; therefore it is not granted any
one to know the future, but every one is allowed to conclude
concerning things to come from reason ; and hence reason with
all that appertains to it is in his life. It is on this account,
that a man does not know his lot after death, or know any
event before it is upon him ; for if he knew, he would no longer
think from his interior self how he should act or live, in order
that it might happen, but would think only from his exterior
self, that it would come to pass ; and this latter state closes the
iriteriors of the mind, in which the two faculties of his life,
which are liberty and rationality, principally reside. The desire
of foreknowing the future is connate with most people, but it de
rives its origin from the love of evil ; it is therefore taken away
from those who believe in the Divine Providence, and there is
given them a confidence that the Lord will appoint their lot :
hence they do not desire to foreknow it, lest by any means
they should interfere with the Divine Pro-vidence. This the
Lord teaches by many passages in Luke, chap. xii. 14—48. That
this is a law of the Divine Providence, may be confirmed by many
circumstances from the spiritual world. Most people, when
they come into that worid after death, desire to know their lot;
but they are answered that their lot is in heaven if they have
lived well, and in hell if they have lived ill. But as all, even
the wicked, are afraid of hell, they ask what they are to do and
to believe, that they may go to heaven. It is answered, that
they may do and believe as they will, but they should know,
that in hell they neither do what is good nor think what is true,
but only in heaven ; and they are told to inquire what is good
and what is true, and to think the one and do the other, if they
are able. _ Thus it is left to every one, in the spiritual world as
well as in the natural world, to act from liberty according to
reason ; but as they have acted in this world, so they act in that;
for the life of every one continues with him, and thence is his
lot, because the lot is of the life.
110

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. ISO
ISO. 11. T\a!t if a man plainly saw the Divine Providence,
he would- 1/iiterf ere '^vith tlie order and teiwr of its progress, and
would pervert and destroy it. That this may enter distinctly
into the perception of the rational and also of the natural man,
it may be expedient to illustrate it by examples in this order.
1. That externals have such a connection with internals, that in
every operation they make one. 2. That a man is only in some
externals with the Lord, and if he were at the same time in in
ternals, he would pervert and destroy all the order and tenor of
the progress of the Divine Providence. But, as was said, these
propositions shall be illustrated by examples. First : That ex
ternal things home such a connection with intemal things, that in
every operation they make one. The illustration in this case shall
be taken from some particulars in ttie human body. In the
whole and in every part of the humjtn body there are externals
and internals : the externals are called skins, membranes, and
coverings : the internals are forms of neivous fibres and blood
vessels, variously composed and united. The covering which
infolds them, by fibres sent out from itself, entei's into all the
interiors even to the inmost parts ; and thus the external, which
IS the covering, connects itself with all the internals, which are
organic forms consisting of fibres and vessels. From this it
follows, that as the external acts or is acted upon, the internals
also act or are acted upon ; for there is a perpetual infolding
together, or union of the whole. Only take some common co ^-
ering in the body, as for example the Pleura, which is tie
common covering of the breast, or of the heart and lungs, and
examine it with an anatomical eye, or, if you have not made
this your study, consult anatomists, and you will learn that
this common covering, by various circumvolutions, and after
wards by derivations from itself, finer and finer, enters into the
most interior parts of the lungs, even to the smallest bronchial
ramifications, and into the follicles themselves, which are the
beginnings of the lungs, — ^not to mention its progress afterwards
by the trachea into the larynx towards the tongue ; from which
it is evident, that there is a perpetual connection of the outmost
with the inmost, and therefore as the outmost acts or is acted
upon, so also the interiors from the inmost act or are acted upon.
This is the reason, that when that outmost covering, which is
the pleura, has either a defluxion or inflammation, or is full of
idcers, the lungs labour from their inmost parts ; and if the dis
ease increases, all action of the lungs ceases, and the man dies.
It is the same with every other part of the body, as with the
Peeitonjeum, the common covering of all the abdominal viscera,
and also with the coverings about each ; as with the stomach,
the liver, the pancreas, the spleen, the intestines, the mesentery,
the kidneys, and the organs of generation in both sexes. Take
any of these parts, and either examine it yourself and you
111

180 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
will see, or consult those who are skilled in the science, and you
will hear. For example, take the liver, and you will find that
there is a connection of the peritonaeum with the covering of
that viscus, and by that covering with its inmost substance ;
for there are thence perpetual branchings forth, and insertions
towards the interiors, and thus continuations to the inmost
parts, and thence a folding together of the whole, which is such,
that when the covering acts or is acted upon, the whole form
in like manner acts or is acted upon. It is the same with, the
rest. The reason is, that in every form, what is common and
what is particular, or what is universal and what is singular,
by a wonderful conjunction act as one. That in spiritual
forms, and in the changes and variations of their state, which
have relation to the operations of the will and understanding,
the case is the same as in natural forms and their operations,
which have relation to motion and action, will be seen below.
Now as a man, in some external operations, is together with
the Lord, and the liberty of acting according to reason is not
taken away from any one, it follows, that the Lord cannot in
internals act otherwise than as together with the man in exter
nals ; therefore if a man does not shun and avoid evils as sins,
the external of the thought and will must be vitiated and diseased,
and at the same time their intemal, comparatively as the pleura
from its disease which is called pleurisy, in consequence of which
the body dies. Secondly, That if a man were at tlie same time
in internals, he would pervert and destroy all the order and tenor
of the Divine Providence. This also may be illustrated by exam
ples from the human body : if a man knew all the operations of
both the brains upon the fibres, of the fibres upon the muscles,
and of the muscles upon actions, and from a knowledge thereof
were to dispose all things as he disposes his actions, would he
not pervert and destroy all ? If a man knew how the stomach
digests, the viscera about it perform their task, elaborating the
blood, and distributing it for all the business of life, and had
the disposition of the same as he has in externals, — in the case,
for example, of eating and drinking, — ^would he not pervert and
destroy all? When he cannot dispose the external, which
appears as one, but destroys it by luxury and intemperance,
what would be the case if he were - also to dispose internals,
which are infinite ? Lest a man, therefore, by any will of his
should enter into them, and make them subject to himself, the
intemals are_ entirely exempted from his will, except the muscles,
-which constitute the covering ; and moreover it is not kno-wn
how these act : it is only known that they do act. The same
may be said in respect to the other parts of the body ; as if a
man were to dispose the interiors of his eye to see, the interiors
of his ear to hear, the interiors of his tongue to taste, the inte
riors of his skin to feel, the interiors of Ms heart to contract,
112

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 180  182
the interiors of the lungs to respire, the interiors of the mesen
tery to distribute the chyle, the interiors of the kidneys to
secrete, the interiors of the organs of generation to propagate,
the interiors of the womb to perfect the embryo, and so on,
would he not by infinite means pervert and destroy in these the
order of progression of the Divine Providence ? That a man
is in externals is well known ; as that he sees with the eye, hears
with the ear, tastes with the tongue, feels with the skin, respires
with tbe lungs, contributes to propagation, &c. Is it not enough
that he is acquainted with externals, and may dispose them for
the health of the body and mind ? When he cannot do this,
what would he do if he were also to dispose internals ? Hence
then it may appear, that if a man manifestly saw the Divine
Providence, he would interfere with the order and tenor of its
progress, and pervert and destroy it.
181. The reason why it is the same in the spiritual things of
the mind as in the natural things of the body, is because all
things of the mind correspond to all things of the body ; there
fore also the mind actuates the body in externals, and in things
general, at its pleasure. It actuates the eye to see, the ears to
hear, the mouth and the tongue to eat and to drink, and also
to speak, the hands to act, the feet to walk, and the organs of
generation to propagate. The mind not only actuates the exter
nals to do these things, but also the internals in all their series,
the ultimate or outmost from the inmost, and tbe inmost from
the ultimate : thus, while it actuates the mouth to speak, it ac
tuates the lungs, the larynx, the glottis, the tongue, the lips,
and each distinctly to its function at once, and also the face
conformably. Hence it is evident, that the same which was
said of the natural forms of the body may be said of the spiritual
forms of the mind, and what was said of the natural operations
of the body may be said of the spiritual operations of the mind ;
therefore as a man disposes externals, the Lord disposes inter
nals, — consequently, in one way if the man of himself disposes
externals, and in a different way if he disposes them of the Lord,
and at the same time as if of himself A man's mind is also in
every particular of its form a man, for it is his spirit, which after
death ai)pears a man altogether as in the world ; and conse
quently there are similar tnings in both. Thus, what -was said
of the conjunction of externals with internals in the body, is also
to be understood of the conjunction of externals with internals
in the mind ; with this difference only, that the one is natural
and the other spiritual.
182. in. That if a man manifestly saw the Divine Provi
dence, he would either deny Ood or make himself a god. _ The
merely natural man says within himself. What is the Divine
Providence ? Is it any thing else or any thing more than a
word amorg the vulgar received from the priest ? Who sees
113

182, 183 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
any thing of it? Is it not prudence, -wisdom, cunning, and
malice, from which all things are effected in the world? As to
other things derived thence, are they not necessities and conse-
iuences, and also, in many cases, contingencies? Does the
)ivine Providence lie concealed in these things ? How can it
be in craft and cunning? And yet it is said that the Divine
Providence operates in all things. Cause me therefore to see
this, and I will believe it. Can any one believe it until he sees
it ? Thus speaks the merely natural man, but not so the spir
itual man. The latter, because he acknowledges God, acknowl
edges also the Divine Providence, and likewise sees it : but he
cannot manifest it to any one who thinks only in nature from
nature ; for such a one cannot elevate his mind above nature,
and see in the appearances of it any thing of the Divine Provi
dence, or conclucle any thing concerning it from the laws of
nature, which are also laws of the Divine Wisdom : therefore it
he manifestly saw it, he would infuse it into nature, and thus
not only veil it over with fallacies, but also profane it ; instead
of acknowledging it, he would deny it ; and he who in his heart
denies the Divine Providence also denies God. It must be
thought either that God governs all things, or that nature does, :
he who thinks that God governs all things, thinks that they ai e
governed by love itself and wisdom itself, therefore by life it
self; but he who thinks that nature governs all things, thinks
that they are governed by natural heat and natural light, which
nevertheless are in themselves dead, because they are from a
dead sun. Does not that which is really living govern what is
dead, or can that which is dead govern any thing ? If yen
think that what is dead can give life to itself, you ai'e insane ;
for life must be from life.
183. That if a man manifestly saw the Divine Providence
and its operation, he would deny God, appears not probable,
because it seems that if any one saw it manifestly, he could not
but acknowledge it, and consequently, acknowledge God ; but
yet it is altogether otherwise. The Divine Providence never acts
in unity with the love of a man's will, but continually against
it ; for a man from his hereditary evil always pants towards the
lowest hell, whereas the Lord by his Providence continually
withholds him, and draws him out thence, first to a milder hell,
then frora hell, and, lastly, to himself in heaven. This operation
of the Divine Providence is perpetual ; and therefore if a man
manifestly saw this retraction and abduction, he would be angry,
accounting God as his enemy, and from the evil of his propnum
would deny him. Lest, therefore, a man should know this, he
is kept in liberty, whereby he knows no other than that he leads
himself But examples may serve for illustration : a man, by
hereditary dispositicn, desires to become great, and also to be
come rich, and in proportion as these loves are unrestrained, he
114

THE DIVINE PRO-VIDENCE. 183, 184
desires to be greater and richer, and at length the greatest'and
richest of all : nor thus would he be quiet, but would desire to
become greater than God himself, and to possess the very
heaven. This cupidity lies deeply concealed in hereditary evil,
and thence in a man's life, and in his life's nature. The Divine
Providence does not take away this evil in a moment ; for if
it were taken away in a moment, the man would die ; but it is
taken away tacitly and successively, without the man's knowing
any thing of it. This is effected by his being permitted to act
according to thought, which he makes the thought of his reason,
and then being withdrawn by various means, as well rational as
civil and moral : thus, so far as he can be withdrawn in liberty,
he is withdrawn. Nor can evil be taken away from any one,
unless it appear, be seen, and acknowledged ; like a wound
which is not healed except it be opened. If, therefore, a man
knew and saw that the Lord, by his Divine Providence, thus
operates against his life's love, from which he has his chief
delight, he could not but run counter to it, be exasperated,
contend against, speak harsh things, and at length from his own
evil remove the operation of the Divine-Providence, by denying
it, and thus denying God ; especially if he saw his success op-
fiosed, himself cast down from dignity, and deprived of opulence.
t is however to be observed, that the Lord never withholds a
man from seeking after honours and acquiring wealth, but frorri
the cupidity of seeking after honours for the sake of eminence
only, or for the sake of self ; in like manner, from acquiring
wealth for the sake of opulence " only, or for the sake of the
wealth ; but when he withdraws a man from these, he intro
duces him into the love of uses, that he may respect eminence,
not for the sake of self, but for the sake of uses, therefore,
that it may be of uses and thence of himself, and not first of
himself an(i thence of uses : the same is true in regard to
opulence. That the Lord continually humbles the proud, and
exalts the humble, he himself teaches in many places of the
Word ; and what he there teaches, that also is of his Divine
Providence. 184. The case is the same with other evils in which a man
is principled from hereditary disposition ; as -with adulteries,
frauds, revenges, blasphemies, and other such like ; all which
can be removed no otherwise than by the liberty of thinking
and willing them being left, that so the man may remove them
as from himself, which nevertheless he cannot do unless he ac •
knowledges the Divine Providence, and implores that it may be
effected by it. Without this liberty, and the Divine Pro-vidence
at the same time, those evils would be like poison shut in, and
not voided, which would shortly spread and occasion the death
of all parts : and they would be like a disease of the heart itself^
from which the whole body in a short time dies.
115 I

185 — 187 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENINO
185. That this is true, cannot better be known than from
the case of men after death in the spiritual world, where the
greatest part of those who in the natural world became great
and rich, and in honours as well as in riches respected themselves
alone, at first speak of God and of the Divine Providence, as if
they acknowledged them in their hearts ; but as they then mani
festly see the Divine Providence, and from it their final portion,
which is to be in hell, they connect themselves with devils
there, and then not only deny God, but also blaspheme ; com
ing at length into such a delirium, that they acknowledge the
more powerful of the devils for their gods, and desire nothing
more ardently than that they themselves also may be deified.
186. The reason why a man would run counter to God, and
also deny him, if he manifestly saw the operations of his Di
vine Providence, is, because a man is in the delight of his love,
and this delight constitutes his very life ; therefore when he
is kept in the delight of his life, he is in his freedom, for free
dom and that delight make one. Did he perceive therefore,
that he is continually drawn away fi'om his delight, he would
be exasperated as against him who wished to destroy his life,
and would regard him as an enemy. In order to prevent this,
the Lord does not manifestly appear in his Divine Providence,
but tacitly leads a man by it, as an imperceptible tide or pros
perous current does a ship. From this a man knows no other
than that he is constantly in his own proprium,, for with that
liberty makes one. Hence it is evident, that liberty appropri
ates to a man that which the Divine Providence introduces,
which would not be the case if the latter manifested itself To
be appropriated is to become of the life.
187. IV. That it is granted a man to see the Di/vine Provi
dence on the hack, and not in the face ; also in a spiritual state,
and not in a natural state. To see the Divine Providence on
the back and not in the face, is to see it after and not before ;
and to see it from a spiritual state and not from a natural state,
is to see it from heaven and not from the world. All those who
receive infiux from heaven, and acknowledge the Divine Pro-vi
dence — especially those who by reformation are made spiritual,
— ^when they see events in a certain wonderful series, do, as it
were, from interior acknowledgment see and confess a Pro-vi
dence. These do not desire to see it in the face, that is, before it
exists ; for they are afraid lest their own will should enter into any
thing of its order and tenor. Not so those who do not admit
any influx from heaven, but only from the world, especially those
who from the confirmation of appearances in themselves are
Boade natural : these do not see any thing of the Divine Provi
dence from behind or after it, but they want to see it in the face,
or before it exists ; and as the Divine Providence operates by
means, and means are effected through man or through the

THE DIVINE PEOVIDBNCE. 188  190
world, therefore, whether they see it before or after, they at
tribute it either to man or to nature, and thus confirm them
selves in the denial of it. The reason why they so attribute
it, is, because their understanding is closed above and open
only below ; consequently, shut towards heaven and open to
wards the world ; and it is not permitted to see the Divine
Providence from the world, but from heaven. I have sometimes
thought within myself whether such persons would acknowledge
the I)ivine Providence, if their understanding was opened above,
and they saw as in clear day that nature in itself is dead, and
that human intelligence in itself is nothing, but that it is only
vTom influx that both these appear to be ; and I perceived that
kUosc who have confirmed themselves in favour of nature and
/luman prudence would not acknowledge it, because the natural
AoliX flowing in from beneath would immediately extinguish the
ifpiriiual light flowing in from above.
1S9. The man who is made spiritual by the acknowledg
ment of God, and wise by the rejection of his propri/um, sees
tile Divine Providence in the universal world, and in all and
every particular thereof. If he looks at natural things he sees
it ; if he looks at civil things he sees it ; if he looks at spiritual
things he sees it ; and this as well in the simultaneous as in
the successive order of things, — ^iii ends, in causes, in effects,
in uses, in forms, in things great and small ; especially in the
salvation of men ; as, that Jehovah gave the Word, that by it he
taught men concerning God, concerning heaven and hell, and
conceming life eternal ; and that he came into the world himself,
that he might redeem and save men. These, and more things
of a similar kind, and the Divine Providence in them, does a
rian see from spiritual light in natural light. But the merely
natural man sees nothing of these things : he is like one who
beholds a magnificent temple, and hears a preacher illuminated
in divine things, and says, when returned home, that he saw
nothing but a stone building, and heard nothing but articulate
sounds : or he is like a near-sighted man who goes into a garden
furnished with all kinds of fruits, and then comes home and
declares that he saw only a wood and trees. Such persons also,
after death, when they become spirits, if they are taken up into
the angelic heaven, where all things are in forms representative
of love and wisdom, see nothing of such objects, or even of
their existence ; as I have perceived with respect to several who
denied the Divine Providence.
190. There are many constant or fixed things, which were
created in order that things inconstant or unfixed might exist :
such are the stated times of the rising and setting of the sun
and moon, and also of the stars ; the darkening of them by
interpositions, which are called eclipses ; heats and lights from
them ; the seasons of the year, which are called spring, summer,
117

190 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEKNING
autumn, aud winter; and the times of the day, which are
morning, noon, evening, and night; also the atmospheres,
waters, and earths considered in thertiselves ; the vegetative
faculty in the vegetable kingdom, and together with it the pro
lific faculty in the animal kingdom, and likewise the things
which are constantly produced from these, when they are put in
action according to the laws of order. These and many other
things are provided by creation, that things infinitely various
may exist ; for variety cannot exist except in things constant,
stated, and certain. But examples will illustrate this. The
various things of vegetation would not exist, if the rising and
setting of the sun, and the heat and light thence proceeding,
were not constant. Harmonies are of infinite variety : but they
would not exist, if the atmospheres in their laws, and the ears
in their form, were not constant. The varieties of sight, which
are also infinite, would not exist, unless the ether in its laws,
and the eye in its form, were constant ; nor, in like manner,
colours, unless the light were constant. It is the same with
thoughts, speech, and actions which also are of infinite variety,
and which would not exist, except the organic parts of thi'
body were constant. Must not a house be constant, that varioui
things may be done therein? in like manner, a temple, thai
various particulars of divine worship, sermons, instructions, and
meditations of piety, may be performed therein? and so in
other things. As to what relates to the varieties themselves.,
which are produced in things constant, stated, and certain, they
go on ad infinituin, and have no end ; yet, in all and singular
the things of the universe, there never exists one entirely the
same with another, or can exist in the succession of things to
eternity. Who disposes these varieties, which go on to infinity
and eternity, that they may be in order, but He who created
things constant, to the end that such varieties might exist
therein ? And who can dispose the infinite varieties of life
among men, but He who is life itself, that is, love itself and
wisdom itself? Without his Divine Providence, which is as a
continual creation, could the infinite affections and the thoughts
of men thence derived, and thus the men themselves, be so
disposed as to make one, — evil affections and the thoughts
thence derived, one devil which is hell ; and good affections and
the thoughts thence derived, one Lord in heaven ? That the
universal angelic heaven is in the sight of the Lord as one man,
who is the image and likeness of himself, and that the universal
hell is in opposition as one man-monster, has been said and
shown occasionally before. These observations are made, be
cause some natural men, even from things constant and stated,
which are necessary to the end that various things may exist in
them, catch at arguments in their delirium in fa-«'our of nature
and 'self-derived prudence.
118

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE, 191, 193

THAT SELF-DERIVED PRUDENCE IS NOTHING, AND ONLY AP
PEARS AS IF IT WAS, AND ALSO OUGHT SO TO APPEAR;
BUT THAT THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE FROM THINGS THE
MOST SINGULAR IS UNIVERSAL.
191. That self-derived prudence is nothing, is altogether
contrary to appearance, and therefore contrary to the belief of
many; and because it is so, no one who from appearance is in
the belief that human prudence does every thing, can be con
vinced but by reasons of deeper investigation, which are to he
taken from causes. Such appearance is an effect, and its causes
discover whence it is. In this preliminary part something shall
be said of the common opinion conceming this matter. Con
trary to appearance is this tenet which the church teaches, —
that love and faith are not from man but from God, as also
wisdom and intelligence, consequently prudence likewise, and
every thing good and true in general. When these tenets are
received, it must also be admitted, that self-derived prudence is
nothing, but only appears as if it was. Prudence is from no
other source than intelligence and wisdom, and these two are
from no other source than the understa,nding and thought thence
derived of what is good and true. This is received and believed
by those who acknowledge the Divine Providence, and not by
those who acknowledge human prudence alone. Now either
-vi.'hat the church teaches must be true, that all wisdom and pru
dence is from God, or what the world teaches, that all wisdom
and prudence is from man. Can they be reconciled in any other
way than by saying that what the church teaches is true, and
what the world teaches is an appearance ? For the church con-r
firms what it teaches from the Word, and the world what it
tea,ches from its proprium; but the Word is from God, and
l^oprium, is from man. Since prudence is from God, and not
from man, therefore a Christian man, when he is in devotion,
prays that God would lead his thoughts, intentions, and actions,
adding also, because from himself he cannot : such, a one also,
when ne sees any one doing good, says that he was inclined to
it by God, and other similar things. Can any one so speak, uur
less he then interiorly believes it ? and to believe it interiorly
is from heaven ; but when he thinks within himself, and col
lects arguments in favour of human prudence, he can believe the
contrary, and this is from the world. Intemal belief, however,
prevails with those who acknowledge God in their hearts, ancl
external, belief with those who do not acknowledge God in their
hearts, however they may do it with their mouths,
192. It was said, that no one, who from appearance is in
tbe belief that human prudence does every thing, can be con
vinced except by reasons of deeper investigation, which are to
119

192, 193 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENING
be deduced fron: causes ; therefore, that reasons _ deduced from
causes may be evident to the understanding, it is expedient to
present them in their order, which will be as follows. I. That
all a man's thoughts are from the affections of his life's love,
and that there do not and cannot exist any thoughts at all -with
out those affections. H. That the affections of a man's life's
love are known to the Lord only. III. That the affections of a
man's life's love are led of the Lord by his Divine Providence,
and at the same time his thoughts, from which human prudence
is derived. IV. That the Lord by his Divine Providence con-
netts together the affections of the whole human race into one
form, which is human. V. That thence heaven and hell, which
are from the human race, are in such a form. VI. That those
who have acknowledged nature alone and human prudence alone,
constitute hell ; and those who have acknowledged God, and his
Divine Providence, constitute heaven. VII. That all these
things cannot be effected, unless it appears to a man that he
thinks and disposes things from himself.
193. I. That all a man^s thoughts are from the affections of
his lifis love, and that there do not a/nd cannot exist any thougMs
at all without those affections. What the life's love is, what the
affections and thoughts thence derived, and from these the
sensations and actions which exist in the body, are in their
essence, was shown above in this treatise, and also in that which
is called Angelic Wisdom concerning the Divine Love and
THE Divine Wisdom, particularly in Part I. and Part V. Now
since from these things are the causes from which human pru
dence fiows as an effect, it is necessary that some of them
should be adduced here also ; for the things which are written
in another place cannot be connected so continuously with the
things which are written after them, as if the same are recalled
and placed in view. Above, in this treatise, and in that before
mentioned concerning The Divine Love and the Di-vdje
Wisdom, it is demonstrated, that in the Lord there are divine
love and divine wisdom ; that these two are life itself ; that from
these two a man has will and understanding, — from the divine
love will, and from the divine wisdom understanding ; that to
these two principles the heart and lungs in the body correspond ;
and thence it may appear, that as the pulsation of the heart,
together with the respiration of the lungs, govems the whole
man as to his body, so the -will, together with the understand
ing, governs the whole man as to his mind ; that thus there
are two principles of life in every man, one natural and the
other spiritual, and that the natural principle of life is the pulsar
tion of the heart, and the spiritual principle of life the will of
the_ mind; and that each adjoins to itself a consort, with
which it (lohabits, and with which it performs the functions oi
life, the heart conjoining to itself the lungs, and the will con-
120 ^ '

THE DIVINB PROVIDENCE. 193—195
joining to itself the understanding. Now, since the soul of the
will is love, and the soul of the understanding is wisdom, both
from the Lord, it follows, that love is the life of every one, and
that according to the nature of its conjunction with wisdom,
such is the life : or, what is the same, that the will is the life of
every one, and that according to the nature of its conjunction
with the understanding such is the life. But on this subject
see more in a preceding part of this treatise, and especially in
The Angelic Wisdom concerning the Divine Love and the
Divine Wisdom, in Part I. and Part V.
194. In these two treatises it is also demonstrated, that the
life's love produces from itself subordinate loves, which are
called affections, and which are exterior and interior ; and that
these taken together make as it were one dominion or kingdom,
in which the life's love is lord or king. It is also demonstrated,
that those subordinate loves or affections adjoin to themselves
consorts, each its own, — the consorts of the interior affections
being called perceptions, and those of the exterior affections
being called thoughts ; that each cohabits with its own consort,
and discharges the functions of its life ; and that there is a con
junction of both, like that of the essence of life with the existence
of life, which is such, that one is not any thing but in conjunction
with the other : for what is the essence of life unless it exists,
and what is the existence of life but from its essence ? also, that
the conjunction of life is like that of sound and harmony, or ot
sound and speech, and in general like that of the pulsation of the
heart and the respiration of the lungs ; which conjunction is
such that one without the other is not any thing, but that one
by conjunction with the other becomes something. Conjunctions
must either be in them, or are produced by them. Take sound
for example : he is mistaken who thinks that sound is any thing,
unless there be something in it which distinguishes. Sound
also corresponds to affection in a man; and as there is in it
always something which distinguishes, therefore from the sound
or tone of a man's voice in speaking, is known the affection of
his love, and from its variation, which is speech, is known his
thought. Hence it is, that the wiser angels, merely from the
sound or tone of voice of him who spealcs, perceive his life's
loves, together with certain affections -«'hich are derivations.
These things are adduced, in order that it may be known, that
there does not exist any affection without its thought, or any
thought without its affection. But more may be seen on the
subject above in this treatise, and in The Angelic Wisdom
CONCERNING THB DlVINB LoVE AND THE DiVINE WiSDOM.
196. Now, as the life's love has its delight, and the wisdom
thereof has its pleasantness, and in Hke manner every affec
tion — wLich in its essence is a subordinate love derived from
the life's love, as a stream from its fountain, or as a branch
121

195, 196 ANGELIC WISDOM COIiICEENINO

from its tree, or as an artery from its heart — ^has its
and thence every perception and thought its pleasantness; it
therefore follows, that those delights and pleasantnesses consti
tute a man's life. What is life without its delight and-pleasauf>
ness ? It is not any thing animate, but inanimate. Diminish
delight and pleasantness, and you will gi-ow cold or torpid ; take
them away, and you wUl expire and die. From the delights of
the affections, and the pleasantnesses of the perceptions and
thoughts, is derived the vital heat. Since every affection has
its delight, and the thought thence derived its pleasantness, it
may be plainly seen whence are good and truth, and also what
they are in their essence. Good is to every one that which is
the delight of his affection, and ti'uth that which is the plea
santness of his thought thence derived : for every one calls that
good which from the love of his will he feels delightful, and
that true which from the wisdom of his understanding he thence
perceives as pleasant. They both flow from the life's love, as
water from a fountain, or as blood from the heart ; and taken
together are like a tide or atmosphere in which dwells the whole
human mind. These two, delight and pleasantnesSi are spi
ritual in the mind, but natural in the body ; and as existing in
both they constitute a man's life. Hence it is evident what that
is in a man which is called good, and what that which is called
true ; also, what that is in a man which is called evil, and what
that which is called false ; namely, that that is evil to him which
destroys the delight of his affection, and that false which destroys
the pleasantness of his thougbt thence derived. It is further
evident, that evil from its delight and falsity from its pleO'
santness, may be called and thought good and true. Goods
and truths are indeed changes and variations of state in the
forms of the mind, but these are only perceived and exist by
their delights and pleasantnesses. These thipgs are stated, that
it may be known what affection and thought are in their life.
_ 196. Now, since it is not a man's body, but his mind which
thinks, and thinks from the delight of its affection ; and since
a man's mind is his spirit, which lives after death, it follows
that a man's spirit is nothing but affection, and thought thence
derived. That there cannot exist any thought without affectioa,
is very evident from spirits and angels in the spiritual world ;
tor all there think from the affections -of their life's love, the^
delight thereof encompassing every one as his atinosphere ; and
all tihere are connected according to tho spheres emanating from
their affections through their thoughts. The character and
quality, also, of every one is known from the sphere of his life.
Hence it may appear, that all thought is from affection, and
that it is the form of its affection. It is the same with the will
and the understanding ; the same with good and truth ; and tka
same with charity and faith.
122

IHE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 197
197. H. That the affections of a marHs lifers love are known
to the Lord alone. A man knows his thoughts and thence his
intentions, because he sees them in himself; and as all prudence
is from them, he sees that also in himself If in this case his
life's love is the love of self, he comes into the pride of self-
derived intelligence, and ascribes prudence to himself, collecting
arguments in favour of it, and so receding from the acknow
ledgment of the Divine Providence. It is similar if the love
of the world is his life's love ; but then he does not recede in
the same degree. From these considerations it is evident, that
these two loves ascribe all things to the man and his prudence ;
and, if examined more interiorly, nothing to God and his pro
vidence. Therefore when persons of that description happen to
hear it stated as the truth, that human prudence is nothing, and
that it is the Divine Providence alone which governs all things,
they laugh at it if they are absolute atheists ; but if they retain
any thing of religion in the memory, and it is affirmed to them
that all wisdom is from God, they acknowledge it indeed at first
hearing, but yet inwardly in their spirit deny it. Such par
ticularly are priests, who love themselves better than God, and
the world better than heaven, or, what is the same thing, who
worship God for the sake of honours and interest, and yet preach
that charity and faith, every thing good and true, like-vvise ail
wisdom, and even all prudence, are from God, and nothing
from man. In the spiritual world I once heard two priests dis
puting with a certain royal legate concerning human prudence,
-whether it be from God or from man ; and their dispute was
warm. They all three in their hearts thought alike, namely, that
human prudence does every thing, and the Divine Providence
nothing ; but the priests, who were then under the infiuence of
theological zeal, said that nothing of wisdom and prudence is
from man ; and when the legate replied, that at that rate there
would be no thought from man either, they said that there was
none. As it was perceived by the angels, however, that these
three were of the same opinion, the legate was told to put on
the garments of a priest, and think himself a priest, and then
to speak : he accordingly did put them on, and, thought as he
was desired ; and then he declared loudly that there never can
be any wisdom or pruduce in a man but from God, and defended
himself with his usu,al eloquence, full of rational arguments.
Afterwards they said to the two priests also. Put off your gar
ments, and put on the garments of political ministers, and think
yourselves such : they did so, and then at the same time thought
from their inner selves, and spoke from arguments which they had
before cherished inwardly in favour of human prudence against
the Divine Providence. As these three were in a similar faith,
they subsequently became intimate friends and entered together
into the path of self-derived prudence, which leads to heU.
123

198, 199 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
198. It was shown above, that a man has not any thought,
except from some affection of his life's love, and that thought
is nothing else than the form of affection. Since, therefore,
a man sees his thought, and cannot see his affection, for he
feels the latter, it follows, that it is from sight, which is in
appearance, that he concludes self-derived prudence to do every
thing ; and not from affection, which does not come into sight,
but into sensation. For affection only manifests itself by a
certain delight of thought and pleasure of ratiocination concern
ing it, and then this pleasure and delight make one with thought
in those who are in the belief of self-derived prudence from the
love of self or the love of the world ; and thought fiows in its
delight as a ship in the current of a river, to which the sailor
does not attend, but only to the sails which he expands.
199. A man can reflect, indeed, upon the delight of his
external affection, when it acts as one with the delight of any
bodiljr sense ; but yet he does not reflect that that delight is
from the delight of his affection in thought. For example : when
a fornicator sees a harlot, his eyes sparkle with the fire of las-
civiousness, and from it he feels delight in the body ; but yet
he does not feel the delight of his affection or concupiscence in.
thought, but as something of cupidity in the body. It is the
same with a robber in the woods, when he sees travellers ; a
pirate in the sea, when he sees ships ; and so with others. That
these delights govern his thoughts, and that his thoughts are
nothing without them, is evident ; but he thinks that they are
only thoughts, when nevertheless thoughts are nothing but
affections composed into forms by his life's love, that they may
appear in the light ; for all affection is in heat, and all thought in
light. These are affections of external thought, which manifest
themselves indeed in the sensation of the body, but rarely in the
thought of the mind : but the affections of internal thought,
from which the external exist, never manifest themselves to a
man. Of these he knows no more than a traveller sleeping in a
carriage does of his journey, or than a man feels the circum-
rotation of the earth. Now, since a man knows nothing of the
things which are transacted in the interiors of his mind, which
are so infinite that they cannot be defined by numbers, and yet
the few externals which come to the sight of his thought are
produced from interiors, and the interiors are regulated of the
Lord alone by his Divine Providence, and those few externals
by the Lord in conjunction with the man ; how can any one say,
that his own prudence does every thing? If you were only to
see one idea of thought disclosed, you would see more stupendous
things than tongue can utter. That in the interiors of a man's
mind there are such infinite things as cannot be defined by
numbers, is evident from the infinite number of things in the
body, from which nothing comes to the sight and sense but
124 ^

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 199—201
action alone in much simplicity," to which, nevertheless, concur
thousands of moving or muscular fibres, thousands of nervous
fibres, thousands of blood-vessels, and thousands of pulmonary
vessels, which must co-operate in every action, thousands oi'
things in the brains and in the spinal marrow ; and there are
many more still in the spiritual man, which is the human mind ;
all the things whereof are forms of affections, and of perception?
and thoughts thence derived. Does not the soul which disposes
interior things dispose actions also by virtue thereof? A man's
soul is nothing but the love of his will,- and the love of his un
derstanding thence derived : such as this love is, such is the
whole man ; and he is made such according to the disposition
in externals in which he is concerned with the Lord. Therefore
if he attributes all things to himself and to nature, his soul
becomes the love of self; but if he attributes all things to the
Lord, his soul becomes the love of the Lord : and the latter love
is celestial, but the former infernal.
200. Now, siilce the delights of a man's affections carry him
from inmost things by the interiors to the exteriors, and at
length to the outermost, which are in the body, as the airs
and currents carry a ship ; and since nothing of them appears
to the man but wliat is done in the outermost of the mind and
of the body, how can a man claim to himself what is divine from
this circumstance alone, that those few outermost things appear
to him as his own ? Still less ought he to claim to himself what
is di-vine, when he knows from The Word, that a man cannot
take any thing from himself, except it be given him from heaven. ;
and knows from reason, that that appearance is granted him,
in order that he may live a man, see what is good and evil,
choose one or the other, and appropriate to himself that which
he chooses, that there may be a possibility of his being joined
reciprocally to the Lord, reformed, regenerated, saved, and of
his living to eternity. That this appearance was granted to man
that he might act from liberty according to reason, thus as if
from himself, and not hang down his hands and wait for infiux,
was stated and shown above. Hence fallows the confirmation
of that which was to be demonstrated thirdly. That the affections
of a m-an^s Ufe^s love are led of the Lord by his Di/vine Provi
dence, and at the same time his thoughts, from which human
prudence is derived.
201. IV. That the Lord hy his Divine Providence connects
together the affections of the whole human race into one form,
which is the human. That this is a universal of the Divine Pro
vidence, will be seen in the subsequent paragraph. Those who
ascribe all things to nature, likewise ascribe all things to human
prudence ; for those who ascribe all things to nature deny God
in their hearts, and those who ascribe all things to human
prudence, deny the Divine Providence in their hearts : one is
125

201, 202 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
not separable from the other. Yet both these sorts of persona
for the sake of their reputation, and for fear of losing it, profess
with their mouths that the Divine Providence is universal or
general, but that the singulars of it rest with man ; and that
these singulars in their complex are understood by human pru
dence. But think within yourself, what is universal pro-vidence,
when singulars are separated from it? Is it any thing mpre
than a bare word ? For that is called universal which is formed
of sin£fulars connected together, as that is common which exists
from particulars. If, therefore, you separate singulars, what
then is the universal but like something which is empty within,
consequently like a surface within which there is nothing, or
like a complex containing nothing ? If it should be allegedj
that the Di-vine Providence is a universal government, and that.
nothing is governed, but only kept in its connection, while the
things which relate to government are disposed by others, can
this be called a universal government ? No king has such a
government as this ; for if a king were to allow his subjects to
govern every thing in his kingdom, he would be no longer a king,
but would only be called a king, therefore would have only a
nominal and not a real dignity. Such a king cannot be sai.d to,
hold the government, much less universal government. Proyi-
dence witli God is called prudence with man : as there cannot
be said to be universal prudence in a king who has reserved to
himself no more than the name, in order that his kingdom may
be called a kingdom, and thus kept together ; so neither could
there be said to be a universal Providence, if men from their
own prudence were to provide every thing. It is the same with
the name of universal providence, and of universal government,
as spoken in relation to nature, when it is understood that God
created the universe, ancl endued nature with a power of pro^
ducing all things from herself: what is universal providence in
this case, but a metaphysical term, or a mere sound without
meaning ? And of those who attribute to nature every thing that
is produced, and to human prudence every thing that is done,
yet profess with their mouths that God created nature, many
think no otherwise of the Divine Providence than as of an empty,
sound. But the case really is, that the Divine Pro-vidence exists,
in the most minute particulars of nature, and in the most minute
particulars of human prudence, and by governing these particu
lars, governs universally.
_ 202. The Divine Providence of the Lord is universal from,
things the most particular in this, that he created the universe,
to the end that an infinite and eternal creation might exist
therein from himself; and this creation exists by tfie Lord's
forming from men a heaven, which appears before him as one
man, in the image and likeness of himself. That heaven formed
fj?ora men is such in the sight jf the Lord, and that this was
126 '

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE. 202, 203

the end of creation, was shown above, n. 27 — 45 : and that the
Divine, in all that it does, has respect to what is infinite and
-eternal, n. 56 — 69. The infinite and eternal to which the Lord
has respect in forming his heaven out of men, is, that it may be
enlarged to infinity and eternity ; and thus that he may con
stantly dwell in the end of his creation. This creation which
the Lord provided by the creation of the universe is infinite
and eternal, and in this creation he is constantly engaged by his
Divine Providence. Who that knows and believes from the
doctrine of the church, that God is infinite and eternal — (ffor
the doctrine of all the chwrches in the Olvristian world holds, that
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, is infi
nite, eternal, unoreate, and omnipotent ; see the Athana,sian Greed)
— can be so void of reason as not to assent, when he hears that
God cannot do otherwise than respect infinity and eternity in his
great work of creation,^(for how can he act otherwise when he
acts from himself?) — and also that he respects this in the human
race, out of which he forms his own heaven ? What else then
Oan the Divine Providence have for its end, but the reformation
and salvation of the human race ? And no one can be reformed
of himself by his own prudence, but of the Lord by his Divine
Providence : hence it follows, that except a man is led by the
Lord every moment, even every the most minute point of times,
he departs from the way of reformation, and perishes. Every
change and variation of state of the human mind changes and
varies something in the series of things present, and thereby of
things consequent : what then must it not do in the progression
to eternity ? It is like an arrow shot from a bow, which, if its
direction at first should decline ever so little from the mark,
would diverge immensely at the distance of a mile or more ; so
Would it be if the Lord, every the least moment, did not lead
9,nd govern the state of human minds. This the Lord does
according to the laws of his Divine Providence ; according to
which it is also necessary, that it should appear to a man as if
he led himself; but the Lord foresees how he will lead or guide
himself, and continually provides accordingly. That the laws
of permission are also laws of the Divine Providence ; that every
man may be reformed and regenerated ; and that there does not
exist any such thing as predestination, will be seen in what
follows. 203. Since, therefore, every man lives after death to etemity,
and according to his life here has his place assigned to him
either in heaven or in hell, and both these, as well heaven as
hell, must be in such a form as to act as one, as was said before ;
and since no one can occupy any other place in that form but
his own ; it follows, that the human race throughout the whole
world is under the auspices of the Lord, and that every one,
from his infancy even to the end ">f his life, is led of him in the
127

203  206 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
most minute particulars, and his place foreseen, and at the same
time provided. From which considerations it is evident, that
the Divine Providence of the Lord is universal, because it is iu
the most minute particulars ; and that this is the infinite and
eternal creation which the Lord has provided for himself by the
creation of the universe. Of this universal providence a man
does not see any thing ; and if he did, it could not appear to
him otherwise than as the scattered heaps and collections of
materials, out of which a house is to be formed, appear to those
who pass by ; but by the Lord it is seen as a magnificent palace,
the building and enlarging of which is continually going on.
204. V . That heaven and hell are in such a form. That
heaven is in the human form, has been made known in the
work concerning Heaven and Hell, published in London in
1758, n. 59—102; also in the treatise concerning The Divine
Love and the Di-vine Wisdom ; and in some parts of this
treatise ; it is therefore unnecessary to give it further con
firmation. It is said that hell also is in the human form, but
it is in a monstrous human form, such as is that of the devil,
by whom is meant hell in its whole complex. It is in the
human form, because those also who are there were born men,
and have moreover those two human faculties which are called
liberty and rationality, although they have abused their liberty
to will and to do evil, and their rationality to think and con
firm it.
205. VI. That those who ha/ve acknowledged natu/re (done
and hv/man prudence alone, constitute hell ; and those who have
acknowledged God and his Di/vine Providence constitute heaven.
All who lead an evil life interiorly aclmowledge nature and
human prudence alone ; for such acknowledgment lies inwardly
concealed in all evil, however it may be covered by things good
and true; these being borrowed garments, or like perishable
decorations of flowers, strewed over evil lest it should appear fti
its nakedness. That all who lead an evil life interiorly acknow
ledge nature and human prudence alone, is not known because
of that common covering by which it is hid from view ; but that
they do nevertheless acknowledge them, may appear from tho
origin and cause of such acknowledgment, for the purpose of
discovering what it may be expedient to explain, whence and
what self-derived prudence is ; then, whence and what the
Divine Providence is ; afterwards, who and what kind of persons
they are who favor the latter, and also those -«'ho favor the
former; and lastly, that those who acknowledge the Divine
Providence are in heaven, and those who acknowledge sell-
derived prudence are in hell.
206. Whence and what self -derived prudence is. It is from
a man's proprium which is his nature, and is called his soul,
derived from the parent. This proprium is the love of self and
128

the divine providence. 206, 207
the love of the world "thence derived, or the love of the world
and the love of self thence derived. The love of self is such,
that it regards itself only, and looks upon others either as vile
or of no account ; or if it respects any person or thing, it is only
so long as they honour and worship itself Just like the effort
to fructify and propagate, which is contained in a seed, there
lies concealed in the inmost of self-love a desire to become
great, to be made a king if possible, and then if possible to be
deified. Such is a devil, because he is essentially the love of self,
being such that he adores himself, and favours no one who does
not also adore him. He hates another devil like himself, because
he wishes himself alone to be adored. As no loye can exist
without its consort, and the consort of love or of the will in a
man is called the understanding, therefore when the love of self
inspires its love into the understanding its consort, it there
becomes conceit, which is the conceit of self-derived intelligence,
from which self-derived prudence proceeds. Now, since the
xove of self desires to be sole lord of the world, consequently a
god, therefore the concupiscences of evil, whicb are derivations
thence, have from it life in themselves, as have in like manner
the perceptions of concupiscences, which are all sorts of craft
and cunning ; and as have also the delights of concupiscences
which are evils, and their thoughts which are falses. All these
are like servants and ministers of their lord, and act at his
command, not knowing that they do not act, but are acted
u pon, being acted upon by the love of self through the conceit ot
self-derived intelligence. Hence it is that self-derivedprudence,
by virtue of its origin, lies concealed in every evil. The reason
-«'hy an acknowledgment of nature alone also lies concealed
therein, is, because self-love has closed as it were its upper
window, or sky-light, by which there is an open communication
with heaven, and the side windows also, lest it should see and
hear that the Lord alone governs all things, that nature in
herself is void of life, that a man's proprium is hell, and con
sequently that the love of the proprium is.the devil : then, having
shut the windows, it is in the dark, and there makes a fire for
itself, by which it sits down with its consort ; and they reason
like friends in favour of nature against God, and in favour of self-
derived prudence against the Divine Providence.
207. Whence and what the Divine Providence is. It is
the divine operation in the man who removes the love of self;
for self-love, as before said, is the devil, and concupiscences
and their delights are the evils of his kingdom, which is hell.
These being removed, the Lord enters with affections of neigh
bourly love, and opens the man's sky-light, and then his side
windows, causing him to see that there is a heaven, a life after
death, and everiasting happiness ; and by means of the spiritual
light and at the same time spiritual love then flowing in causes
129

207  210 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
him to acknowledge that God by his Divine Providence govems
all things. 208. Who and what kind of persons those are who favowr
the latter, and also those who favour the former. Those who
acknowledge God and his Divine Providence, are like the angels
of heaven, who dislike to be led of themselves, and love to be
led of the Lord : and a sign of their being led of the Lord, is,
that they love their neighbour. But those who acknowledge
nature and their own prudence, are like infernal spirits, who
dislike to be led of the Lord, and love to be led of themselves.
These, if they are persons of distinction in a kingdom, desire to
have dominion in all things. So, also, if they are primates of
the church. If they are judges, they pervert judgment, and
exercise dominion over the laws. If men of leaming, they apply
scientifics to confirm the proprium of man and nature. If
they are merchants, they act as thieves : if husbandmen, as
robbers. They are all enemies of God, and deriders of the Divine
Providence. 209. It is wonderful, that when heaven is opened to such,
and they are told that they are mad, and their madness is also
made manifest to their perception, which is done by influx and
illumination, they still, from indignation, shut heaven againiSt
themselves, and look do-wn to the earth, under which is hell.
This is the case with such of them in the spiritual world as are
still out of hell, and yet of such a disposition; from whicb
circumstance is evinced the error of those who think. If I were
to see heaven, and hear the angels speak to me, I should acknow
ledge. Their understanding however acknowledges ; but if their
will does not at the same time, they nevertheless do not acknow
ledge ; for the love of the will infuses into the understanding
whatever it chooses, and not vice versa; obliterating indeed
every tiling in the understanding which is not from itself
210. VII. That all these things cannot he effected, unless
it appea/rs to a man that he thinks and disposes from himself.
That in case it did not appear to a man, as if he lived from
himself, and thus thought and willed, spoke and acted as from
himself, he would not be a man, is fully demonstrated iu the
preceding pages : from which it follows, that if a man did not
dispose, as if from his own prudence, all things appertaining
to his function and life, he could not be guided and regulated
by the Divine Providence ; for he would be like one standing
with his hands hanging down, his mouth open, his eyes shut,
and his breath indrawn, in expectation of influx. He would
therefore divest himself of humanity, which consists in the
perception and sensation that he lives, thinks, wills, speaks,
and acts as if from himself; and at the same time he would
divest himself of his two faculties, liberty and rationality, by
which he is distinguished from beasts. That without such
130

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 210  212
appearance no man would possess receptibility and reciprocality,
or therefore immortality, is demonstrated above in this treatise,
and also in that on the Di-vine Love and the Divine Wisdom.
Therefore, if you desire to be led by the Divine Providence, use
prudence, as a servant and minister, who may faithfully dispense
the goods of his master. This prudence is the talent given to
the servants to traffic with, of which they are to render an ac
count (Luke xix. 13 — 25 ; Matt. xxv. 14 — 31). Prudence
itself appears to a man as his own, and is believed to be his
own, so long as he keeps shut up within himself that most
inveterate enemy of God and the Divine Providence, self-love,
¦which dwells in the interiors of every man from his birth. If
you do not know him, — for he desires not to be known,— he
dwells securely, and guards the door, lest a man should open
it, and he should thus be cast out by the Lord. That door
is opened by a man, when, as if from himself, he shuns evils
as sins, with an acknowledgment that he does so from the Lord.
It is this prudence with which the Divine Providence acts as
one. '211. The reason why the Divine Providence operates so
secretly, that scarcely any one knows that it exists, is, in order
that a man may not perish ; for a man's proprium which is his
will, never acts as one with the Divine Providence. A man's
proprium has an innate enmity against it ; for it is that serpent
which seduced our first parents, of which it is written, " I will
put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed
and her seed: it shall bruise thy head" (Gen. iii. 15). The
serpent is evil of every kind: his head is self-love: the seed of
the woman is the Lord : the enmity is between a man's self-love
and the Lord, therefore also between a man's self-derived pru
dence and the Lord's Divine Providence ; for self-derived pru
deuce is continually lifting up its head,, and the Divine Provi
deuce is continually keeping it down. If a man felt this, he
would be . enraged and exasperated against God, and would
perish : but while he does not feel or perceive it, he may be
enraged and exasperated against men, against himself, and
likewise against fortune, and yet not perish. Hence it is, that
the Lord by his Divine Providence continually leads a man in
freedom, and being in freedom, it appears no otherwise to him
than that he is led by his own proprium. To lead in freedom
one who is in opposition to him that leads, is like raising from
the earth a great resisting weight with pulleys, by which means
the weight and resistance are not felt ; or as, when any one is
in the power of an enemy, whose intention is to put him to
death, which he does not then know, and a friend contrives his
escape through unknown ways, and afterwards discovers to him
the enemy's intention.
212. Who does not talk of fortune, and who does not
131 J

212, 213 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
acknowledge it, because he talks of it, and because he knows
something of it by experience ? But who knows what it is ?
That it is something, because it is and exists, cannot be denied ;
and nothing can be and exist without a cause ; but the cause of
this something or of fortune is not known. Yet lest it should
be denied, merely froni ignorance of that cause, take dice, or
cards, and play with them, or consult players : which of them
denies fortune ? for they play with it, and it with them, in a
wonderful manner. Who can oppose it, if it is obstinate?
Does it not in such case make a jest of prudence and wisdom?
When you throw the dice and shuffle the cards, does it not seem
as if it knew and disposed the evolutions and motions of the
hands, to favour one more than another, from some certain
cause? Can this cause exist from any other source, than the
Divine Providence in ultimates, where, by constant, and in
constant things, it deals wonderfully with human prudence, and
at the same time conceals itself? That the Gentiles formerly
acknowledged Fortune, and that those of Italy also built a tem
ple for her at Eome, is well known. Concerning this fortune,
which is, as was said, the Divine Providence in ultimates, many
things have been made known which it is not permitted me to
reveal ; and from which it was evinced to me, that it is not an
illusion of the mind, or a sporting of nature, or something with
out a cause, for that is not any thing ; but that it is an ocular
testification, that the Divine Providence is in the most minute
particulars of a man's thoughts and actions. When the Divine
Pro-vidence operates in the' smallest particulars of matters so
mean and trifling, what must it not do in the pai ticulars of things
not mean and trifling, such as the affairs of peace and war upon
earth, and those of salvation and everlasting life in heaven !
213. But I know that human prudence brings over the
rational faculty to take part with it, more than with the Divine
Providence, because the latter does not appear, and the former
does. It can be more easily conceded that there is one sole life,
which is God, and that all men are recipients of life from him,'
as was abundantly shown before ; and this nevertheless amounts
to the same thing, because prudence is of life. Who does not
reason in favour of human prudence and nature, when he reasons
from the natural or external man? Whereas, who does not
reason in favour of the Divine Providence and of God, when he
reasons from the spiritual or internal man ? But write, I pray
you, two books (1 speak this tc the natural man), one in favour
of self-derived prudence, another in favour of nature, and fill
them with plausible, probable, and likely arguments, such as in
your opinion are solid ; and when you have done, put them
into the hand of any angel, and I know that there will be
written under them these "ew words : They are all appearances
and fallacies. 132

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 214, 215
THAT THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE HAS RESPECT TO THINGS
ETERNAL, AND NOT TO THINGS TEMPORARY, EXCEPT SO
FAR AS THE Y« ACCORD WITH THINGS ETERNAL.
214. That the Divine Providence has respect to things eter
nal, and not to things temporary, except so far as they accord
with things eternal, or make one with them, is to be demon
strated in tfhe following order : — I. That temporary things relate
to dignities and riches, therefore to honours and emoluments, in
this world. II. That eternal things relate to spiritual honours
and riches, which are of love and wisdom, in heaven. IH.
That things temporary and eternal are separated by man, but
joined by the Lord. IV. That the conjunction of things tem
porary and etemal is the Divine Providence of the Lord.
215. I. That temporary things relate to dignities and riolies,
therefore to honours and emoluments, in this world. There are
many temporary things, but yet they all relate to dignities and
riches. By temporary things are meant those which either
perish with time, or cease with a man's life in this world only ;
but by eternal things are meant those which do not perish and
cease with time, therefore not with the life in this world. Since
all temporary things, as was observed, have relation to dignities
and riches, it is important that the following points should be
understood ; namely, what and whence are dignities and riches :
what is the nature of the love of them for their own sake, and
-what the nature of the love of them for the sake of use : that
these two loves are distinct from each other, as hell is from
heaven : that the difference between these loves is difficult to be
known : but of each of these distinctly. First, What and
whence a/re dignities and riches. Dignities and riches were
totally different in the earliest ages from what they afterwards
successively became. Dignities in the most ancient times were
no other than such as exist among parents alid their children,
which were dignities of love, full of respect and veneration in
the latter for the former, not because they received from them
birth, but instraction and wisdom, which is a second birth, in
itself spiritual, because it was the birth of their spirit. This
was the only dignity in the earliest ages, because then nations,
families, and houses dwelt separately, and were not formed into
kingdoms as in the present day. It was the father of the family
in whom that dignity resided. Those times were called by the
ancients the golden age. After those times, however, the love
of governing, from the sole delight of that loye, successively
crept in ; and because enmity and hostility against those who
would not submit arose at the same time, therefore nations,
families, and houses assembled themselves together from neces
sity, and set over themselves one whom at first they called a
judge, afterwards a prince, and lastly a king and an emperor.
133

215 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
Then also they began to fortify themselves by towers, bulwarks,
and walls. From the judge, prince, king, or emperor, as from
the head into the body, a lust of dominion spread itself like a
contagion among many, and thence arose degrees of dignities,
with honours, conformable to them ; and with them self-love, and
the pride of self-derived prudence. The case was similar with
regard to the love of riches. In the most ancient times, when
nations and families dwelt distinctly from each other, there was
no other love of riches than that of possessing the necessaries
of life, which they procured for themselves by flocks and herds,
and by fields, pastures, and gardens, from which they derived
subsistence, ^mong their necessaries of life were also reckoned
decent houses, furnished with all kinds of utensils, and likewise
clothing. The care and management of all these things was
the business of the parents, children, men-servants, and maid
servants in the house. But after the love of dominion began to
prevail, and destroyed this state of society, the love of possess
ing wealth beyond their necessities also invaded mankind, and
grew to such a height as to produce a desire of possessing the
wealth of all. Tliese two loves are connected as it were by con
sanguinity ; for he who desires to rule over all things, desires
also to possess all, that thus all persons may become his servants,
and he their sole lord and master. This is plainly manifested
among those of the popish religion, who have exalted their do
minion even into heaven, unto the throne of the Lord, upon
which they have placed themselves, and who covet also the riches
of the whole earth, and amass treasures without end. Secondly,
What is the natu/re of the love of dignities and riches for their
own sake, and what the nature of the love of them for the sake
of use. The love of dignities and honours for the sake of dig
nities and honours, is the love of self, properly the love of do
minion arising from the love of self; and the love of riches and
wealth, for the sake of riches and wealth, is the love of the world,
properly the love of possessing the goods of othere by any art
whatever : but the love of dignities and riches for the sake of
uses, is the love of uses, which is the same with the love of our
neighbour ; for that for the sake of which a man acts, is the end
which he has in view, and is first or primary, while other things
are means, and are secondary. With- respect to the love of dig
nities and honours for their o-wn sakes, which is the same with self
love, properly with the love of dominion from the love of self, it is
the love of a man's proprium, and a man's proprium is all evil.
Hence it is that a man is said to be born in all evil, and that his
hereditary disposition is nothing but evil. A man's hereditary
disposition is his proprium, in which he is, and into which he
comes by self-love, principally by the love of dominion grounded
in the love of self; for the man who is principled in that love,
has respect to nothing but himself, and so immerses his thoughts

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 216
and affections into his proprium. Hence it is that in the love
of self there dwells a love of doing evil ; the reason of which is,
that the man does not love his neighbour, but himself only ; and
he who loves himself alone, sees others as without himself, or as
vile, or of no account, and despises them in comparison with
himself, whilst he makes light of doing them mischief It is
from this cause that he who is in the love of dominion from the
love of self scruples not to defraud his neighbour, to commit
adultery with his neighbour's wife, to slander him, to breathe
revenge against him even unto death, to treat him cruelly, and
the like. A man derives such evil dispositions from this circum
stance, that the devil himself, with whom every one principled
in self-love is conjoined, and by whom he is led, is nothing else
than the love of dominion from the love of self; and he who is
led of the devil, that is, of hell, is led into all the above evils,
and is continually led by the delights of those evils. Hence it
is, that all who are in hell have a desire to do mischief to every
one ; but those who are in heaven have a desire to do good to
every one. From this opposition exists that middle state, in
which a man is placed, and in which he is as it were in an equi
librium, so that he can turn himself either to hell or to heaven ;
and in proportion as he favours the evils of self-love, he turns
himself to hell, and in proportion as he removes those evils
from himself, he turns himself to heaven. It has been granted
me to feel of what kind and how great is the delight of the love
of dominion from the love of self I was let into it in order
that I might know it ; and it was such, that it exceeded all the
delights in the world. It was a delight of the whole mind from
its inmost to its ultimate faculties, but was only felt in the body
as a certain pleasure and gladness swelling in the breast. It
was also granted me to perceive, that from this delight, as from
their fountain, flow the delights of all evils, as adultery, revenge,
fraud, blasphemy, and every thing that is wicked in general.
There is a similar delight also in the love of possessing the
wealth of others by any art whatever, and in the concupiscences
which are derivations from it ; but yet not in the same degree,
unless it be joined to the love of self With respect to dignities
and riches, however, that are loved not for their o-wn sake, but
for the sake of uses, such love is not the love of dignities and
riches, but ti.e love of uses, to which dignities and riches are
subservient as means;' and this love is celestial : but of it more
in what follows. Thirdly, That those two loves are distinct
from each other as heaven and hell, is evident from what has
now been said ; to which I will add, that all those who are in the
love of dominion from the love of self, whoever they be, whether
great or small, are in hell as to their spirit ; and that all who
are in that love, are in the love of all evils, which if they do not
commit, they still in their spirit think them allowable, and
135

215 angelic wisdom concerning
therefore do them in the body, when the consideration of dig-
nity and honour, and the fear of the law, do not prevent. And
what is more, the love of dominion from the love of self conceals
deeply within it hatred against God, consequently against the
divine things of the church, and especially against the- Lord.
If persons influenced by this love acknowledge a God, they do
it only with their mouths ; and if they acknowledge the divine
things of the church, they do it only for fear of losing credit.
The reason why this love inmostly conceals in it hatred against
the Lord, is, because it is the inmost tendency of it to desire
to be a god, for it worships and adores itself alone ; hence it is,
that if any one honours it so much as to say that it has divine
wisdom, and is the deity of the world, it loves such a one in its
lieart. It is otherwise with the love of dignities and riches for
the sake of uses ; for this love is celestial, because, as has been
observed, it is the same with the love of our neighbour. By uses
are meant goods, and therefore by performing uses, is meant
doing good ; and by doing uses or good, is meant serving others
and ministering to them. Those who do so, although they are
in dignity and opulence, yet respect such dignity and opulence
only as means of performing uses, consequently of serving and
ministering. These are those who are meant by these words of
the Lord : " Whosoever will be great among you, let him be
your minister ; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him
be your servant" (Matt. xx. 26, 27). These also are those to
whom dominion in heaven is entrusted by the Lord; for to
them dominion is the means of performing uses, or doing good,
consequently of serving; and when uses or good are the ends,
or objects of the love, then it is not they who have dominion,
but the Lord, for all good is from him. Fourthly, That the
difference between them is difficult to he k/nown, is, because most
of those who are in dignity and opulence also perform uses ; but
it is not known whether they perform them for the sake of them
selves, or for the sake of the uses ; and the less so, because in
the love of self and of the world, there is more of the fire and
ardour of performing uses than in those who are not in the love
of self and the world. The former, however, perform uses for
the sake of fame or interest, therefore for the sake of them
selves ; but those who perform uses for the sake of uses, or good
for the sake of good, do not perform them from themselves, but
from the Lord. The difference between them is difficult to be
known by a man, because he does not know whether he is led
by the devil or the Lord. He who is led by the devil, performs
uses for the sake of himself and the world ; but he who is led
by the Lord, does it for the sake of the Lord and of heaven ;
and all those perform uses from the Lord who shun evils as sins,
while all those perform uses from the devil who do not shun
evils as sins ; for evil is the devil, and use or good is the I'^rd
136

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE. 216  217
Hereby a-ad no otherwise is the difference known. Both in
their external form appear alike, but in their internal form they
are totally unlike. One is like gold which contains within it
dross ; .the other is like gold which is within pure gold. One
also is like artificial fruit, which in its external form appears
like fruit gathered from a tree, when nevertheless it is coloured
wax, which has within it dust or resin ; the other is like excel
lent fruit, delightful to the taste and smell, which has within it
seeds. 216. n. That eternal things relate to spiritual honours and
riches, which a/re of love and wisdom in hea/ven. As the natural
man calls the delights of self-love, which are also the delights
of the concupiscences of evil, goods, and also confirms himself
in the notion that they are goods, he therefore calls honours
and riches divine blessings ; but when this natural man sees
that the wicked, as well as the good, are advanced to honours
and promoted to riches, and still more when he sees that the
good are in contempt and poverty, and the wicked in glory
and opulence, he thinks within himself. What is the meaning
of this ? It cannot be of the Divine Providence, for if the
Divine Providence governed all things, it would load the good
with honours and wealth, and afflict the wicked with poverty-
and contempt, and thus compel the wicked to acknowledge ths,t
there is a God and a Divine Providence. But the natural man,
unless illuminated by. the spiritual man, that is, unless he is at
the same time spiritual, does not see that honours and riches
may possibly be blessings, and that possibly also they may be
curses ; or, that when they are blessings they are from God,
and when they are curses they are from the devil. That honours
and wealth are also given by the devil is known, for thence he
is called the prince of this world. Now since it is not known
when honours and riches are blessings, and when they are curses,
it shall therefore be shown, in this order : 1. That honours and
riches are blessings, and that they are curses. 2. That honours
and riches, when they are blessings, are spiritual and eternal ;
and that when they are curses, they are temporary and perish
ing. 3. That the honours and riches which are curses, in com
parison with those which are blessings, are as nothing to every
thing, or as that which does not exist in itself, to that which
does exist in itself.
217. These three points are now to be separately illustrated.
Fiest, That honou/rs and riches are blessings, and that they are
cu/rses. Common experience testifies, that the pious as well as
the impious, or the just as well as the unjust, that is, the good
as well as the evil, aire in dignities and riches ; yet it cannot be
denied by any one, that the impious and unjust, that is, the
wicked, go to hell, and the pious and just, that is, the good,
to heaven. This being true, it follows, that dignities and richea,
137

217 ANGELIC -WISDOM CONCEENING
or honours and wealth, are either blessings or curses ; and that
with the good they are blessings, and with the wicked curses. In
the work conceming Heaven and Hell, published in London
in the year 1758, n. 357 — 365, it is sho-wn, that in heaven and
also in hell there are rich as well as poor, and great as well as
little ; from which it is evident, that dignities and riches, with
those who are in heaven, were in this -w^orld blessings, and,
with those who are in hell, were in this world curses. But
whence it is that they are blessings, and whence that they are
curses, every one may know, if he thinks a little on the subject
from reason ; namely, that they are blessings with those who
do not place their hearts in them, and that they are curses with
those who do place their hearts in them. To place the heart in
them, is to love self in them ; and not to place the heart in
them, is to love uses and not self in them. The nature and
quality of the difference between these two loves, was explained
above, n. 215 ; to which may be added, that dignities and
wealth seduce some, and do not seduce others. They seduce,
when they excite the loves of a man's proprium, which is the
love of self ; and that this is the love of hell, which is called the
de-vil, was also shown above ; but they do not seduce, when they
do not excite that love. The reason why the wicked as well as
the good are advanced to honours and promoted to wealth, is,
because the wicked as well as the good perform uses ; but the
wicked do so for the sake of the honou^ and interest of their
own persons, and the good for the sake of the honour and
interest of the thing itself. The latter respect the honour and
interest of the thing itself as principal causes, and the honour
and interest of their own persons as instrumental causes ; but
the wicked respect the honour and interest of their own persons
as principal causes, and the honour and interest of the thing
itself as instrumental causes. Yet who does not see, that the
person, his function, and honour, are for the sake of the office
which he administers, and not the contrary ? Who does not
see that a judge is for the sake of justice, a magistrate for the
sake of the community, and a king for the sake of the king
dom, and not vice versa? Therefore also, according to the
laws of a kingdom, every one is in dignity and honour suitable
to the dignity of his oifice and the functions belonging to it ;
and there is a difference between them like that which exists
bet-ween what is principal and what is instrumental. He who
attributes the honour of his office to himself, or to his own per
son, appears in the spiritual world, when the same is repre
sented, like a man with his body inverted, having his feet
upward, and his head downward. Secondly, ITiat dignities
and riches, when they are blessings, are spiritual and eternal, and.
when they are curses, are temporary and perishing. There" are
dignities and riches in heaven as well as iu this world ; for there
138

THE DIVINE PEOVmENCE. 217
are governments there, consequently administrations and func
tions, and there are also commercial dealings, consequently
riches, because there are societies and communities. The uni
versal heaven is distinguished into two kingdoms, one of which
is called the celestial, the other the spiritual kingdom, and each
kingdom into innumerable societies, greater and smaller, all
which, and all in which, are disposed in order according to the
differences of love and the wisdom therefrom derived ; the so
cieties of the celestial kingdom according to the differences of
celestial love, which is love to the Lord ; and the societies of
the spiritual kingdom according to the differences of spiritual
love, which is love towards their neighbour. As there are such
societies, and all who compose them have been men in the
world, consequently retain in them the loves in which they were
principled in the world, — ^with this difference, that in another
world they are spiritual, and that the dignities and riches them
selves are spiritual in the spiritual kingdom, and celestial in the
celestial kingdom, — ^it follows as a consequence, that those who
have greater love and wisdom than others, have greater dig
nities and riches than others, and these are those to whom
dignities and riches were blessings in this world. Hence may
appear, what is the nature of spiritual dignities and riches,
namely, that they belong to the thing and not to the person.
Persons, indeed, who are in dignity in heaven, are in magnifi
cence and glory, like that of kings upon earth ; but yet they do
not regard the dignity itself as any thing, but the uses, in the
exercise and administration of which they are engaged. They
receive every one the honours of his dignity, but they do not
attribute them to themselves, but to the uses : and as all uses
are from the Lord, they attribute them to the Lord, from whom
they are derived. Such therefore are spiritual dignities and
riches, which are eternal. But it ii otherwise with those to
whom dignities and riches in this world were curses. These,
since they attributed them to themselves, and not to uses, and
since they did not desire that uses should govern them, but that
they should govern uses, which they only regarded as such so
far as they were subservient to their own honour and glory, are
therefore in hell, where they are vile drudges in contempt and
misery ; for which reason, as these dignities and riches perish,
they are called temporary and perishing. Concerning both the
latter and the former the Lord teaches as follows : " Lay not up
for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust cor
rupt, and where thieves break through and steal : but lay up
for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust
doth corrupt, and where fiieves do not break through nor steaL
for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also"
(Matt. vi. 19, 20, 21). Thiedly, That dignities and riclies
which are curses, compared loith those which are blessings, ai'e as
139

217  219 ANiELIC wisdom CONCEENING
nothing to every thing, or as that which does not exist in itsilf, to
that which does exist in itself. Every thing which perishes and
becomes nothing is inwardly in itself nothing : outwardly indeed
it is something, and even appears to be much, and to some
e-^ery thing, so long as it lasts, but in itself it is not. It is like
a surface within which there is not any thing ; or like a theatri
cal performer who appears in a king's apparel only till the play
is ended. But that which remains to eternity is in itself some
thing perpetually, therefore every thing ; and moreover It Is,
because it does not cease to be.
218. III. Tliat things temporary and etemal are separated,
hy man, but are joined by the Lord. The reason of this is, that
all things appertaining to a man are temporary, from which
circumstance a man may be called temporary ; and all things
appertaining to the Lord are eternal, whence the Lord is
called eternal. Temporary things are those which have an end
and perish, but eternal things are those which have no end, and
do not perish. That these two cannot be joined together, except
by the infinite wisdom of. the Lord, therefore that they can be
joined together by the Lord, and not by man, every one can
see. But that it may be known, that tihese two are separated
by a man, and joined by the Lord, it shall be demonstrated in
the following order. 1. What are temporary things and what
eternal things. 2. That a man is in himself temporary and tlie
Lord is in himself etemal ; that therefore nothing can proceed
from a man but what is temporary, and nothing from the Lord
but what is eternal. 3. That temporary things separate from
themselves eternal things, and that eternal things join to them
selves temporary things. 4. That the Lord joins a man to him
self by appearances. 5. And by correspondences.
219. These propositions are severally to be illustrated and
confirmed by themselves. Fiest, What are temporary things,
and what eternal things. Temporary things are all those which
are pro])er to nature, and thence proper to a man. Things
proper to nature are especially spaces and times, both subject
to limit and termination; and the things which are thence
proper to a man, are those of his proper will and his proper
understanding, which are thence of his affection and thought,
especially the things which are of his own prudence; which
things, it is well known, are finite and limited. But things
eternal are all things which are proper to the Lord, and from
him are as it were proper to a man. Things proper to the Lord
are all infinite and eternal, therefore without time, consequently
without limit and without end. The things which are thence
as it were proper to a man, are in like manner infinite and
eternal ; but nothing of these is of the man, but of the Lord
alone in him. Secondly, That a man is in himself temporary,
a/nd the Lord in in himself etemal; that therefore nothing can

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE. 219
proceed from a man hut what is temporary, and nothing from the
Lord hut what is etemal. That a man is in himself temporary,
and the Lord in himself eternal, was stated above. Since nothing
can proceed from any one but that which is in him, it fellows,
that nothing can proceed from a man but what is temporary,
and nothing from the Lord but what is eternal ; for infinite can
not proceed from finite, and to suppose that it can is a con
tradiction; nevertheless infinite can proceed from fini\3, yet
not from finite itself, but from infinite through it. So, on the
other hand, finite cannot proceed from infinite, and to suppose
this is also a contradiction : yet finite can be produced by infinite,
but this is not to proceed, but to be created; on which subject
see The Angelic Wisdom conceening the Divine Love and
THE Divine Wisdom, from beginning to end. Therefoi'e if
finite proceeds from the Lord, as is the case in many things
with a man, it does not proceed from the Lord, but from the
man ; and it may be said to proceed from the Lord through the
man, because it so appears. This may be illustrated by these
words of the Lord : " Let your communication be. Yea, yea ;
Nay, nay ; for whatsoever is more than these, cometh of evil"
(Matt. V. 37). Such is the communication of all in the third
.heaven ; for they never reason concerning things divine, whether
theyvbe so or not, but see in themselves from the Lord, that
they are so or not so. Reasoning concerning things divin(j,
whether they be so or not, arises from the reasoner's not seeing
them from the Lord, but desiring to see them from himselJ' ;
and that which a man sees from himself is evil. But yet the
Lord wills, not only that a man should think and speak of things
divine, but also reason concerning them, to the end that he may
see that they are so or not so ; and such thought, discourse, or
reasoning, provided it has for its end that he may see the truth,
may be said to be from the Lord in him ; but it is from the man,
until he sees truth, and acknowledges it. In the mean time
it is from the Lord alone, that a man is capable of thinking,
speaking, and reasoning ; for this he can do by virtue of his
two faculties called liberty and rationality, which he possesses
from the Lord alone. Thiedly, That temporary things sepa
rate from themselves etemal things, and that eternal things join
to themselves temporary things. By temporary things separating
from themselves eternal things, is meant, that a man who is
temporary does so from the temporary things in himself; and
by eternal things joining to themselves temporary things, is
meant, that the Lord who is eternal, does so from the eternal
things in himself, as was said above. In the preceding pages it
was shown, that there is a conjunction of the Lord with a man,
and a reciprocal conjunction of the man with the Lord ; yet that
the reciprocal conjunction of the man with the Lord is not from
the man, but from the Lord ; also that a man's will is in oppo-
141

219, 220 angelic wisdom concerhino
sition to the Lord's will, or, what amounts to the same, that a
man's self-derived prudence is in opposition to the Lord's Divine
Providence ; from which considerations it follows, that a man,
from his own temporary things, separates from himself the
eternal things of the Lord, but that the Lord joins eternal things
to the man's temporary things, that is, joins himself to the man
and the man to himself As this subject has been fully treated
of before, it is not necessary to add any further confirmation of
it. Fourthly, That the Lord joins a man to himsdf hy appear-
a;^iis : for it is an appearance that a man from himself loves
his neighbour, does good, and speaks truth. If these things
were not to appear to a man as from himself, he would not love
his neighbour, or do good, or speak truth, therefore would not
be conjoined to the Lord ; but as love, good, and truth are from
the Lord, it is evident that the Lord joins a man to himself by
appearances. This appearance, however, and the conjunction
of the Lord with a man, with the reciprocal conjunction of the
man with the Lord thereby, are abundantly treated of above.
Fifthly, That the Lord joins a man to himself by correspondences.
This is done by means of the Word, the literal sense of which
consists of mere correspondences. That by that sense there is
a conjunction of the Lord with a man, and a reciprocal con
junction of the man with the Lord, is shown in The Doctrine
OF the New Jerusalem concerning the Sacred Scriptdee,
from beginning to end.
220. IV. That the conjunction of things temporary and,
etemal in a man is the Divine Providence of the Lord. As the
subjects involved in this proposition cannot fall within the first
perception of the understanding, except they be previously
reduced to order, and unfolded and demonstrated according to
it, therefore the arrangement of them shall be as follows. 1.
That it is from the Divine Providence, that a man by death
puts off things natural and temporary, and puts on things
spiritual and eternal. 2. That the Lord by his Divine Pro
vidence joins himself to things natural by things spiritual, and
to things temporary by things eternal, according to uses. 3.
That the Lord joins himself to uses by correspondences, and so
by appea-rances according to confirmations by a man. 4. That
such conjunction of things temporary and eternal is the Divine
Providence. But these points may be placed in a clearer light
by explanations. First, That it is from the Divine Providence,
that a man^ hy death puts off things natural and temporary, and
puts on things spiritual and etemal. Things natural and tem
porary are extremes and ultimates (or the outermost and last or
lowest things), into which a man first enters, which he does
when he is born, to the end that he may afterwards be introduced
into things interior and superior ; for extremes and ultimates
are the continents (or those which contain or keep the whole
142 ^

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE. 220
together) ; and these exist in the natural world. Hence It is
that no angel or spirit was immediately created such, but all
were first born men, and so introduced: therefore, they have
extremes and ultimates, which in themselves are fixed and
stated, within which and by which their interiors can be retained
in their state of connection, A man first puts on the grosser
substances of nature, his body consisting of them ; but these he
puts off by death, and retains the purer substances of nature,
which are next to what is spiritual, and which then are his con
tinents. Besides, in extremes or ultimates, are all things
interior or superior together, as was shown before in its proper
place ; therefore every operation of the Lord is from primary
and ultimate things at once, consequently in full. But as the
extremes and ultimates of nature cannot receive things spiritual
and eternal, for which the human mind is formed, as they are
in themselves, and yet a man is born that he may be made
spiritual and live to etemity, therefore he puts them off", and
retains only interior hatural things, which are convenient, and
accord with things spiritual and celestial, and serve them as
continents. This is effected by the rejection of temporary and
natural ultimates, which is the death of the body. Secondlt,
That the Lord by his Di/vine Providence joins himsdf to things
natwral hy things spi/ritual, and to things temporary by things eter
nal, according to uses. Natural and temporary things are not
only those which are proper to nature, but also those which are
proper to men in the natural world. Both these a man puts off
by death, and puts on things spiritual and eternal correspond
ing to them. That he puts on these according to uses, is
fully shown in the foregoing pages. The natural things which
are proper to nature, relate in general to time and space, and in
particular to the objects which are seen upon earth. These a
man relinquishes by death, and in place of them receives things
spiritual, which are similar as to their outward aspect or appear
ance, but not as to their internal quality and essence ; which
subject also is treated of above. The temporary things which
are proper to men in the natural world, relate in general to dig
nities and riches, and in particular to the necessities of each in
dividual, which are food, clothing, and habitation. These also
are put away and left by death, and those things put on and
received which are similar to them as to their outward aspect or
appearance, but not as to their internal quality and essence.
All these derive their intemal quality and essence from the uses
of things temporary in the world ; and uses are the goods whicli
are called goods of charity. Hence it may appear, that to
things natural and temporary the Lord by his Divine Provi
dence joins things spiritual and eternal, according to uses.
Thiedly, That the Lord joins himself to uses hy correspondences,
and so hy appearances according to the confirmations of them hy a
143

220 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENING
man. As this point cannot but seem obscure to those who have
not yet acquired a clear notion respecting the nature of cor
respondence and appearance, it must be illustrated by exam
ple and thus explained. All things in the Word are mere
correspondences of things spiritual and celestial, and, because
they are correspondences, they are also appearances ; that is,
all things in the Word are divine goods of the divine love, and
divine truths of the divine wisdom, which are naked in them
selves, but clothed in the literal sense of the Word ; therefore
they appear like a man invested with a garment corresponding
to the state of his love and wisdom ; from which it is evident
that if a man confirms in himself appearances, it is just as if
he were to believe that garments are men. Thus, appearances
become fallacies. It is otherwise if a man searches after truths,
and sees them in appearances. Now as all the uses, or truths
and goods of charity, which a man does to his neighbour, he
does either according to appearances or according to the truths
themselves in the Word, if he establishes the confirmation of
them in himself according to appearances, he is in fallacies,
but if according to truths, he does as he ought to do. Hence
it may appear, what is meant by the Lord's joining himself to
uses by corresjpondences, and so by appearances, according to
the confirmations of them by a man. Fouethly, That such
conjunction of things temporary and etemal is the Di/vine Pro
vidence. That this may be presented to the understanding in
some degree of light, it is expedient to illustrate it by two
examples, — by one which concerns dignities and honours, and by
another which concerns riches and possessions. Both these in
their external form are natural and temporary, but in their
internal form spiritual and eternal. Dignities with their honours
are natural and temporary, when a man has respect to himself
personally in them, and not to the state and uses ; for then he
cannot but think interiorly with himself, that the state is for
the sake of him, and not he for the state. He is like a king
who thinks that his kingdom and all the people in it are for
him, and not he for the kingdom and the people of which it
consists. But the same dignities with their honours are spiritual
and eternal, when a man considers himself personally as sub
servient to the state and to uses, and not them to him. If he
does this, he is in the truth and in the essence of his dignity
and honour, but if the other, then he is in correspondence and
appearance, which if he confirms in himself, he is in fallacies,
and no otherwise in conjunction with the Lord than as those
who are in falsities and evils derived therefrom ; for fallacies are
falsities with which evils join themselves.. Such persons do
indeed perform uses and do good ; but it is from themselves,
and not from the Lord ; therefore, they put themselves in the
place of the Lord. It is the same with regard to riches and
144

the divine PEOVIDENCE. 220, 221
possessions, which also are natural and temporary, as well as
spiritual and eternal. Biches and possessions are natural and
temporary with those who have respect to them alone, and to
themselves in them, and in these two place all their pleasure
and delight ; but they are spiritual and eternal with those who
have respect to good uses in them, and have in these an interior
pleasure and delight. With the latter, the exterior pleasure and
delight also is made spiritual, and the temporary is made eternal ;
therefore also after death they dwell in heaven, and in palaces
there, the utensils of which are resplendent with gold and pre
cious stones ; but these nevertheless they regard no otherwise
than as externals deriving their splendour and transparency from
internals, which are uses, and from them they have essential
pleasure and delight, which in themselves are the bliss and hap
piness of heaven. A contrary lot falls to those who have had
respect to riches and possessions solely for their own sake and
for the sake of self, therefore for the sake of externals and not
at the same time of internals, consequently according to appear
ances and not according to their essences. Such persons, when
they put off these things, as is the case when they die, put on
the intemals thereof, which, since they are not spiritual, cannot
be otherwise than infemal ; for either the one or the other prin
ciple is in them, as both cannot be there together. Hence,
instead of riches they experience poverty, and, instead of pos
sessions, misery. By uses are meant, not only the necessaries
of life, which relate to food, clothing, and habitation for a man
and his family, but also the good of his country, of society,
and of his fellow-citizens. Such a good is commerce, when the
love of it is the end, and that of money the means subservient,
provided the merchant shuns and avoids frauds and evil arts as
sins ; but not so when the love of money is the end, and that
of commerce the means subservient to it ; for this is avarice,
which is the root of all evils, as may be seen in Luke xii. 16,
and the parable concerning it, verse 16 — 21.

THAT A MAN IS NOT ADMITTED INTERIORLY INTO THE TRUTHS
OF FAITH AND THE GOODS OF CHARITY, EXCEPT SO FAR AS
HE CAN BE KEPT IN THEM TO THE END OF LIFE.
221. It is well known in the Christian world, that the Lord
wills the salvation of all, and also that he is omnipotent ; there
fore many thence conclude, that he is able to save every one,
and does save those who implore his mercy, especially those
145

221, 222 angelic wisdom conceening
who implore it by the received form of faith, — that God tho
Father would have mercy for the sake of his Son, — particularly
if, at the same time, they pray that they may receive that faith.
That the case is altogether different, however, will be seen in
the last article of this treatise, where it will be explained, that
the Lord cannot act against the laws of his Divine Providence,
because to act against them would be to act against his divine
l:-ve and his divine wisdom, consequently against himself; and
w nere also it will be seen, that such immediate mercy is not
j)ossible, because man's salvation is effected by means, according
to which no one can lead a man, but He who wiUs the salvation
of all, and is, at the same time, omnipotent, consequently the
Lord. The means by which a man is led by the Lord, are what
are called the laws of the Divine Providence, among which is
this, that a man is not admitted interiorly into the truths of
wisdom and the goods of love, except so far as he can be kept
in them to the end of life. But that this may be evident to
reason, it shall be explained in the following order. I. That a
man may be admitted into the wisdom of« spiritual things, and
also into the love of them, and yet not be reformed. IL That
if a man afterwards recedes from them, and runs counter to
them, he profanes what is sacred. III. That there are several
kinds of profanation, but that this kind is the worst of all.
IV. That therefore the Lord does not admit a man interiorly
into the truths of wisdom, and at the same time into the goods
of love, except so far as he can be kept in them to the end
of life._ 222. I. That a man may be admitted into the wisdom of
spiritual things, and also into the love of them, and yet not oe
refoym,ed. The reason is, because a man has rationality and
liberty. By rationality he can be elevated into wisdom almost
angelic, and by liberty into a love not unlike angelic love ;
nevertheless, such as is the love, such is the wisdom : if the
love is celestial and spiritual, the wisdom also becomes celestial
and spiritual ; but if the love is diabolical and infemal, the wis
dom also is diabolical and infemal. The latter, indeed, may
then appear in its external form, and consequently before others,
as celestial and spiritual ; but in its internal form, which is its
very essence, it is diabolical and infernal, not outwardly but
inwardly. That it is such, does not appear to men, because
they are natural, and see and hear naturally, and the external:
form IS natural ; but it does so appear to angels, because they
are spiritual, and the internal form is spiritual. Hence it is
evident, that a man might be admitted into the wisdom of
spiritual things, and also into the love of them, and yet not be
refoi-med ; but in this case only into the natural, and not into
the spiritual love of them. The reason is, because a man can
admit himself into natural love, but the Lord alone can admit
146

THE DIVmE PROVIDENCE. 222  224
him into spiritual love ; and those who are admitted into the
latter are reformed, but those who are only admitted into the
former are not reformed ; for these last are for the most part
hypocrites, and many of them of the order of Jesuits, who
interiorly do not believe any thing divine, but exteriorly play
with divine things after the manner of soothsayers.
223. By much experience in the spiritual world it has been
made known to me, that a man possesses in himself the faculty
of understanding the arcana of -wisdom, like the angels them
selves ; for I have seen fiery devils, who, when they heard arcana
of wisdom, not only understood them, but also spoke them
from their own rationality : as soon however as they returned to
their diabolical love, they did not understand them, but instead
of them things contrary thereto, which were insanities, and
which they then called wisdom. It has even been permitted
me to hear that when they were in a state of wisdom, they
laughed at their own insanity, and when they were in a state of
insanity, they laughed at wisdom. A man who has been such
in this world, when after death he becomes a spirit, is generally
admitted into alternate states of wisdom and insanity, that he
may distinguish the one from the other. But although from
wisdom they see their insanity, yet when their option is given
them, as it is to every one, they put themselves into a state of
insanity, love it, and then hate a state of wisdom : the reason
of which is, that their internal was diabolical, and their external
as if it were divine. These are those who are meant by devils
who pretend to be angels of light ; and by him, who at the mar
riage had not on a wedding garment, and was cast into outer
darkness. Matt. xxii. 11, 12, 13.
224. Who cannot see, that it is the internal from which the
external exists ; consequently, that the latter has its essence
from the former ? And who does not know by experience, that
the external is able to appear otherwise than according to its
essence from the internal? This is manifestly the case with
hypocrites, flatterers, and dissemblers. And that a man can
assume a character not his own in externals, is evident from
players and mimics ; for they can represent kings, emperors,
a;nd even angels, in their tone of voice, speech, face, and ges
ture, as though they were really such; when nevertheless they
are nothing but imitators. These observations are made, be
cause a man in a similar manner can act the sycophant in mat
ters of a civil and moral nature as in those of a spiritual nature ;
and it is well known, also, that many do so. As, therefore,
the intemal in its essence is infemal, and the external in its
form appears spiritual, when levertheless the external derives
its essence from the internal, as before observed, it may be
asked where that essence lies concealed in the external. It does-
not appear in the gesture, in the tone of voice, in the speecbj
147 K

224 — 226 an:gelic wisdom concerning
or in the face ; but yet it lies concealed interiorly in all the four
That it lies interiorly concealed in them, is evident from the
case of such persons in the spiritual world ; for when a man
goes out of the natural into the spiritual world, which he does
when he dies, he leaves his externals with his body, and retains
his internals which he had treasured up in his spirit ; and then,
if his internal was infemal, he appears a devil, such also as he
had been as to his spirit when he lived in the world. Who does
not acknowledge, that every man leaves externals with his body,
and enters into internals when he becomes a spirit? To this I
may add, that in the spiritual world there is a communication
between the affections and the thoughts derived from them,
whence no one can speak otherwise than as- he thinks ; also,
that every one there changes his face, and becomes like his
affection, so that it is apparent what he is from his face also.
Hypocrites are sometimes permitted to speak otherwise than as
they think ; but the sound of their voice is altogether discordant
to the interiors of their thoughts, and from such discordance
they are discovered. Hence it may appear, that the intemal
lies concealed interiorly in the tone, speech, face, and external
gesture ; and that this is not perceived by men in the natural
world, but manifestly by angels in the spiritual world.
226. From these considerations, then, it is evident, that
a man, so long as he lives in the natural world, can be admit
ted into the wisdom of spiritual things, and also into the love
of them ; and that this may and can be done, with those who
are merely natural, as well as with those who are spiritual ; yet
with this difference, that the latter are reformed by them,
but the former are not. It may also appear as if the merely
natural loved wisdom ; but they love it no otherwise than as
an adulterer loves a noble courtesan, with whom he speaks
flatteringly, to whom he presents rich garments, and of whom,
nevertheless, he thinks with himself at home, that she is nothing
but a vile whore, whom I will make believe that I love her,
because she favours my lust ; but if she does not favour it, I will
reject her. His intemal man is this adulterer, and his external
man is this woman.
226. II. Tliat if a man afterwards recedes from them, a/nd
rims counter to them, he profanes what is holy. There are
several kinds of profanation of what is holy, which will be
noticed in the following article : but this kind is the most griev
ous of all ; for those who are profaners of this kind, become after
death no longer men. They live indeed, but continually in a
fantastical delirium, and appearing to themselves to be flying
on high, and when they are still they play with fantasies, which
seem to them as things real ; and as they are no longer men,
they are not called he and she, but it : even when they are seen
in the light of heaven, they appear like skeletons, some Uke

THE DIVINE providence. 226, 227
skeletons of a bony colour, some fiery, and some dry. That those
who are guilty of this kind of profanation become such after
death, is not known in the world ; and it is not known because
the cause of it is not known. The cause of it is, that when a
man first acknowledges divine things, and believes them, and
afterwards recedes and denies them, he then mixes holy with
profane things ; which, when mixed, cannot be separated other
wise than by the destruction of the whole. But that this may
be more clearly perceived, it shall be explained in the following
order : 1. That whatever a man thinks, speaks, and does from
his -will, is appropriated to him and remains, — as well good as
evil. 2. That the Lord by his Divine Providence continually
provides and disposes, that evil may be by itself, and good by
itself, so that they may be separated. 3. That this cannot be
done, if a man first acknowledges the truths of faith, and lives
according to them, and afterwards recedes from and denies them.
4. That he then mixes good and evil in such a manner that they
cannot be separated. 5. And as good and evil -with every man
are to be separated, and in such a one cannot be separated,
therefore he is destroyed as to every thing truly human.
227. These are the causes why a thing so enormous exists ;
but as these causes are in obscurity from ignorance respecting
them, they shall be explained, in order that they may be evident
to the understanding. First, That whatever a man thinks, speaks,
and does from his will, is appropriated to him a/nd remains,
— as well good as evil. This was shown above, n. 78 — 81.
For a man has an external or natural memory, and an intemal
or spiritual memory : in the latter is inscribed every thing that
he had thought, spoken, and done from his will in the world,
and that so perfectly as to every particular, that no one thing
is wanting. This memory is the book of his life, which after
death is opened, and according to which he is judged. Con
cerning this memory more is adduced from my own experience,
in the work On Heaven and Hell, n. 461 — 465. Secondly, But
that tlie Lord hy his Divine Providence continually provides
and disposes, that evil may be hy itsdf, and good hy itself, so that
tliey may he separated. Every man is both in evil and in good ;
for he is in evil from himself, and in good from the Lord : and
he cannot live unless he is in both. For if he were in himself
alone, and so in evil only, he would not have any life : nor if
he were in the Lord alone, and so in good only, would he have
any life ; for a man in the latter kind of life would be as it were
suffocated, continually gasping for breath, or like one in the
agonies of death ; and in the form.er kind of life he would be
extinct, for evil without any good is in itself dead ; therefore
every man is in both. But the difference is, that one is in
teriorly in the Lord, and exteriorly as if in himself; while the
other IS interiorlj'- in himself, but exteriorly as if in the Lord
149

227 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENINO
The latter is in evil, and the former in good, yet each is in both
good and evil. The reason why this is also the case with a
wicked man, is, because he is in the good of civil and moral
life, and also exteriorly in some good of spiritual life ; and is
kept besides in rationality and liberty by the Lord, in order that
he may have the power of being in good : this is the good by
which every man, even the wicked, is led of the Lord. From
these considerations it may be seen, that the Lord separates evil
and good, that the one may be interior and the other exterior,
and so provides that they may not be mixed. Thirdly, But
that this cannot be done, if a man fi/rst acknowledges the truths
of faith, and lives accordvng to them, and afterwards recedes and
denies them. This is evident from what has now been said ; first,
that every thing which a man thinks, speaks, and does from the
will, is appropriated to him and remains ; and, secondly, that
the Lord by his Divine Providence continually provides, and so
disposes things, that good may be by itself, and evil by itself,
and that they may be separated. Moreover, they are separated
by the Lord after death : from those who are interiorly evil and
exteriorly good, the good is taken away, and they are thus
left in their evil ; but the case is reversed with those who are
interiorly good, and exteriorly like other men have acquired
-^vealth, sought after dignities, been delighted with various
worldly things, and have favoured some concupiscences ; for ia
these, nevertheless, good and evil are not- mixed, but separate,
as intemal and external ; thus in their external form they have
been, in many respects, like the wicked, yet not in their intemal
form. So, also, on the other hand, in the wicked who, in their
external form, have appeared like the good, in regard to piety,
divine worship, words, and actions, and yet, in their internal
form, have been wicked, the evil is separated from the good.
But in those who have first acknowledged the truths of faith,
and lived according to them, and afterwards have run counter,
and rejected them, especially if they have denied them, goods
and evils are no longer separated, but mixed together ; for such
a man has appropriated to himself good, and has also appro
priated to himself evil, and so has joined and mixed them.
Fourthly, That in, this case he nvixes good and evil in such
a manner that they cannot he separated, follows from what
has just now been said j and if evil cannot be separated from
food, and good from evil, he can neither be in heaven nor in
ell. Every man must be either in one or the other ; he cannot
be in both ; for in that case he would be one while in heaven,
and another while in hell ; when in heaven he would act in fa
vour of hell, and when in hell he would act in favour of heaven,
and so destroy the life of all who were about him. — ^the celestial
life in the angels, and the infernal life in the devils,— whereby
the life of every one would perish ; for the life of every one must
150 r 5 J

THB OrVINE PROVIDENCE. 227, 228

be his o-wn,_ no one living in a life foreign to his own, still less
in one that is opposite. Hence it is, that in every one after death.
when he becomes a spirit or a spiritual man, the Lord separates
good from evil and evil from good, — good from evil in those who
are interiorly in evil, and evil from good in those who are interiorly
in good ; which is according to his own words : " Whosoever
hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance ;
but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even
what he hath" (Matt. xiii. 12 ; xxv. 29 ; Mark iv. 26 ; Luke viii.
18 ; xix. 26). Fifthly, As good and evil in every man are to be
separated, and in such a one canmat be separated, therefore he is
destroyed as to every thing truly human. What is truly human
every one has from rationality, so that if he will, he can see
and know what is true and what is good, and as was shown
before, can also will, think, speak, and do good from liberty ;
but this liberty with its rationality is destroyed in those wlio
have mixed good and evil in themselves ; for they cannot from
good see evil, or from evil know good, because they make one :
they have therefore no longer the faculty or power of rationality,
nor consequently have they any liberty. This is the reason
why, as was said above, they are as mere fantastical delirious
beings and no longer appear as men, but like bones covered
with skin, and therefore when they are named, they are not
called he or she, but it. Such is the lot of those who in this
manner mix things holy with profane : but there are several
kinds of profanation, which are not of this nature, to be noticed
in the subsequent article.
228. No man thus profanes things holy who does not know
them ; for he who does not know them, cannot acknowledge
them, and afterwards deny them : those therefore who are
without the Christian world, and do ifot know any thing of the
Lord, and of redemption and salvation by him, do not profane
the holiness thereof, when they do not receive it, or even when
they speak against it. Neither do the Jews themselves profane
it ; because from their infancy they have refused to receive and
acknowledge it. It would be otherwise if they received and
acknowledged, and afterwards denied it, which however is very
rare ; for many of them acknowledge it exteriorly and deny it
interiorly, being like hypocrites. Those however profane things
holy, by mixing them with what is profane, who first receive
and acknowledge them, and afterwards^ depart from them and
deny them. Their receiving and acknowledging them in their
infancy and childhood is of no account, for this all Christians
do, because at that age they do not receive and acknowledge
the things which are of faith and charity from any rationality
and liberty, that is, in the understanding from the will, but
only from memory and the authority of masters : and if they
live according to them, it is out of blind obedience ; but if,
151

228 — 230 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENINO
when a man comes into the use of his rationality and liberty,
which he does successively as he grows up, he then acknowledges
truths and lives according to them, and afterwards denies them,
he mixes things holy and profane, and instead of a man, becomes
such a monster as was described above. If a man is in evil,
however, from the time he becomes possessed of rationality
and liberty, that is, from the time he begins to think for
liimself, even to the period of youth, and afterwards acknow
ledges the truths of faith and lives according to them, provided
he then abides in them to his life's end, he does not mix them ;
for the Lord then separates the evils of his former life from the
goods of his latter life : this is the case with all who repent.
But of this more in what follows.
229. HI. That there are several kinds ofprofanation of what
is holy, and that this kind is the worst of all. In the most
common or general sense, by profanation is meant all impiety,
therefore by profaners are meant all impious persons, who in
their hearts deny God, the sanctity of the Word, and conse
quently the spiritual tbings of the church, which are sanctity
itself, and concerning which they also speak impiously. Of
such profaners, however, we are not here treating, but of those
-who profess to believe in Gcd, who maintain the sanctity of the
Word, and who acknowledge the spiritual things of the church,
and yet do this for the most part with their mouths only. The
reason why these are guilty of profanation, is, because what is
holy from the Word is in and with them, and this, which is in
them and which constitutes some part of their understanding
and will, they profane ; but in the impious, who deny the
Divine Being and all things divine, there is nothing holy for
them to profane. They are profaners indeed, but are not the
profane. 230. The profanation of what is holy is meant in the second
commandment of the Decalogue, by. Thou shalt not peofane
THE NAME OF THY GoD ; and that it ought not to be profaned
is meant in the Lord's Prayer, by. Hallowed be thy Name.
What is understood by the name of God, is scarcely known by
any in the Christian world ; the reason of which is, because i*;
is not known that in the spiritual world there are not names
as in the natural world, but that every one is named according
to the quality of his love and wisdom ; for as soon as any one
comes into society or association with others, he is immediately
named according to his quality there. He is named by spiritual
language, which is such, that it can give a name to every thing,
because each letter in its alphabet signifies a thing ; and several
letters joined into a word, which constitute the name of a person,
include the entire state of b' e thing. This is one of the won
derful things in the spiritua. world. Hence it is evident, that
by the name of God in the Word is signified God, with every
15.^

the DIVUVK PROVIDENCE. 230, 23l
thingdiviue which is in him, and proceeds from him ; and as
the Word is the proceeding divine, it is the name of God ; as,
likewise, all the divine things, which are called spiritual things
of the church, are from the Word, they are also the name of
God. From these considerations it may be seen what is meant
in the second commandment in the Decalogue by Thou shalt
not profane the name of Ood, and in the Lord's Prayer, by
Hallowed be thy name. Similar is the signification of the name
of God ancl of the Lord, in many places of the Word in both
Testaments, as in Matt. vii. 22 ; x. 22 ; xviii. 5, 20 ; xix. 29 ;
xxi. 9 ; xxiv. 9, 10 ; John i. 12 ; ii. 23 ; iii. 17, 18 ; xii. 13,
28; xiv. 14, 15, 16; xvi. 23, 24, 26, 27; xvii. 6; xx. 31;
besides other places, and very many in the Old Testament.
He who knows this signification of name, may know what is
signified by these words of the Lord : " He that receiveth a
prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's
reward ; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of
a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward ; and
whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup
of cold Water only in the name of a disciple, he shall in no wise
lose his reward" (Matt. x. 41). He who, by the name of a
prophet, a righteous man, and a disciple, here understands only
a prophet, a righteous man, and a disciple, does not understand
any other than barely the literal sense, nor does he know what
is the reward of a prophet, the reward of a just man, and the
reward of a cup of cold water given to a disciple, when, never
theless, by the name and the reward of a prophet is meant tho
state and felicity of those who are in divine truths ; by the name
and the reward of a righteous man, the state and felicity of those
who are in divine goods ; and by a disciple, those who are in
some spiritual things of the church, a cup of cold water being
something of truth. That the quality of the state of love and
wisdom, or of goodness and truth, is signified by name, is also
evident from these words of the Lord: "He that entereth in
by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter
openeth ; and the sheep hear his voice : and he calleth his own
sheep by name, and leadeth them out" (John x. 2, 3). To call
his sheep by name, is to teach and lead every one who is in the
good of charity, according to the state of his love and wisdom.
Bj the door is meant the Lord, as is evident from verse 9th of
the same chapter ; " I am the door : by me if any man enter
in, he shall be saved." From which it is evident, that the
Lord himself is to be approached, in order that any one may be
saved ; and that he who approaches him is the shepherd of the
sheep ; but he wh: does not approach him is a thief and a rob
ber, as it is said in the first verse of that chapter.
231. Since by the profanation of what is holy is meant pro-
fenation by those who are acquainted with the truths of faith
153

231 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENING
and the goods of charity from the Word, and also in seme
measure acknowledge them, and not by those who are not
acquainted wich them, or by those who from impiety entirely
reject them ; therefore what follows is said not of the latter,
but of the former. The kinds of profanation by these are
several, some lighter and some more grievous than others : but
they may be referred to these seven. The first kind of pro
fanation IS committed by those who jest from the Word, and
concerning the Word, or from and conceming the divine things
of the church. This is done by some persons from a bad habit,
by taking names or forms of speech out of the Word, and in
troducing them into unseemly and sometimes filthy discourse ;
which cannot but be connected in some degree with a contempt
of the Word. Yet the Word in the whole and in every par
ticular is divine and holy ; for every Word thereof contains in
its bosom something divine, by which it has communication
with heaven. This kind of profanation however is lighter, or
more grievous, in proportion to the acknowledgment of the
sanctity of the Word, and the indecency of the discourse into
which it is introduced by those who make a jest of it. A second
kind of profanation is committed by those wlio understand
and acknowledge divine truths, and yet live contrary to them.
Those however profane them more lightly who only understand
them, while those who acknowledge them also profane them
more grievously ; for the understanding only teaches, much in
the same manner as a preacher teaches, and does not conjoin
itself with the wiH from itself; but acknowledgment conjoins
itself ; for nothing can be acknowledged without the consent of
the will. Nevertheless, this conjunction is various, and the
profanation is according to the conjunction, when the life is
contrary to the truths which are acknowledged. For example,
if any one acknowledges that revenge and hatred, adultery and
fornication, fraud and deceit, blasphemy and lies, are sins against
God, and yet commits them, such a one is in the more grievous
degree of this kind of profanation ; for the Lord says, " The
servant that knew his Lord's will, and did not according to his
will, shall be beaten with many stripes" (Luke xii. 47). And
in another place, "If ye were blind, ye should have no sin;
but now ye say. We see ; therefore your sin remaineth" (John
ix. 41). But it is one thing to acknowledge appearances of
truth, and another to acknowledge genuine truths. Those who
acknowledge genuine truths, and yet do not live according to
them, appear in the spiritual world without the light and heat
oi life in the tone of their voice and speech, as if they were
mere sloths. A third kind of profanation is coMMriTED
by those wlio apply the literal sense of the Word to confirm evil
loves and false principles. The reason of this is, because a con
firmation of what is false is a negation of the t^'utb, and a
164

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE. 231
confirmation if evil is a rejection of good. The Word contains
in its bosom nothing but divine truth and divine good ; ar.d this
in the ultimate sense, which is the literal sense, does not appear
iA genuine truths, except where it teaches conceming the Lord
and the essential way of salvation, but in truths clothed, which
are called appearances of truth ; therefore this sense may be
wrested to confirm heresies of many kinds. But he who con
firms evil loves, offers violence to divine goods ; and he who con
firms false principles, offers violence to divine truths. This latter
violence is called the falsification of truth ; the former, the
adulteration of good. They are both understood by bloods in
the Word ; for the spiritual holiness, which is also the spirit of
truth proceeding from the Lord, is interiorly in every particu
lar of the literal sense of the Word ; and this holiness is violated
when the Word is falsified and adulterated. That this is profa
nation is evident. A fourth kind of profanation is committed
BY THOSE who with their mouths speak things pious and holy,
and also in their tone of voice and gestv/re counterfeit affections
of the love of such things, yet in their hearts do not believe and
love them. Most of these are hypocrites and Pharisees, from
whom after death every truth and good is taken away, and
then they are sent into outer darkness. Of this kind, those
who have confirmed themselves against what is divine, and
against the Word, thence also against the spiritual things of
the Word, sit silent in that darkness, impotent of speech, and
desirous to babble about things pious and holy, as they did in
the world, but they are not able ; for in the spiritual world
e-rery one is forced to speak as he thinks, and a hypocrite wishes
to speak otherwise than as he thinks, consequently there is an
opposition in the mouth, by reason of which he can only mut-
to.r. Hypocrites, nevertheless, are lighter or more grievous, ac-
c n-ding to confirmations against God, and reasonings exteriorly
i.i favour of God. A fifth kind of peofanation is committed by
THOSE who attribute to fhemsdves things di/vine. These are
those who are meant by Lucifer in Isaiah xiv. By Lucifer is
there meant Babel, as may appear from the 4th and 22d verses
of that chapter, where also their lot is described. The same are
likewise meant and described by the whore sitting upon the
scarlet coloured beast, in Eevelation xvii. Babel and Chaldea
are mentioned in many parts of the Word : by Babel is there
meant the profanation of good, and by Chaldea the profanation
of truth, both in those who attribute to themselves things
divine. A siirn kind of peofanation is committed by
THOSE who acknowledge the Word, and yet deny the Lord''s
divinity. These are called in the world Socinians, and some of
them Arians : the lot of both these is, that they invoke the
Father, and not the Lord ; and continually pray the Father,
some of them also for the sake of the Son, that they may be
165

231 angelic wnsDOM conceening
admitted into heaven, but in vain, until they become without
hope of salvation ; and they are then let down into hell among
those who deny God. These are meant by those who blaspheme
the Holy Ghost, who will not be forgiven either in this world,
or in that which is to come (Matt. xii. 32). The reason of this
is, because God is one in person and in essence, in whom there
is the trinity, and this God is the Lord ; and as the Lord is also
heaven, and consequently those who are in heaven are in the
Lord, therefore those who deny the Lord's divinity cannot be
admitted into heaven, and be in the Lord. That the Lord is
heaven, and that consequently those who are in heaven are in
the Lord, was shown above. A seventh kind of peofanation
IS committed by those who first acknowledge divine truths, and
live according to them, and afterwards recede and deny them.
This is the worst kind of profanation, because such persons mix
things holy and profane in such a manner that they cannot be
separated, and yet in order to their admission into either heaven
or hell, they must be separated ; and as in such persons this
cannot be effected, all the intellectual and voluntary human
faculty is destroyed, and, as was said before, they become no
longer men. It is nearly the same with those who in their
hearts acknowledge the divine things of the Word and the
church, and entirely immerse them in their proprium, which is
the love of having dominion over every thing, and respecting
which much has been said above ; for these after death, when
they become spirits, will not be led by the Lord, but entirely by
themselves : when their love is not restrained, they desire to rule
not only over heaven, but also over the Lord ; and because they
cannot do so, they deny the Lord, and become devils. It is to
be observed, that the life's love, which is also the ruling love,
remains in every one after death, and cannot be removed. The
profane of this kind are meant by the lukewarm, of whom it is
thus written in the Revelation : " I faiow thy works, that thou
art neither cold nor hot : I would thou wert cold or hot. So
then because thou art neither cold nor hot, I -will spew thee out
of my mouth" (iii. 15, 16). This kind of profanation is also
thus described by the Lord in Matthew : " When the unclean
spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places,
seeking rest, but findeth none. Then he saith, I will return
into the house from whence I came out ; and when he is come,
he findeth it_ empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he,
and taketh with himself seven other spirits more vvicked than
himself, and they enter in and dwell there : and the last state
of that man is worse than the first" (xii. 43, 46). The con
version of a man is here described by the unclean spirit's going
out of him ; his returning to his former evils, after casting out
things true and good, is. described by the return of the unclean
spirit w^.th seven others more wicked than himself into the
156

the divine PEOVIDENCE. 231, 232

house, wliicl ae found garnished for him ; and the profanation
of what is holy by what is profane, is described by the last state
of that man being worse than the first. The same is under
stood by the passage in John, where Jesus said to him that was
healed in the pool of Bethesda, " Sin no more, lest a worse thing
come unto thee " (v. 14). That the Lord provides, that a
man may not interiorly acknowledge truths, and afterwards
recede from them and become profane, is meant by these words :
" He hath blinded their eyes, aud hardened their heart ; that
they should not see with their eyes, or understand with their
heart, and be converted, and I should heal them " (John xii.
40). Lest they should be converted and I should heal them,
signifies, lest they should acknowledge truths and then recede,
and so become profane. For the same reason the Lord spoke
by parables, as he himself says (Matt. xiii. 13). The Jews
being forbid to eat fat and blood (Lev. iii. 17 ; vii. 23, 25), sig
nified that they were not to profane things holy ; for fat signified
divine good, and blood divine truth. That a man being once
converted ought to continue in good and truth to the end of h.s
life, the Lord teaches in Matthew. Jesus said, "He th.-it
endureth to the end shall be saved " (x. 22 ; also in Mark xi i.
13). 232. IV. That therefore the Lord does ,not adnvit a mam
interiorly into the truths of wisdom, a/nd at the same time into
the, goods of love, except so far as he can be kept in them to the
end of life. In demonstrating this we must proceed distinctly,
for two reasons ; first, because it nearly concerns the salvation
of mankind : secondly, because on a knowledge of this law
depends a knowledge of the laws of permission, to be treated
of in the following section. It nearly concerns the salvation of
mankind ; because, as was observed before, he who first acknow
ledges the divine things of the Word, and thence those of the
church, and afterwards recedes from them, very grievously pro
fanes what is holy. Therefore that this arcanum of the Divine
Providence may be disclosed in such a manner, that the rational
man may see it in its true light, it shall be unfolded in the
following series. 1. That evil and good cannot_ exist together
in a man's interiors, nor consequently the falsity of evil and
the truth of good at the same time. 2. That good and the truth
of good cannot be infused by the Lord into a man's interiors
except in proportion as evil and the falsity of evil is thence
removed. 3. If good with its truth were infused there before,
or in a greater degree than that in which evil with its falsity is
removed, the man would recede frcm good and return to his evil.
4. That when a man is in evil, many truths may be infused
into his understanding, and treasured up in his memory, without
being profaned. 5. But that the Lord by his Divine Providence
most especially provides, that they be not received thence by the
167

232, 233 ANGELIC -WISDOM concerning
wiU, before or in greater proportion than that in which the man
removes evils in tne external man as if of himself 6. That if
they were received sooner, or in greater proportion, the will
would adulterate the good, and the understanding would falsify
the truth, by mixing them with evUs and falsities. 7. That
, therefore the Lord does not admit a man interiorly into the
truths of faith and the goods of love, except so far as he can be
kept in them to the end of life.
233. In order therefore that this arcanum of the Diviue
Providence may be disclosed in such a manner that the rational
man may see it in his light, the things which have now been ad
duced shall be severally explained. FmsT, That evil and good
cannot exist together in a marCs interiors, nor consequently can
the falsity of evil and tlie truth of good. By a man's interiors
is meant the internal of his thought, of which he does not know
any thing before he comes into the spiritual world and its light,
which is the case after death. In the natural world, this can
only be known from the delight of his love in the external of
his thought, and from evUs themselves when be explores them in
himself; for, as was shown above, the internal of thought in a
man coheres with the external of thought in so close a connection,
that 'they cannot be separated; but of this more maybe seen
above. Good and the truth of good, and evil and the falsity of
evil, are mentioned, because good cannot exist -without its truth
nor evil without its falsity, they being connubial partners or
consorts ; for the life of good is from its truth, and the life of
tiuth from its good : it is the same with evil and its falsity.
That in a man's interiors there cannot exist evil with its falsity
and at the same time good with its truth, may be seen by the
rational man without explanation ; for evil is opposite to good,
and good is opposite to evil, and two opposites cannot exist
together. There is also in aU evil an inherent hatred against
good, and in all good an inherent love of defending itself against
evil, and of removing the same from it ; from which it foTlo-ws,
that the one cannot dwell with the other. If they were together,
a confiict and combat would first arise, and destruction would
follow ; which also the Lord teaches in these words : " Every
kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and
every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. He
that is not with me is against me ; and he that gathereth not
with me scattereth abroad " (Matt. xii. 25,30); and in other
places. No one can at the same time " serve two mastere ; for
either he -will hate the one and love the other" (Matt. vi. 24).
Two opposites cannot exist together in one substance or form,
¦without its being distracted and perishing. Were one to advance
and approach the other, they would separate themselves alto
gether like two enemies, of which one would retire within his
camp or fortifications, and the other would remain without
153

the divine providence. 233
This is the case with evils and goods in a hypocrite, who posseoses
both ; but evil is within, and good without, and thus they are
separate and not mixed. From these things it is plain, that evil
with its falsity, and good with its truth, cannot exist together.
Secondly, That good and the truth of good cannot he infused hy
the Lord into a man^s interiors, except in proportion as evil and
the falsity of evil is thence removed. This is a necessary con
sequence of what precedes ; for since evil and good cannot exist
together, good cannot be implanted before evil is removed.
It is affirmed of a man's interiors, by which is meant the in
ternal of thought ; and in the interiors which are here treated
of, either the Lord or the devil must dwell. The Lord is there
after reformation, and the devil before it ; therefore, in propor
tion as a man suffers himself to be reformed, the devil is cast
out, but in proportion as he does not suffer himself to be reformed,
the devil remains. Who may not see that the Lord cannot enter
so long as the devil is there ? and he is there so long as the man
keeps the door closed by which he is brought into communication
with the Lord. That the Lord enters, when the man opens
that door, he himself teaches in the Eevelation : " I stand at
the door, and knock ; if any man hear my voice and open the
door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he
with me" (iii. 20). The door is opened by the man's removing
evil, which he does by shunning and avoiding it as infernal
and diabolical ; for whether it be called evil, or the devil, it
is the same thing ; and, on the other hand, whether you say
good, or the Lord, it is the same thing ; for the Lord dwells in
wardly Jn all good, and the devil in all evil. Hence the truth
of this position is evident. Thirdly, If good with its truth
were infused hefore, or in a greater degree than tliat in which evil
and its falsity is rem,oved, the man would recede from good and
return to his evil. The reason of this is, because evil would
prevail ; and that which prevails, conquers, if not at the time,
yet afterwards. While evil continues to prevail, good cannot
be introduced into the inmost apartments of the mind, but only
into the outer courts, because, as was said, evil and good cannot
exist together ; and that which is only in the outer courts is
removed by its enemy which is in the inner apartments, whereby
there is a recession from go-;! and a return to evil, which is the
worst kind of profanation. Besides, the very delight of a
man's life is to love himself and the world above all things ;
and this delight cannot be removed in a moment, but must be
done successively. According to the proportion of this delight
which remains in a man is the prevalence of evil ; and this evil
can be removed no otherwise than by making the love of self
to become the love of uses, and admitting the love of rule, not
for the sake of self, but for the sake of being useful ; for so
uses constitute the head, the love of self or the love of rule
159

233 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
at first constituting the body under that head, and afterwards
the feet upon which he walks. Who does not see that good
constitutes the head, and that when it constitutes the head, tho
Lord is there, good and use being one ? Who does not see,
that if evil constitutes the head, the devil is there ; and that,
as civil and moral good, and also spiritual good in its external
form, are nevertheless to be received, these then constitute the
feet, and the soles of the feet, and are trampled upon ? Since,
therefore, the state of a man's life is to be inverted, so that
what is above may be placed below, and this inversion cannot
be effected in a moment (for that supreme delight of life, which
proceeds from the love of self and thence of dominion, cannot
be diminished except successively, and so changed into the love
of uses), for this reason good cannot be introduced by the Lord
before or in a greater degree than that in which evil is removed;
and if it were infused sooner, or in greater quantity, the man
would recede from good and return to his evil. Fourthly,
That when a man is m evil, many truths may be introduced into
his understanding, and treasuredup in his memory, without being
profaned. The reason of this is, because the understanding
does not flow into the will, but the will into the understanding ;
and as the understanding does not flow into the will, many truths
may be received by it, and be stored up in the memory, yet
not be mixed with the evil of the will, and thus what is holy
may not be profaned. Besides, it is incumbent on every one
to learn truths from the Word, or from preachings, to deposit
them in the memory, and to think of them ; for it is the duty
of the understanding, from the truths in the memory, and
which thence enter into the thought, to teach the will, that is,
tho man, what he ought to do ; this therefore is a principal
means of reformation : when truths are only in the understanding
and thence in the memory, they are not within the man, but
without him. A man's memory may be compared with the
ruminatory stomach in which certain animals deposit their food,
which, so long as it is there, is not within their body, but with
out it ; but as soon as they bring it up thence, and swallow it,
it enters into the life and nourishes the body. In a man's
memory, however, the provision stored up is not material but
spiritual, Ti-amely, truths, and in itself consists of knowledges ;
and in proportion as the man, by the exercise of his thinking
principle, which is a kind of rumination, takes in thence, his
spiritual mind is nourished. It is the love of the will which
has a desire, and as it were an appetite, for truths thus deposited,
causing them to be imbibed and converted into nourishment.
If that love is evil, it has a desire and as it were an appetite for
unclean 1;hings ; but if good, it has a desire, and as it were
an appetite for clean things; and those things which do not
agree with it, it separates, puts away, and casts out, which is

rHE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 233
effected by various means. Fifthly, But that the Lord by
his Divine Providence most especiallg provides that they he not
received thence hy the will hefore or m greater proportion than
that in which the man removes evil in the external m-a.n as if of
himself ; for that which is from the will enters into the man, is
appropriated to him, and becomes a principle of his life ; and
in the life itself, which the man has from the will, evil and
good cannot exist together, for in such case he would perish.
But both may be in the understanding, and are there called
falsities of evil or truths of good, yet not together ; for in such
case the man would not be able to know evil from good or good
from evil ; but they are distinguished and separated there like a
house into interior and exterior apartments. When a wicked
man thinks and speaks good things, he thinks and speaks ex
teriorly, but when evil things, interiorly; wherefore when he
speaks good things, his speech issues as it were from the wall of
the house, and may be compared to fruit which is fair on the
outside but worm-eaten and rotten within, and also to the
outside shell of a dragon's egg. Sixthly, That if they were
receivedsooner andingreater proportion,thewillwouldadulterate
the good, and the understanding wouldfalsify the truth, by mixing
them with evils and their consequent falsities. When the will is
in evil, it then adulterates good in the understanding, and good
adulterated in the understanding is evil in the will, for it con
firms the persuEision that evil is good, and vice versa. Evil
does thus with all good, which is opposite to itself; it likewise
falsifies the truth, because the truth of good is opposite to the
falsity of evil : this the -will does in the understanding, and not
the understanding from itself Adulterations of good are de
scribed in the Word by adulteries, and falsifications of truth
by whoredoms. These adulterations and falsifications are effected
by reasonings from the natural man, which is in evil, and they
are also effected by confirmations from the appearances of the
literal sense of the Word. Self-love, which is the head of all
evils, is more ingenious than other loves in adulterating goods
and falsifying truths ; and this it does by the abuse of ration
ality, which every man has from the Lord, the wicked as well
as the good. It can indeed by confirmations cause evil to appear
altogether as good and falsity as truth. What can it not do,
when it can confirm, by a thousand arguments, that nature
created herself, that she then created men, beasts, and vegetables
of all kinds ; and further, that by influx from her interior self
she causes men to live, to think analytically, and to understand
wisely? The reason why self-love excels in the art of con
firming whatever it chooses, is, because its most outward surface
is constituted by a certain splendour of light variegated into divers
colours ; which splendour is that love's glory of acquiring wisdom,
and by that also eminence and dominion. But when this loye
161

233, 234 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
has confirmed such tenets, it taen becomes so blind, that it does
not see otherwise than that a man is a beast, that they think
alike, and, indeed, that if a beast could also speak, it would
be a man in another form. If it be led by any persuasion to
believe that something of a man lives after death, it is then so
blind that it thinks beasts do the same, and that this something
living after death is only a subtile exhalation of life, like vapor,
whicli nevertheless relapses into its dead body; or that it is a
vital something without sight, hearing, and speech, consequently
blind, deaf, and dumb, hovering about and thinking; besides
many other insane ideas, which nature, though in herself void
of life, inspires into its fantasy. Such is the effect of self-love,
which viewed in itself is the love of a man's proprium ; and a
man's proprium, as to its affections, whicb are all natural, is not
unlike the life of a beast, and as to its perceptions, which proceed
from those affections, is not unlike an owl. He therefore who
continually immerses his thoughts in his proprium, cannot be
elevated out of natural light into spiritual light, nor see any thing
of God, of heaven, and of life etemal. Since this love is of such
a nature, and yet excels in the art of confirming whatever it
chooses, therefore with the same art it can also adulterate tbe
good things of the Word, and falsify its truths, when constrained
through any kind of necessity to confess them. SEVENTHiy,
That therefore tlie Lord does not admit a man interioirl/y im^o
the truths of wisdom and the goods of love, except so far as he can
be kept in them to the end of life. The Lord thus restrains a man,
lest he should fall into that most grievous kind of profanation
of things holy, which is treated of in this article. On account
of this danger, the Lord also permits evils of life, and many
heresies relating to worship ; concerning the permission of which
the reader is referred to what is shown in the subsequent
sections.

THAT THE LAWS OF PERMISSION ARE ALSO LAWS OF THE DIVINB
PROVIDENCE.
234. There are not any laws of permission by themselves,
or separate from the laws of the Divine Providence, but they
are the same ; therefore it is said that God permits, by which
is not meant that he wills, but that he cannot prevent such a
thing, on account of the end proposed, which is salvation.
Whatever is done to the end that salvation may be effected, is
according to the laws of the Divine Providence ; for, as before
observed, the Divine Providence keeping this end continually
in view constantly proceeds in a manner different from a man's
will and contrary thereto ; therefore, in every moment of its opera

the divine providence. 234 — 236
tion or in every step of its progression, when it perceives a man to
deviate from this end, it directs, turns, and disposes him,
according to its lavvs, by withdrawing him from evil, and leading
him to good. That this cannot be done without permitting evil,
will be seen in what follows. Besides, nothing can be permitted
without a cause, and the cause exists only in some law of the
Divine Providence, which law explains why the thing is per
mitted. 235. He who does not at all acknowledge the Divine Provi
dence, does not in his heart acknowledge God ; butinsteadof God
he acknowledges nature, and instead of the Divine Providence,
human prudence. That this is the case is not apparent, because
a man can think in two different ways, and also speak in different
ways : he can think and speak one thing from his interior self,
and another thing from his exterior self; like a hinge on which
a door can be turned both ways, — one way when a person comes
in, and another when he goes out ; and like as a sail can turn
a ship in different directions, according to the manner in which
it is expanded by the mariner. Those who have confirmed
themselves in favour of human prudence, in such a manner as to
deny the Divine Providence, '^whatever they see, hear, and
read, while they are under the influence of this their own wf.y
of thinking, do not observe or attend to any thing else; nor
indeed can they, because they receive nothing from heaven, b it
only from themselves ; and as they form conclusions from appesT-
ances and fallacies alone, and do not see any thing else, they can
swear that it is so. If also they acknowledge nature alone,
they can be angry with the defenders of the Divine Providence,
provided they be liot priests, of whom they think that they are
led to such defence in compliance with their particular tenets
and function.
236. We shall now proceed to enumerate some things which
are of permission, and yet according to the laws of the Divine
Providence, from which the merely natural man confirms him
self in favour of nature against God, and in favour of human
prudence against the Divine Providence ; as, when he reads in
the Word, that the wisest of men, Adam, and his wife, suffered
themselves to be seduced by a serpent, and that God did not
avert this by his Divine Pro-vidence ; — that their first son, Cain,
slew his brother Abel, and God did not then withhold him by
speaking to him, but only denounced a curse against hiin ' after
tne act ; — that the Israelitish nation worshiped a golden calf in
the wilderness, and acknowledged it as the god which brought
them out of the land of Egypt, yet Jehovah saw this from
Mount Sinai, not far off, and did not prevent it ; — also, that
David numbered the people, and a pestilence was therefore sent
among them, by which many thousands of men perished ; and)
^that God did not send the prophet Gad to him before the act*,
163 L

236 — 238 ANGELIC WISDOM concerning
but after it, to de.iounce punishment; — that Solomon was pe^
mitted to establish idolatrous worship, and many kings after
him to profane the temple and. the holy things of the church ;^
and, lastly, that that nation was permitted to crucify the Lord.
Li these and many other passages in the Word, he who acknow
ledges nature and human prudence sees nothing but what makes
against the Divine Providence ; therefore he can use them as
arguments to deny it, if not in his exterior thought which is
nearest to speech, yet in his interior thought which is remote
from it.
237. Every worshiper of himself and of nature confirms
himself against the Divine Providence, when he sees so many
impious persons in the world, and so many of their impieties,
in which at the same time some glory, and on account of which,
nevertheless, they receive no punishments from God. Still more
does he confirm himself against the Divine Providence, when he
sees that wicked machinations, cunning, and deceit succeed,
against the pious, the just, and the sincere ; and that injustice
triumphs over justice, in judgments and affairs of business.
He confirms himself especially, when he sees the impious ad
vanced to honours, and made nobles and primates; that they
moreover abound in riches, and live elegantly and magnificently;
while, on the other hand, the worshipers of God are in contempt
and poverty. He likewise confirms himself against the Divine
Providence, when he thinks how wars are permitted, by which
so many men are slaughtered, and so many cities, nations, and
families plundered ; moreover, that victory inclines to the side
of prudence, and not always in favour of justice ; and that it
makes no difference whether the general be a good or a wicked
man ; besides other such like circumstances ; all of which are
permissions according to the laws of the Divine Providence.
238. The same natural man confirms himself against the
.Divine Providence, when he takes a view of the religious per
suasions of various nations ; seeing that there are some who know
nothing at all of God ; some who worship the sun and moon ;
some also who worship idols and graven images even of monsters ;
and some who worship dead men. When, in addition to these,
he thinks of tbe Mahometaj. religion, which is received by so
many empires and kingdon.s ; and considers that the Christian
religion prevails only in the smallest quarter of the habitable
globe, called Europe ; that even there it is in a state of division ;
that tk'ere are some of its professors who claim to themselves
divine power, and desire to be worshiped as gods ; that they
invoke dead men ; that there are some also who place salvation
in certain words which thfey think and speak, and not in any
good they do ; and that there are few who live according to
their own religion; — besides taking into account the great
number of heresies which have heretofore prevailed, and some
164 '¦ '

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 238—241
which exist at this day, such as those of the Quakers, Moravians,
Anabaptists, and others ; also, that Judaism still continues ; —
from these things, the denier of the Divine Providence concludes,
that religion in itself is not any thing, but yet that it is necessary,
because it serves as a restraint.
239. To these arguments more may at this day be added,
by which those who think inwardly in favour of nature and
human prudence may still more strongly confirm themselves in
their sentiments ; as, that the whole Christian world has acknow
ledged three gods, not knowing that God is one in person and
in essence, and that that God is the Lord ; also that heretofore
it was not known, that in every particular of the Word there is
a spiritual sense, and that therein its holiness consists ; — further,
that it was not known, that essential Christian religion consists
in shunning evils as sins ; — and that hitherto it was not known,
that a man lives as a man after death; — for the favorers of
nature may say with themselves, and among each other. If these
things are true, why has the Di-vine Providence not revealed
them till now ?
240. All the particular things which are recited in the num
bers 237, 238, and 239, are adduced to the end that it may be
seen, that all and singular the things which occur in the world,
as well to the -wicked as the good, are of the Divine Providence ;
consequently, that the Di-vine Providence operates in the most
minute particulars of the thoughts and actions of men, and that
thereby it operates universally. As however this cannot be seen
therein except each particular be explained separately, therefore
they shall be briefly explained in the order in which they were
adduced, beginning with n. 236.
241. I. That the wisest of men, Adam, and his wife, suf
fered themselves to he seduced hy a serpent, and that God, did
not prevent this by Ids Divine Providence. The reason of this
is, because by Adam, and his wife are not meant the first of all
. the men that were "created in this world, but the men of the
most ancient church, whose new creation or regeneration is
described at the beginning of Genesis. Their new creation or
regeneration itself is signified by the creation of heaven and
earth in the first chapter; their wisdom and intelligence, by the
garden of Eden ; and the end of that church, by their eating of
the tree of knowledge. For the Word internally is spiritual,
containing within its bosom arcana of divine wisdom^ ; and in
order that these arcana may be contained therein, it is written
by mere correspondences and representations. From these cor
respondences and representations it is evident, that the men of
that church, -who in its beginning were the most wise, and in
its end, by reason of the pride of tlieir self-derived intelligence,
the most wicked, were not seduced by any Serpent, but by self
iove, there denoted by the head of the serpent, which is to be
165

24^, 242 angelic wisdom concerning
bruised by. the seed of the woman, that is, by the Lord. Who
cannot see from reason, that the things to be understood are
different from what are there historically recorded in the letter ?
For who can comprehend, that the creation of the world could
have been such as it is there described ? The learned are there
fore much puzzled to explain what is contained in the first
chapter, and confess, after all, that they do not understand it.
It is said, moreover, that in their garden or Paradise there were
placed two trees, the one of life, and the other of knowledge,
and these for a stumbling-block ; also, that barely by eating of
the latter, they sinned so greatly, that not only they, but the
whole human race, their posterity, became subject to damna
tion ; and that a serpent was able to sed-ace them ; besides other
circumstances, as, that the woman was created out of a rib of
the man ; that after their fall they knew that they were naked,
and covered themselves with fig-leaves, when coats of skins
were given them to clothe their bodies ; and that cherubim were
placed with a fiaming sword to keep the way of the tree of life.
All these things are representatives, by which are described the
establishment of the most ancient church, its state of perfec
tion, its decline, and lastly, its destruction. The concealed
meaning of all the things contained in the spiritual sense, which
resides in every particular of the Word, may be seen explained
in The Arcana CcelestiA on the books of Genesis and Exodus,
published in London ; from which also it may appear, that ty
the tree of life is there understood the Lord with respect to his
Divine Providence, and that by the tree of knowledge is undei'-
stood man with respect to his self-derived prudence.
242. II. That their firstborn son, Cain, slew his brother
Abel, and God did not prevent it hy speaking to him, hut only
cursed him after the act. Since by Adam and his wife is meant
the most ancient church, as above observed, therefore by Cain
and Abel, their first sons, are meant two essentials of the
church, which are love and -wisdom, or charity and faith, — by
Abel, loye and charity, and by Cain, wisdom or faith, speci
fically wisdom separate from love, or faith separate from charity ;
and wisdom, as also faith, separate, is of such a nature, that it
not only rejects love and charity, but also annihilates them,
and so slays its brother. That faith separate from charity has
this effect, is well enough known in the Christian world : see
The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning Faith.
Tlie curse of Cain involves the spiritual state into which those
who separate faith from charity, or -wisdom from love, come after
death. Yet that wisdom or faith might not therefore perish, a
mark was set upon Cain, lest he should be slain ; for love does
not exist without wisdom, nor charity without faith. As by
these circumstances nearly the same things are represented, as
by eating of the tree of knowledge, therefore they follow in
166

the divine providencb. 242 — 245
order after the descripti:n of Adam and his wife. Those also
who are in faith separate from charity, are in self derived intel
ligence ; and those who are in charity, and thereby in faith,
are in intelligence from the Lord, and thus in the Divine Pro
vidence. 243. IIL That the Israelitish nation worshiped a golden
calf in the wilderness, and acknowledged it as the god which
brought them out of the land of Egypt ; yet Jeliovah saw this
from Mount Sinai, not far off, and did not prevent it. This
was done in the wilderness of Sinai near the Mount. That
Jehovah did not withhold the Israelites from that wicked idol
atry, is conformable with all the laws of the Divine Providence
which have before been set forth, and also with those which fol
low. This evil was permitted them that they might not all
perish ; for the children of Israel were brought out of Egypt
that they might represent the Lord's church ; which they could
not-have done, unless the Egyptian idolatry had been first rooted
out of their hearts ; and this could not have been done, except
they had been left to themselves to act according to that which
was in their hearts, and so to have it removed by a grievous
punishment. What is further signified by that idolatrous wor
ship, and by the threat that they should be totally rejected, and
that a new nation should be raised up out of Moses, may be
seen in The Arcana C(elestia, on Exodus xxii., where this sub
ject is treated of.
244. IV. ThatDavidnumhered the people, and a pestilence
was therefore sent among them, hy which many thousands of
men perished ; and that Ood did not send the prophet Oad to
him before the axst, hut after it, to denounce punishment. He
who confirms himself against the Divine Providence may also
think and revolve in his mind various things on this matter,
particularly, why David was not forewarned, and why the peo-
?le were so grievously punished for the king's transgression.
hat David was not forewarned, is conformable to the laws of
the Divine Providence previously set forth, especially the two
which are explained, n. 129 — 153 ; and n. 154 — 174. That the
people were so grievously punished for the king's transgression,
and seventy thousand of them cut off by the pestilence, was not
owing to the king, but to the people ; for it is written : " Again
the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, therefore he
moved David against them, saying. Go number Israel and
Judah" (2 Sam. xxiv. 1).
245 . V. That Solomon was permitted to establish idolatrous
worship. This was in order that he might represent the Lord's
kingdom or church, with all the religions in the universal world;
for the church established with the Israelitish and Jewish nations
was a representative church, and therefore all the judgments
and statutes of that church represented spiritual things of the
167

245 — 247 angelic -wisdom concerning
church, wbich are its internals. The people themselves repre
sented the church, the king represented the Lord, — David, the
Lord who was about to come into the world, and Solomon, the
Lord after his coming ; and since the Lord after the glorifica
tion of his humanity had power over heaven and earth, as he
himself says (Matt, xxviii. 18), therefore Solomon who repre
sented him appeared in glory and magnificence, was in wisdom
above all the kings of the earth, and also built the temple. He
moreover permitted and established the religious worship ot
many nations, by which were represented the various religious
principles prevailing in the world. The like is signified by his
wives,' which were seven hundred in number, and by his con
cubines, which amounted to three hundred, 1 Kings xi. 3 ; for
wife in the Word signifies a church, and concubine a religious
principle. Hence it may appear why Solomon was appointed
to build the temple, by which the Lord's divine humanity was
signified (John ii. 19, 21), and also the church ; likewise, why
he was permitted to establish idolatrous worship, and to have so
many wives. That by David in many passages in the Word is
meant the Lord, who was to come into the world, may be seen
in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the
Lord, n. 43, 44.
246. VI. That many kings after Solomon were permitted
to profane the temple and the lioly things of the chu/rch'. This
was because the people represented the church, and their king
the head of them ; and as the Israelitish and Jewish nation were
of such a nature, that they could not long represent the church,
for they were idolaters at heart, therefore they receded succes
sively from representative worship, by perverting all things of
the church, so that in the end they vastated it. This was repre
sented by profanations of the temple by their kings, and by
their idolatries ; the vastation of the church itself by the de
struction of the temple, by the carrying away of the Israelitish
people, and the captivity of the Jewish people in Babylon.
This was the cause of the above permission ; and whatever is
done from any cause, is done from the Divine Providence of the
Lord according to some of its laws.
247. "V H. That that nation was permitted to crucify the
Lord. The reason of this was, because the church among that
nation was totally vastated, and become such, that they not only
did not know and ack-uowledge the Lord, but also hated him :
nevertheless, all that they did to him was according to the laws
of his Divine Providence. That the passion of the cross was
the last temptation, or last combat, by which the Lord fully
overcame the hells, and fully glorified his humanity, may be
seen in The Doctrine of the New Jeeusalem concerning the
Lord, n. 12, 13, 14, and in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem
CONCERNING Faith, h. 34, 35.
168

the divine pro-vidence. 248, 249
248. Thus far we have explained the particulars above
recited, n. 236j which are some passages out of the Word,
whereby a natural man, who reasons against the Divine Pro
vidence, may confirm himself in such reasoning ; for, as before
observed, whatever such a man sees, hears, and reads, he can
take up as an argument against Providence. Few, however,
confirm themselves against the Divine Providence from the
things contained in the Word ; but many do so from the things
which are extant before theii eyes, as mentioned in n. 237,
which shall now in like manner be explained.
249. I. That every worshiper of self amd of natu/re confirms
himself against the Divine Providence, when he sees so many
impious persons in the world, and so many of their impieties,
in which, at the same time, some glory, and on account of^which,
nevertheless, tfiey receive no punishment from Ood. All impie-
tifes, and all glorying therein, are permissions, the causes of which
are laws of the Divine Providence. Every man may freely,
indeed most freely, think whatever he will, as well against God
as in favour of God ; and he who thinks against God is rarely
punished in the natural world, because there he is always in a
state capable of reformation ; but he is punished in the spiritual
world after death, for then he can no longer be reformed. That
the laws of the Divine Providence are the cause of permissions,
is evident from those above set forth, if they are reviewed and
examined, namely. That a man ought to act from liberty accord
ing to reason ; concerning which see n. 71 — 97 above. That a
man ought not to be forced by external means to think and
will, and so to believe and love the things which are of religion,
but that he ought to lead and sometimes to force himself to it ;
concerning which see n. 129 — 174. That self-derived prudence
is nothing, and only appears as if it was, and also ought so to
appear ; but that the Divine Providence from things the most
particular is universal, n. 191 — 213. That the Divine Provi
dence has respect to things eternal, and not to temporary things,
except so far as they make one with things eternal, n. 214—-
220. And that a man is not admitted interiorly into the truths
of faith and goods of charity, except so far as he can be kept
in them to his life's end ; conceming which see n. 221 — 233.
That the causes of permissions are laws of the Divine Provi
dence, will also be evident from what follows; as, from this
consideration, that evils are permitted to the end that salvation
may be effected ; from this, that the Divine Providence is con
tinual, as well with the wicked as the good ; and, lastly, from
this, that the Lord cannot act against the laws of his Divine
Providence, because to act against them would be to act against
his divine love and wisdom, consequently against himself. These
laws, if they be compared, may show the reasons why impieties
are permitted by the Lord, and not punished when they exist
169

249, 250 ANSELic wisdom concerning
in thought only, also rarely when they exist in intention, or
when in the will, and not in act. Yet every evil is followed by
its punishment, for it is as if evil had its punishment inscribed
upon it, which the impious man suffers after death. By the
considerations here adduced, may also be explained the reason of
the following position stated in n. 237 : Thoit the worshiper of
self and of nature confirms himself still more against the Divine
Providence, when he sees that wicked contrivances, cunning, and
deceit, succeed against the pious, the just, and the sincere; and
that itijustice triumphs over justice in judgments and affairs of
business. All the laws of the Divine Providence are necessities ;
and since necessities are the causes why the above evil things
are permitted, it is evident that, to the end. that a man may
live as a man, the liberty of doing such things cannot be taken
away from him by the Lord, except mediately by the ^ord,
and especially by the precepts of the Decalogue, with those
who acknowledge all kinds of murders, adulteries, thefts, and
false testimony to be sins ; but with those who do not acknow
ledge such things to be sins, the same is effected mediately by
civil laws, and the fear of punishment thence incurred; also
mediately by moral laws, and fear of the loss of character^
honour, and interest. By these means the Lord leads the wicked,
yet only from doing such things, and not from thinking and
willing them ; but by the former means he , leads the good,
not only from doing evils, but also from thinking and willing
them. 250. II. That the worshiper of self and of nature confirms
himself against the Divine Providence, when he sees the impious
promoted to honou/rs, and made nobles and primates ; that they
moreover abound in wealth, a/nd live elegantly and magnificently,
while the worshipers of Ood remain in contempt and poverty.
The worshiper of self and of nature thinks dignities and riches
the supreme and sole felicities which can be given, consequently
the real and essential felicities. If, in consequence of having
been initiated into divine worship in his infancy, he thinks any
thing of God, he calls them divine blessings ; and so long as
from these blessings he does not aspire to any thing higher, he
thinks that there is a God, and worships him ; but in this wor
ship there lies hid a motive which he himself does not then
know, — that he may be promoted by God to still higher dig
nities and more abundant wealth; and if he attains thereto,
his -worship declines more and more to exteriors, till it comes to
nothing, and at length he makes no account of God, and denies
him. The effect is the same, if he be cast down from the
dignity and opulence on which he had placed his heart. To tbe
wicked then, what are dignities and riches but stumbling-
blocks ? Not so to the good, because they do not place their
hearts thereon, but on the uses or goods, for the doing of which

the divine providence. 250
dignities and riches serve as means. Therefore, from the pro
motion of the impious to dignities and riches, and their being
made nobles and primates, no one but a worshiper of self and
of nature can confirm himself against the Divine Providence.
Besides, what is greater or lesser dignity, and greater or lesser
opulence ? Is it any thing in itself, but only something ima
ginary? Is one more prosperous and happy than the other?
Is the dignity of a noble, or even of a king or an emperor,
after a year's duration, considered any otherwise than as some
thing common, which no longer makes his heart dilate with joy,
and may even become vile in his sight? Are men, by virtue of
their dignity, in any greater degree of happiness, than those
who are in less dignity, or than those even who are in the least
of all, such as husbandmen and their servants ? May not these
latter be in a greater degree of happiness, when they are pros
perous and contented with their lot ? Who is more restless at
lieart, more frequently fretted, or more grievously enraged,
than a lover of himself? This is the case as often as he is not
honoured according to the pride of his heart, or when any thing
does not succeed according to his wish and pleasure. What
then is dignity, if it be not to some use and purpose, but an
idea ? Can such an idea exist in any other thought, than in
that about self and the world ? And is it any thing in itself
but an idea, that the world is every thing and eternity nothing?
We will here add a few observations concerning the reason why
tie Divine Providence permits the wicked at heart to be pro-
iroted to dignities, and to acquire wealth. The impious, or
wicked, can equally as well perform uses as the pious or good,
'a.deed, with greater ardour, for they consider themselves in uses,
aud honours they consider as uses ; therefore in proportion to
the prevalence of self-love, is kindled the lust of doing uses
-H ith a view to their own glory. Such fire does not operate with
the pious or good, unless it be kindled from below by the con
sideration of honour ; for which reason the Lord rules the impious
at heart, who are in dignities, by the love of fame, and thereby
excites them to perform uses to the community or their country,
to the society or city in which they dwell, and also to their
neighbour or fellow-citizen : for the Lord's kingdom is a kingdom
of uses ; and where there are only a few who perform uses for
the sake of being useful, he causes the worshipers of self to be
advanced to offices of pre-eminence, in which they are all ex
cited by self-love to do good. Suppose there were any infernal
kingdom in this world (although there is not any such), in which
the love of self only prevailed, self-love being the devil himselt;
would not every member of it perform uses from the fire of self-
love, and the splendour of his own glory, more than in any other
kingdom? All such have in their mouths nothing but the
public good, and in their hearts nothing but their own good ;
171

250, 251 ANGELIC wisdom concerning
and as every one in such case looks up to his prince that he may
be made greater, fcr he aspires to be greatest, can such a one
see that there is a God, whilst he is encompassed by the smoke
as it were of a conflagration, which no spiritual truth in its light
can pervade ? I have seen that smoke about the hells of such.
Seek every method of information, and inquire how many of
tiiose, who at this day aspire to dignities in the kingdoms of
the earth, are any other than lovers of self and of the world.
You will scarcely find fifty in a thousand who are influenced
by the love of God, and among these only a few aspire to
dignities. Since then they are so few in number who are in
fluenced by the love of God, and so many who are influenced
by the love of self and of the world, and since the latter loves,
from the nature of their fires, ^re more productive of uses, than
the love of God is, from its fire, how can any one confirm himself
against Divine Providence from the circumstance of the wicked
being in greater pre-eminence and opulence than the good!
This view is also confirmed by these words of the Lord : " And
the Lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done
wisely : for the children of this world are in their generation
wiser than the children of light. And I say unto you, make to
yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that,
when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations"
(Luke xvi. 8, 9). What is meant by these words, in the natural
sense, is evident : but, in the spiritual sense, by mammon of
unrighteousness are meant the knowledges of things good and
true which the wicked possess, and which they use solely for the
purpose of acquiring to themselves dignities and riches. It is
these knowiedges, of which the good, or the children of light,
are to make to themselves friends, and which are to introduce
them into, everlasting habitations. That there are many who
love themselves and the world, and few who love God, the Lord
also teaches in these words : " Wide is the gate, and broad is the
way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go
in thereat ; because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way,
which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matt. vii.
13, 14). That dignities and riches are cither curses or blessings,
and with whom they are such, may be seen above, n. 217.
251. III. Thai the worshiper of self and ofnatun^e confirms
himself against the Divine Providence, when he considers that
wars are permitted, hy which so many men are slaughtered, a/nd
their possessions plundered. It is not from the Divine Provi
dence that wars exist, because they are connected with murders,
depredations, violences, cruelties, and other enormous evils, which
are diametrically contrary to Christian charity ; but still thcj
cannot but be permitted, because the life's love of man, since the
time of the most ancient people, who are meant by Adam and
his wife (treated of above, n. 241), is become of such a nature,
172

THE DIVINE PRO-VIDENCE. 251
that he desires to have dominion over others, and at length over
all, and_ wishes to possess worldly wealth, and at length all tho
wealth in the world. These two loves cannot be held in bonds ;
since it is according to the Divine Providence, that every one
should be allowed to act from liberty according to reason, con
cerning which see above, n. 71 to 97 ; and without permissions,
a man cannot be led by the Lord from evils, consequently cannot
be reformed and saved ; for if evils were not permitted to break
out, a man would not see them, therefore would not acknowledge
them, and could not be induced to resist them. Hence it is that
evils cannot be restrained from appearing by any regulation
of the Divine Providence ; for in that case, they would remain
shut in, and like the diseases called cancer and mortification,
would spread, and consume every thing vital in the man. For a
man is by birth like a little hell, between which and heaven
there is a perpetual disagreement. No man can be dra-wn out
of his hell by the Lord, unless he sees that he is there, and wishes
to be delivered ; and this cannot be done without permissions,.
the causes of which are laws of the Divine Providence. This is
the reason why there are wars of greater or lesser extent ; —
lesser wars between the possessors of lands and lordships and
their neighbours, and greater wars between the monarchs of
kingdoms and tbeir neighbours. Their being greater or lesser
makes no other difference than that the lesser are kept within
certain bounds by the laws of their particular nation, and tho
greater by the law of nations ; and that, although the lesser as
well as the greater are desirous of going beyond their laws, the
lesser cannot, and the greater can, yet still within the limits of a
certain possibility. That the greater wars, notwithstanding they
are connected with slaughter, depredations, violence, and cruelty,
are not prevented by the Lord from being carried on by kings
and generals, neither in their beginning nor in their progress,
until in the end the power of one or the other is so reducecl that
they are in danger of destruction, is owning to several causes,
which are hid in the treasury of divine wisdom. Some of these
have been revealed to me ; among which is the following, — that
all wars, although they are of a civil nature, are representative
of states of the church in heaven, and are correspondences.
Such were all the wars which are described in the Word, and
such also are all wars at this day. The wars described in the
Word are those which were carried on by the children of Israel
with various nations, as -with the Amorites, the Ammonites,
the Moabites, the Philistines, tbe Syrians, the Egyptians, the
Chaldeans, the Assyrians; and when the children of Israel,
who represented the church, departed from their precepts and
stiitutes, and fell into the evils which were signified by those
nations (for each particular -nation, with which the children of
173

251 ANGELIC wisdom CONCERNING
.Israel waged war, signified some particular kind of evil), then
they were punished by that nation. For example, when they
jjiofaned the holy things of the church by foul idolatries,
they were punished by the Assyrians and Chaldeans, because
by Assyria and Chaldea is signified the profanation of what is
holy. What is signified by the wars with the Philistines may
be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concern
ing Faith, n. 50 — 64. Similar things are represented by wars
at this day, wherever they are ; for all the things which are done
in the natural world correspond -with spiritual things in the
spiritual world, and all spiritual things concern the church. It
is not known in this world, which kingdoms in Christendom
represent the Moabites and Ammonites, which the' Syrians and
Philistines, and which the Chaldeans and Assyrians,^and the
others with whom the children of Israel carried on war ; never
theless there are kingdoms in Christendom which represent those
people. But -what is the quality of the church upon earth, and
what are the evils into whicb it falls, and on account of which it
is punished with wars, cannot at all be seen in the natural world,
because in that world appear externals only, which do not con
stitute the church ; but it is seen in the spiritual world, where
internals appear, which do constitute the church ; and there all
are conjoined according to their various states. The conflicts
of those in the spiritual world correspond to wars, which on
both sides are governed correspondently by the Lord according
to his Divine Providence. That wars in this world are governed
by the Divine Providence of the Lord, is acknowledged by the
spiritual man, but not by the natural man, except when a feast
is appointed on account of a victory ; and then upon his knees
he can give thanks to God who has given the victory ; and he
can also offer up a few ejaculations before he goes to battle ; but
when he returns to himself, he either ascribes the victory to the
prudence of the general, or to some measure or incident in the
midst of the battle, which they had not thought of, and by
which nevertheless the victory was decided, liat the Divine
Providence, which is called fortune, operates in the most minute
particulars even of trifling things, may be seen above, n. 212 ;
and if you acknowledge the Divine Providence in such things,
much more should you acknowledge it in the concerns of war.
Successes and advantages obtained in war are commonly called
the fortune of war ; and this is the Divine Providence operating
especially in the counsels and designs meditated by the general,
although he at the time, and afterwards, may ascribe the whole
to his own prudence. This he may do if he pleases, for he is
at full liberty to think either in favour of the Divine Providenc«
or against it, and, indeed, either in favour of God or against him ;
but he ought to know, that not the smallest particular of his

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCB. 251  253
counsels or med iated measures is from himself: they all flow
from heaven, or from hell, — from hell by permission, and from
heaven by the Divine Providence.
262. IV. That the worshiper of self and of nature confirms
himsdf against the Divine Providence, when hethinks, according
to his perception, that victories declare on the side of prudence,
and not always on the side of justice; and that it makes no diff'er-
ence whether the general be a good or a wicked man. The reason
-why it seems as if victory declared on the side of prudence, and
sometimes not on the side of justice, is, because a man judges
from appearance, and favours one party more than another ; and
that which he favours he can confinn by reasonings. Nor does
he know, as before observed, that the justice of the cause in
heaven is spiritual, and in this world natural ; and that they
are joined by a connection of things past and to come, which
are known only to the Lord. That it makes no difference
whether the general be a good or a wicked man, is owing to
the same cause which is assigned above, n. 260, namely, that
the wicked perform uses as well as the good, and, indeed, from
the fire peculiar to themselves, more ardently than the good ;
especially in wars, because a wicked man is more crafty ancl
cunning in devising deceitful contrivances, and from the love of
glory receives pleasure in killing and plundering those whom
he knows and declares to be enemies, which is not the case
with a good man, who is only influenced by prudence and zea.
in defending himself, and rarely in invading others. It is the
same with the spirits of hell, and the angels of heaven ; the
former assaulting and the latter defending themselves. Hence
may be deduced this conclusion, that it is allowable for any
persons to defend their country and associates against invading
enemies, even by means of wicked generals ; but it is not
allowable to make themselves enemies without a cause. When
a desire for glory alone is the cause, it is in itself diabolical,
for this springs from self-love.
253. Thus far have been explained the things adduced above,
n. 237, by which the merely natural man confirms himself
against the Divine Providence : we will now proceed to explain
those which follow, in n. 238, relating to the religions of many
nations, which can also serve the merely natural man as argu
ments against the Divine Pr -)vi deuce ; for he says in his heart.
How can so many discorda it religions exist, and why not one
true religion throughout all the world, if, as is shown above,
the Divine Providence has for its end a heaven out of the human
race, n. 27 — 45 ? But hear, I beseech you : All who are born
men, whatever may be their religion, are capable of being saved,
provided they acknowledge a God, and live according to the
commandments of the Decalogue, which are, not to kill, not to
commit adultery, not to steal, not to bear false witness, because
175

253, 254 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
to do such things is contrary to religion, therefore contrary to
G-od. In such persons there is the fear of God and the love of
their neighbour, — the fear of God, because they think that to
do such things is to act against God ; and the love of their
neighbour, because to kill, to commit adultery, to steal, to
bear false witness, and to covet their neighbour's house and his
wife, is to act against their neighbour. These persons, since
they respect God in their lives, and do no evil to their neigh
bour, are led by the Lord ; and those -who are so led, are also
taught according to their religion concerning God* and their
neighbour ; for those who so live, love to be taught, but those
who live otherwise, do not love to be taught. As they love
to be taught, therefore, after death also, when they become
spirits, they are instructed by the angels, and willingly receive
such truths as are contained in the Word. On this subject
something may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jeru
salem CONCERNING THE Saceed Scripture, d. 91 — 97 ; and
104—113. 254. I. That the merely natural man confirms himself against
the Divine Providence, when he considers the religions of various
nations, and that there a/re some who are totalhf ignorant of a
Ood, some who adore the sun and moon, a/nd some also who adore
idols and graven images. Those who from these circumstances
deduce arguments against the Divine Providence, are not ac
quainted with the arcana of heaven, which are innumerable,
and of which scarcely any come to our knowledge : for among
these arcana this is one, that a man is not taught immediately
from heaven, but mediately ; on which subject, see above, n.
164 — 174. Since he is taught mediately, and the gospel could
not by emissaries be extended to all who inhabit the whole
earth, although some religion could be handed down by various
means even to the Gentiles who are in the remote corners of
the earth, therefore this was effected by the Divine Providence;
for no man has any religion from himself, but through some
other person, who either knows from the Word, or has learned
by tradition from others, that there is a God, that there are a
heaven and a hell, and a life after death, and that God is to be
worshiped in order that man may be made happy. That religion
has been made known over the whole earth from the ancient
Word, and afterwards from the Israelitish Word, may be seen
in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the
Sacred Scripture, n. 101 — 103; and that without the Word
no one could have known any thing of God, of heaven and hell,
or of a life after death, much less any thing of the Lord, may
be seen, n. 114—118 of the same tract. AVhen once a religion
is implanted in any nation, the people are led by the Lord ac
cording to the precepts and tenets of their religion ; and the
Lord provides that in every religion there shall be precepts

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCB. 254
similar to those in the Decalogue; as, that God should be wor
shiped, and his name not profaned, that festivals should be
observed, parents honoured, murder, adultery, and theft, not com
mitted, and false testimony not given. The nation which makes
these precepts divine, and from a principle of religion lives ac-
ci.irding to them, is saved, as was said above, n. 253. Ancl
most of the nations, which are even remote from the Christian
world, consider these laws, not as civil, but as divine, and hold
them sacred. That a man is saved by a life according to these
precepts, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jeru
salem from the precepts of the Decalogue, from beginning
to end. Among the arcana of heaven there is this also, —
that the angelic heaven is in the sight of the Lord as one man,
of whom the Lord is the soul and life, and that this divine
man is in every particular of bis form a man, not only as to his
external, but also as to bis intemal members and organs, which
are many, and likewise as to tlie skin, membranes, cartilages,
and bones : none however of theee parts in ,that man are mate
rial, but all are spiritual. And it is provided by the Lord,
that those to whom the gospel cannot reach, but only some
religion, may likewise have a place, in that man, that is, in
heaven, by constituting the parts called the skin, membranes,
cartilages, and bones ; and that they may live equally as well
as others in heavenly joy : for it makes no difference whether a
piirson be in such joy as is experienced by the angels of the
Lghest heaven, or in such as is experienced by the angels of the
lowest heaven, since every one, who is received into heaven,
enters into the supreme or full joy of his heart ; and greater
than that he cannot support, for thereby he would be suffo
cated. The case is similar to a husbandman in comparison with
a king : the former may be in a state of the greatest happiness,
when he goes clad in a new suit of coarse worsted apparel, and sits
down to a table furnished with plain and wholesome food ;_ and
he would be distressed at heart, if he were to be clothed like a
king in purple, silk, gold, and silver, and if a table were set
out for him, with expensive and exquisite delicacies of various
kinds, and generous wines. From which consideration it is
evident, that the last as well as the first in heaven, have celestial
felicity, each in his degree; and consequently that those also
enjoy such felicity, who are without the Christian world, pro-
V ded they shun evils as sins against God, because they are
cmtrary to religion. There are some fow, who are totally
i) norant with respect to God ; but that these, if they have lived
a moral life, are instructed after death by augels, and in their
moral life receive a spiritual principle, may be seen in the
Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Sacred
S-ielptuee, n. 116. It is the same with those who worship the
B-m and moon, and think that God is therein. Tbey know mt
177

264. 255 ANGELIC wisdom CONCEENING
other-wise, and therefore it is not imputed to them as a sin ,
for the Lord says, " If ye were blind," that is, if ye did not
know, " ye would have no sin " (John ix. 41). But there are
many who worship idols and images, even in the Christian
world ; and this, indeed, is idolatrous, yet not in all ; for there
are some to whom images serve as means of exciting them tc
think of God. By virtue of influx from heaven, those who
acknowledge God, wish to see him ; and those who cannot,
like those who are interiorly spiritual, elevate the mind above
things sensual, awaken in themselves an idea of him from a
statue or a graven image. Those who do this, and do not adore
the image itself as a god, if also they live according to the pre
cepts of the Decalogue from a principle of religion, are saved.
Hence it is evident, that as the Lord wills the salvation of all,
he has also provided that every one, if he lives well, may have
some place in heaven. That heaven before the Lord is as one
man ; that thence heaven corresponds to all and singular the
things appertaining to man ; and that there are also some who
represent the skin, the membranes, cartilages, and bones, may
be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell, published
in London 1758, n. 59 — 102 : also in the Aecana CcELESTii, ii.
5552—5656 ; and above, n. 201—204.
255. II. Thatthemerelynatv/ralm,anconfi/rmshiinsdfagairud
the Divine Providence, wlien he reflects upon the Mahometan
religion, and considers that it is receivedby so many empires and
kingdoms. That this religion is received by a greater number of
kingdoms than the Christian religion, may be matter of scandal
to those who think of the Divine Providence, and at the same
time imagine that no one can be saved except he be bom a
Christian, and in a country where the Word is possessed, by
means of which the Lord is known. But the Mahometan religion
is no matter of scandal to those who believe that all things are
of the Divine Providence. These inquire wherein such Provi
dence can be traced, and they discover it. It is perceived in this,
that the Mahometan religion acknowledges the Lord to be the
Son of God, the wisest of men, and the greatest of prophets,
who -came into the world to teach men ; and m®st Mahometans
therefore consider the Lord as greater than Mahomet. That
it may be better understood that this religion was raised up by
the Divine Providence of the Lord, for the purpose of destroying
the idolatry of many nations, the subject shall be considered
in an orderly arrangement, beginning with some observations
conceming the origin of idolatries. Previous to the religion ol
Mahomet, the worship of idols was common over the whole
earth ; the reason of which was, that the churches, before the
Lord's coming, were all representative churches. Such was the
Israelitish church ; and the tabernacle, the garments of Aaron,
tlic sacrifices, all things appertaining to the temple at Jerusalem,
178

THE DIVINE PEO-VlDENCE. 255
and also the statutes, were representative. The ancients also
understood the science of correspondences, which is the science
of representations, the peculiar science of their wise men, and
was cultivated particularly in Egypt, whence they had their
hieroglyphics. By this science, they knew what was signified
by animals of all kinds, what by trees of all kinds, and what
by mountains, hills, rivers, and fountains; what also by the
sun, moon, and stars; and as all their divine worship was
representative, consisting of mere correspondences, therefore they
celebrated it upon mountains and hills, also in groves and gar
dens. For the same reason they consecrated fountains, turned
their faces towards the east in their adoration of God, and also
made themselves carved images of horses, oxen, calves, lambs,
even of birds, fishes, and serpents, and placed them in their
houses and other places, in a certain order, according to tho
spiritual things of the church to which they corresponded or
which they represented. They placed similar things in their
temples, that they might recall to their memories the noly things
which they signified. In process of time when the science of
correspondences was lost, their posterity began to worship the
images themselves as sacred, not knowing that their ancestors
saw nothing sacred in them, and that they were only so according
to the correspondences they represented and thence signified.
Thus arose the idolatries which filled the whole earth, as well
Asia with its adjacent islands, as Africa and Europe. In order
that all these idolatries might be extirpated, it was permitted
by the Divine Providence of the Lord, that, in accommodaticn
to the genius of the eastern nations, there should arise a new
religion, in which there might be something out of both Testa
ments of the Word, and which might teach that the Lord came
into the world, that he was the greatest prophet, the -wisest of
all, and the Son of God. This was effected by Mahomet, from
whom that religion is called the Mahometan religion. It was
raised up by the Divine Providence of the Lord, in accommoda
tion, as was observed, to the genius of the eastern nations, to
the end that it might destroy the idolatries which at that time
so generally prevailed, and give the inhabitants of those countries
some knowledge of the Lord, before they came into the spiritual
world ; and such religion would not have been received by so
many kingdoms, or have had power to extirpate their idolatries,
if it had not been accommodated and adapted to the ideas and
mode of life prevailing amongst them all. The reason why they
did not acknowledge the Lord as the God of heaven and earth,
was because the eastern nations acknowledged a God the Creator
of the universe, but could not comprehend that he himself came
into the world, and took upon him the human nature. Nor is
this comprehended by Christians, who, therefore, in thought,
separate his divinity from his humanity, placing his divinity
179 M

255, 256 ANGELIC -WISDOM CONCEENING
beside the Father in heaven, and his humanity they know not
where. Hence it may be seen, that the Mahometan religion
also had its origin in the Divine Pro-vidence of the Lord ; and
that all persons of that religion, who acknowledge the Lord as
the Son of God, and at the same time live according to the
precepts of the Decalogue, which they also possess, by shunning
e-vils as sins, are received into that heaven which is called the
Mahometan heaven. This is also divided into three heavens, —
the supreme, middle, and lowest. In the supreme heaven are
those who acknowledge the Lord to be one with the Father,
and consequently to be the only God ; in the second heaven,
those who renounce a plurality of wives, and live with one
only ; and in the ultimate heaven, those who are initiated.
More concerning this religion may be seen in The Conti
nuation CONCEENING THE LaST JUDGMENT AND THE SPHHTUAL
WoELD, n. 68 — 72, where the Mahometans and Mahomet are
treated of
256. HI. That the merdy natwral man confirms himself
against the Divine Providence, when he sees that the Christian
rdigion is received only in the smallest quarter of the haMtcMe
globe, called Europe, and that there it is dividm. The reason
why the Christian religion is established only in the smallest
quarter of the habitable globe, called Europe, is, because it was
not so well accommodated to the genius of the eastern nations,
a»i the Mahometan religion which is mixed, as was shown above ;
and a religion is not received by those to whom it is not accom
modated. For example : a religion which forbids the having of
more than one wife, is not received, but rejected, by those who
for some ages back have been addicted to polygamy ; and it is
the same with respect to some other things prohibited by the
Christian religion. Nor does it signify whether it be received
by a greater or a smaller part of the world, provided there be a
people who are in possession of the Word": for thence light is
received even by those who are out of the church, and have not
the Word, as is shown in The Doctrine of the New Jeru
salem CONCERNING THE Sacred Sceipture, h. 104 — ^113 ; and
what is wonderful, where the Word is read with devotion, and
the Lord is worshiped from the Word, there the Lord is, with
heaven. The reason is, because the Lord is the Word, and the
Word is divine truth, which constitutes heaven ; and therefore
the Lord says, " Where two or three are gathered together in
my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matt, xviii. 20).
This may be effected with the Word by the Europeans in many
parts of the habitable globe, because they have communication
with the whole world ; and either read the Word or teach from
it everywhere. This may appear like a fiction, but it is never
theless true. The reason why the Christian religion is divided,
is, because it is derived from the Word, which is written by,
180

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE. 256, 257
mere correspondences, and correspondences are for the most
part appearances of truth, in which, nevertheless, genuine
truths lie concealed. Therefore, as the doctrine of the church
is to be drawn from the literal sense of the Word, which is of
such a nature, there could not but exist in the church disputes,
controversies, ' and dissensions, with respect especially to the
meaning of the Word, but not with respect to the Word itself,
and the Lord's divinity itself ; for it is everywhere acknowledged
that the Word is holy, and that the Lord is Divin ;, and these
two are the essentials of the church ; therefore, als( , those who
deny the Lord's divinity, as those who are called Sc cinians, are
excommunicated from the church; and those whc deny the
sanctity of the Word, are not reputed as Christians. To this I
will add a memorable circumstance relating to the "W ord, from
which it may be concluded, that the Word interiorly is divine
truth itself, and most interiorly the Lord. When any spirit
opens the Word, and rubs his face or his clothes with it, then,
merely by being rubbed with it, they shine as bright as the
moon or a star, and this in the sight of all whom he mee's : this
is a proof that there is nothing in the world more holy tL an the
Word. That the Word is written by mere correspondences,
may be seen in The Docteine of the New Jerusalem concern
ing THE Sacred Scripture, n. 5 — 26 ; that the doctrine of the
church is to be deduced from the literal sense of the Word, and
confirmed by it, n. 50^ — 61 ; that heresies may be derived from
the literal sense of the Word, but that to confirm them is
hurtful, n. 91 — 97 ; and that the church exists from the Woi d,
and that its quality is according to its understanding of tl e
Word, n. 76—79.
257. rV. That the merdy natwral man confirms himself
against the Divine Providence, because in many kingdoms,
where tlie Christian religion is received, there are some who
claim to themselves divine power, and desire to he worshiped
as gods; and because they invoke dead men. They say, indeed,
that they have not arrogated to themselves divine power, and
that they do not desire to be worshiped as gods ; but yet they
say that they can open and shut heaven, and remit and retain
sins, consequently can save and condemn men, which is the pre
rogative of divinity itself; for the Divine Providence has nothing
for its end but the reformation and thereby the salvation of man
kind. This is its continual operation with every one ; and sal
vation cannot be effected except by an acknowledgment of the
Lord's divinity, and confidence that it is wrought by him, when
a man lives according to his commandments. Who cannot see
that this is the Babylon described in the Eevelation, and the
Babel treated of in many parts of the prophets ? That this also
is meant by Lucifer in Isaiah xiv. is evident frora the 4th and
22d verses of that chapter, in which are the following words :
181

257 ANGELIC -WISDOM CONCERNING
"Tliou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon"
(verse 4) : afterwards, " I will cut off from Babylon the name and
remnant" (verse 22) ; from which it is evident, that Babylon is
there signified by Lucifer, of whom it is said, " How art thou
fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the moming ! For thou
hast said in thy heart, I -vrill ascend into heaven ; I will exalt
my throne above the stars of God : I will sit also upon the
mount of tbe congregation, in the sides of the north: I will
ascend abov j the heights of the clouds : I -will be like the Most
High" (vers-js 12, 13, 14). That they invoke dead men, and pray
to them foj succour, is well known. It is affirmed that they
invoke the n, because the invocation of them is established by
a papal bill, confirming the decree of the Council of Trent, in
which it "s openly said that they are to be invoked : yet who
does not know that God alone ought to be invoked, and not
any dead man ? But it shall now be stated why the Lord per
mitted s ach things. That he permitted them for a certain end,
which is salvation, cannot be denied ; for it is well kno-wn, that
without the Lord there is no salvation. This being the case,
there -»vas a necessity that the Lord shoulxl be preached from the
Word , and the Christian church thereby established ; but this
could not be effected except by leaders who should act with
zeal ; and there were no others qualified, than such as were
heated, as it were, with zeal, from the fire of self-love. This
fire first excited them to preach the Lord aDd teach the Word ;
and from this their primitive state it is, that Lucifer is called
tbe son of the morning (verse 12). But as they came to see,
that they should be able to obtain dominion by means of the
holy things of the Word and the church, self-love, by which
they were first excited to preach the Lord, broke out from
within, and at length exalted itself to such a height, that they
transferred all the divine power of the Lord to themselves, not
leaving him any. This could not be prevented by the Divine
Providence of the Lord ; for had it been prevented, they would
have proclaimed the Lord not to be God, and the Word not to
be sacred, and would have become Socinians or Arians, and
thus have destroyed the whole church ; which, whatever may be
the character of its rulers, still remains among the people who
are under them. For all those of that religion also, who ap
proach the Lord, and shun evils as sins, are saved ; for which
reason there are many celestial societies from them in the spiritual
world ; and it is also provided, that there should be among them
a nation which has not submitted to the yoke of such a do
minion, and which considers the Word as sacred. This is the
noble French nation. But what was the consequence ? When
self-love, which is Lucifer, had exalted its dominion even unto
the throne of the Lord, had removed him thence, and placed
itself upon it, it could not do otherwise than pr-jfane aU thinffl
182

the divine PEOVIDENCE, 257, 258
appertaining to the Word and the church ; aud to prevent this,
the Lord so ordered it of his Divine Providence, that those who
were under its infiuence should depart from the worship of him,
invoke dead men, pray to their images, kiss their bones, prostrate
themselves at their sepulchres, forbid the Word to be read, place
the sanctity of divine worship in masses not understood by the
-vulgar, and sell salvation for money; because, if they had not
done these things, they would have profaned the holy things of
the Word and the church ; for, as was shown in the preceding
paragraph, none can profane things sacred but those who are
acquainted with them. Therefore, that they may not profane
the most holy supper, it is of the Divine Providence of the
Lord that they should divide it, giving the bread to the people,
and drinking the wine themselves ; for the wine in the holy
supper signifies holy truth, and the bread, holy good ; but when
they are divided, the wine signifies truth profane, and the bread
good adulterated. It is provided, also, that they should make
it corporeal and material, and account this doctrine to be a
primary tenet of religion. He who attends to these particulars,
and considers them in some illumination of mind, may see the
wonderful operation of the Divine Providence, in guarding the
holy things of the church, and saving all who are capable of
being saved, snatching as it were out of the fire those who will
suffer themselves to be snatched away.
268. V. Thai the msrd/y natural man confi/rm,s himsdf
agai/nst the Divine Providence from this ci/rcumsta/nce, that
among those who profess the Christian rdigion, there are some
who place salvation in certain words which they think and speak,
and not i/n, any good they do. That persons of this description
are such as make salvation to consist in faith alone, and not in a
life of charity, consequently, who separate faith from charity, is
shown in The Docteine of the New Jeeusalem conceening
FAriH ; and also, that they are meant in the Word by the Philis
tines, the dragon, and the goats. That such a doctrine is also
permitted, is of the Divine Providence, in order that the Lord's
divinity and the sanctity of the Word might not be profaned.
The Lord's divinity is not profaned, when salvation is placed in
the uttering of these words, " That God the Father will have
mercy for the sake of his Son, who suffered on the cross, and
made satisfaction for us ;" for by using this form of words, they
do not approach the Lord's divinity, but his humanity, -whicb
they do not acknowledge to be divine. The Word also is not
profaned ; because they do not attend to those passages where
mention is made of love and charity, of doing good, and of
works. All these, they say, are contained in the faith of the
above form of words ; and "those who confirm themselves herein,
say to themselves, The law does not condemn me, nor therefore
does evil ; and good does not save me, because good from riyself
183

268 angelic wisdom concepjiino
is not good ; therefore they are like those who do .pot know any
truth from the Word, and on that account cannot profane it.
But faith in the above form of words is not confirmed by any
except those who from self-love are in the pride of self-derived
intelligence, and who are not Christians in their hearts, but
only desire to seem such. That nevertheless the Lord's Divine
Providence continually operates for the salvation of those with
whom faith separated from charity is made the ground of reli
gion, shall now be shown. It is of the Lord's Divine Provi
dence, that although religion is -made to consist in this faith,
still every one knows that such faith does not save, but a life of
charity with which faith acts as one : for in all the churches
where this religion is received, it is taught, that there is no
salvation, except a man examine himself, perceive his sins, ac
knowledge them, repent, desist from them, and lead a new life.
This is read with much zeal before all those who approach the
holy supper; and it is added, that unless they do this, they
mix things holy and profane, and cast themselves into etemid
damnation ; and in England, indeed, that unless they do this,
the devil will enter into them as he did into Judas, and destrcy
them both soul and body. Hence it is evident, that every oi.e
ill the churches where faith alone is received, is neverthelets
taught that evils are to be shunned as sins. Every one aliio
who is born a Christian, knows that evils are to be shunned as
sins, because the Decalogue is put into the hands of every bey
and girl, and is taught by parents and master-s. All the subjecte
of a kingdom, likewise, particularly the common people, ai'e
examined by the priest, out of the Decalogue, which they ha-\'e
learned by heart, what they know of the Christian religion, and
are admonished to do the things therein contained. At such
times, they are never told by any priest that they are not under
the yoke of that law, or that they cannot do the things therein
commanded, because they cannot do any good from themselves.
The Athanasian Creed is also received by the whole Christian
world ; and what is said in the last part of it is acknowledged,
namely, that the Lord will come to judge both the quick and
the dead, when those who ha-ve done good will enter into ever
lasting life, and those who ha-ve done evil into everlasting
fire. In Sweden, where the religion of faith alone is received,
it is also plainly taught, that there is no faith separate from
charity, or without good works ; and in a certain memorial
annexed and inserted in all the books of the Psalms, which is
entitled Impediments or Stumbling Blocks to the Impenitent
(Obotferdigas Foerhinder), there are these words: "Those
who are rich in good works, show thereby that they are rich in
faith, because when faith is saving it operates by charity ; for
justifying faith never exists alone and separate from good works ;
as there is no good tree without fruit, no sun without light and
184

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 268, 269
heat, and no water without moisture." These few things are ad
duced that it may be known, that although the religion of faith
alone is received, yet the goods of charity, which are good
works, are everywhere taught; and that this is of the Lord's
Divine Providence, lest the common people should thereby be
seduced. I have heard Luther, with whom I have sometimes
conversed in the spiritual world, curse Solifidianism, and say,
that when he established it, he was warned by an angel of the
Lord not to do it ; but that he thought within himself, that if
he did not reject works, no separation from the Soman Catholic
religion would be effected ; for which reason he confirmed that
faith, contrary to the warning he had received.
259. VI. That the merely natwral man confi/rms himself
against the Divine Providence, because there ha/ve been, and still
are, so man/y heresies in the Christian world, such as those of the
Quakers, Moravians, Anabaptists, and otliers ; for he can think
within himself, that if the Divine Providence, by means of its
operation in every particular, were universal, and had in view
the salvation of all, it would have established one true religion
throughout the world, and not have suffered it to be divided,
much less torn to pieces by heresies. But use your reason, and,
if you are able, refiect with more elevation of mind ; then tell
me, can a man be saved unless he be first reformed ? For he is
born into the love of self and of the world ; and as these loves
do not contain in them any love towards God, or towards h'.s
neighbour, except for the sake of self, he is also born into all
kinds of evils : for, is there a single spark of love or mercy in
those loves? Does he make any account of defrauding another,
blaspheming him, hating him even to death, committing adul
tery with his wife, and raging against him when he is in a
revengeful humour ? because as the thing nearest to his heart is,
that he may be supreme over all, he consequently considers
others in comparison with himself as vile, and of no estimation.
In order that such a one may be saved, must he not first be
drawn away from these evils, and so be reformed ? That this
cannot be effected except in conformity to several laws, which
are laws of the Divine Pro-vidence, is fully shown above. These
laws are for the most part unknown, and yet they are laws of
the divine wisdom, and at the same time of the divine love,
against which the Lord cannot act; for to act against them,
would be to destroy man, and not to save him. Bead over again
the laws which have been adduced, consider them, and you will
perceive this. Since therefore it is conformable to those laws,
that there should not be any immediate influx from heaven, but
mediate through the Word, through doctrines and preachings ;
and since the Word, that it might be divine, could not be
written exceot by mere correspondences, it follows, that dissen
sions and heresies are inevitable, and that the permission ol
185

269, 260 ANGELIC -WISDOM concerning
these is also according to the laws of the Divine Pro-vidence ;
especially, when the church itself had assumed for its essentials
such things as belong to the understanding only, thus to doc
trine ; and not to the will, thus to the conduct of life. When
the things which have relation to life are not made essentials of
the church, then a man with respect to his understanding is in
mere darkness, and gropes about like a blind man, who is ever
stumbling, and falling into ditches ; for the will must see in the
imderstanding, and not the understanding in the will ; or, what
amounts to the same, the life and its love must lead the under
standing to think, speak, and act, and not the contrary ; for
were the contrary the case, the understanding might from an
evil, and even from a diabolical love, catch at whatever might
impress the senses, and enjoin the will to do it. From these
considerations it may be seen whence dissensions and heresifes
exist. It is however provided, that every one, in whatever
heresy he may be with respect to his understanding, may still
be reformed and saved, provided he shuns evils as sins, and
does not conflrm heretical falsities in himself; for by shunning
evils as sins the will is reformed, and by the will the under
standing, which then first emerges out of darkness into light.
There are three essentials of the church, — an acknowledgment
of the Lord's divinity, an acknowledgment of the holiness of
the Word, and the life which is called charity. Every man's
faith is conformable to his life, that is, his charity. From the
"Vrord he has a knowledge of what his life ougbt to be, and
from the Lord he has reformation and salvation. If these three
hid been held as essentials of the church, intellectual dissen
sions would not have divided it, but only have varied it ; as the
light varies colours in beautiful objects, and as a variety of jewels
constitutes the beauty of a kingly crown.
260. VII. That the merdy natural man confirms hi/nsdf
agai/nst the Di/oine Providence, heca/use Judaism still continues ;
that is, because the Jews, after the lapse of so many ages, are
not converted, although they live among Christians, and do not
according to the predictions in the Word confess the Lord, and
acknowledge him as the Messiah, who, as they imagine, is to
lead them back into the land of Canaan, but constantly persist
in denying him, and yet it continues well with them. Bat
those who think thus, and for that reason call in question the
Divine Providence, do not know that by the Jews in the Word
are meant all who are of the church and acknowledge the Lord,
and that by the land of Canaan, into which it is said they are
to be introduced, is meant the Lord's church. The reason,
however, why they persevere in denying the Lord, is, because
they are of such a disposition, that if they were to receive and
acknowledge the Lord's divinity, and the holy things of his
church, they would profane them ; therefore the Lord says of
186

THE DIVINE PRO-VIDENCE. 260 — 262
them, " He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart ;
that they should not see with their eyes, or understand with
their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them" (John
xii. 40 ; Matt. xiii. 14 ; Mark iv. 12 ; Luke viii. 10 ; Isaiah vi.
9, 10). It is said, lest they should be converted, and I shoidd
heal them, because if they had been converted and healed, they
would have been guilty of profanation ; and it is a law of the
Divine Providence, as was shown above, n. 221 — 233, that no
one is interiorly admitted by the Lord into the truths of faith
and the goods of charity, except so far as he can be kept in
them to the end of life ; and were it not so, he would profane
things holy. This nation is preserved, and scattered over a
great part of the earth, for the sake of the Word in its original
language, which they hold more sacred than Christians do ; and
in every particular of the Word is the divinity of the Lord, for
it is divine truth united to divine good, which proceeds from the
Lord, and by which the Word is the conjunction of the Lord
with the church and the presence of heaven, as is shown in
The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Sacred
Scripture, n. 62 — 69 ; and there is the presence of the Lord
and of heaven wherever the Word is read with devotion. This
is the end -vi-hich the Divine Providence has in view, in preserv
ing and dispersing them over a great part of the world. What
i.5 the nature of their lot after death, may be seen in The Con
tinuation CONCERNING THE LaST JUDGMENT AND THB SpIEITUAI
'^V'oELD, n. 79—82.
261. These then are the circumstances adduced above, n.
238, by which the natural man does or may confirm himself
ajjainst the Divine Providence : there follow some others, men
tioned above, n. 239, which may also serve the natural man as
arguments against the Divine Providence, and may likewise
03cur to the minds of others, and suggest some doubts; these
are, —
262. I. That a doubt may be inferred against the Divine
Providence,hecause the whole Clvristianworld worship Oodunder
three persons, which is, three gods ; and because hitherto they have
not known that Qod is one m person and in essence, in whom
there is a trinity, and that that Ood is the Lord. The reasoner
conceming the Divine Providence may say. Are not three
persons three Gods, when each person by himself is God ? Who
can think otherwise; or who, indeed, does think otherwise?
Athanasius himself could not think otherwise ; and therefore, in
the creed which has its name from him, he says, " As we are
compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every person
by himself to be God and Lord, so are we forbidden by the
Catholic religion to say there be three Gods or three Lords ;"
by which words nothing else can be understood, than that we
ought to acknowledge three Gods and three Lords, but that we
187

262 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENING
ought not to say there are three Gods and three Lords. Wh:
can possibly have a perception of one God, who is not also one
in person ? If it be alleged, that it is possible to have such a
perception, provided you think that the three persons have one
essence, — who from thence does or can perceive any thing else,
than that in such case they are unanimous, and consenting,
but yet that they are three Gods ? and if a man elevates his
thoughts, he says within himself. How can the divine essence,
which is infinite, be divided? and how can it from eternity
beget another, and even produce a thirdj who proceeds from
both ? It may be said, that this is to be believed, and ought
not to be thought of; but who does not think of that which he
ia told he ought to believe? and how otherwise can there be
any acknowledgment, which is the essence of faith ? Did not
Socinianism and Arianism, Avhich reign in the hearts of more
people than you imagine, take their rise from thinking of God
as of three persons ? A belief in one God, and that that ore
God is the Lord, constitutes the church ; for in him there is a
divine trinity. That this is true, may be seen in The Doctein'e
OF THE New Jerusalem concerning the Lord, from beginning
to end. But what is thought of the Lord at this day ? Is it
not thought that he is God and man, — God from Jehovah his
Father, of whom he was conceived, and man from the Virgin
Mary, of whom he was born ? Who thinks, that God and man
in him, or his divinity and his humanity, are one person, and
that they- are one as the soul and body are one ? Does any
one know this? Ask the doctors of the church, and they will
say that they have not known it, when, nevertheless, it is the
doctrine of the Church received throughout the whole Christian
world, which is as follows : " Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son
of God, is God and man; and although he be God and man,
yet he is not two, but one Christ ; one, by taking of the manhood
into God ; one altogether, by unity of person ; for as the soul
and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ." This is
taken from the creed of Athanasius. The reason why they have
not known it, is, because when they read it, they did not think
of the Lord as God, but only as a man. If the same be asked
whether they know of whom he was conceived, — whether of
God the Father, or of his own divinity, — ^they will answer that
he was conceived of God the Father, for this is according to
Scripture. Are not the Father and he one then, as the soul and
body are one ? Who can think that he was conceived of two
divinities, and if of his own divinity, that this was his Father?
If you ask them again. What is your idea of the Lord's divinity,
and what of his humanity ? they will say that his divinity "is
from the essence of the Father, and his humanity from the
essence of the mother, and that his divinity is with the Father.
If you then ask, where is his humanity, they will make no
188

THE DIVINE PROVroENCE. 262
answer ; for they separate in idea his- di-vinity from his human
ity, and make his divinity equal to that of the Father, and his
humanity similar to that of another man ; not knowing, that in
so doing, they also separate soul and body ; nor seeing the
contradiction, that in this case he would have been born a ra
tional man from the mother alone. In consequence of the idea
entertained concerning the Lord's humanity, that it was like
that of another man, it is now come to pass, that a Christian
cannot without difficulty be led to think of A Divine Human
Being, although it should be said that the Lord's soul or life
was from conception, and is, Jehovah himself. Collect these
reasons now, and consider whether there be any other God of
the universe than the Lord alone, in whom is the all-creating
Divine itself which is called the Father, the Divine Human
which is called the Son, and the Divine Proceeding which is
called the Holy Spirit ; thus, that God is one in person and in
essence, and that that God is the Lord. If you insist and s&j,
that the Lord himself named three in Matthew, saying, " Go and
teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (xxviii. 19) ; I answer, it is
evident from the preceding and following verses, that he said
this, in order that it might be known that in himself now glori
fied there was a divine trinity. In the verse immediately pre
ceding, he says, that all power was given to him in heaven and
in earth ; and in the succeeding verse, that he would be with
them until the consummation of the age ; consequently, he speaks
of himself alone, and not of three. Now, with respect to the
Divine Providence, and the reason why it has permitted Chris
tians to worship one God under three persons, which amounts to
the same as three Gods, and that hitherto they have not kno-wn
that God is one in person and essence, in whom there is a trinity,
and that that God is the Lord, — the reason does not exist in
the Lord, but in man himself The Lord taught it manifestly
in his Word, as may appear from all the passages quoted in
The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Lord ;
and he also taught it in the doctrine of all the churches, iu
which it is insisted that his divinity and his humanity are not
two, but one person, united like soul and body. But the reason
why they divided his divinity and humanity, and made his
divinity equal to that of Jehovah the Father, and his humanity
equal to that of another man, was, because the church aftei its
establishment lapsed into Babylon, which transferred to itself
the divine power of the Lord ; yet, that it might not be called
divine power, but human, they made the Lord's humanity simi
lar to that of another man. Afterwards also, when the church
was reformed, and faith alone received as the only means of
salvation (which is, that God the Father would have mercy for
the sake of his Son), the Lord's humanity could not be viewed
189

262, 263 ANGELIC -WISDOM CONCEENING
in any other light. The reason why it could not, is, that no one
can approach the Lord, and acknowledge him in his heart as
the God of heaven and earth, but he who lives according to his
commandments. In the spiritual world, where every one is
obliged to speak as he thinks, no one can even name Jesus, un
less ne has lived in the world as a Christian ; and this from his
Divine Providence, lest his name should be profaned.
263. But in order that what has now been said may appear
more clearly, I will add what is adduced in The Doctrine of
THE New Jerusalem concerning the Lord, towards the end,
n. 60, 61, which is as follows : " That God and man in the
Lord are, according to the doctrine stated, not two, but one
person, and altogether one, as the soul and body are one, ap
pears clearly from many declarations of the Lord himself ; as,
that the Father and he are one ; that all things of the Father
are his, and all his the Father's ; that he is in the Father, and,
the Father in him; that all things are given into his hand;
that he has all power ; that he is the God of heaven and earth ;.
that he who believes in him has eternal life ; and that the wrath
of God abides on him who does not believe in him : moreover,
that he ascended into heaven, both as to his divinity and his
humanity, and that, with respect to both, he sits on the right
hand of God, which means that he is Almighty ; besides many
passages from the Word, concerning his divine humanity, which
are copiously quoted in the former part of this work, and all of
which testify, that Ood is one as well in person as in essence,,
that in him is a trinity, and tliat that Ood is the Lord. The
nsason why these things relative to the Lord are now for the
first time made publicly known, is, because it is foretold in the,
Eevelation (xxi. and xxii.) that a new church, in which this
doctrine -will hold the chief place, should be established by the
Lord at the end of the former. This church is what is mean,!;
by the New Jerusalem there mentioned, into which none can
enter but those who acknowledge the Lord alone as the God of
heaven and earth : therefore this church is there called the wife
OF THE Lamb. I am also enabled to declare, that the universal
heaven ackn,owledges the Lord alone ; and that whoever does
not acknowledge him is not admitted therein. For heaven de
rives all that makes it heaven solely from the Lord ; and it is
the acknowledgment of this, from love and faith, which causes
all its inhabitants to be in the Lord, and the Lord in them ; as
he himself teaches in John : ' At that day ye shall know that I
am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you' (xiv. ^0). And
again : ' Abide in me, and I in you. I am the vine, ye are the
branches : he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same
bringeth forth much fruit : for without me ye can do nothing.
If a man abide not in me, he is cast out' (xv. 4, 5, 6 ; xvii.
22, 23). The reason why this doctrine concerning the lord
190 ^

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 263, 264
was not seen from the Word before, is, because if it had, it
still would not have been received, in consequence of the last
judgment's not being accomplished. Man, while in the world,
stands in the midst between heaven and hell ; and before the
last judgment, the power of hell prevailed over that of heaven ;
whence, had this doctrine been seen before, the devil, that is,
hell, would have plucked it from the heart, and would, more
over, have profaned it. This state of predominance op the part
of hell, was altogether crushed by the last judgment, which is
now accomplished. Since which event, that is, now, it is in
the power of every one, who desires it, to become enlightened
and wise."
264. n. That a doubt may he inferred against the Divine
Providence, because heretofore it was not known that in every
particular of the Word there is a spiritual sense, and that therein
its holiness consists : for it may be suggested as a doubt against
the Divine Providence, Why is this revealed now for the first
time, and why by this or that person, and not by any primat<!
of the church ? But whether he be a primate or the servant of
a primate, is according to the good pleasure of the Lord, who
knows both the one and the other. The reason why that senso
of the Word was not revealed before, is, I. Because, if it had
been, the church would have profaned it, and thereby have pro
faned the sanctity of the Word itself. II. That the genuine
truths also, in which the spiritual sense of the Word consists,
were not revealed by the Lord, till after the last judgment was
performed, and a new church, which is meant by the Holy Jeru
salem, was about to be established by the Lord. These articles,
however, shall be examined separately. First, That the spi
ritual sense of the Word was not revealed hefore, because if it
had, the church would have profaned it, and thereby have pro
faned the sanctity of the Word itself. The church, not long after
Its establishment, was converted into Babylon, and afterwards
into Philistea ; and Babylon does indeed acknowledge the Word,
but yet contemns it, saying, that the Holy Ghost inspires them
in their supreme judgment, equally as much as it inspired the
prophets. They acknowledge the Word for the sake of the
vicarship founded on the Lord's words to Peter ; but yet they
contemn it, because it does not accord with their views. For
that reason, also, it is taken from the people, and hid in mo
nasteries, where there are but few who read it ; therefore, if the
spiritual sense of the Word, in which is the Lord, and at the
same time all angelic wisdom, had been revealed, the Word
would have been profaned, not only as is now the case, in its
ultimates, which are contained in the literal sense, but also in
its internal or inmost meaning. Philistea, by which is meant
faith separate from charity, would also have profaned the spirit
ual sense of the Word, because, as was shown before, it places
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264 ANGELIC wisdom CONCERNING
salvation in certain words which are to be thought and spoken,
and not in any good that is to be done; thus making. that a
saving principle which is not saving, and removing the under
standing from things which ought to be believed. And what
have such persons to do with the light in which is the spiritual
sense of the Word ? Would it not be turned by them into
darkness? When the natural sense is turned into darkness,
what would the spiritual sense be ? Is there any one of those
who have confirmed themselves in faith separate from charity,
and in justification by it alone, that desires to know what is
the good of life, or, what is love to the Lord ami towards their
neighbour, or what is charity, what the goods of charity, what
good works, and what it is to do, yea, what faith is in its essence,
or am- genuine truth that constitutes it ? They write volumes,
and c.mfirm nothing but what they call faith, saying that all
the thmgs above recited are contained in that faith. From
which .\t is evident, that if the spiritual sense of the Word had
been revealed before, the case would have been according to
what the Lord says in Matthew : " If thine eye be evil, thy
whole body shall be full of darkness ; if, therefore, the light
that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness !" (vi.
23). By eye, in the spiritual sense of the Word, is meant the
understanding. Secondly, That the genuine truths also, of
vjhich the spiritual sense of the Word consists, were nat revealed
hy the Lord, till after the last judgment was accomplished, and
the Iffew Church, which is meant hy the Holy Jerusalem, was
about to be established hy the Lord. It is foretold by the Lord
in the Kevelation, that after the last judgment is accomplished,
genuine truths are to be revealed, a new church established,
and the spiritual sense of the Word disclosed. That the final
¦judgment is now accomplished, is shown in a small work con
cerning the Last Judgment, and in The Continuation of that
work ; and that this is meant by the heaven and earth which
are to pass away, mentioned in the Bevelation, xxi. 1. That
genuine truths are then to be revealed, is foretold by these
words in the Revelation : " He that sat upon the throne said.
Behold, I make all things new" (verse 6 ; also, chap. xix. 17,
18 ; xxi. 18 — 21 ; xxii. 1, 2). That the spiritual sense of the
Word is then to be revealed is foretold in chap. xix. 11 — 16,
and it is denoted by the white horse, upon which he who sat
was called the Word of God, who was the Lord of lords, and
King of kings ; on which subject the little work concerning
The White Horse may be consulted. That by the Holy
Jerusalem is meant the New Church, which was then to be
established by the Lord, may be seen in The Doctrine of thb
New Jeeusalp:m conceening the Lord, n. 62 — 65, where it is
demonstrated. Hence then it is evident, that the spiritual
sense of the Word was to be revealed for a New Ohurch, which
192

the divine PEOVIDENCE. 264, 265
will acknowledge and worship the Lord alone, hold his Word
sacred, love divine truths, and reject faith separated from cha
rity. In relation to this sense of the Word more may be seen
in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the
Saceed Scripture, n. 5 — 26 ; as, what the spiritual sense of
the Word is, n. 5 — 26 ; that there is a spiritual sense in all aud
every particular of the Word, n. 9 — 17 ; that it is by virtue of
the spiritual sense that the Word is of divine inspiration and
holy in every single expression, n. 18, 19 ; that the spiritual
sense of the Word has been heretofore unknown, and why It
was not revealed before, n. 20 — 25 ; and that henceforth the
spiritual sense of the Word will be opened to none but those
who are principled in genuine truths from the Lord, n. 2G.
From these considerations, then, it may appear that it is of the
Lord's Divine Providence that the spiritual sense has been con
cealed from the world until the present age, and has hitherto
been preserved in heaven among the angels, who derive their
wisdom from it. This sense was known, and also cultivated,
among the ancients who lived before Moses ; but as their pos
terity converted the correspondences, of which their Word and
consequently their religion solely consisted, into various idola
tries, and the Egyptians into magic, it was, for the reasons
above-mentioned, closed or shut up, by the Divine Providence
of the Lord, first among the children of Israel, and afterwards
among the Christians, and is now first opened for the Lord's
I^ ew Church.
265. in. That a doubt may be inferred against the Divine
Providence, because heretofore it was not known that the very
essence of the Christian religion consists in shunning evils as sins.
That this is the very essence of the Christian religion is shown
in The Doctrine of Life for the New Jerusalem, from
beginning to end ; and because faith separated from charity is
the only obstacle to its being received, that also is treated of
It is said that heretofore it was not known that the very essence
of the Christian religion consis'ts in shunning evils as sins,
because almost everybody is ignorant of this, and yet every one
is taught it, as may be seen above, n. 258. The reason why
almost everybody is ignorant of it, is, because Solifidianism has
erased it from the mind ; for this teaches that faith alone saves,
and not any good work or good of charity ; also, that they are
no longer under the yoke of the law, but at liberty. Those who
frequently hear such doctrines, no longer think of any evil of
life, or of any good of life ; for every man by nature is inclined
to embrace that idea, and when it is once embraced, he no
onger thinks of the state of his life. This is the reason why
the above is not known. That it is not known was discovered
to me in the spiritual world. I questioned above a thousand
who were newly arrived from this world, whether they knew
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265, 274 angelic wisdom concerning
that the essence of religion consisted in shunning evils as sins ;
and they said that they did not know it ; that it was a new
thing never before heard of; but that they had heard they could
not do any good from themselves, and were not under the yoke
of the law. When I asked, if they did not know that it was a
man's duty to examine himself, to see his sins, repent of them,
and lead a new life ; that otherwise sins are not forgiven, and
if sins are not forgiven there is no salvation ; and that this was
read aloud to them as often as they received the holy supper ;
they answered, that they did not attend to those things, but
only to this, that by means of the Lord's Supper their sins are
forgiven, and that faith, without their knowledge, operates the
rest. Again I asked. Why did you teach your children the
Decalogue ? Was it not that they might know what evils are
sins which are to be shunned ? Was it that they might only
know and believe, and not act accordingly ? Why then do you
say that this is a new thing ? To this they could make no other
answer than that they knew it, and yet did not know it, and
that they never thought of the seventh commandment when
they committed adultery, or of the eighth when they committed
theft or acted fraudulently, and so on; much less, that such
things are contrary to the divine law, and consequently offenciis
against God. When I mentioned several things from the doc
trines of the churches, and from the Word, in confirmation of
my assertion, that to shun evils as sins, and hold them in
aversion, is the very essence of the Christian religion, and that
every one is gifted with faith in proportion as he shuns and
holds them in aversion, they were silent ; but they were con
firmed in the truth of it when they saw that all were examined
as to their lives, and judged according to their actions, and no
one according to his faith unconnectedly with his life, because
the faith of every one is conformable to his life. The reason
why the Christian world for the most part did not know this,
exists in that law of the Divine Providence whereby every one
is left to act from liberty according to reason, which see above,
n. 71 — 99, and n. 100 — 128 ; also in the law, whereby it is ap
pointed that no one is taught immediately from heaven, but
mediately through the Word, doctrine, and preachings out of
it, concerning which see above, n. 154 — 174: and likewise in
all the laws of permission, which also are laws of the Divine
Providence. More may be seen above respecting these, n. 258.
274. IV. That a doubt may he inferred against the Divine
Providence, because it was not known heretofore that a man lives
as a man after death, and this was not discovered till now.
The reason why this was not known, is, because in those who
do not shun evils as sins, there lies inwardly concealed a belief
that a man does not live after death, and therefore they think
it of no importance whether it be said that a man lives after
194

the divine providence. 274
death, or that he will rise again at the day of judgment. If one
happens to have any belief in a resurrection, he says to himself,
I shall not fare worse than others ; for if I go to hell, I shall
have many to accompany me, and also if to heaven. Yet all
who have any religion have in them an inherent knowledge that
men live after death. The idea that they live as souls, and not
as men, takes place with those, and -with those only, who are
infatuated by their own self-derived intelligence. That every
one who has any religion in him has an inherent knowledge that
a man lives after death, may appear from the following con
siderations. 1. Who thinks otherwise when he is dying? 2.
What panegyrist, in his lamentation over the dead, does not send
them to heaven, place them among the angels, in conversation
with them, and partaking tbeir joys? Not to mention the
apotheosis of some. 3. Who among the vulgar does not believe,
that when he dies, if he has lived well, he shall go to a heavenly
Paradise, be clothed in a white garment, and enjoy life ever
lasting? 4. Where is the preacher who does not say these
things, or the like, to those who are on their death-bed ? And
when he says them, he believes them himself, provided he does
not at the time think of the last judgment. 5. Who is there
that does not believe that his children are in heaven, and that
he shall see his wife, whom he has loved, after death ? Who
ever supposes they are spectres, much less that they are souls
or minds hovering about in the universe ? 6. Who contradicts,
when any thing is said of tbe lot and state of those who have
passed from time to eternity ? I have told many of the state
and lot of such and such persons, and I have never yet heard
any one say, that their lot was not yet decided, but that it
would be so at the last judgment. 7. W ho, when he sees angels
painted or carved, does not acknowledge that they are such ?
Who ever imagines at such times that they are spirits without a
body, airs, or clouds, as some of the learned do ? 8. The papists
believe their saints to be men in heaven, and others elsewhere ^
the Mahometans think the same of their dead ; so do the Afri
cans more especially, and in like manner many other nations :
what then ought not reformed Christians to do, who know it
from the Word ? 9. It is also owing to this knowledge, inherent
in every one, that some aspire after immortal fame; for this
knowledge is converted into the love of such fame with some,
and makes them heroes and valiant in war. 10. Inquiry was.
made in the spiritual world, whether this knowledge is inherent
in all ; and it was found, that it is so in the spiritual idea of all,
which is of the internal thought, but not so in their natural idea,
which is of the external thought. From these corsiderations it
may appear, that no one ought to entertain any doubt against
the Divine Providence, because he thinks it is now first discovered
that men live after death. It is only a man's sensual minA
195 K

274 — 276 angelic wisdom concerning
which desires to see and touch w-".at is to be believed ; and he
whose thoughts are not elevated above this is involved in dark
ness with respect to the state of his life.

THAT EVILS ARE PERMITTED FOR A CERTAIN END, WHICH 13
SALVATION.
275. If a man were born in the love in which he was
created, he would not be in any evil, nor, indeed, would he
know what evil is ; for he who has not been, and thence is not
in evil, cannot know what it is. If it should be said to him
that this or that is evil, he would not believe it possible. This
is the state of innocence, in which Adam and his wife Eve were ;
and their nakedness, of which they were not ashamed, signified
that state. The knowledge of evil after the fall is meant by
eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The love
in which man was created is the love of his neighbour, that he
may wish him as well as he wishes himself, and even better,
and that he may be in the delight of that love when he does
food to him, just as a parent is in doing good to his children.
his love is truly human ; for in it there is something spiritual,
whereby it is distinguished from natural love, which is common
to brute animals. If a man were born into this love,' he would
not be born in the darkness of ignorance, as is now the case
¦with every man, but in a certain light of knowledge, and thence
of intelligence also, into which he would shortly enter, and
indeed he would at first creep like a quadruped, but with an
innate endeavour to raise himself upon his feet ; for although he
would creep, he would not look down to the ground, but upwards
to heaven, and would, as it would be in his power to do, lift
himself upright.
276. But when the love of the neighbour was tumed into
the love of self, and this latter increased, then human love was
tumed into animal love, and man from being man became a
beast, with this difference, that he could think that which he
felt in the body, rationally distinguish one thing from another,
cotdd be instructed, made a civil and moral, and at length a
spiritual man ; because, as was observed, a man has a spiritual
principle, by which he is distinguished from brute animals ;
for by it he can know what is civu evil and good, what is moral
evil, and good, and also, if he will, what is spiritual evil and good.
When the love of the neighbour was turned into self-love, man
could no longer be born into the light of science and intelligence,
but. into, the darkness of ignorance, because he was bom totally
196

THE divine providence. 276, 277
in the ultimate of life, which is called the corporeal sensual
principle; but from it he could by instruction be introduced
into tbe interiors of the natural mind, something spiritual always
attending. The reason why he is born in the ultimate of life,
which is called the corporeal sensual principle, and consequently
in the darkness of ignorance, will be seen in what follows.
That the love of the neighbour and the love of self are opposite,
any one may see ; for the former wishes well to all from itself,
but the latter wishes well to itself alone from all. A man in
the love of his neighbour desires to serve all ; but he who is in
self-love desires to be served by all : the former considers all as
his brothers and friends, but the latter considers all as his
servants, and if they do not serve him, as his enemies : in a
word, he considers himself alone, and others scarcely as men,
whom in his heart he values less than his horses and dogs ; and
as he thinks them so vile, he makes no account of injuring them ;
whence proceed hatred and revenge, adultery and fornication,
thefts and frauds, lies and blasphemies, rage, cruelty, and the
like. These are the evils in which every man is by birth. That
these are permitted for a certain end, which is salvation, shall
be demonstrated in the following order. I. That every man is
in evil, and that he is to be withdrawn from evil that he may be
reformed. II. That evils cannot be removed unless they appear.
III. That in proportion as evils are removed, they are remitted.
IV. That thus the permission of evil is for the sake of salvation
as the end.
277. I. That every man is in evil, and that he is to he with
drawn from evil that he may he reformed. That every man has
hereditary evil, and that therefrom he is in the concupiscence
of many evils, is well known in the church. Thence it is that
a man from himself cannot do good ; for evil does not do good,
except it be such good as has evil lurking within it ; which evil
consists in his doing good for the sake of self, and thus doing
what is good only in appearance. That this evil is hereditary
from parents is well known. It is said to be from Ada,m and
Eve ; but this is a mistake : for every one is born into it from
his parent, that parent from his parent, and so on, every one
from his own parent respectively ; and thus it is successively
transferred from one to another, by which it is increased and
augmented abundantly, and is transmitted to posterity. Tlience
it is, that in man there is no health, or nothing sound, but that
he is one entire mass of evil. Who is there that feels that to
love himself more than others is evil, and who, therefore, knows
that there is any evil in it ; when, nevertheless, it is the head
of all evils? That it is inherited from fathers, grandfathers,
and great-grandfathers, is evident from many circumstances
which are generally known ; as from tie similarity of faces in
houses, families, and, indeed, in whole nations, by which they
197

277 angelic wisdom concerning
are distinguishable, faces being the types of minds, and the state
of minds being conformable to their affections, which are of love.
Sometimes, also, the face of the grandfather returns in the
grandchild, or great-grandchild. I can tell from seeing the face
only, whether a person is a Jew or not ; also, from what stock
some other people are derived ; and I doubt not but there are
others who can do the same. If the affections, which are of
love, are thus derived and transmitted from parents, it follows
that it is the same with evils, because these appertain to tho
affections . The cause of this resemblance shall now be explained :
the soul of every one is from his father, and is only clothed with
a body from his mother. That the soul is derived from the
father, not only follows as a consequence from what has been
said above, but is evident from other circumstances ; as, that
the child of a negro or Moor, by a white or European woman,
is born black, and vice versa ; and especially that the soul is in
the seed, for from it impregnation is effected, and it is that
which is clothed with a body from the mother ; the seed being
the primitive form of the love in which the father is, — ^the form
of his ruling love, with its proximate derivations, which are the
inmost affections of that love. These affections are in every one
clothed in the decencie'B of moral bfe, and the goods which are
partly of civil and partly of spiritual life ; and these constitute
the external of life even with the wicked. Every infant is bom
into this external of life, and hence it is that it is amiable ; but
as a man grows up and advances to mature age, he passes from
that external to interiors, and at length to the ruling love of
his father. If his father's ruling love was evil, his love also
becomes evil, unless tempered and bent by means of education;
and even then, as will be shown in what follows, evil is not
extirpated, but only removed. Hence it is evident that every
man is in evil.
277. That a man is to be withdrawn from evil, in order that
he may be reformed, is evident without explanation ; for he that
is in evil in the world, is in evil after he goes out of it ; and
therefore if evil be not removed in the world, it cannot be re
moved afterwards. Where the tree falls, there it lies ; so also
it is with a man's life. . As it was at his death, such it remains.
Every one also is judged according to his actions ; not that they
are enumerated, but because be returns to them, and does the
like again ; for death is a continuation of life, with this differ
ence, that then the man cannot be reformed. All reformation
is effected in a plenary manner, that is, in primaries and in
ultimates at the same time ; and ultimates are reformed in this
world conformably to primaries ; but they cannot be so after*
wards, because the ultimates of life, which a man carries with
him after death, are quiescent, and conspire, that is, act as one,
with his interiors.
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THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 278
278. n. That evils cannot he removed except they appear.
It is not meant that a man is to do evils that they may appear,
but that he is to examine himself, not his actions only, but also
his thoughts, and as to what he would do if he were not afraid
of the laws and of infamy ; especially, what evils he considers
in his spirit as allowable, and does not look upon as sins, for
these be still commits. In order that a man may explore him
self, understanding is given him, and this separate from the
will ; that he may know, understand, and acknowledge what is
good and what evil, and may also see the quality of his will, or
what he loves and what he covets. That a man may see this,
his understanding is gifted with superior and inferior, or interior
and exterior thought, that from his superior or interior thought
he may see what his will is doing in his inferior or exterior
thought. This he sees as a man sees his face in a glass ; and
when he sees it, and knows what sin is, he may, if he implores
the help of the Lord, not will it, but shun it, and afterwards
act against it ; if not freely, still he may force himself to it by
coriibat, and at length hold it in aversion aiid abominate it :
then, and not before, he perceives and also feels that evil is evil
and good is good. This, then, is examining or exploring him
self, seeing his sins, acknowledging them, confessing them, and
afterwards desisting from them. As however there are few who
know that the very essence of the Christian religion consists in
this, because those only who do so have charity and faith, are
led of the Lord, and do good from him, something shall be said
of those persons who do not do so, and yet think they have
religion in them. They are the following : 1. Those who con
fess themselves guilty of all sins, and do not search out any one
sin in themselves. 2. Those who omit such inquiry from a
principle of religion. 3. Those who, on account of worldly
matters, do not think of sins, and consequently do not know
•them. 4. Those who favour them, and therefore cannot know
them. 6. That in all these persons sins do not appear, and
therefore cannot be removed. 6. Lastly, the hitherto unknown
cause shall be laid open why evils cannot be removed, without
the search, appearance, acknowledgment, confession thereof,
and resistance thereto.
These points however shall be viewed separately, because
they are fundamentals of the Christian religion on man's part.
First, Of those who confess themselves guilty of all sins, and do
not search out any sin m themselves. Such a one says, I am a
sinner ; I was born in sin ; there is no health in me from head
to foot ; I am nothing but evil. Good God, have mercy upon
me, forgive me, purify me, save me ; cause me to walk in purity
of life, and in the way of uprightness,— and the like ; yet he
does not examine himself, and consequently does not know any
evil ; and no one can shun that which he does not know, much
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278 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
less fight against it. After his confession, he also thinks him
self clean and washed, when nevertheless he is unclean and un
washed from head to foot ; for the confession of all is the quiets
ing or laying asleep of all, and at length the blinding of all :
it is like something general without any particular, which is
nothing. Secondly, Of those who omit such inquiry from a
principle of religion. They are such especially as separate charity
from faith : for such a one says to himself. Why should I inquire
whether it be evil or good? — why, whether it be evil, since evil
does not condemn me? and why, whether it be good, since
good does not save me ? It is faith alone, thought of and pro
nounced with confidence and assurance, which justifies and
purifies from all sin : and when I am once justified, I am pm-e
in the sight of God. I am indeed in evil ; but God wipes this
away as soon as it is produced, and so it appears no more ; —
not ito mention other notions of the same kind. But who does
not see, if he opens his eyes, that such are empty words, having
no substance in them, because they have no good in them ?
Who may not think and speak thus, even with confidence and
assurance, when at the same time he thinks of hell and eternal
damnation ? Does such a one desire to knoW any thing else,
whether it be true, or whether it be good ? Of truth he says,
what is truth but that which confirms such a faith ? Of good
he says, what is good but that which is in me fi'om this faith ?
But in order that it may be in me, I will not do it as from
myself, because that is meritorious, and meritorious good is not
real good. Thus he omits all things, until he does not know
what evil is ; and what then can he search out or see in himself?
In this case, is not his state such, that the fire of the concu
piscences of evil being inclosed, consumes his interiors, and
devastates them even to the gate, which he keeps shut lest the
fire should appear ? It is opened, however, after death, and
then appears in the sight of every one. Thirdly, Of those
who, on account of worldly matters, do not think of sins, ana
consequently do not know them. These are such as love the world
above all things, and admit no truth which may withdraw them
from the falsities of their religion. Such a one says to himself.
What have I to do with this ? I do not love to think of it.
Thus they reject truth as soon as they hear it, and if they hear
it, suffocate it. The case is nearly the same with them when
they hear preachings, of which they retain only some of the
words, but not any of the substance. As truths are treated by
them in this manner, they do not know what good is, for truth
and good act as one ; and by good which is not grounded in
truth no discovery is made of evil, except that it also may be
called good, which is effected by reasoning from falsities. These
are those who are meant by tlie seed which fell among thorns,
of whom the Lord says, " Some fell among thorns ; and the

THB DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 278
thorns sprung up and choked them." These also are those who
" hear the Word, and the care of this world, and the deceitfui
ness of riches, choke the Word, and it becometh unfruitful"
(Matt. xiii. 7, 22 ; Mark iv. 7, 14 ; Luke viii. 7, 14). Fourthly,
Of tiiose whofavoii/r sins, and therefore cannot know them. These
are those -who acknowledge God, and worship him according to
the usual forms, but confirm themselves in the idea that any
evil, which is a sin, is not a sin ; for they disguise it by fallacies
and appearances, and so hide its enormity ; having done which,
they favour it, and make it friendly and familiar to them. It is
said that those who acknowledge God do this ; because others
do not consider any evil as a sin, every sin being an offence
against God. But this shall be illustrated by examples. He
does not consider evil as sin who is covetous of money, and
makes any species of fraud allowable, by reasons which he fabri
cates. It is the same with him who confirms himself in the
lawfulness of revenge against enemies, and of committing depre
dations upon those who are not enemies in war. Fifthly,
That in these persons sins do not appear and therefore can/not he
removed. All evil which does not appear kindles itself, being
like fire among wood under the ashes ; it is also like corrupted
matter in a wound which is not laid open ; for all evil which is
obstructed increases, and does not cease until the whole is
consummated. Therefore, lest any evil should be obstructed,
it is permitted that every one should think either in favour of
God or against God, in favour of the holy things of the church,
or against them, and should not be punished for the same in
this world. Concerning this e-vil the Lord says in Isaiah:
" From the sole of the foot, even unto the head, there is no
soundness in it ; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores :
they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified
-with ointment. Wash you, make you clean ; put away the evil
of your doings from before mine eyes ; cease to do evil ; learn
to do good." Then " although your sins be as scarlet, they
shall be as white as snow ; though they be red like crimson,
they shall be as wool. But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be
devoured by the sword" (i. 6, 16, 18, 20). To be devoured by
the sword, signifies, to perish by the falsity of evil. Sixthly,
The reason, hitherto concealed, why evils cannothe removed with
out being explored, appearing, being acknowledged, confessed, and
resisted. In the preceding pages it is mentioned, that the
universal heaven is arranged into societies according to the affec
tions of good opposite to the concupiscences of evil. Every
man, with respect to his spirit, is in some society, — in a celestial
society if he is in the affection of good, and in an infernal
society if he is in the concupiscence of evil. He does _ not
know this while he lives in the world; but yet as to his spirit he
is in some society, without which he could not live, and through
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278, 279 ANGELIC wisdom CONCEENINO
which he is governed by the Lord. If he is in an infeiaal
society, he can only be brought out of it by the Lord, according
to the laws of his Divine Providence, among which this is one,
that a man must see that he is there, must desire to depart, and
must himself endeavour to do it from himself This he can do
while he is in the world, but not after death ; 'for then he abides
to all eternity in the society into which he introduced himself
when in the world. This is the reason why a man ought to
examine himself, to see and acknowledge his sins, to repent of
them, and then to persevere to the end of liis life. That this
is the case, I could fully and satisfactorily confirm by abundant
experience ; but to produce proofs from experience does not
belong to this place.
279. HI. That inproportion as evils a/re removed, they are
remitted. It is an error of the present age, to suppose that
evils are separated from a man, and even cast out, when they
are remitted ; and that the state of a man's life can be changed
in a moment, even to its opposite, so that, from being wicked,
he can be made good, consequently brought out of hell, and
instantly translated to heaven, by the immediate mercy of the
Lord. Those however who entertain this belief and opinion, do
not in the least know what evil and good are, or any thing of the
state of a man's life. They are altogether ignorant that the affec
tions, which are of the will, are mere changes and variations of
the state of the purely organic substances of the mind ; that
the thoughts, which are of the understanding, are mere changes
and variations of their form ; and that the memory is the per
manent state of these changes. From a knowledge of these
things, it may be clearly seen, that no evil can be removed
except successively ; and that the remission of evil is not its
removal. These things are here asserted in a summary way
only ; but unless they are demonstrated, although they may be
acknowledged, they cannot be comprehended ; and that which
is not comprehended, is merely like a wheel turned about by
the hand ; therefore the propositions above mentioned shall be
demonstrated separately in the same order in which they are
adduced. First, That it is an error of the present age, to sup
pose that evils are separated, and even cast out, when tliey a/re
remitted. That no evil into wbich a man is born, and which he
actually imbibes, is separated from him, but that it is only
removed so that it shall not appear, has been made known to
me from heaven. Before that, I was in the belief entertained
by most people in this world, that when evils are remitted, they
are cast out, and are washed off and wiped away, as dirt from
the face by water. This however is not the case with evils or
sins ; they all remain ; and, when they are remitted after re
pentance, are removed from the middle to the sides, — that
which is in the middle, as it is directly under the inspection,

IHE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE 279
appearing as in the light of day, and that which is at the sides
appearing in tbe shade, and sometimes as it were in the dark
ness of night. And because evils are not separated, but only
removed, that is, put away to the sides, and a man may be
transferred from the middle to the circumference, it may also
happen, that he can return to his evils, which he thought
rejected ; for a man is of such a nature, that he can pass from
one affection to another, and sometimes to an opposite one,
thus, from one middle or centre to another, the affection which
predominates constituting the middle or centre while the man
is in it, for he is then in the delight and in the light of it.
There are some men who, after death, are taken up by the
Lord into heaven, because they have led a good life, but who
still carry with them a belief, that they were cleansed and pure
from sins, and, therefore, not in a state of guilt. These are at
first clothed in white garments according to such persuasion,
white garments signifying a state of purification fi-om evils ;
but afterwards they begin to think, as they did in the world,
that they are washed clean as it were from all evil, and, there
fore, begin to boast that they are no longer sinners like others,
which persuasion it is difficult to separate from a c^ertain exulta
tion of mind, and some degree of contempt for others in com
parison with themselves ; therefore, in order that this imaginary
belief may be removed, they are then remanded from heaven,
and let into the evils which they had contracted in the world, it
being shown them, at the same time, that they are in hereditary
evils, of which they knew nothing before. When they have
been thus forced to acknowledge, that their evils are not sepa
rated from them, but only removed, so that of themselves they
are impure, and, indeed, nothing but evil, that it is by the
Lord that they are detained from evils, and kept in goods, and
lihat this appears to them as from themselves, they are again
taken up by the Lord into heaven. Secondly, That it is an
error of the present age to suppose that the state of a man's life
can be changed in a moment, so that from being wicked he can he
made good, consequently brought out of hell, and instantly trans
lated into heaven, by ike immediate mercy of the Lord. Those
are in this error who separate charity from faith, and_ place
salvation in faith alone ; for they imagine that the bare thinking
and uttering of the words in which that faith is conveyed, pro
vided it be done with confidence and assurance, justifies and
saves ; an effect which is also supposed by some to be momen-
taneous, and if not before, about the last hour of a ma,n's life.
Such persons cannot but think, that a man's state of life may
be changed in a moment, and that he may be saved by imme
diate mercy. Tnat the mercy of the Lord however is not im
mediate, ana that a man from being wicked cannot be made
good in a jnoment, or be led out of hell and translated into
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&

279 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
heaven, but by continual operations of the Divine Providence
from his infancy to the end of his life, will be seen in the last
section of this treatise. We will here only observe, that all the
laws of the Divine Providence have for their end the reformation
and thereby the salvation of man, consequently the inversion
of his state, which by birth is infemal, to its opposite, which
is celestial ; and that this can only be effected progressively, as
a man, receding from evil and its delight, enters into good and
its delight. Thirdly, That those who entertain this belief, do
not in the least know what is evil and what is good : for they do
not know, that evil is the delight of the concupiscence of acting
and thinking contrary to. divine order, while good is the delight
of the affection of acting and thinking according to divine
order ; that there are myriads of concupiscences, which as in
gredients enter into and compose every evil ; that there are
myriads of affections, which, in like manner, enter into every
good as its ingredients and compose it ; and that these myriads
of concupiscences and affections exist in such order and connec
tion in a man's interiors, that it is not possible to change one,
without at the same time changing the whole. Those who do
not know this, may think or believe that evil, which appears to
them as an entire one, can easily be removed, and that good,
which also appears as a one, can be introduced into its place.
These, as they do not know what evil is, and what good is,
cannot but suppose that there is such a thing as momentaneous
salvation, and immediate mercy ; but that these are not pos
sible, will be seen in the last section of this treatise. Fourthly,
That those who believe in momentaneous salvation and im/mediate
mercy, do not know that the affections, which are of the will, are
mere changes of the state of the purely organic substances of the
mind ; that the thoughts, which are of the understanding, are
mere changes a/nd variations of their form ; and that the memory
is the permanent state of those changes and variations. Who
does not assent to the affirmation that affections and thoughts
exist only in substances and their forms, which are the subjects
of them ? and as they exist in the brain, which is full' of sub
stances and forms, they are called forms purely organic. No
one, who thinks rationally, can do otherwise than laugh at the
fantasies of those who suppose that affections and thoughts do
not exist in substantiate subjects, but that they are vapours modi
fied by heat and light, like figures appearing in the air or ether :
for thought can no more exist separate from its substantial form,
than vision can exist without its form, which is the eye ; hearing
without its form, which is the ear ; or taste without its form,
which is the tongue. Inspect the brain, and you -will see innu
merable substances and fibres, and that every part of it is
organized. What need is there of any other than this ocular
proof? But it may be asked. What is affection, aud what is
204

THB DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 279
thought, in their substantiate subjects ? A satisfactory answer
may be deduced from all and every thing in the body, where
there are many viscera, each fixed" in its particular situation,
and all performing their functions by changes and variations ot
their state and form. It is well known that they are severally
engaged in their respective operations, — the stomach, the intes
tines, the kidneys, the liver, pancreas, and spleen, and likewise
the heart and lungs, each in its respective office ; all these ope
rations being effected only intrinsically or within themselves,
and to be effected intrinsically is to be effected by variations of
state and form. Hence it may appear, that the operations of
the purely organic substances of the mind are of a similar
nature, with this difference only, that those of the organic sub
stances of the body are natural, while those of the organic
substances of the mind are spiritual, and that both act together
as a one by correspondences. There can be no ocular demon
stration of the changes and variations of state and form in the
organic substances of the mind, which are affections and
thoughts ; but yet they may be seen, as it were, in a glass, by
the changes and variations of the state of the lungs in speak
ing and singing, there being a correspondence ; for the sound
of the voice in speaking and singing, and also the articulations
of sound, which are the words in speech and the modulations
of the voice in singing, are effected by the lungs ; and sound
corresponds to affection, and speech to thought. Sound and
speech are also produced by affection and thought, and this by
means of changes and variations of the state and form of the
organic substances of the lungs, and from the lungs by the
trachea or wind-pipe in the larynx and glottis, afterwards in the
tongue, and, lastly, in the lips. The first, changes and varia
tions of the state and form of sound are produced in the lungs,
the second in the trachea and larynx, the third in the glottis by
various openings of its orifice, the fourth in the tongue by its
various applications to the palate and teeth, and the fifth in the
lips by disposing them in various forms. Hence it may appear,
that the mere changes and variations of the state of organic
forms, successively continued, produce sounds and their articu
lations, which are speech and singing. Now as sound and
speech are produced from no other source than the affections
and thoughts of the mind, — for from the latter the former exist,
and never without them, — it is evident that the affections of
the will are changes and variations of the state of the purely
organic substances of the mind, and that the thoughts of the
understanding are changes and variations of the form of those
substances ; similar to what takes place in the lungs. Since
affections and thoughts are mere changes in the state of the
forms of the mind, it follows that the memory is no other than
the peiTQanent state thereof; for all changes and variations oi
205

279 — 281 angelic wisdom conceenino
state in organic substances are of such a nature, that when
once they become habitual, they are permanent. Thus the
lungs are habituated to produce various sounds in the trachea,
to vary them in the glottis, to articulate them in the tongue,
and to modify them in the mouth ; and when those organs are
once habituated to them, such sounds are in them, and can be
reproduced. That these changes and variations are infinitely
more perfect in the organs of the mind than in the organs of
the body, is evident from what is said in the treatise concerning
The Divine Love and the Di-vine Wisdom, n. 119 — 204, where
it is shown, that all perfections increase and ascend -with degrees,
and according to them. On this subject more may be seen
below, n. 319.
280. To suppose that when sins are remitted, they are also
removed, is likewise an error of this age. Those are in this
error who suppose their sins to be remitted by the sacrament of
the Lord's Supper, although they have not removed them from
themselves by repentance; and those also ai'e in this error who
think to be saved by faith alone, as well as those who think to
be saved by dispensations from the Pope. All these believe in
immediate mercy and momentaneous salvation. When, however,
this proposition is reversed it becomes a truth, namely, that when
sins are removed they are also remitted : for repentance must
precede remission, and without repentance there is no remission ;
therefore the Lord commanded his disciples to preach repentance
for the remission of sins (Luke xxiv. 27) ; and John preached
the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins (Luke iii. 3).
The Lord remits the sins of all men : he does not accuse and
impute : yet he can only take them away according to the laws
of his Divine Providence ; for since he said to Peter (who asked
him how often he should forgive his brother when he sinned
against him, whether till seven times) that he ought to forgive
him not only seven times, but seventy times seven (Matt.
xviii. 21, 22), -what then will not the Lord do, who is Mercy
itself? 281. IV. That thus the permission of evil is for a certain
end, which is salvation. It is well known that a man is in full
liberty to think and will, but not in full liberty to speak and
act whatever he thinks and wills : for he may think as an Atheist,
deny God, and blaspheme the holy things of the Word and the
church ; he may even desire in word and deed utterly to destroy
them ; but this is prevented by civil, moral, and ecclesiastical
laws ; and he therefore inwardly cherishes such impious and
wicked desires by thinking and wishing, and also intending
them, but not by doing them. A man, -who is not an Atheist, is
also at full liberty to think on many things which are of evil,
as frauds, lasciviousness, vindictiveness, and other insanities,
which at times he also does. Who cannot believe that unless a
206

the divine PEOVIDENCE. 281, 282
man had t, Jl liberty, he not only could not be saved, but would
even totally perish ? Hear now the cause of this. Every man
from his birth is in evils of many kinds. These evils are in his
wilj, and the things which are in the will are loved ; for that
which a man wills from his interior he loves, and that which
he loves he wills ; and the love of the will fiows into the under
standing, there causing its delight to be felt. Hence it comes
into the thoughts, and also into the intentions. If, therefore,
a man were not permitted to think according to the love of his
will, which is hereditarily inherent in him, that love would
continue shut up, and would never appear to him ; and that
love of evil which does not appear is like an enemy lying in
wait, or like corrupted matter in an ulcer, poison in the blood,
and rottenness in the breast, which, if kept inclosed, will produce
death. But when a man is permitted to think upon the evils
of his life's love, so far even as to intend them, they are cured
by spiritual means, as diseases are by natural means. What a
man's quality would be were be not permitted to think according
to the delights of his life's love, shall now be shown. He would
no longer be a man, for he would lose the two faculties which are
called liberty and rationality, in which humanity itself consists ;
the delights of the above e-vils would occupy the interiors of his
mind to such a degree, that they would open the door of it ;
and then he could not help speaking and acting in conformity
with those evils ; thus his insanity would not only be known
to himself, but would also appear to the world ; and at length
he would not have the sense to cover his nakedness. But to
prevent this being the case, he is permitted to think and will
his hereditary evils, but not to speak and do them. In the mean
time he learns things civil, moral, and spiritual, which also enter
into his thoughts, and remove these insanities ; and thereby he
is healed by the Lord ; but yet no farther than to know how to
keep the door shut, unless he also acknowledge a God, and im
plore his assistance, that he may be able to resist the above evils ;
and so far as he then resists, he does not admit them into his
intentions, and at length, not even into his thoughts. Since
then a man is at liberty to think as he pleases, to the end that
his life's love may come forth from its lurking place into the
light of his understanding, and since otherwise he would not
know any thing of his own evil, and consequently would not
know how to expel it, it follows that it would increase in him to
such a degree that there would be no possibility of amendment
in him, and scarcely in his children, if he had any ; for the evil
of the parent is transmitted to his offspring. The Lord, however
provides that this may not be the case.
282. 'Ihe Lord could heal the understanding in every man
and so cause him to think not evil, but good, and this by means
of various fears, by miracles, by speaking with the dead, and
207

282 — 284 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENINO
by visions and dreams ; but to heal the understanding only ig
merely to heal the man outwardly ; for the understanding with
its thought is the external of a man's life, and the will with its
affection is its intemal. The healing of the understanding alone,
therefore, would be like a palliative, by which the interior
malignity is closed up and prevented from coming out ; so that
it consumes first the neighbouring parts and afterwards the
more remote, till the whole is mortified. It is the will itself
which is to be healed, not by infiux of the understanding into
it, because that never takes place, but by instruction and ex
hortation from the understanding. If the understanding alone
were healed, the man would become like a dead body embalmed,
or covered over with fragrant aromatics and roses, which in a
short time would contract such a stench from the corpse that no
one could come near it. Such would be the case with celes
tial truths in the understanding, if the evil love of the will were
obstructed. 283. The reason why a man is permitted to think evils, even
so far as to intend them, is, as was observed, that they may be
removed by considerations of a civil, moral, and spiritual na
ture ; as is the case when he thinks that they are contrary to
justice and equity, to honesty and decency, and to goodness and
truth, therefore contrary to the tranquillity, pleasure, and hap
piness of life. By these three considerations the Lord heals the
love of a man's will ; and at first, indeed, by fear, afterwards
by love. Still, however, evils are not separated and cast out
from the man, but only removed and put away to the sides ;
and when they are there, and good is in the centre, they do not
appear : for whatever is in the centre is directly under inspec
tion, and is seen and percei-ved: but it should be known that
although good is in the centre, yet the man is not therefore in
good, unless the evils which are at the sides tend downwards
and outwards ; if they look upwards or inwards, they are not
removed ; for they still endeavour to return to the centre : they
turn and look downwards or outwards, when the man shuns his
evils as sins, and still more when he has an aversion to them ;
for he then condemns and devotes them to hell, and causes them
to look thitherward.
284. A man's understanding is a recipient of good as well
as of evil, and of truth as well as of falsity, but not his will,
which must be either in evil or in good ; it cannot be in both ;
for the will is the man himself, and therein is his life's love.
But good and evil in the understanding are separated, like in
ternal and external ; hence a man may be interiorly in evil, and
exteriorly in good. Still, however, when a man is reformed,
good and evil are committed, and there then exists a confiiet or
combat, which, if grievous, is called temptation, but if not, is
like the fermentation of wine or wort. In such case, if good
208

THE DI-VINE PROVIDENCE. 28-i, 286
overcomes, evil with its falsities is removed to the sides, as the
lees fall to the bottom of a vessel, and good becomes like gene
rous wine after fermentation, or clear liquor ; but if evil over
comes, good with Its truth is removed to the sides, and it b"
comes turbid and foul like unfermented wine or liquor. Thu,
comparison of fermentation is used because leaven in the Word
signifies the falsity of evil, as in Hosea vii. 4 ; Luke xii. 1; and
ether places.

THAT THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE IS EQUALLY WITH THE WICKED
AND THE GOOD.
285. In every man, whether be be good or evil, there are
two faculties, one of which constitutes the understanding and
the other the will. The faaulty which constitutes the under
standing consists in his being able to understand aud think, and
thence is called rationality ; and that which constitutes the will
consists in his being able freely to think, and thence also to
speak and act, provided it be not contrary to reason or ration
ality ; for to act freely is to act as often as he wills, and accord
ing as he wills. Since these two faculties are perpetual, and
continual from primaries to ultimates in all and every par
ticular which a man thinks and does, and are not in the man
from himself, but from the Lord, it follows that there is the
Lord's pi-esence with and in these faculties in each particular,
even in the most minute particulars of a man's understanding
and thought as well as of his will and affection, and thence in
the most minute particulars of his speech and actions. Remove
these faculties from the smallest particular, and you will not be
able to think or speak it as a man. That a man is a man by
virtue of these two faculties, that he can thereby think and
speak, perceive goods and understand truths, not only such as
are civil and moral, but also such as are spiritual, and can be
reformed and regenerated, — in a word, that he can be joined to
the Lord, and thereby li-ve eternally, was abundantly shown
above ; and it was also shown that these two faculties are pos
sessed not only by good men, but also by the wicked. _ Now as
these faculties are from the Lord, and are not appropriated to a
mail as his own, for that which is divine cannot be appropriated
to a man as his own, but can be adjoined to him, and tlience
appear as his ; and as this divine in a man exists in the most
n-dnute particulars appertaining to him, it follows, that the Lord
governs things the most particular, in a wicked as Avell as in a
good man ; and it is the government of the Lord which is called
the Divine Providence.
209

286, 287 ANGELIC WISDOM COl^CERNING
286. Now as it is a law of the Divine Providence that a man
should act freely according to reason, that is, from the two
faculties, liberty and rationality ; as it is also a law of the
Divine Providence, that what he does should appear to the man
as from himself, consequently as his own ; and as it is moreover
a law, that evils are to be permitted to the end that he may be
led out of them, it follows, that a man may abuse these faculties,
and from liberty according to reason confirm whatever he will ;
for lie can make whatever he -«dll a persuasion of his reason,
whether- it be reasonable in itself or not. Therefore some say.
What is trath ? Cannot I make true whatever I will ? and does
not also the world do so ? Yet he that can do this does it by
reasonings, Assume a proposition the most false, and tell an
ingenious person to confirm it, and he will do so. For example,
tell him to prove that a man is a beast ; or that the soul is like
a little spider in its web, governing the body as the spider does
by its threads ; or that religion is nothing but a bond of con
straint ; and he will prove any of these propositions, till it will
appear true. And what is easier ? for he does not know what
is an appearance or what is a falsity, which from a blijid beliei
is assumed as a truth. Hence it is that a man cannot see this
truth, that the Divine Providence operates in the most minute
particulars of the understanding and will, or what amounts to
the same thing, in the most minute particulars of the thoughts
and affections of every man, the wicked as well as the good. He
confounds himself principally by supposing that in this case
evils also would be from the Lord ; nevertheless, that not the
least evil is from the Lord, but that it is from man, by means
of his confirming in himself the appearance that he thinks, wills,
speaks, and acts from himself, will be seen in what now follows ;
which, that it may be clearly understood, shall be demonstrated
in this order. I. That the Divine Providence, not only with
the good, but also with the wicked, is universal in things the
most particular ; and yet that it is not in their evils. II. That
the wicked continually lead themselves into evils, but that the
Lord continually withdraws them from evils. III. That the
Lord cannot entirely lead the wicked out of evil, and into good,
so long as they consider self derived intelligence to be all, and
the Divine Providence nothing. IV. That the Lord govems hell
by opposites, and the wicked who are in the world he governs in
hell as to interiors, but not as to exteriors.
287. I. That the Divine Providence, not only with the good,
but also with the wicked, is universal in things the mA)st particw-
lar, arid^ yet that it is not in their evils. It was shown above that
the Divine Providence is in the minutest particulars of men's
thoughts and affections ; by which it is meant that a man can
think and will nothing fiom himself, but that all he thinks and
wills, and thence speaks and does, is by infiux, — by influx from
210 ) J 5 J-

THE DIVIN:e PRO-VIDENCE. 287 — 289
heaven if it is good, and by influx from hell if it ia evil ; or,
what amounts to the same, that good is by influx fi-om the
Lord, and evil from man's proprium. I know, however, that
this is difficult to be comprehended ; because a distinction is
made between that which flows in from heaven, or from the
Lord, and that which flows in from hell, or from man's proprium ;
while it is said, notwithstanding, that the Divine Providence is
in the minutest particulars of a man's thoughts and affections,
so that he can think and will nothing from himself; and because
it is said, that he can also think and will from hell, and from
his proprium, this appears like a contradiction ; but yet it is not.
That it is not a contradiction will be seen in what follows, after
some things are premised which will illustrate this matter.
288. All the angels of heaven confess that no one can think
from himself, but only from the Lord ; but all the spirits of hell
affirm that no one can think from any other than himself;
though sometimes it has been shown to the latter, that not one
of them thinks from himself, or can do it, but that thought
flows in. In vain, however, was this shown them, for they
would not receive it. Experience however shall teach, first,
that the whole of thought and affection, even in the infernal
spirits, fiows in from heaven ; but that influent good is there
turned into evil, and truth into falsity, thus every thing into its
, opposite. This was proved by the following experiment. There
was let down out of heaven a certain truth from the Word ; it
was received by those who were in the superior hells, sent down
from them to the inferior hells, and so on to the lowest ; in its
passage it was successively turned into falsity, and at length
into such falsity as was directly opposite to that truth. Those
among whom it was so changed thought the falsity from them
selves, and knew no otherwise ; when, nevertheless, what they
thought was that truth descending from heaven so falsified and
perverted in its way to the lowest hell. I have heard that this
was done three or four times. The case is the same with good,
which in its descent from heaven is progressively turned into
evil opposite to such good. Thence it was evident, that truth
and good proceeding from the Lord, when received by those
who are in falsity and evil, is changed, and passes into another
form, so that its first form does not appear. Thus it is with
every wicked man ; for such a one as to his spirit is in hell.
2"89. It has often been manifested to me that no one in hell
thinks from himself, but from others about him, and those also
not from themselves, but still from others ; and that thoughts
and affections make an orderly progression from one society tc
another, without any one's knowing ctherwise than that they
are from himself. Some, who supposed they thought and willed
from themselves, were sent into a society, all communication
being cut off with their neighbours, to whom also their thoughts
211 o

289 — 291 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENINO
used to extend themselves, and they were detained therein.
They were then told to think otherwise than the spirits of that
society thought, and to force themselves to think contrary to it,
but they confessed that they found it impossible. This was
done by many, and among others with- Leibnitz, who was also
convinced, that no one thinks from himself, but from others,
and that neither do those others think from themselves, but all
oy infiux from heaven, and heaven by influx from the Lord.
Some, when they meditated on this matter, said that it was
astonishing, and that scarce any one would be led to believe it,
because it is quite contrary to appearance, but that yet they
coidd not deny it, because it was fully proved. Nevertheless,
in their state of astonishment, they said, that at this rate they
are not in fault when they think evil ; also, that thus it would
seem as if evil were from the Lord ; and, moreover, that they
did not comprehend how th^ Lord alone could cause all to think
so differently. But these three points shall be explained in
what follows.
290. To the experience already adduced this also shall be
added. When it was granted me by the Lord to speak with
spirits and angels, this arcanum was immediately revealed to
me ; for it was told me out of heaven, that like others I believed
that I thought and willed from myself, when nevertheless it was
not from myself, but if good, from the Lord, and if evil, from
hell. That this was the case was also demonstrated to me in a
lively manner by various thoughts and affections induced, and
I was enabled successively to perceive and feel it ; therefore
afterwards, as soon as any evil stole into my will, or any falsity
into my thoughts, I inquired whence it came, when it was dis
covered to me ; and moreover it was permitted me to speak with
those who infused it, to rebuke them, and to drive them away,
that they might retire, thus withdraw their e-vil and falsity, and
keep it to themselves, no longer infusing any such thing into
my thoughts. This has been done a thousand times ; and in
this state I have now remained for many years, and still con
tinue in it ; yet I seem to myself, entirely like others, to think
and will from myself, for it is of the Lord's Divine Pro-vidence
that it should so appear to every one, as -was shown above in
its proper place. Novitiate spirits wonder at this my state ; for
it seems to them as if I did not think and will any thing from
myself, and therefore that I am like something empty ; but I
opened this arcanum to them ; and moreover that I also think
more interiorly, and perceive what flows into my exterior
thought, whether it be from heaven or from hell ; that I reject
the latter and receive the former ; and that still I seem to my
self, just as they do, to think and will from myself
291. That all good is from heaven, and ali"evil from hell, is
not unknown in the world. It is known- to every one in the
212

THE DI-VINE PEO-VIDENCB. 291, 292
cnurch. Who that is admitted into the priesthood, does not
teach that all good is from God, and that a man cannot take
any thing of himself which is not given him from heaven ; also,
that the devil infuses evils into men's thoughts, seduces them,
and excites thein to do evils ? Therefore a priest, who thinks
he preacjhes from holy zeal, prays that the Holy Ghost would
teach bim, and influence his thoughts ¦ and words. Some say
they perceive sensibly that they are acted upon ; and when their
preachings are commended, answer piously, that they did not
speak from themselves, but from God. Therefore, also, when
they see any one speak and act well, they say he was led by
God to do it ; and on the other hand, when they see any one
speak and act wickedly, they say he was led to it by the devil.
That this is the language of the church is well known ; but who
believes in the truth of it ?
292. That all which a man thinks and wills, and conse
quently says and does, flows from the only Fountain of life, and
yet that the only Fountain of life, which is the Lord, is not the
cause of a man's thinking what is evil and false, may be illus
trated by the following circumstance in the natural world. From
its sun proceed heat and light ; and these two flow into all the
subjects and objects which we see, not only into good subjects
and beautiful objects, but also into evil subjects and deformed
objects, producing in them various effects ; for they flow not
only into trees which bear good fruit, but also into such as bear
bad fruit, and even into the fruits tbemselves, causing them to
, vegetate. In like manner, they flow into good seed, and also
into tares ; likewise into useful or wholesome shrubs, and into
hurtful or poisonous ones. Yet it is the same heat and light,
in which there is not any cause of evil ; for that exists in the
recipient subjects and objects. The heat which hatches eggs
containing an owl, a screech-owl, or an asp, is similar to that
which hatches eggs containing a dove, a beautiful bird, or a
swan. Set both kinds of eggs under a hen, and they will be
hatched by her heat, which in itself is harmless. What then
has the heat in common with those evil and noxious things ?
The action of heat, when it flows into marshy grounds, ster
coraceous, putrid, and cadaverous substances, is the same as
when it flows into vinous, fragrant, vegetating, and living sub
stances. Who but must see that the cause does not exist in the
heat, but in the recipient subject ? The same light, also, pro
duces in one object beautiful, and in another disagreeable colours ;
it even brightens itself and shines in white objects, while it
becomes opaque and darkness itself in objects verging towards
black. It is the same in the spiritua. world, where also there
are heat and light from the sun thereof, which is the Lord.
Tlie heat and light flow from him into their subjects and objects;
which subjects and objects there are angels and spirits, sped •
213

292- — 294 ANGELIC -WISDOM CONCEENINQ
fically the things appertaining to their voluntary knd intellectual
faculties ; the heat there being the proceeding Divine Love, and
the light there the proceeding Divine Wisdom. The cause ol
their being received differently by one and by another does not
exist in the heat and light ; for the Lord says, that " He maketh
his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on
the just and on the unjust" (Matt. v. 46). By sun, in the
supreme spiritual sense, is meant the Divine Love, and by rain
the Divine Wisdom.
293. To this I will add a sentiment of the angels concerning
will and intelligence in man : it is this, — that there does not
exist in any man one grain of -will or prudence that is proper to
himself; for they say, if there existed one grain in any man,
neither heaven nor hell could hold together, and the whole
human race would perish. The reason of this, they say, is,
because myriads of myriads of men, as many as have "been
born since the creation of the world, constitute heaven and
hell, in which there is such order and subordination that they
respectively make a one, — -heaven one beautiful man, and hell
one monstrous man ; and if any individual person had a single
grain of will and intelligence of his own, this one could not
possibly exist, but would be distracted, and that divine form
would perish ; which can no otherwise consist and be permanent,
than when the Lord is all in all, and they altogether nothing.
Another reason, they say, is, because the divine principle con
sists essentially in thinking and willing from itself, while the
human principle consists essentially in thinking and willing
from God ; and what is essentially divine cannot be appropriated
to any man, for in that case he would be a god. Keep this in re
membrance ; and if you desire it, it will be confirmed to you by
the angels, when you enter into the spiritual world after death.
294. It was observed above, n. 289, that when some were
convinced that no one thinks from himself, but from others,
and that all those others think, not from themselves, but by
infiux through heaven from the Lord, they said in astonishment
that, this being the case, it would not be their fault if they did
evil ; also, that thus it would seem that evil is from the Lord ; -
and that they did not comprehend that the Lord alone could
cause all to think so diversely. Now as these three suggestions
cannot but flow into the thoughts of those who think only of
effects from effects, and not of effects from causes, it is necessaiy
that they should be assumed, and explained frora their causes.
FiEST, That this being the case, it would not he their fault if theij
did evil : for if aL that a man thinks flows from others, it seems
as if the fault were in those from whom it flows. Yet the fault
is in him who receives ; for he receives it as his own, and neither
knows nor wishes to know any otherwise ; because every one
desires to be his own, to be guided by himsel-f, and especially

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE. 294
to thmk and will from himself This is liberty itself, which
appears as the proprium in which every man is : therefore if he
knew that whatever he thinks and wills flows from another, he
would seem to himself to be in chains and captivity, and no
Ipnger master of himself ; thus all the delight of his life would
perish, and at length his humanity itself That this is the case
I have frecjuently seen proved. Certain spirits were permitted
tp perceive and feel that they were led by others, and then their
anger was kindled to such a degree that they became as it were
beside themselves, saying that they would rather be kept in
chains in hell, than not be allowed to think as they will, and
-will as they think. Not to be allowed to do this, they called
being chained with respect to their very lives, which was harder
and more intolera,ble than being chained with respect to their
bodies. Not to be allowed to speak and act as they thought
and willed, they did not call being chained ; because the delight
of civil and moral life, which consists in speaking and acting,
restrains, and, at the same time, as it were, alleviates the
restraint. Now as a man does not desire to know that he is led
to think by others, but is desirous to think from himself, and
also believes that he does so, it follows that the fault is in
himself, and that he cannot free himself from it so long as he
continues to think what he does ; but if he does not love it, he
dissolves his connection with those from whom his thought
flows. This is the case when he knows that it is evil, and
therefore desires to shun it and desist from it. Then also he is
taken away by the Lord from the society which is in that evil,
and translated to a society in which it does not exist ; but if he
knows the evil, and does not shun it, then the fault is imputed
to him, and he becomes guilty of that evil. Therefore, whatever
a man thinks he does from himself is said to be done from the
man, and not from the Lord. Secondly, That thus it would
seem that evil is from, the Lord. This may be thought to be a
conclusion dedupible from what was shown above, n. 288, which
is, that influent good from the Lord is tumed into evil, and
truth into falsity, in hell. But who cannot see that evil and
falsity are not from goodness and truth, consequently not from
the Lord, but from the recipient subject and object, which is
in evil and falsity, and perverts, and inverts goodness and truth,
as was also fully shown above, n. 292 ? Whence arise the evil
aud falsity in a man is repeatedly shown in the preceding pages.
An experiment was also made in the spiritual world with those
who thought that the Lord could remove evils from the wicked,
and introduce good in place thereof, thus could transfer all heU
into heaven, and save all; but that this is impossible will be
seen at the end of this treatise, where momentaneous salvation
.-nd immediate mercy are treated of Thiedly, That they did
not comprehend that "the Lord alone could cause all to thmk so
215

294  296 ANGELIC wisdom CONCEENING
diversely. The divine love of the Lord is infir.ite, his divine
wisdom is infinite ; and infinite things of love and of wisdom
proceed from the Lord, and flow into all in heaven, thence into
all in hell, and from both into all in the world : there cannot,
therefore, be wanting to any one something to think and to
will, for infinite things are infinitely all. Those infinite things
which proceed from the Lord, flow not only univej-sally, but
also most particularly ; for the divine is universal, existing in
things the most particular. It is divine particulars, as was
shown above, which compose what is called universal ; and the
most minute divine particular is also inflnite. Hence it may
appear that the Lord alone causes every one to think and will
according to his quality, and according to the laws of his pro
vidence. That all the things which are in the Lord, and pro
ceed from the Lord, are infinite, was shown above, n. 46 — 69 ;
and also in the treatise On the Divine Love and the Di-vinb
Wisdom, n. 17—22.
296. II. That the wicked continually lead themselves into
evils, but that the Lord continually withdraws them from evils.
It may be more easily comprehended how the Divine Providence
operates with the good than how it operates with the evil ; and
as the latter operation is now treated of, it shall be set forth in
the following series. I. That there are things innumerable in
every evil. II. That the wicked man from himself continually
sinks himself more and more deeply into his evils. HI. That
the Divine Providence with the wicked is a continual permission
of evil, to the end that there may be a continual withdrawal
therefrom. IV. That the withdrawal from evil is effected by
the Lord by a thousand most secret means.
296. In order then that the Divine Providence with the
wicked may be distinctly perceived, and thus comprehended,
the above propositions shall be explained in the order in which
they are adduced. Fiest, 2%at there are things innumerable in
every evil. Every evil appears to us as one simple thing. This
is the case with hatred and revenge, theft and fraud, adultery
and whoredom, pride and high-mindedness, and with every
other evil ; and it is not known that in every evil there are
things innumerable, exceeding in number the fibres and vessels
in a man's body ; but a wicked man is a hell in its least fonn,
and hell consists of myriads of myriads, every one tl ere being
in a human form, although it be a monstrous one, and all the
fibres and vessels in it inverted. The spirit itself is evil, ap-
pea,ring to itself as one ; but innumerable as are the things
which are in it, so innumerable are tbe concupiscences of its
evils ; for every man is his own evil or his own good, from the
crown of his head to the sole of his foot. Since then a wicked
man is such, it is evident that he is one evil, composed of vai'ious
iimumerable ones, which are distinctly evils, and are called con
216 -^ '

THE divine PEOVIDENCE. 296
cupiscences of e\i]. Hence it folio- vs, that all these in their
order are to be repaired and converted by the Lord, in order
that the man may be reformed ; and that this cannot be effected
but by the Lord's Divine providence, from the earliest period
of the man's life to its termination successively. Every concu
piscence of evil appears in hell, when it is represented, like
some noxious animal ; as for example, like a dragon, a basilisk,
a viper, an owl, or a screech-owl, and so forth ; and in the same
manner do the concupiscences of evil appear about a wicked
man, when he is viewed by the angels. All these forms of con
cupiscences are to be severally changed. The man himself, who
with respect to his spirit appears as a monster or a devil, is to
be converted, that he may become like a beautiful angel ; and
each concupiscence of evil is to be converted or changed, that
it may appear like a lamb or a sheep, or like a pigeon, or" a
turtle dove, as the good affections of the angels appear in heaven,
when they are represented ; and the conversion of a dragon into
a lamb, of a basilisk into a sheep, and of an owl into a dove,
cannot be effected except progressively, by rooting out evil from
its seed, and sowing good seed in its place. But this must be
done comparatively like the ingrKfting of trees, the roots of
which with some of the trunk remain ; a^d yet the ingrafted
branch converts the juices extracted from the old root into juices
producing good fruit. The branch whicb is to be ingrafted can
not be taken from any other but from the Lord, who is the tree
of life ; according also to the Word of the Lord (John xv. 1— 7)-
Secondly, That the wicked man from himself continually sinks
himsdf more deeply into his evils. It is said, from himself, be
cause all evil is from man ; for he converts into evil the good
which is from the Lord, as was said above. The true reason
why the wicked man immerses himself more deeply in evil, is,
because as he wills and does evil, he introduces himself more
and more interiorly, and also more and more deeply, into in
fernal societies. Thence also the delight of evil increases, and
so occupies his thoughts, that at last he feels nothing more
pleasant ; and he that has introduced himself more interiorly
and deeply into infernal societies, becomes like one bound in
chains. So long as he lives in the world, however, he does not
feel his chains ; for they are like soft wool, or fine silken threads,
which he loves because they are pleasurable ; but after death
those chains, instead of being soft are hard, and instead of
being pleasurable are galling. That the delight of evil is
capable of increase is well known from thefts, robberies, depre
dations, revenges, tyrannies, the desire of lucre, and other
evils. Who does not feel elevations of the delight of these
evils, in proportion to his success and the unrestrained practice
of them? It is well known that the thief feels such delight
in thefts that he cannot desist from thorn, and what is surpns-
217

296 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENING
iiig, that he lOves One stolen piece of nxonej better thar ten
that are given him. It would be the same -with adulteries, were
it not i)rovided that the power of committing that evil decreases
with the abuse of it ; yet with many there remains a delight in
thinking and speaking of it, and if nothing more, a lust ol
touching. But it is not known what is the reason of this in
crease of delight, and that it is a consequence of the person's
introducing himself into infernal societies more and more inte
riorly, and more and more deeply, as he commits evils in will
and at the same time in thought. If the evils are only in
thought, and not in will, he is not yet with evil in an infemal
society ; but he enters it when they are also in the will. If in
ihis case he also thinks that such evil is contrary to the pre
cepts of the Decalogue, and considers these precepts as divine,
he commits it intentionally, and thereby plunges himself more
deeply into hell, whence he cannot be drawn out but by actual
repentance. It is to be observed, that every man, with respect
to his spirit, is in some society of the spiritual world, — a wicked
man in some infemal society, and a good man in some celestial
society. He also appears there sometimes when he is in deep
meditation. Moreover, as sound, together with speech, diffuses
itself in the air in the natural world, so does affection, together
with thought, diffuse itself among societies in the spiritual world ;
and there is a correspondence between them, — affection corres
ponding to sound, and thought to speech. Thiedly, That the
Divine Providence with the wicked is a contirviial permission
of evil, in order that they may be continually dra/wn out of it.
The reason why the Divine Providence with wicked men is con
tinual permission, is, because nothing but evil can proceed from
their life ; for a man, whether he be in good or in evil, cannot
be in both' at once, nor in either alternately, except he be luke
warm ; and evil of life is not introduced by the Lord into the
wiU, and through it into the thought, but it is introduced by
man, and this is called permission. Now as all that a wicked
man wills and thinks is of permission, it may be asked. How
then is the Divine Providence therein, wh^.ch ' is said to be in
the most minute particulars with every man, the wicked as well
as the good? I answer. In this respect, that it continually
permits tor a certain end, permitting such things as are condu
cive to that end, and no others; and that it continually ex
amines, separates, and purifies the evils which issue forth by
permission, putting off and removing by unknown ways such
as are not consistent with the end proposed. These things are
done principally in a man's interior will, and from it in his inte
rior thought.' The Divine Providence is also continual, in pro
viding that those things which are to be put off and removed
shall not be again received by the will; because all things
which are received by the will are appropriated to the man ;
^18

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE. 296
but those which are received in the thought and not in the will
are separated and set aside. TMs is the Lord's continual pro
vidence with the wicked, which, as was observed, is a continual
permission of evil, to the end that they may be perpetually
drawn out of it. Of these operations of Providence a man
scarcely knows any thing, because he does not perceive them ;
the chief reason of which is, that evils are of the concupis
cences of his life's love, and those are not perceived as evils,
but as delights, to which no one attends ; for who attends to
the delights of his love? ¦ A man's thought swims in them,
like a boat carried along in the stream of a river ; and they are
perceived as a fragrant atmosphere, which is drawn in with full
inspiration. He can only perceive something of them in his
external thought ; but he does not attend to them even there,
unless he -well knows that they are evils. But of this more
will be said in what follows. Fourthly, That the withdrawal
from evil is effected hy the Lord hy a thousand most secret means.
Of these some few only have been discovered to me, and these
but of a general nature, which are, that the delights of con
cupiscences, of which a man knows nothing, are emitted in
companies and bundles into his interior thoughts, which are
those of his spirit, thence into his exterior thoughts, in -which
they make their appearance under some sense of pleasure,
satisfaction, or cupidity, and are there intermixed with his
natural and sensual delights. It is here that the means of
separation and purification are, and also the ways of withdrawal
and removal. These means are principally the delights of me
ditation, thought, and refiection for the sake of certain ends,
which are of use ; and ends which are of use are as many in
number as the particulars and singulars of any man's business
and function ; also, as many in number as there are delights
of reflection, in order that he may appear as a civil and moral
and also as a spiritual man, besides the undelightful things
which interpose. These delights, as they are of his love in the
external man, are the means of separation, purification, rejection,
and withdrawal of the delights of the concupiscences of evil of
the internal man. Take for example an unjust judge, who, has
in view his own interest and the connections of friendship as the
ends or uses of his function. Interiorly he has continually those
ends in view, but exteriorly his object is to act as a skilful
lawyer and a just man. He is continually in the delight of
meditating, thinking, reflecting upon, and intending, to bend
what is right, to turn, adapt, and accommodate it, so that it
aiay seem conformable to the laws and consistent with justjice.
He does not know that bis internal delight consists of cunning,
fraud, deceit, clandestine thefts, and many other things ; and
that this: delight compounded of so many delights of the con
cupiscences of evil, rules in the whole and in every particular of
219

296 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENINO
his external thought, in which exist the delights of the appearance
that he is just and sincere. The internal delights are let down
into these external delights, and mixed like food in the stomach,
where they are separated, purified, and drawn off; but this is
the case only with the more grievous delights of the concu
piscences of evil ; for in a wicked man there take place no other
separation, purification, and removal, than that of the more
grievous evils from the less grievous. In a good man, however,
there take place a separation, purification, and removal of the
less as well as of the more grievous evils ; and this is effected
by the delights of the affections of good and truth, and' of
justice and sincerity, into which he enters in proportion as he
considers evils as sins, and therefore shuns and holds them in
aversion, and still more when he fights against them. These
are the means by which the Lord purifies all who are saved.
He also purifies them by external means whicb have respect to
fame and honour, and sometimes to interest : yet into these the
Lord inserts delights of the affections of good and truth, by
which they are so directed and adapted as to become delights
of the love of the neighbour. If any one were to see the de
lights of the concupiscences of evil together, in any form, or
were to perceive them distinctly -with any sense, he would see
and perc'eive them in such number that they could not be de
fined ; for the whole of hell is no other than the form of all
the concupiscences of evil ; and no concupiscence of evil there
is, or can be to all eternity, exactly like another, or the same
with it. Of these innumerable concupiscences a man scarcely
knows any thing, much less how they are connected ; and yet
the Lord, by his Divine Providence, continually permits that
they should come forth, to the end that they may be drawn off',
which is done in regular order and series ; for a wicked man is
a hell in its least form, as a good man is a heaven in its least
form. That the withdrawal from evils is effected by the Lord
by a thousand most secret means, cannot better be seen, and
thereby concluded upon, than from the secret operations of the
soul in the body. Ihose with which a man is acquainted are
the following : with respect to the food he is to eat, he looks at
it, smells it, has an appetite for it, tastes it, chews it with his
teeth, turns it about with his tongue, and thus swallows it
down into the stomach. But the secret operations of the soul
with which he is unacquainted, because he does not perceive
them, are the following : the stomach turns about the food it has
received, opens and separates its parts by means of its solvent
liquor, that is, digests it, and preeents such as is properly pre
pared to the mouths of the vessels opening into the intestines,
which drink it up. It also distributes some parts into the
blood, some into the lymphatic vessels, some into the lacteal
vessels of the mesentery, and conveys some down the intestines

THB DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 296, 297
Afterwards, the chyle, which is drawn through the vessels of
the_ mesentery into its receptacle, is conveyed tnrough the tho
racic duct into the vena cava, and so into the heart ; from the
heart into the lungs, thence through the left ventricle of the
heart into the aorta, and from the aorta by its different rami
fications into the viscera of the whole body, and also into the
kidneys ; in each of which there is a separation and purification
of the blood, and a removal of heterogeneous parts ; not to men
tion how the heart distributes its blood to the brain after it has
been purified in the lungs, which is done by the arteries called
carotids, and how the brain returns the blood vivified into the
above-mentioned vena cava, into which the thoracic duct empties
the chyle, and so again to the heart. These, besides innumer
able others, are the secret operations of the soul in the body.
A man perceives nothing of these, and he that is not skilled in
anatomy knows nothing of them. Yet similar things are done
in the interiors of a man's mind ; for nothing can be done in the
body, except from the mind, inasmuch as a man's mind is his
spirit, and his spirit is equally a man, with this difference only,
that the things which are done in the body are done natu
rally, and those which are done in the mind are done spiritually :
there is a perfect similitude. Hence it is evident that the Divine
Providence operates by a thousand hidden ways in every man ;
that its end is continually to purify him, because its end is to
save him ; and that nothing more is incumbent upon a man than
to remove evils in the external man, the Lord providing the rest,
if he be implored.
297. III. That the Lord cannot entirely lead the wicked
out of evils, and into goods, so long as they consider self-derived
intelligence to be all, and the Divine Providence nothing. It
appears as if a man could lead himself out of evils, if he would
but think that this or that is contrary to the good of the com
munity, contrary to utility, and contrary to the laws of his
country and the law of nations ; and this a wicked man can do
as well as a good man, provided that, by birth, or from the ex
ercise of his faculties, he is able to think within himself analy
tically aud rationally in a distinct manner. He is not able, how
ever, to draw himself out of evil ; the reason of which is, that
although the faculty of understanding and perceiving things even
abstractly is given by the Lord to every one, the wicked as wdl
as the good, as has been shown in many places above, yet still,
a man cannot by means of this faculty draw himself out of evil,
because evil is of the will, and the understanding does not flow
into the will except with light only, illuminating and teaching ;
and if the heat of the will, tliat is, the man's life's love, is fervid
from the concupiscence of evil, it is frigid as to the affection of
good, and therefore does not receive light, but either rejects or
extinguishes it, or by some invented false principle converts it
221

297, 298 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENINO
into evil. The case herein is as with the light of winter, which is
equally as clear as the light of summer, and which flowing into
cold trees produces a similar effect. These things however will
be seen more fully in the following order. 1. That self-derived
intelligence, when the will is in evil, sees nothing but what is
false ; and that it neither will nor can see any thing else. 2.
That if self-derived intelligence then sees truth, it turns itself
away, or falsifies it. 3. That the Divine Providence continually
causes a man to see truth, and also gives him the affection of
perceiving and receiving it. 4. That a man is thereby drawn
out of evil, not by himself, but by the Lord.
298. These propositions shall be explained in their proper
order to the rational man, whether he be wicked or good, thus,
whether he be in the light of winter or of summer, for- colours
appear alike in both. First, That self derived intelligence, when
the will is in evil, sees nothing hut what is false ; and that it
neither will nor can see any thing else. This has often been,
experimentally shown in the spiritual world. Every man, when
he becomes a spirit, which he does after death (for he then puts
off his material body, and puts on a spiritual one), is alternately
let into the two states of his life, the external and the internal.,
When he is in the external state, he speaks and acts rationally
and wisely, just like a rational and wise man in the world ; he
can also teach others many things which relate to moral and
civil life ; and if he has been a preacher, he can also teach things
relating to spiritual life. But when he is let out of this into
his intemal state, — when the external is laid asleep, and the
internal is awakened, — if he is wicked, the scene is changed ;
instead of rational, he becomes sensual, and instead of wise,
insane ; for he thinks then from the evil of his will and its delight,
therefore from self-derived intelligence; he sees nothing but
what is false, and does nothing but evil, thinking that malice
is wisdom, and cunning is prudence ; and from self-derived in
telligence he fancies himself a god, and imbibes with all his
soul the most wicked arts. Such insanity I have often seen :
I have also seen spirits let into these alternate states two or
three times in an hour ; and then it was granted them to see
their insanities, and to acknowledge them ; yet they would not
remain in their rational and moral state, but of their own accord
turned themselves to their internal, sensual, and insane state ;,
for this they loved more than the other, because therein consisted
the delight of their life's love. Who could suppose that a
wicked man is such beneath his outward appearance, and that
he undergoes such a metamorphosis when he comes into his
interior state ? From this experience alone may appear the
nature of self derived intelligence, when it thinks and acts frcm
the evil of its will.. The case is different with the good, when
they are let into an internal state from, an external, they
222

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE. 298
bocomuig still more wise and moral than before. Secondly,
That if self derived intelligence then <iees truth, it either turns
itsdf away, or falsifies it. Every man has a voluntary proprium
and an intellectual proprium : his voluntary proprium is evil,
and his intellectual proprium the falsity tlience derived ; the
latter is meant by the will of man, and the former by the will
of the flesh (John i. 13). The voluntaiy proprium is in its
essence self-love, and the intellectual proprium is pride pro
ceeding from that love. These are like two connubial partners,
and their marriage is called the marriage ' of evil and falsity.
Every evil spirit is let into this marriage before he is admitted
into hell ; and when he is in this state, he does not know what
good is ; for he calls his own evil good, because he feels it as
his delight. He then also turns himself away from truth, and
will not see it ; because the falsity agreeing with his evil is seen
by him as beautiful objects are by the eye, and is heard as
harmonious sounds by the ear. Thirdly, Tliat the Divine Pro
vidence continually causes a man to see truth, and also gives him
the affection of perceiving and receiving it. The reason of this
is, because the Divine Providence acts from within, and flows
thence into the exteriors ; or it acts from the spiritual man upon
the things which are in the natural man, and by the light of
heaven illuminates his understanding, and by its heat vivifles
his -will. The light of heaven is in its essence divine wisdom,
and the heat of heaven is in its essence divine love : from divine
wisdom nothing can flow but truth, and from divine love nothing
, but good, from which the Lord gives in the understanding the
affection of seeing truth, and also of perceiving and receiving it.
Thus a man is made a man, not only as to his external face, but
also as to his internal. Who does not -wish to seem a rational
and spiritual man ; and who does not know that he wishes to
seem so in order that he may be thought by others to be a true
man? If, therefore, he is rational and spiritual in his external
form only, and not at the same time in his internal, can he be
a man ? can he be said to be otherwise than like a player upon
the stage, or like an ape whose face nearly resembles a man^s ?
May he not know from thence that he alone is a man who in
teriorly is such as he desires to be thought by others ? He who
acknowledges the one, acknowledges the other. Self derived
intelligence can induce the human form only in externals, but
the Divine Providence induces it in internals, and through
internals in externals ; and when it is induced, a man does not
barely appear to be man, but is one. Fourthly, That a man
is thereby drawn out of evil, not by himself, but hy the Lord.
The reason why a man can be drawn out of evil, when the
Divine Providence gives the perception of truth, and at the
same time the affection thereof, is, because truth shows and
dictates ; and when the will performs what is thus dictated, it
223

298  300 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNTNO
joins itself therewith, converting in itself truth into good; for
"truth then becomes the truth of a man's love, and that which
is of the love is good. All reformation is effected by truth, and
not without it ; for without truth the will is continually in its
evil, and if it consults the understanding it is not instructed,
but evil is confirmed by falsities. As to what relates to intel
ligence, it appears to be his own both in a good man and a
wicked man ; and a good man is also obliged, as well as a wicked
man, to act from intelligence seemingly proper to himself ; yet
he who believes in the Divine Providence is withdrawn from
evil, but he who does not is not withdrawn. He believes in it
who acknowledges evil to be sin, and desires to be delivered
from it ; and he does not believe in it who does not acknowledge
and desire this. The difference between these two kinds of in
telligence is like the difference between that which is thought
to exist in itself and that which is thought not to exist in itself,
but yet as if in itself; and it is also like the difference between
an external without a correspondent internal, and an external
with a correspondent internal; consequently, like the differ
ence between the words and gestures of mimics and players,
who personate kings, princes, and generals, and those of the
kings, princes, and generals themselves; the latter being in
teriorly as well as exteriorly such, the former only exteriorly,
which exterior being put off, they are called comedians, actors,
and players.
299. IV. That tlie Lord govems liell by opposites, and the
wicked who are in the world he govems in hdl as to interiors,
hat not as to exteriors. He who does not know the nature oi
heaven and hell, cannot at all know the nature of a man's mind,
which is his spirit which lives after death. The reason of this
is, because a man's mind or spirit, in all the particulars of its
form, is similar to that of heaven or hell : there is no difference,
except that one is great and the other small, or that one is
an image, and the other its type ; therefore a man, as to his
mind or spirit, is either a heaven or a hell in its least form.
He that is led by the Lord is a heaven, and he that is led by his
own proprium is a hell. Now, since I have been made acquainted
with the nature both of heaven and hell, and it is important to
know what is the nature of man with respect to his mind or
spirit, I would briefly give a description of both.
300. All in heaven are no other than affections of good and
thence thoughts of truth ; and all in hell are no other than
concupiscences of evil and thence imaginations of falsity. Both
of these are so arranged that the concupiscences of evil and the
"imaginations of falsity in hell are directly opposite to the
affections of good and the thoughts of truth in heaven. Hell,
therefore, is under heaven, and diametrically opposite to it ; aa
much so as two men who lie opposite to each other, or stand
224

^THE DIVINB PROVIDENCE. 300  303
opposite as antipodes, consequently inverted, have the soles of
their feet placed against each other, or stand each upon the heels
of the other. Sometimes also hell appears in such a situation,
or thus turned, with respect to heaven. The reason of this is,
because those who are in hell make the concupiscences of evil
their head, and the affections of good their feet ; while those
who are in heaven make the affections of good their head, and
the concupiscences of evil the soles of their feet : hence their
mutual opposition. It is said that in heaven there are affections
of good and thence thoughts of truth, and that in hell there are
concupiscences of evil and thence imaginations of falsity : hereby
is meant that there are spirits and angels who are such ; for
every one is his own affection or his own concupiscence, — the
angel of heaven his own affection, and the spirit of hell his own
concupiscence. -
301. The reason why tbe angels of heaven are affections of
good and thence thoughts of truth, is, because they are recipients
of divine love and wisdom from the Lord, — all affections of good
being from divine love; and all thoughts of truth from divine
wisdom ; and the reason why the spirits of hell are concupis
cences of evil and thence iraaginations of falsity, is, because they
are in the love of self and in self-derived intelligence, — all con
cupiscences of evil being from the love of self, and imaginations
of falsity from self-derived intelligence.
302. The arrangement of affections in heaven, and of con
cupiscences in hell, is wonderful, and known only to the Lord.
They are respectively distinguished into genera and species, and
so conjoined as to act as a one ; and as they are distinguished
into genera and species, they are distinguished into greater or
lesser societies ; as, also, they are conjoined that they mayact
as a one, they are conjoined like all the things which are in a
man. Hence heaven, in its form, is like a beautiful man, whose
soul is the divine love and the divine wisdom, consequently the
Lord ; and hell, in its form, is like a monstrous man, whose soul
is self-love and self-derived intelligence, consequently the devil ;
for there is.no particular devil, who is sole lord there, but self-
love is so called.
303. In order however that the nature of heaven and hell
may be still better understood, instead of the affections of good
suppose the delights of good, and instead of the concupiscences
of evil, the delights of evil ; for there exists no affection or con
cupiscence without its delights, because delights constitute the
life of every one. These delights are distinguished and con
nected, as was said above respecting the affections of good and
the concupiscences of evil. The delight of his affection fills and
encompasses every angel of heaven ; its common delight fills and
encompasses every society of heaven ; and the delight ol all
together, or that which is most general, fills and encom-passes
225

303  306 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENING
the universal heaven. In like manner, the delight of his con
cupiscence fills and encompasses every spirit of hell ; its com
mon delight every society in hell ; and the delight of all, or that
which is general, the whole of hell. Since the affections of
heaven and the concupiscences of hell are, as was observed
above, diametrically opposite to each other, it is evident that
the delight of heaven is insupportable in hell ; and on the other
hand, that the delight of hell is insupportable in heaven : hence
proceed their mutual antipathy, aversion, and separation.
304. These delights, as they constitute the life of each
individual in particular, and of all in common, are not felt by
those who are in them ; but their opposites are felt when they
approach, especially -when they are converted into smells ; for
every delight corresponds to some smell, and in the spirituai!
world may be ccm verted into it. Then the delight of heaven in
general is felt like the smell' of a garden, with a variety accord
ing to the fragrances therein from flowers and fruits ; and the
delight of hell in general is felt like stagnant water, into which
have been cast divers kinds of filth, with a variety according to
tbe stench of things putrid and offensive therein. In what man
ner the delight of each particular affection of good in heaven,
and of each particular concupiscence of e-vil in hell, is felt, has
been made known to me ; but it would be tedious to explain
it here. 305. I have heard many persons recently come from the
world complain that they did not know their lot would be ac
cording to the affections of their love ; saying, that in the world
they did not think about them, much less about their delights,
because they loved that which was delightful to them ; and that
they only supposed the lot of every one would be according to
his thought arising from intelligence, especially according to
thoughts arising from piety, and also from faith : they were
however answered, that they might have known, if they would,
that an evil life is disagreeable to heaven and displeasing to
God, and is pleasing to hell and delightful to the devil ; on the
other hand, that a good life is grateftil to heaven and pleasing
to God, and unpleasant to hell and disagreeable to the de-vil ;
therefore, that evil is in itself offensive, and good in itself fra
grant. Since they might haye known this if they would, why
did they not shun evils as infemal and diabolical, and why did
they favour evils merely because they were delightful ? Since
also they now knew that the delights' of evil have an offensive
smell, they might also know that those in whom they abound
cannot enter into heaven. After this answer, they betook them
selves to those who were in similar delights ; for there and there
only could they breathe.
306. From the idea now given of heaven and hell it may
appear what is the nature of the m.ind of man (for, as before
226

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE. 30€t 80*?
said, a man's mind or spirit is a heaven or a holi in its mu.\1
form), namely, that his interiors are mere affections and thoughts
thence derived, distinguished into genera and species, like
greater and lesser societies, and so connected as to act as a one ,
and that the Lord rules those affections and thoughts, in like
manner as he rules heaven or hell. That a man is either a
heaven or a hell in its least form, may be seen in the work con
cerning Heaven and Hell, published in London in the year
1758, n. 51—87.
307. Now to the proposition in question, that the Lord
governs hell by opposites, and that the -wicked who are in the
world he governs in heU as to interiors, but not as to exteriors.
As to what relates, Fikst, To the Lord\ governing hell hy op
posites; it is shown above, n. 288, 289, that the angels of heaven
are not in love and wisdom, or in the affection of good and
thence in the thought of truth, from themselves, but from tho
Lord ; and that good and truth fiow from heaven into hell ;
where good is turned into evil and truth into falsity, in conse
quence of the interiors of their minds being turned in a contrary
direction. Now since all things in hell are opposite to all things
in heaven, it follows that the Lord governs hell by opposites.
Secondly, That the wicked who are in the vjorld are governed in
hell hy the Lord ; because every man with respect to his spirit is
in the spiritual world, and in some society there, — in an infernal
society if he is wicked, and in a celestial society if good ; for
his mind, which in itself is spiritual, cannot be anywhere but
among spirits, into whose society it also comes after death.
That this is the case has also been said and shown above. But
a man is not there like one of the spirits who is registered in
the society, for he is continually in a state of reformation;
therefore, according to his life and its changes, he is translated
by the Lord from one society of hell to another, if he is wicked ;
and if he suffers himself to be reformed, he is led out of hell
and introduced into heaven, and there also translated from one
society to another. This is continued until the time of his
death, after which he is no longer carried from one society to
another, because he is then no longer in any state of reforma
tion, but remains in that state in which the nature of his life has
placed him ; therefore when a man dies, he is inscribed in his
own place. ' Thtrot.y, That the Lord thus governs the wicked in
the world as to their interiors, but differently as to their exteriors.
The Lord governs the interiors of a man's mind in the manner
just described, but its exteriors he governs in the world of spi-
i-its, which is in the midst between heaven and hell. The reason
hereof is, because a man for the most part is different in externals
from v/hat he is in internals ; for in externals he can put on tho
bombiaiice of an angel of light, and yet in intemals he may be
a spirit of darkness. Therefore his external is governed .on
227 , P •

307. 308 ANGELIC wisdom concerning
way and his internal another ; his external is governed in the
¦wcTld of spirits, but his internal in heaven or hell, so long as he
is in the world. Therefore, also, when he dies, he ccmes first
into the world of spirits, and there into his external, which is
there put off; and this being done, he is transferred to the place
in which he is inscribed. The nature of the world of spirits
may be seen in .the work cjonceming Heaven and Hell, pub
lished in London in the year 1758, n. 421 — 636.

THAT THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE APPROPRIATES NEITHER EVIL
NOR GOOD TO ANY ONE, BUT THAT SELF-DERIVED PRUDENCE
APPROPRIATES BOTH.
308. It is believed by almost every one that a man thinks
and wills from himself, and thence speaks and acts from him
self. Who of himself can suppose otherwise, since the appear
ance of it is so strong that it differs nothing from his really
thinking, willing, speaking, and acting from himself, which yet
is not possible ? In The Angelic W isdom concerning the
Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom, it is demonstrated that
there is one only life, and that men are recipients of life ; also,
that a man's will is the receptacle of love, and his understand
ing the receptacle of wisdom, which two constitute that one
only life. It is likewise demonstrated, that by creation, and
thence continually by the Divine Providence, it is ordained that
that life should appear in a man in such a similitude as if it
were his own, consequently proper to himself; but that this is
an appearance to the end that he may be a receptacle. More
over, it is demonstrated above, n. '288 — 294, that no man thinks
.from himself, but from others, and that those others do not
think from themselves, but all from the Lord, the wicked as
well as the good ; likewise, that this is kno-wn in the Christian
world, especially among those who not only say, but believe,
that all goodness and truth, also all wisdom, and consequently
all faith and charity, are from the Lord ; and that every thing
evil and false is from the devil or from hell. From all these
premises no other conclusion can be deduced than that whatever
a man thinks and wills comes by influx ; and that, as all speech
flows from thought as an effect from its cause, and all action iu
'ike manner from the will, therefore whatever a man speaks and
acts comes likewise by influx, although derivately or mediately.
That whatever a man sees, hears, smells, tastes, and feels,
comes by influx, cannot be denied; why not then what he
thinks and wills? Can there be any difference, except that
such tilings as are in the natural world flow into or impress tne
orfflfws of the external senses, or of the body, while such tninsB
228

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 308, 309
aa are in the spiritual world flow into or impress the organic
substances of the internal senses, or of the mind? Therefore,
that as the organs of the external senses, or of the body, are
receptacles of natural objects, so the organic substances of the
internal senses, or of the mind, are receptacles of spiritual
objects. Since this is every man's condition, what then is his
proprium ? His proprium does not consist in his being such or
such a receptacle, because this proprium is nothing but his
quality with respect to reception, and is not the proprium of
life ; for by proprium no one means any thing but that which
lives from itself, and thence thinks and wills from itself; but
that such a proprium does not exist in any man, yea, that
it cannot exist in any one, follows from what has been said
above. 309. I will here relate what I have heard from some in the
spiritual world. They were such as believed self-derived pru
dence to be every thing, and the Divine Providence nothing.
I said that a man has not any proprium, unless you choose to
make his proprium consist in his being such and such a subject,
or such and such an organ, or such and such a form ; and this
is not the proprium which is meant, for it is only his quality :
but no man has any proprium in the sense in which proprium
is commonly understood. Those who ascribed all things to self-
derived prudence, and who may be called proprietaries, being
the image of such characters, grew so enraged, that a flame
appeared issuing from their nostrils, and they said. You utter
paradoxes and insanities ; would not a man in such case be an
empty nothing? He would either be a mere ideal being and
fantasy, or he would be an image or statue. To this I could
only answer, that it was paradoxical and insane to believe that
a man is life from himself, and that wisdom and prudence do
not flow from God, but are in the man, consequently also the
good which is of charity and the truth which is of faith. For
any one to attribute these to himself is called insanity by every
wise man, and is therefore also a paradox. Persons so doing
are like those who dwell in the house or estate of another, and,
being in possession, persuade themselves that they are their
own ; or like agents and stewards, who think all their master's
property their own ; and like what the servants would have been
to whom the Lord gave the talents to trade with, in case they
had rendered no account of them, but kept them as their own,
and so acted as thieves. Of such it may very justly be said
that they are insane, that tbey are indeed empty nothings, and
that they are idealists, because they have not in themselves from
the Lord any good, which is the very essence of life, nor, con
sequently, have they any truth; therefore such are also called
the dead, and likewise' nothing, and emptiness, m Isaiah xl.
37, 23 ; and in other places, makers of images, id -^=t and statuea
229

309, 310 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNINO
But of these things more below, to be explained in the follow
ing order. I. Wnat self-derived prudence is, and what that
prudence which is not self-derived. II. That a man from self-
derived prudence persuades himself, and confirms himself in
the idea, that every good and truth is from himself,, and in
himself, and in like manner every evil and falsity. IH. That
every thing of which a man is persuaded, and in which he is
confirmed, remains as his proprium. IV. That if a man would
believe, as is the truth, that every thing good and true, is from
the Lord, and every thing evil and false from hell, he would
neither appropriate to himself good and account it meritorious,
nor would he appropriate evil, and make himself accountable
for it. 310. I. What sdf -derived prudence is, a/nd what that pru
dence which is not self-derived. Those are in self-derived pru
dence who confirm in themselves appearances, and make them
truths, especially this appearance, that self-derived prudence is
every thing, and the Divine Providence nothing, except some
thing very general, which nevertheless, as was shown above,
cannot exist without particulars of which it must consist. They
are also in fallacies, for every appearance confirmed as a truth
becomes a fallacy ; and in proportion as they confirm themselves
from fallacies they become naturalists, in the same proportion
believing nothing but what they can at the same time perceive
with one of the bodily senses, especially the sight, because this
principally acts in union with thought. Such persons at last
become sensual ; and if they confirm themselves in favour of
nature against God, they close the interiors of their mind, and
interpose as it were a veil, afterwards thinking what is under
the veil, and nothing which is above it. These sensualists were
called by the ancients serpents of the tree of knowledge. Of
them it is said, in the spiritual world, that as they confirm
themselves, they close the interiors of their minds, even at
length unto the nose ; for the nose signifies perception of truth,
and when closed, indicates no perception at all. Their cha
racter shall now be described" they are more cunning and
crafty than others, and are also ingenious reasoners ; and cun
ning and craftiness they call intelligence and wisdom, nor do
they know any other. Those who are not of this description
they consider as simple and stupid, especially the worshipers of
God and the confessors of the Divine Providence. With respect
to the interior principles of their minds, of which they them
selves know very little, they are like those called Macbiavelists,
who make no account of murders, adulteries, thefts, aud false
testimony, considered in themselves : and if they reason against
them, do it only from motives of prudence, that they may not
appear to be what they really are. Of the life of a man in this
world, tbey think that it is only like the life of a beast : and of
230

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 310
the life of a man after death, that it is like a vital vapour, which
rising from the corpse or grave, relapses again, and so dies.
From this madness came the idea that spirits and angels are air,
and among those whO are enjoined to believe in life everlasting,
that the souls of men are the same ; that therefore they neither
see, hear, nor ,3peak, consequently are blind, deaf, and dumb,
and that they only think in their particle of air ; for they say.
How can the soul bo any thing else? Did not the external
senses die with the body ? and how can they receive them again
before the soul is reunited to the body ? And because they co-|ld
have only a sensual and not a spiritual idea of the state of the
soul after death, they established this, otherwise the belief of
an everlasting life would have perished. More especially they
confirm in themselves self-love, calling it the fire of life, and an
incitement to various uses in society ; and being of this descrip
tion, they are the idols of themselves ; and their thoughts, being
fallacies from fallacies, are images of falsity. As they favour
the delights of concupiscences, they are satans and devils ; those
being, called satans who confirm in themselves the concupis
cences of evil, and those devils who live according to them.
The nature of the most cunning sort of sensual men has also
been made known to me : they have a deep hell behind, and
wish to be invisible ; therefore they appear hovering about there
as it were spectres, which are their fantasies, and are called
genii. Some of them were once sent from that hell, that I
might know their quality : they immediately applied themselves
to the back part of my neck under the occiput, and thence en
tered into my affections, not choosing to enter into my thoughts,
which they dexterously avoided ; they then varied my affections
one after another, with a design of bonding them insensibly
into their opposites, which are concupiscences of evil ; and as
they did not in the least meddle with my thoughts, they would
have inflected and inverted my affections, without my knowledge,
if the Lord had not prevented. Those persons become of such
a quality who in the world do not believe there is a Divine Pro
vidence, and search for nothing in others but their cupidities
and desires, so leading them tiU they acquire a perfect ascen
dency over them; and as they do this so clandestinely and
cunningly that the others do not know it, and after death
become like themselves, therefore immediately after their arrival
in the spiritual world, they are cast into that hell. When seen
in the light of heaven they appear without any nose ; and, what
is wonderful, although they are so cunning, yet they are more
sensual than others. As the ancients called the sensual man a
eei-pent, and such a man is a more cunning, crafty, and ingo
nious reasoner than others, therefore it is said that " the serpent
was more subtile than any beast of the field" (Gen. iii. 1) ; and
the Lord says, " Be ye wise as serpents and harmless as doves
231

310, 311 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
(Matt. X. 16). Moreover the dragon, which is also called the
old serpent, the devil, and satan, is described as " having seven
heads and ten boms, and seven crowns upon his heads" (Eev.
xii. 3, 9). By seven heads is signified craftiness, by ten horns
the power of persuading by fallacies, and by seven crowns the
holy things of the Word and of the church profaned.
311. From this description of self derived prudence, and ot
those who are in it, may be seen what is the nature of that
prudence which is not self-derived, and of the persons who are
in it, namely, that prudence which is not self-derived is such
as is in those who do not confirm in themselves the idea that
intelligence and wisdom are from any man, but say. How can
a man have wisdom from himself and do good from himself?
And when they say this, they see the matter accordingly, for
they think interiorly, and also believe that others think in the
same manner, especially the learned, because they do not know
that any one can think only exteriorly. They are not in falla
cies by means of s,uy confirmations of appearances ; therefore
they know and perceive that murders, adulteries, thefits, and
false testimony are sins, and for that reason shun them ; also
that malice is not wii^^dom, and that craftiness is not intelli
gence; and when they hear ingenious reasonings founded in
fallacies, they wonder ar.d smile to themselves. The reason
hereof is, because in them there is no veil between the interiors
and the exteriors, or between the spiritual and the natural
things of the mind, as there is in the sensual ; therefore they
receive influx from heaven, by which they see such things inte
riorly. They speak with more simplicity and sincerity than
others, and place wisdom not in speaking well, but in living
well. They are comparatively like lambs and sheep, while those
who are in self-derived prudence are like wolves and foxes : they
are like those who dwell in a house, and through its windows
see the heavens; but those who are in self-derived prudence
are like those who dwell in'a cellar, and through their windows
see nothing but what is under ground : and they are like those
who stand upon a mountain, and see such as are in self-derived
prudence wandeiing below in valleys and woods. Hence it may
appear that prudence which is not self-derived, is prudence
from the Lord, similar to self-derived prudence as to its appear
ance in externals, but totally different in internals. In inter
nals, prudence which is not self-derived appears in the spiritual
world as a man, but self-derived prudence as an image, appear
ing to have life from this circumstance only, that those who
are in it have still rationality and liberty, or a faculty of under
standing and willing, and thence of speaking and acting ; and
that by means of these faculties they can also bear tbe semblance
of men. The reason why they are such im&,ges, is, because
»vil8 and falses are not alive, but only goods and truths ; and
232

THE DIVINB PROVIDENCE. 311, 312
ae they know this by means of their rationality (for if they did
not know it, they would not put on such appearance), therefore
in their semblances of men they possess human vitality. Who
does not know that the quality of a man is determined by
what he is interiorly ; consequently, that he is a real man who
is interiorly such as he wishes to seem exteriorly, and that he
is a semblance or counterfeit, who is only a man exteriorly and
not interiorly. Think as you speak in favour of God, of religion,
and of justice and sincerity, and you will be a man ; then tho
Diviue Providence will be your prudence, and you will perceive
in others that self-derived prudence is insanity.
312. II. That a man from self -derived prudence persuades
himsdf, and confirms in himsdf the idea, that every good and
truth is in and from himself, and in like manner every evil and
falsity. Institute an argumentation or course of reasoning from
analogy between natural good and truth and spiritual good and
truth. Inquire what is true and good in the sight of the eye :
is not that true therein which is called beautiful, and that good
therein which is called delightful ? for delight is felt in seeing
beautiful objects. Inquire what is true and good in the sense
of hearing : is not that true therein which is called harmonious,
and that good therein which is called sweet and pleasant ? foi
sweetness or pleasure is felt in hearing harmonious sounds. It
is the same with the other senses. Hence it is evident what
are natural truth and good. Consider now what are spiritual
truth and good. Is spiritual truth any thing but the beauty and
harmony of spiritual things and objects ? And is spiritual
good any thing else but the delight and pleasure arising from a
• perception of Sieir beauty or harmony ? Let us now see whether
any thing can be asserted of the one which is not applicable
to the other, or of what is natural and not of what is spiritual.
Of that which is natural it is said, that what is beautiful and
delightful to the eye flows from external objects, and what is
harmonious and sweet to tbe ear flows from instmments: in
what respect is it different with the organic substances of the
mind? It is said of the latter, that those things (viz. beauty
and delight) are in them, and of the former, that they flow
into them, or impress them ; but if it be asked, why it is said
that they flow in, or enter by influx, no other answer can be
given than that there appears to be a distance _ bet-ween the
organ of sense and that which impresses or flows into it. If it
be asked why, in the other case, it is said of spiritual objects
that they are in the mind and its organized substances, no
other answer can be given than that there does not appear to
be any distance between them. Consequently, it is the ap
pearance of distance which causes a different notion to exist
respecting the things which a man thinks and perceives, and
those which he sees and hears. This falls to the ground, how-
233

S12, 313 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
ever, when it is known that the spiritual principle does not
exist in distance as the natural does. Think of the sun and
moon, or of Rome and Constantinople : do they not exist in
thought without distance, provided such thought be not con
nected with experience acquired by sight or bynearing ? Why
then do you persuade yourself, because distance does not ap
pear in thought, that good and truth, also evil and falsity,
exist there, and do not enter by influx ? To this I will add a
fact known by experience, and which is common in the spiritual
world. One spirit can infuse his thoughts and affections into
another spirit, without the other's knowing but that the same
is of his own thought and affection ; this is called in that world
thinking from and in another. I have seen it a thousand times,
and have also done it a hundred times myself ; yet the appear
ance of distance was considerable ; but as soon as they knew
that it was another who infused those thoughts and affections,
they were angry, and turned themselves away, acknowledging
nevertheless that distance, unless it be discovered, does hot
appear, in the internal sight or thought, as it does in the ex
ternal sight or eye, and that hence it is thought to enter into
the latter by influx. To this fact I can add my own daily expe
rience : e-vil spirits having often injected evils and falsities into
my thoughts, which appeared to me as if they were in myself,
and from myself, or as if I thought them myself ; but as 1
knew that they were evils and falses, I endeavoured to find out
who injected them, when they were detected and driven away,
and were at a considerable- distance from me. Hence it may
appear that all evil with its falsity flows from hell, that all good
with its truth flows from the Lord, and that they both appear
as if they were in man.
313. The nature and quality of those who are in self-derived
prudence, and of those who are in prudence not self-derived,
and thence in the Divine Providence, is described in the Word by
Adam and his wife Eve in the garden of Eden, where there were
two trees, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil ; and by their eating of the latter. That by Adam and
his wife Eve, in the interna! or spiritual sense, is meant and
described the Lord's most ancient church upon this earth, which
was more noble and celestial than any that succeeded it, may
be seen above, n. 241. By the rest is signifled as follows : by
the garden of Eden, the wisdom of the men of that church ; by
the tree of life, the Lord with respect to his Divine Providence ;
and by the tree of knowledge, man with respect to his self-
derived prudence ; by the serpent, the sensuality and proprium
of man, which in itself is self-love, and the pride of his own
intelligence, consequently the devil and satan ; and by eat
ing of the tree of knowledge, the appropriation of good and
truth, as if they were not from the Lord and consequently of

THE DIVINB PRO-WlDENCB. 313, 314
(te Lord, but from man himself and consequently of man. that
is, his own : and as good and truth are things really divine in
man, for by good is meant the whole of love, and by truth the
whole of wisdom, therefore if a man claims them to himself as
his own, he cannot but think himself like a god. On this account
the serpent said, " In the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes
shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and
evil " (Gen. iii. 6). So also do those think in hell who are iu
self-love, and thence in the pride of self-derived intelligence.
By the condemnation of the serpent is signified the condemnation
of man's own proper love and proper intelligence ; by the con
demnation of Eve, that of the voluntary proprium ; and by the
condemnation of Adam, that of the intellectual proprium ; by
thorns and thistles, which the earth shall bring forth, is signified
mere falsity and evil ; by their being driven out of the garden
is signified the deprivation of wisdom ; by the guarding of the
way to the tree of life, the Lord's provident care to protect from
violation the holy things of the Word and of the church ; by
the fig-leaves with which they .covered their nakedness, moral
truths, under which were concealed the things appertaining to
their love and pride ; and by the coats of skins, with which
they were afterwards clothed, are signified appearances of truth,
in which alone they were principled. This is the spiritual
meaning of those things. He that chooses may remain in tho
literal sense, only he should know that it is so understood in
heaven. 314. What sort of persons they are who are infatuated by
self-derived intelligence may appear from their imaginations
in matters of interior judgment ; as, for example, concerning
influx, thought, and life. Concerning Influx, they think in
versely ; as that the sight of the eye flows into the intemal sight
of the mind, which is the understanding, and that the hearing
of the ear flows into the internal hearing, which is also the
understanding ; and they do not perceive that the understanding
from the will flows into the eye and the ear, and not only con
stitutes those senses, but also uses them as its instruments in
the natural world. Because this is not according to appearance,
they do not perceive it : and if it be affirmed that what is natural
does not flow into what is spiritual, but what is spiritual into
what is natural, still they think. What is that which is spiritual
but something more purely natural? Moreover, does it not
appear, that when the eye sees any beautiful object, or the ear
hears any harmonious sound, the mind, which is the under
standing and will, is delighted, not knowing that the eye does
not see from itself, or the tongue taste from itself, or the nose
smell from itself, or the skin feel from itself, but that it is the
mau's mind or spirit which there perceives such things by the
sense, and thence 'is affected according to the quality of the
235

314  317 ANGELIC •'ISDOM CONCERNING
sense ? But still the man's mind or spirit does not feel them
from itself, but from the Lord ; and to think otherwise is to
think from appearances, and, if it be confirmed, from fallacies.
Concerning Thought, they say, that it is something modified
in the air, varied according to its objects, and enlarged in
proportion as it is cultivated ; therefore, that ideas of tbought
are images, like meteors appearing in the air; and that the
memory is a table upon which they are impressed ; not knowing
that thoughts exist alike in substances purely prganic, as the
sight and hearing do in theirs. Let them only look into the
brain, and they will see that it is full of such substances. If you
injure them you bring on a delirium : destroy them, and you die.
But what thought is, and also what memory is, may be seen
above, n. 279, towards the end. Concerning Life, they know
no other than that it is a certain activity of nature, which causes
itself to be felt diversely, as the living body moves itself organi
cally. If it be alleged, that in this case nature lives, this they
deny, but maintain that nature gives life. If you say. Is not
life dissipated when the body dies ? they answer, that life remains
in a particle of air which is called the soul. If you say. What
then is God? is not He life itself? here they are silent, and
will not declare what they think : and if you say. Will you not
acknov/ledge that the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom are
life itself? they answer, What is love, and what is wisdom ?
For in their fallacies they do not see what love and wisdom are,
or what God is. These observations are adduced, that it may
be seen how a man is infatuated by self-derived prudence,
because he draws all his conclusions from appearances, and
thence from fallacies.
316. The reason why self-derived prudence persuades and
confirms the idea that every good and truth is from man and in
man, is, because self-derived prudence is the man's intellectual
proprium, fiowing from self-love, which is the man's voluntary
proprium, and that which is his proprium cannot do otherwise
than make all things his own ; for it cannot be elevated by him.
All who are led by the Di-vine Providence of the Lord are
elevated above their proprium, and then they see that all good
and truth are from the Lord : they even see, also, that what is
from the Lord in a man is perpetually of the Lord, and never
of the man. He that thinks otherwise is like one who, having
goods of his master deposited in his hands, lays claim to them
c)r appropriates them to himself as his own, and who is there
fore not a steward, but a thief; and as a man's proprium is
nothing but evil, therefore he also immerses them into his evil,
by which they are consumed, like pearls cast into dung, or
dissolved in acids.
317. III. That every^ thing, of which a man is persuaded
mid in which he is confinmed, remains as his proprvwm. It is

THE DIVINE PRO-VTDENCE. 317, 318
thought by many that no truth can be seen by a man except
from things_ confirmed ; but this is false. In things which re
late to the civil government and economy of a kingdom or state,
what is useful and good cannot be seen unless several of the
statutes and ordinances therein be known ; or in matters of a
judicial nature, unless laws be known ; or in natural things, as
physics, chemistry, anatomy, mechanics, and the like, unless
a man be instructed in sciences ; but in things purely of a
rational, moral, and spiritual nature, truths appear merely from
their own light, provided a man, by means of a good education,
be made in some degree rational, moral, and spiritual. The
reason is because every man, with respect to his spirit, which
is that which thinks, is in the spiritual world, and one among
those who live there, consequently he is in spiritual light, which
illuminates the interiors of his understanding, and, as it were,
dictates ; for spiritual light in its essence is the divine truth of
the Lord's divine wisdom. Hence a man has power to think
analytically, to form conclusions concerning what is just and
right in judgments, to see honesty in moral life, and good in
spiritual life, and likewise many truths which do not fall into
darkness except by the confirmation of falsities : these things
a man sees, in the same manner as he sees the mind of another
in his face, and perceives his affections from the soimd of his
voice, without any other knowledge than what is inherent in
every one. Why should not a man see by influx, in a certain
degree, the interiors of his life, which are spiritual and moral,
when there is no animal which does not by influx know the
things necessary for it which are natural? Birds know how
to make their nests, lay their eggs, hatch their youngs and
choose their food ; besides other wonderful things, which are
called instinct.
318. But how a man's state is changed by confirmations
and consequent persuasions shall now be shown in the following
order. 1. That there is nothing but what may be confirmed,
and falsity more easily than truth. 2. That when the falsity is
confirmed, truth does not appear; but that from confirmed
truth the falsity appears. 3. That to be able to confirm what
ever a man pleases is not intelligence, but only ingenuity, which
may exist even in the most' wicked. 4. That there may be
intellectual confirmation, and not at the same time voluntary ;
but that all voluntary confirmation is also intellectual. 5. That
the voluntary and at the same time the intellectual confirmation
of evil, causes a man to think that self derived pmdence is all,
and the Divine Providence nothing ; but not the intellectual
confirmation of it alone. 6. That every thing confirmed by the
will, and at the same time by the understanding, remains to
eternity ; but not that which is confirmed by the understanding
only. With respect to the Fiest, That there is nothing hut what
237

318 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENING
mmf he confirmed, and falsity more easily than truth. What may
not be confirmed, when it is confirmed by Atheists that God
is not the creator of the universe, but that nature is the creator
of herself; that religion is Only an external means of restraint,
and calculated for the simple and the vulgar ; that a man is
similar to a beast, and that he dies in like manner ? What may
not be confirmed, when it is confirmed that adulteries are allow
able, also clandestine thefts, frauds, and deceitful arts ; that
cunning is intelligence, and malice wisdom ? Who does not
confirm his own heresy ? Are there not volumes full of con
firmations in favour of the two reigning heresies in the Christian
world ? If you establish ten heresies of even an abstmse nature,
and tell an ingenious person to confirm them, he will confirm
them all. If you afterwards view them only from their con
firmations, will you not see falsities as if they were truths ? As
every false principle has a lucid appearance in the natural man,
arising from his appearances and fallacies, which is not the case
with truth except in the spiritual man, it is evident that falsity
can be confirmed more easily than truth. In order that it may
be known that every falsity and every evil can be confirmed, in
such a manner that the falsity may appear true and the evil
good, take the following example : let it be confirmed that light
is darkness and darkness light. May it not be said. What is
light in itself? Is it any thing but a certain appearance in the
eye according to its state? Wiiat is light when the eye is shut?
Have not bats and owls such eyes that they see light as dark
ness, and darkness as light ? I have heard some persons say
that they can see in the same' manner, and of the infemals I
have heard that although they are in darkness they see one
another. Do not men see light at midnight in their dreams ?
Is not darkness therefore light, and light darkness ? But it
may be answered. What is this to the purpose ? Light is light,
as truth is truth ; and darkness is darkness, as falsity is falsity.
Take another example : and let it be confirmed that a raven is
white. May it not be said, that his blackness is only a shade
which is not his real colour ? His feathers are inwardly white,
and so is his body ; and these are the substances of which he
consists. Since his blackness is only a shade, therefore a raven
turns white when he grows old, and some such have been seen.
What is black in itself but white ? Grind black glass, and you
will see that the powder is white. Therefore, when you call a
raven black, you speak from the shade and not from the reality.
But it may be answered. What is this to the purpose ? At this
rate it might be said that all birds are white. These cases,
although they are contrary to sound reason, are adduced, to
the end it may be seen, that falsity diametrically opposite to
truth, and evil diametrically opposite to good, may be confirmed.
Secondly, That when falsity is confirmed, truth does not appear '
238

THE DIVINB PEOVIDENCE. 318
hut that from confirmed truth, falsity appeal's. All falsity is in
the dark, and all truth in the light ; and in the dark nothing
appears, nor can it even be known what it is, but by feeling it.
Not so in the light. Therefore, also, in the Word, falsities are
called darkness, and thence those who are in falsities are said
to walk in darkness and in the shadow of death. On the other
hand, truths are there called light, and thence those who are in
truths are said to walk in the light, and are called the children
of light. That when the falsity is confirmed truth does not
appear, and that from confirmed truth falsity does appear, is
evident from many considerations. For example : who would
see any spiritual truth, if the Word did not teach it ? Would
not there prevail thick darkness, which could not be dispelled
but by the light in which the Word is, and with such as
should desire to be enlightened? What heretic can see his
own falsities except he admit the genuine truth of the church ?
He does not see them before. I have discoursed with those
who have confirmed themselves in faith separated from charity,
and asked them whether they did not see so many things in the
Word about love and charity, about works and actions, and
about keeping the commandments, with the declarations that
he is happy and wise who does them, and he is foolish who
does them not. They said, that when they read those things
they saw no otherwise than that they are faith, and so passed
them over as it were with their eyes shut. Those who have
confirmed themselves in falsities are like those who see images
pictured on a wall, and when in the shade of evening those pic
tures seem to them in their fantasy like a horse or a man, which
visionary image is dispelled by the influent light of day. Who
can perceive the spiritual defilement of adultery, unless he is in
the spiritual purity of chastity ? Who can feel the cruelty of
revenge, but he that is in good arising from the love of his
neighbour. What adulterer, or revengeful person, does not
sneer at those who call their delights infernal, and on the other
hand the delights of conjugial and neighbourly love celestial,
and so on? Thirdly, That to he able to confirm whatever a
man pleases is not intelligence, hut only ingenuity, which may
exist even in the most wicked. There are some very dextrous
confirmers, who know no truth, and yet can confirm both ti-utli
and falsity. Some of them say. What is truth? Is there any
such thing existing ? Is not that truth which I make true ?
Nevertheless, these are thought intelligent in the world, but they
are only plasterers of the wall. None are intelligent but those
who perceive truth to be truth, and confirm the same by truths
continually perceived. These two kinds of men are not easily
distinguished, because it is not easy to distinguish between the
light of confirmation and the light of the perception of truth;
nor does it appear otherwise than that those who are in the bght
339

318, 319 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENING
of cdnfirmation are also in the light of the perception of truth ;
when, nevertheless, the difference is as great as between tho
light of infatuation and genuine light ; and the light of infatua
tion in the spiritual world is of such a nature, that it is turned
into darkness when genuine light flows in. Such infatuating
light have many in hell, who, when they are admitted into gen
uine light, see nothing at all. Hence it is evident, that to be
able to confirm whatever a man pleases, is only ingenuity, at
tainable even by the most wicked. Fouethly, That there may
be intellectual confirmation, and not at the same time voluntary;
hut that all voluntary confirmation is also intellectual. Take
these examples by way of illustration. Those who confirm faith
separate from charity, and yet live the life of charity, and in
general those who confirm the falsity of doctrine, and yet do not
live according to it, are those who are in intellectual confirma
tion, and not at the same time in voluntary confirmation ; but
those who confirm the falsity of doctrine, and live according to
it, are those who are in voluntary and at the same time in
intellectual confirmation. The reason hereof is, because the
understanding does not flow into the will, but the will into the
understanding. Hence, also, it is evident what the falsity of
evil is, and what the falsity which is not of evil. The reason
why the falsity which is not of evil can be conjoined with good,
but not the falsity of evil, is, because the former is the falsity
in the understanding and not in the will, while the latter is the
falsity in the understanding from evil in the wilh Fifthly,
That tlie voluntary and at the same time the intellectual confi/r-
mation of evil, causes a man to think that self-derivedprudence
is all, and the Divine Providence nothing ; out not the intellec
tual confirmation of it alone. There are many who confirm the
efficacy of self-derived prudence in themselves from appearances
in the world, but yet do not deny the Divine Providence, and
theirs is only intellectual confirmation; while with such as
deny at the same time the Divine Providence, the confirmation
is also voluntary; but the latter, together with persuasion,
takes place principally in those who are worshipers of nature,
and at the same time worshipers of themselves. Sixthly,
Tliat every thing confi/rmed hy the wUl, and at the same time hy
the understanding, remains to etemity ; hut not that which is
confirmed hy the understanding only ; for that which is of the
undA-standing only, is not -within the man, but without him,
since it is only in his thought ; and nothing enters into a man,
and is appropriated to him, but what is received by the will ; for
this becoiries of his life's love. That this abides to eternity,
shall be shown in the next number.
319. The reason why every thing confirmed in the will, and
at the same time by the understanaing, remains to eternity, is,
because every one is his own love, and his love is of his will
240

the divine PEOVIDENCE. 319
also, aecause every man is his own good or his own evil ; for all
that is called good which is of the love, and that evil which is
opposed to it. As a man is his own love, he is also the form of
his own love, and may be called the organ of his life's love.
It -i«as said above, n. 279, that the affections of a man's love
and the thoughts thence derived, are changes and variations of
the state and form of the organic substances of his mind, and
it shall now be shown what is the nature and quality of those
changes. An idea of them may be had from the heart and
lungs, because there are alternate expansions and compressions,
or dilatations and contractions, which in the heart are called its
systole and diastole ; and in the lungs respirations, which are
reciprocal extensions and retractions, or distensions and coarcta
tions of its lobes: these aro' the changes and variations of the
state of the heart and lungs. The like takes place in the other
viscera of the body, and in the parts thereof, by which the
blood and animal jiii-ces are received and circulated. There are
also similar changes and variations of state in the organic forms
of the mind, wbich, as was sho-wn above, are the subjects of a
man's affections and thoughts ; with this difference, that the
expansions and compressions, or reciprocations, of the latter,
are respectively in so much greater perfection, that they cannot
be expressed in words of natural language, but only in words
of spiritual language, which can. only import, that they are
vortical ingyrations and egyrations, after the manner of per
petual spiral circumflexions, wonderfully confasciculated inf;o
forms receptive of life. But the nature of these purely organic
substances and forms in the wicked and in the good shall now
be explained. With the good they are spirally convoluted for
wards, but with the wicked backwards ; and those which are
spirally convoluted forwards are turned to the Lord, and receive
influx from him; but those which are spirally convoluted back
wards are turned towards hell, and receive influx from thence.
It is to be observed, that in proportion as they are turned back
wards, they are open behind, and closed before ; but, on the
contrary, in proportion as they are turned forwards, they are
open before and closed behind. Hence it may appear what
kind of form or what kind of organ a wicked man is, and what
kind of form or what kind of organ a good man is, and that
they are turned contrariwise ; and as an inversion once induced
cannot be retwisted, it is evident that such as it is when a man
dies it remains to etemity. It is the love of the man's will
which makes this turning, or which converts and _ inverts; for,
as was said above, every man is his own love. Hence it is, that
every one after death goes in the way of his love,— he who is m
food love goes to heaven, and he who is in evil love to hell ; nor
oes he rest till be is in that society where his ruling love is;
241

819  321 ANGELIC -WISDOM tX5NCEENING
and, what is wonderful, every one knows the way, as though he
smelt it.
320. IV. That if a man would hdievc, as is the truth, thai
every thing good and tme is from the Lord, and every thin^ evil
and false from hell, he would neither apprcpriate to himself
good, and make it meritorious, nor would he appropriale to
himself evil, and make himself guilty of^ it. But as these things
are contrary to the belief of those who have conflrmed in them
selves the appearance that wisdom and pmdence are from man,
and do not flow in according to the state of the mind's organiza
tion, treated of above, n. 319, therefore they shall be demon
strated ; and that it may be done distinctly, the following order
shall be observed: — 1. That he that confirms in himself the ap
pearance that wisdom and prudence are from man, and thence
in him as his own, cannot see otherwise than that if this were
not the case he would not be a man, but either a beast or a
statue; when, nevertheless, the contrary is true. 2. That to
believe and think, as is the truth, that every thing good and tme
is from the Lord, and every thing evil and false from hell, ap
pears to be impossible, when, nevertheless, it is truly human and
thence angelic. 3. That so to believe and think is impossible to
those who do not acknowledge the Lord's divinity, and who do
not acknowledge evils to be sins ; but that it is possible to those
who acknowledge these two things. 4. That those who are in
the acknowledgment of these two things only reflect upon evils
in themselves, and, in proportion as they shun and hold them in
aversion as sins, cast them out from themselves into hell from
whence they come. 6. That thus the Divine Providence neither
appropriates evil nor good to any one, but that self-derived pru
dence appropriates both.
321. But these propositions shall be explained in the order
proposed. Fiest, That he that confi/rms in himsdf tlie appear
once that wisdom and prudence are from and in man as his own,
cannot see oth&mnse than that if this were not the case he would
not be a man, hut either a beast or a statue ; when, nevertheless,
the contrary is true. It is a law of the Divine Providence, that
a man should think as from himself, and should act prudently
as from himself, but yet should acknowledge that he does so
from the Lord. Hence it follows, that he that thinks and acts
prudently as from himself, and, at the same time, acknowledges
that he does so from the Lord, is a man ; but not be that con
firms in himself an idea that all that he thinks and does is from
himself; or he that, because he knows that wisdom and pru
dence are from God, yet waits for influx ; for the latter becomes
like a statue, and the former like a beast. That he that waits
for influx is like a statue, is evident ; for he must stand or sit
motionless, with his hands hanging down, and his eyes either
242

the divine PEOVIDENCE. 321
shut or wide open without motion, neither thinking' nor breath
ing ; and in such case what life is there in him ? That he that
believes all he thinks and does to be froni himself is not unlike
a beast, may also be evident ; because he thinks only from the
natural mind, which every man has in common with beasts,
and not from the rational spiritual mind, which is the mind
truly human ; for this latter mind acknowledges that God alone
thinks from bimself, and that a man thinks from God ; there
fore, also, men who think only from the natural mind know no
difference between a man and a beast, except that the former
speaks and the latter uttei-s sounds, and they imagine that they
both die alike. Of those who wait for influx, it may be further
observed that, with the exception of a few who from their hearts
desire it, they do not receive any influx. These sometimes re
ceive some answer by lively perception in thought, or by tacit
speech therein, but rarely by any manifest speecn ; and then it
is to this effect, that they may think and act as they will or as
they can, and that he that acts wisely is a wise man, and he
that acts foolishly is a fool. They are never instructed what
they ought to believe and to do ; and this to the end that human
rationality and liberty may not be destroyed, which consists in
every one's acting from free-will according to reason, in all ap
pearance as from himself Those who are instructed by influx
what they ought to believe and to do, are not instructed by the
Lord, or by any angel of heaven, but by some spirit of an en
thusiast, Quaker or Moravian, and are seduced. All influx from
the Lord is effected by illumination of the understanding, by
the affection of truth, and by the influx of the latter into the
former. Secondly, That to believe and think, as is the truth,
that every thing good and true is from tlie Lord, and every thing
evil and false from hell, appea/rs to he impossible; when,neverthe-
less, it is truly human and thence angelic. To believe and think
that every thing good and true is from God appears possible, pro
vided nothing further be said ; and the reason is, that it is con
formable to theological faith, against which it is not allowable
to think; but to believe and think that every thing evil and false
is from hell appears impossible, because in this case it would
also be believed that a man could not think any thing. Yet
every man thinks as from himself, although from hell, because
it is the gift of the Lord to every one, that thought, whenceso-
ever it comes, shall appear in him as his own ; otherwise a man
would not live as a man ; nor could he be brought out of hell,
and introduced into heaven, that is to say, be reformed, as is
abundantly shown above. Therefore, also, the Lord grants to
every man to know, and thence to think, that he is m hell if he
is in evil, and that he thinks from hell if he thinks from evil ;
he also grants him to think of the means whereby he may es
cape out of hell, and not think from thence, but enter into
243 Q

321 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNINO
heaven, and there think from the Lord : and he gives him free
dom of election ; from which considerations it may be seen that
a man can think what is evil and false as frora himself, and can
also think that this or that is evil and false ; consequently that
it is only an appearance that it is from himself, without which
appearance he would not be a man. The essential human
principle, and thence the angelic, consists in thinking from the
truth ; and it is the truth, that a man does not think from him
self, but that, it is granted him by the Lord to think in all ap
pearance as frora himself Thirdly, That so to believe and
think is impossible to those who do not acknowledge the Lord^s
divinity, and who do not acknowledge evils to be sins; hut that it
is possible to those who acknowledge these two things. The reason
why it is impossible to those who do not acknowledge the Lord's
divinity, is, because the Lord alone grants to a man to think
and will, and those who do not acknowledge the Lord's divinity,
being separated from him, imagine that they think from them
selves. The reason why it is also impossible to those who do
not acknowledge that evils are sins, is, because they think from
hell, and every one there supposes that he thinks from himself
That it is possible, however, to those who acknowledge the
Lord's divinity, and that evils are sins, may appear from what
has been abundantly adduced above, n. 288 — 294. Fourthly,
That those wlw are in the acknowledgment of those two things,
only reflect upon evils in themselves, and inproportion as they
shun and hold them, in aversion as sins, cast them out into h,ell
from whence they come. Who does not or may not know, that
evil is from hell, and that good is from heaven ? Who may not
thence know, that in proportion as a man shuns evil and holds
it in aversion, he shuns hell and holds it in aversion ? And
who may not thence know, that in proportion as any one shuns
and holds evil in aversion, he wills good and loves it ; therefore,
that in the same proportion he is brought out of hell by the
Lord, and led to heaven? These things every rational man may
see plainly, provided he knows that there is a heaven and a hell,
and that evil and good have each their separate origin. Now if
a man reflects upon evils in himself, which is the same thing as
to examine himself, and shuns them, he then disengages himself
from hell, casting it behind him, and introduces himself into
heaven, where he sees the Lord face to face. It is said that the
man does this ; but he only does it seemingly from himself, and
therefore from the Lord. W hen a man acknowledges this truth
from a good heart and pious faith, it lies inwardly concealed in
every thing that he thinks and does afterwards as from himself;
like the proliflc principle in seed, which internally accompanies
it even until the production of new seed ; and like the pleasure
of appetite for such food as a man has once found to be salu
tary: in a word, it is like the heart and soul in every thing
244

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 321, 322
that he thinks and does. Fifphly; That thus the Divine Provir
dence neither appropriates evil nor good to any one, but that self-
deri/vedprudenxie appropriates hoth. This follows as a consequence
of all that has been said. The end of the Divine Providence is
good; this it consequently intends in every operation; therefore,
it does not appropriate good to any one, for thereby such good
would become meritorious ; neither does it appropriate evil to
any one, for thereby it would make him guilty of evil. Yet a
man does both from his proprium, because that is nothing but
evil ; the proprium of his will being self-love, and the proprium
of his understanding the pride of self-derived intelligence, and
from the latter proceeds self-derived prudence.

THAT EVERY MAN MAY BE REFORMED, AND THAT THERE IS NO
SUCH THING AS PREDESTINATION.
322. Sound reason dictates that all are predestined to hea
ven and none to hell ; for all are born men, and thence the
image of God is in them. The image of God in them consists in
their being able to understand truth, and to do good; and to be
able to understand truth is ffoin the divine wisdom, and to be
able to do good is from the divine love. This power is the
image of .God, which abides in a man of sound mind, and is
not eradicated. Hence it is, that he can be made a civil and
moral man ; and he that is a civil and moral man can also be
made spiritual, for what is civil and moral is the receptacle of
what is spiritual. He that knows the laws of the kingdom of
which he is a citizen, and lives according to them, is called a
civil man, and he that makes those laws his morals and his
virtues, and lives conformably to them from reason, is called a
moral man. I will now tell you how civil and moral life is a
receptacle of spiritual life : live according to those laws, con
sidered not only as civil and moral, but also as divine laws, and
you will be a spiritual man. There scarcely exists a nation so
barbarous as not to have given the sanction of its laws to the
prohibition of committing murder, corrupting the wife of ano
ther, stealing, false testimony, and the violation of another s
rights. These laws are observed by the civil and moral man,
in order that he may be, or seem to be, .a good citizen ; but if
he does not at the same time consider these laws as divine, he
is only a civil and moral natural man : if he considers them as
divine, he becomes a civil and moral spiritual man. The dif
ference is, that the latter is a good citizen not only of an earthly
kingdom, but also of the heavenly kingdom ; while the former
is a good citizen of an earthly kingdom, but not of the heavenly
245

322, 323 AlfGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
kingdom. The goods which they do distinguish them : the
goods which civil and moral natural men do, are not goods in
themselves, for the man and the world are in them ; whereas
the goods which civil and moral spiritual men do, are in them
selves goods, because the Lord and heaven are in them. Hence
it is evident that every man, since he is born such that he can
be made a civil and moral natural man, is also born such that
he can be made a civil and moral spiritual man. It is only to
acknowledge God, and not to do evils because they are in oppo
sition to God, but to do good because it is agreeable to him.
By this, spirit enters into a man's civil and moral actions, and
tbey receive life ; but without it there is no spirit in them, and
consequently they have no life ; therefore the natural man, how
ever civilly and morally he may act, is called dead, but the
spiritual man is called alive. It is of the Lord's Divine Provi
dence, that every nation has sorae religion, and the foundation
of all religion is an acknowledgment that there is a God ;
otherwise it is . not called a religion ; and every nation, which
lives according to its religion, that is, which refrains from evil
because it is against its God, receives something spiritual into
its natural principle. What person, when he hears any. Gentile
say he will not do this or that because it is against his God,
does not say within himself,, Will not this man be saved? It
appears as if it could not be otherwise : this sound. reason dic
tates to him. On the other hand, what person when he heare
a Christian say, I make no account of this or that evil ; what
signifies its being said to be against God ? does not say within
himself. Can this man be saved? It appears. as if he could
not : this also sound reason dictates. If he says, I' was bom a
Christian, have been baptized, have known the Lord, have read
the Word, and received the sacrament ; do these things avail
any thing, when he breathes murder, or revenge leading to
murder, and does not consider as sins adultery, secret theft^
false testimony, or, lies, and various violences ? Does such a
one think any thing of God or of life etemal ? Does he think
that they have any existence ? Docs not sound reason dictate
that such a one cannot be saved ? These things are said of the
Christian, because the Gentile thinks more of God from religion
in his life than the Christian does. But of this more shall
be said below, in the following order. I. Tliat the end of crear
tion is a heaven out of the human race. II. That thence it is
of the Divine Providence that every man is capable of being
saved, and that those are saved who acknowledge a God and
lead a good life. III. That it is a man's o-wn fault if he is not
savftd. IV. That thus all are predestined to heaven, and none
to hall. 323. I. That the end of creation is a heaven out of the
hi man race. That heaven consists cnly of such as were bora
246

THE DIVINE PRO-VIDENCE. 323, 324
men, is shown in the work conceming Heaven and Hell
published at London in the year 1758, and also above ; aud as
heaven dpes not consist of any others, it follows that the end of
creation is a heaven out of the human race. That this was the
end of creation was indeed shown above, n. 27 — 45 ; but the
same -will be still more manifestly seen from an explanation of
the following points. 1. That every man is created to live to
eternity. 2. That every man is created to live to eternity in a
state of happiness. 3. That therefore every man is created to go
to heaven. 4. That the divine love cannot do otherwise than
desire it, and that the divine wisdom cannot do otherwise than
provide for it. '
324. Since from these considerations it may also be seen
that the Divine Providence is no other predestination than to
heaven, and that it cannot be changed into any other, it is
here to be demonstrated, in the order proposed, that the end
of creation is a heaven out of the human race. Fikst, That
every man is created to lime to eternity. In the treatise concern
ing The Divine Love and the DrviNE Wisdom, Parts IH. and
v., it is shown tliat in every man there are three degrees of
life, which are called natural, spiritual, and celestial, and that
these three degrees are actually in every one : but that in beasts
there is only one degree of life, which is similar to the ultimate
degree in a man, called natural. From this it follows, that,
by the elevation of his life to the Lord, a man is capable, though
beasts are not, of being brought into such a state as to be able
to understand those things which are of the divine wisdom,
and to will those things which are of the divine love, conse
quently to receive the divine influence ; and he that can re
ceive the Divine influence, so as to see and perceive it in him
self, cannot be otherwise than conjoined with the Lord, and
from that conjunction cannot but live to eternity. What would
the Lord be, with all his creation of the universe, if he had
not also created images and likenesses of himself, to whom he
might communicate his divine influence? In any other case,
would it not be like causing something to be and not to be, or
to exist and not to exist, and this for no other purpose but that
he might contemplate at a distance a mere shifting of scenes
and continual variations as upon a theatre ? To what purpose
would the divine principle be in men, were it not to the end
that they might serve as subjects to receive it more nearly, and
to see and feel it? And as the Divine Being is a being of in-
ex;haustible glory, is it likely^that he would keep it to himself,
or indeed could he ? For love wishes to communicate its own
to another, — to give, indeed, as much of its own as it can; and
what then must the Divine Love do, which is infinite ? Can
feuch love give, and then take away again ? Would not this be
giving what is to perish, which in itself internally is not any
247

324 ANGELIC wisdom CONCERNINO
thing, because when it perishes it becomes nothing, there not
being in it that which really exists ? but He gives what really
exists, or what does not cease to be, and that is etemal. Li
order that every man may live to eternity, that which is mortal
about him is taken away, namely, his material body, which is
taken away by death: thus his iraraortal part, which is his
mind, is stripped naked, and then he becomes a spirit in a
human form, his mind being that spirit. That the mind oi
man cannot die, the sages or wise men of antiquity saw veiy
plainly ; for they said. How can the soul or mind die, when it
has the faculty of acquiring wisdom ? Their interior idea on
this subject is known only to few at this day ; but it descended
into their common perception from heaven, and was this, — that
God is wisdom itself, of which man is a partaker, and that God
is immortal or eternal. As it has been permitted me to con
verse with angels, I will also relate something on this subject
from experience. I have conversed with some who lived many
years ago, with some who lived before the deluge and some after
it, with some who lived in the Lord's time, with one of his
apostles, and with many who lived in the succeeding ages : they
all seemed like men of a middle age, and said that they know
not what death is, but only that there is such a thing as damna
tion. All indeed who have led a good life, when they go tc
heaven, enter into their juvenile age in the world, and continue
in it to eternity, even though they were old and decrepit in the
world ; and women, although they had been wrinkled and anti
quated, return to the flower of their youth and beauty. That
every man after death lives to eternity is evident from the Word,
where life in heaven is called life everlasting ; as in Matthew
xix. 29 ; xxv. 46 ; Mark x. 17 ; Luke x. 25 ; xviii. 30 ; John
iii. 15, 16, 36 ; v. 24, 25, 39 ; vi. 27, 40, 68 ; xii. 50 ; also,
simply, life. Matt, xviii. 8, 9 ; John v. 40 ; xx. 31. The Lord
said also to his disciples, " Because I live, ye shall live also,"
John xiv. 19 ; and conceming the resurrection, that God is the
God of the living, and not the God of the dead ; also, that
they cannot die any more (Luke xx. 36, 38). Secondly, That
every man is created to live to etemity in a state of happiness,
follows of course ; for he that wills thq,t every man should live
to eternity, wills also that he should live in a state of happi
ness. What would eternal life be without it ? All love wills
or desires the good of another. The love of parents desires
the good of children ; the love of the bridegroom and the hus
band desires the good of the bride and the wife ; and the love
of friendship desires the good of friends : what then must not
the divine love do ? And what is good but delight ? what divine
good but eternal beatitude ? All good is called good from its
delight or beatitude. All indeed which is given and possessed
is called good; but unless it be also delightful, it is sterile

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 324
good, which is not good in itself Hence it appears that
eternal life is also eternal happiness. This state of man is the
end and 'purpose of creation. That only those who go to heaven
are in this state, is not the Lord's fault, but man's. That
the fault is in man will be seen in what follo-ws. Thirdly,
That therefore every man is created to go to heaven. This
is the end of creation ; but the reason why all do not go to
heaven, is, because they imbibe the delights of hell, which
are opposite to the beatitude of heaven ; and those who are
not in the beatitude of heaven cannot enter into heaven, for
they cannot bear it. No one who enters the spiritual world is
refused the liberty of ascending into heaven ; but he that, when
he comes there, is in the delight of hell, has a palpitation at
his heart, labours in his breathing, begins to lose all life, is in
anguish and torment, and rolls himself about like a serpent laid
before tbe fire : this is the case, because opposites act against
each other. Notwithstanding, as they were born men, and
thence in the faculty of thinking and willing, consequently in
the faculty of speaking and acting, they cannot die ; but as
they cannot live with any but those who are in a similar delight
of life, they are sent to them ; those who are in the delights of
evil, and those who are in the delights of good, being respec
tively reraanded to those who are like themselves. It is even
allowed to every one to be in the delight of his e-vil, provided he
does not infest those who are in the delight of good : but as evil
cannot do otherwise than infest good, for in evil there is hatred
against good, therefore lest they should do mischief, they are
removed, and cast down into their proper places in hell, where
theii- delight is turned to what is undelightful. This however
does not prevent a man from being by creation, consequently
by birth, of such a quality that he may go to heaven ; for every
one that dies an infant goes to heaven, is educated and instructed
there as a man is in the world, and by the affection of good and
truth imbibes wisdom and becomes an angel. The same might
be the case with a man that is educated and instructed in the
world ; for the same capability which is in an infant is in him.
Concerning infants in the spiritual world, see the work on
Heaven and Hell, published in London in 1768, n. 329—346.
The reason why it is not the same with many in the world, is,
because they love the first degree of their life, called the natural
degree, and will not recede from it and become spiritual ; and
the natural degree of life, considered in itself, loves nothing but
self and the worid ; for it coheres with the bodily senses, which
also communicate with the worid: but the spiritual degree of
life, considered in itself, loves the Lord and heaven, and also
itself and the worid : yet God and heaven as superior, principal,
and governing, and self and the world as inferior, instrumental,
249

324, , 325 angelic wisdom conceening
and subservient. Fourthly, That the Divine .Love cannot do
otlierwise than will it, and that the Divine Wisdom cannot do
otherwise than provide for it. That the Divine Essence is divine
love and divine wisdom, was fully shown in the treatise con
ceming The Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom. It is also
demonstrated there, n. 358 — 370, that in every human embryo
the Lord forms two receptacles, — one of the divine love, and the
other of the divine wisdom, — the receptacle of divine love for
the man's future will, and the receptacle of divine wisdom for
his future understanding, and that thus he endows every man
with a faculty of willing good and of understanding truth. Now
as every man has these two faculties given him from his birth
by the Lord, and thence the Lord is in them as in his own in
the man, it is evidentthat his divine love cannot will otherwise
than that every man should go to heaven and there enjoy eter
nal beatitude, and also that his divine wisdom cannot do other
wise than provide for it. As, however, it is of his divine love
that a man should feel heavenly beatitude in himself as his own,
and this cannot be done unless he is kept perfectly in the ap
pearance that he thinks, wills, speaks, and acts from himself,
therefore the Lord cannot lead him any otherwise than according
to the laws of his Divine Providence.
326. H. That thence it is of the Divine Providence that every
man is capable of being saved, and that those a/re saved who ac
knowledge a Ood and lead a good life. That every one is ca
pable of being saved is evident from what has been demonstrated
above. Some are of opinion that the church of the Lord is only
in the Christian world, because the Lord is known there only,
and the Word is there only ; yet there are many who believe
that the church of God is comraon, or extended and spread over
the whole earth, consequently among those likewise who are
ignorant of the Lord, and have not the Word ; urging, that this
is not tlieir fault, that there is no help for their ignorance, and
that it is not consistent with the love and mercy of the Lord
that any one should be born for hell, when they are nevertheless
all equally men. Now as there is a belief among Christians, —
among many at least, if not among all, — that the church is
common, and it is also called a communion, it follows that there
are some very common or general essentials of the church, which
are the constituents of all religions, and form such communion.
That these most common or general essentials are the acknow
ledgment of a God, and the good of life, will be seen in the
following order. 1. That the acknowledgment of a God effects
a conjunction of God with man, and of man with God, and that
the denial of a God produces a disjunction. 2. That every one
acknowledges God, and is joined to him, according to the good
of his life. 3.. That the good of life, or to live well, is to shun
250 '

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 325 326
evils because they are contrary to religion, therefore against
God. 4. That these are the common essentials of all religions,
by which every one may be saved.
326. But these propositions are to be viewed and demon
strated sejxarately. I. That the acknowledgment of a God effects
a GonjuTiction of Ood with man, and of man witli Ood, and that
the denial of a God produces a disjunction. Some may think
that those who do not acknowledge a God can be saved as well
as those who do, provided they lead a moral life ; saying, What
does acknowledgment signify? Does it not consist in, thought
only ? Cannot I easily acknowledge, when I know for certain,
that there is a God ? I have heard of him, but I never saw
him : let me see him, and I will believe. Such is the language
of many who deny God, when it is permitted them to reason
freely with one who acknowledges God. But that the acknow
ledgment of a God conjoins, and the denial of a God separates,
shall be illustrated by some particulars known to me in the
spiritual world. In that world, when any one thinks of another
and desires to speak with him, the other is immediately present.
This is common in the spiritual world, and never fails ; the
reason of which is, that in that world there is no distance, as
in the natural world, but only an appearance of it. Another
particular is, that as thought from some knowledge of another
causes his presence, so love from some affection for another,
causes conjunction with him, by which it comes to pass that
they go together, converse in a friendly manner, dwell in one
house or in one society, often meet, and do mutual good oflSces
to each other. The reverso also takes place ; for he that does
not love another, more especially he that hates another, does
not see or meet him, and the distance between them is in pro
portion to the degree in which there is a want of love, or in
which hatred prevails. Even if he is present, and then remem
bers his hatred, he becomes invisible. From these particulars
it may appear what is the Cause of presence and of conjunction
in the spiritual world, namely, that presence proceeds froni the
remembrance of another with a desire to see him, and conjunc
tion proceeds from the affection which is of love. It is the same
with all things which are in the human mind: therein are
things innumerable, and all the particulars there are consociated
or conjoined according to affections, or as one thing loves an
other. This is spiritual conjunction, which is like itself both
in things general and in things particular. This spiritual con
junction derives its origin from the conjunction of the Lord
with the spiritual world and the natural world, in general and
in particular. From this consideration it is evident, that in
proportion as any one acknowledges the Lord, and thinks of
nim from knowledge, the Lord is present ; and in proportion as
any one acknowledges him from the affection of love, the Lor-d
251

326 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
is conjoined with him : on the contrary, that in proportion as
any one does not acknowledge the Lord, the Lord is absent ;
and in proportion as any one denies him, he is separated from
him. Conjunction causes the Lord to turn the face of a man
to himself, and then to lead him ; and disjunction causes hell
to turn the face of a man to itself, and to lead him : all the
angels of heaven, therefore, turn their faces to the Lord as the
sun, and all the spirits of hell turn away their faces from the
Lord. Hence is evident what is the effect produced by the ac
knowledgment of a God, and what by the denial of a God.
Those also who deny God in the world, deny him after death,
becoming organized according to the description above, n. 319 ;
and the organization induced in the world remains to eternity.
Secondly, That every one acknowledges Ood, and is conjoined
with him, according to the good of his life. All who know any
thing of religion may know God. They can also speak of God
from science or the memory, and some even think of God from
the understanding ; but this, unless a man leads a good life,
produces nothing but presence ; for he can turn himself from
God notwithstanding, and turn himself to hell, which is the
case if he leads a bad life. None can acknowledge God in their
hearts except those who lead a good life ; and these, according
to the good of their life, the Lord turns away from hell, and
turns to himself. The reason is, because these alone love God ;
for they love divine things, which are from him, by doing
them. The divine things, which are from God, are the precepts
of his law; and these are God,, because he is his own proceed
ing divine. As this is to love God, therefore the Lord says,
" He that keepeth my commandments, he it is that loveth me ;
and he that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings" (John xiv.
21 — 24). This is the reason why there are two tables of the
Decalogue, — one for God and the other for man. God continu
ally operates, that a man may receive the things which are in
his table ; but if he does not the things which are in his table,
he does not receive with acknowledgment of heart the things
which are in God's table ; and if he does not receive them, he
is not conjoined. Therefore those two tables were joined toge
ther, that they might be one, and were called the tables of the
covenant ; and covenant signifies conjunction. The reason why
every one acknowledges God, and is conjoined with him accord
ing to the good of his life, is, because good of life is similar to
the good which is in the Lord, and which therefore is from the
Lord ; consequently, when a man is in the good of life, con
junction is effected. It is the contrary with evil of life ; for this
rejects the Lord. Thirdly, That the good of life, or to live
well, is to shun evils heca/use they are contrary to religion, there
fore against Ood. That this is the good of life, or to live well,
is fully shown in The Doctrine of Life foe the New Jeeu
252

the DIVINB PEO-VIDENCB. 326
SALEM, from beginning to end. To which I will only add, that
if you do good in all abundance; if, for example, you build
churches, adorn and fill them with donations, lay out money in
hospitals and charities, give alms daily, help widows and or
phans, regularly perform the ceremonies of divine worahip, if
even you think, speak, and preach things holy as from the heart,
and yet do not shun evils as sins against God, all those goods
are not goods, but are either hypocritical or meritorious ; for
there is in-wardly evil in them notwithstanding, since the life of
every one is in all and every thing that he does. Goods are no
otherwise made goods than by the removal of evil from them.
Hence it is evident, that to shun evils because they are con
trary to religion, and therefore against God, is to live well.
Fourthly, That these are the common essentials of all religions,
by which every one may be saved. To acknowledge a God, and
not to do evil because it is against God, are the two things by
virtue of which religion is religion. If one of them is wanting,
it cannot be called religion ; for to acknowledge a God and to
do evil is contradictory, as well as to do good and not to ac
knowledge a God : one does not take place without the other.
It is provided by the Lord that there is some religion almost
everywhere, and that in every religion there are these two
essentials. It is provided by the Lord that every one who ac
knowledges a God, and abstains from evil because it is against
God, has a place in heaven ; for heaven in the complex resem
bles one man, whose life or soul is the Lord. In that celestial
man there are all things which are in a natural man ; with that
difference which exists between things celestial and natural. It
is well known that in a man there are not only organized forms,
consisting of blood-vessels and nervous fibres, which are called
viscera, but also skins, merabranes, tendons, cartilages, bones,
nails, and teeth, which have life in a less degree than the or
ganized forms themselves, to which they serve as ligaments,
¦ teguments, and supports. That celestial man, which is heaven,
in order, that there maybe all these parts in him, cannot be
composed of men all of one religion, but of men of different
religions; BfUd hence, all who apply to their lives those two
universals of the church have a place in that celestial man, that
is, in heaven, and there enjoy felicity, each in his degree ; but
on this subject see more above, n. 254. That these two essen
tials are primary in every religion may appear from their being
the two essentials whicb the Decalogue teaches ; and tho Deca
logue was primary in the Word, being promulgated from Mount
Sinai by Jehovah vima voce, and written upon two tables of
stone by the finger of God ; then, being deposited in the ark,
it was called Jehovah, and constituted the holy of holies in the
tabemacle and the most sacred place in the temple at Jerusalem ;
and all things there derived their sanctity from it alone. Con-
253

326, 327 ANGELIC AVISDOM CONCERNINO
coming the Decalogue in the ark, more may be seen from the
Word in The Doctrine of Life foe the New Jeeusalem,
n. 63 — 61 ; to which I will add as follows : it is known from the
Word that the ark, in which were the two tables whereupon
the Decalogue was written, was taken by the Philistines, and
placed in the temple of Dagon, in Ashdod ; that Dagon fell
down before it to the earth ; that afterwards his head and the
palms of his hands were separated from his body, and lay upon
the threshold of the temple ; that the Ashdodites and Ekronites,
by reason of the ark, were smitten with emerods to the number
of several thousands, and that their country was wasted by
mice ; also, that the Philistines, by the advice of the chiefs of
their nation, made five emerods, five golden mice, and a new
cart, upon -which they set the ark, with the emerods and golden
mice beside it, and sent back the ark, by two kine, which lowed
in the -way before it, to the children of Israel, by whom the
kine and the cart were sacrificed. See 4 Sam. chaps, v. and vi.
It shall now be shown what all these particulars signified. The
Philistines signified those who are in faith separate from charity ;
Dagon represented their religion ; the emerods, whereby they
were smitten, signified natural loves, which when separated
from spiritual love are unclean ; the mice signified the devasta
tion of the church by falsifications of truth ; the new ctot upon
which they sent back the ark, signified new, but natural, doc
trine, for chariot in the Word signifies doctrine grounded in
spiritual truths ; the kine signified good natural affections ;
the golden emerods signified natural loves purified and made
good ; the golden mice signified the vastation of the church
removed by good, for gold in the Word signifies good ; the low
ing of the kine in the way signified the difficult conversion of
the. concupiscences of evil in the natural man into good affec^
tions ; and the offering the kine with the cart, as a burnt-
offering, signified that thus atonement would be made to the
Lord. These are the things which are spiritually meant by
those historical facts : connect them into one sense, and make
the application. That by the Philistines are represented those
who are in faith separate from charity may be seen in The
Docteine of the New Jerusalem concerning Faith, n. 49 — ^64 ;
and that the ark, by reason of the Decalogue therein contained,
was the most holy thing of the church, see the DocteinSb of
Life for the New Jerusalem, n. 53 — 61.
327. IH. That it is a man's own fault if he is not samed.
This truth is acknowledged by every i-ationalman as soon as it
is heard, viz. that evil cannot flow from good, or good frora evil,
because they are opoosites ; consequently, that from good no
thing but good can ffow, and from evil nothing but evil. When
this truth is acknowledged, the following is acknowledged also,
"'u,. that good can be turned into evil, not by a good but by aa
264

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE. 327, 32^
e\dl recipient; for every form turns what is influent into its own
quality. See above, n. 292. Now as the Lord is good in its
very essence, or good itself, it is evident that evil cannot flow
from him, or be produced by him ; but that it can be turned
into evil by a recipient subject, whose form is a form of evil.
Such a subject is every man with respect to his proprium, which
continually receives good from the Lord, and continually turns
it into the quality of its form, which is a form of evil. Hence
it follows that it is a man's own fault if he is not saved. Evil
is indeed from hell ; yet as a man receives it thence as his own,
and thereby appropriates it to himself, it makes no difference
whether you say that evil is from man or fromJiell. But whence
there is an appropriation of evil in such a degree that religion
perishes, shall be shown in the following series. 1. That every
religion, in process of tirae, decreases, and is consummated.
2. That every religion decreases and is consummated by an in
version of the image of God in man. 3. That this takes place
from a continual accumulation of hereditary evil in successive
generations. 4. That it is nevertheless provided by the Lord,
that every one is capable of being saved. 5. That it is also
provided that a new cnurch should succeed in place of the former
vastated, church.
328. These propositions are to be demonstrated in thcii
series. -FmsT, That every, religion in process of time decreases
and is consummated. Upon this earth there have been several
churches, one after another ; since, wherever the human race
exists, there a church exists ; for, as was demonstrated above,
heaven, which is the end of creation, consists of the human
race ; and no one can enter heaven unless he be in the two uni
versals of the church, which, as is shown above, n. 326, are the
acknowledgment of a God, and the leading of a good life ;
hence it follows that there have been churches upon this earth
from the most ancient times down to the present. These
churches are described in the Word, but not historically, with
the exception of the Israelitish and Jewish church, before which,
nevertheless, there existed several that are only described in
the Word under the names of nations and persons, and certain
particulars concerning them. The most ancient church, which
was the first, is described by Adam and his wife Eve. The
succeeding church, which is to be called the ancient church, is
described by Noah and his three sons, and their posterity.
This was extensive and spread over many kingdoms of Asia,
namely, the land of Canaan on both sides Jordan, Syria, Assyria
and Chaldea, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Arabia, Tyre and Sidon ;
and among these was the ancient Word, mentioned in The
Docteine of the New Jeeusalem conceening the Saceed
Sgeiptuee, n. 101 — 103. That such church existed in those
kingdoms is evident from various particulars recorded concerning
265

328 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
them in the prophetic parts of the Word. That church, how
ever, was remarkably changed by Eber, from whom the Hebrew
church had its origin ; in which latter sacrificial worship was
first instituted. From the Hebrew church sprangthe Israelitish
and Jewish church, established with much solemnity for the sake
of the Word which was therein to be written. These four
churches are meant by the image seen by Nebuchadnezzar in a
dream, whose head was of pure gold, the breast and arms of
silver, the belly and thighs of brass, and the legs and feet of iron
and clay (Dan. ii. 32, 33). The same is meant by the golden,
silver, copper, and iron ages mentioned by ancient writers.
That the Christian church succeeded the Jewish church is well
known ; and it may be seen from the Word that all these churches
respectively declined in process of time, till there was an end of
them, which is called the consummation. The consummation
of the most ancient church, which was occasioned by eating of
the tree of knowledge, whereby is signified the pride of self-
derived intelligence, is described by the deluge. The consum
mation of the ancient church is described by various devastations
of the nations treated of in the historical as well as in the pro
phetical parts of the Word, especially by the casting out of the
nations from the land of Canaan by the children of Israel.
The consummation of the Israelitish and Jewish church is un
derstood by the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem ; by the
carrying away of the Israelitish people into perpetual captivity,
and of the Jewish nation to Babylon ; and, lastly, by the second
destruction of the temple, also of Jerusalem at the same time,
and the dispersion of that nation ; which consummation is fore
told in many places in the prophets, and in Daniel ix. 24 — 27.
The successive vastation of the Christian church, to its final
period, is described by the Lord, in Matthew xxiv., Mark xiii.,
and Luke xxi. ; and the consummation itself in the Apocalypse.
Hence it may appear that in process of time the church de
creases and is consummated ; and that it is the same with reli
gion. Secondly, That every rdigion decreases and is consu/m-
mated hy an inversion of the image of Ood in man. It is well
known that man was created in the image of God according to
the likeness of God (Genesis i. 26) : it shall now be explained
what an image of God is, and what a likeness of God. God
alone is love and wisdom ; and man was created that he might
be a receptacle of both, — ^that his will might be a receptacle of
divine love, and his understanding a receptacle of divine wisdom.
That these two principles are in man from creation, that they
constitute the man, and that they are also formed in every one
in the womb, was sho-wn above. Man, then, is an image of
God by his being a recipient of divine wisdom, and a likeness
of God by his being a recipient of divine love ; therefore the
receptacle which is called the understanding is an image of God,
256

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 328
and the receptacle which is called the will is a likeness of God ;
and since man was created and formed to be a receptacle, it
follows that he was created and formed that his will might
receive love from God, and his understanding wisdom irom
God. These a man receives, when he acknowledges God, and
lives according to his commandments ; but in a greater or less
degree in proportion as by religion he knows God and his com
mandments, consequently, in proportion as he knows truths;
for truths teach what God is and how he is to be acknowledged,
aiso what his commandments are, and how a man is to live
according to them. The image and likeness of God, although
seemingly, are not actually desti'oyed in man ; for they remain
inherent in his two faculties called liberty and rationality, which
have been abundantly treated of above. They became seem
ingly destroyed, when he made the receptacle of the divine love,
which is his will, a receptacle of self-love, and the receptacle of
the divine wisdom, which is his understanding, a receptacle of
self-derived intelligence. He thereby iuYerted the image and
likeness of God ; for he turned those receptacles away from God,
and turned them to himself. Hence it is, that they are closed
above and opened below, or closed before and opened behind,
when nevertheless by creation they were open before and closed
behind ; and when they are thus inversely opened and closed,
the receptacle of love, or the will, receives influx from hell or
from its proprium, and so also does the receptacle of wisdom,
or the understanding. Hence arose in the churches the worship
of men instead of the worship of God, and worship grounded in
doctrines of falsity instead of that grounded in doctrines of
truth, — ^the latter from self-derived intelligence, the former from
self-love. From these considerations it is evident, that religion
in process of time decreases and is consummated by an inversion
of the image of God in man. Thirdly, That this takes place
from a continual accumulation of hereditary evil in successive
generations. It was stated and shown above, that hereditary
evil is not from Adam and his wife Eve in consequence of their
eating of the tree of knowledge, but that it is successively derived
from parents and transplanted into their offspring, thus by con
tinual additions is augmented from generation to generation.
When evil is thereby accumulated among many, it spreads and
extends itself to others ; for in all evil there is a lust of seducing,
which in some is ardent in consequence of their rage against
what is good ; and thence proceeds the contagion of evil. When
this has invaded the dignitaries, rulers, and leading men in the
church, religion is perverted, and the means of cure, which are
truths, are corrupted by falsifications ; hence in such case pro
ceed the successive vastation of good and desolation of truth in
the church, until the consummation is complete. " Fourthl-t,
That nevertheless it is provided by the Lord, that every one ii
267

828, 329 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING
capable of being saved. It is provided by the Lord that there
should be a religion everywhere, and that in every religion
there should be the two essentials of salvation, which consist in
acknowledging a God, and in not doing evil because it is against
God. Other things appertaining to the understanding and
thence to the thought, which are called raatters of faith, are
provided for every one according to his life, for they are acces
sories to life; and if they precede, still they do not receive life
before. It is also provided that all who have lived well and ac
knowledged a God should be instructed after death by the angels ;
and then those who have been in these two essentials of religion
in this world accept the truths of the church, such as they are
in the Word, and acknowledge the Lord as the God of heaven
and the church ; which- doctrine they receive more readily than-
Christians who have carried out of the world with them an ideai
of the Lord's hronanity separate from his divinity. It is more
over provided by the Lord, that all who die in their infancy,
wherever they may be born, should be- saved. There- is also
given to every man after death an opportunity of amending his
life, if possible. All are instructed and led of the Lord by
angels ; and as they then know that they are living after death^
and that there are such places as heaven and hell, they at first
receive truths; but those who have not acknowledged. a God,
and shunned evils as sins in this world, are in a short time after
disgusted with truths, and recede : those who have acknowledged
them with their mouths, and not in their hearts, being like the;
foolish virgins, who had lamps, but no oil, and sought oil of
others, and also went and boughti it, yet were nOt admittedto
the marriage. Lamps signify the truths of faith, and oil signifies :
the good of charity. Hence it may appear, that by the Divine
Providence everj'^ one is capable of being saved, and that it is a
man's own fault if he is not saved. Fifthly, That it is also-
provided that a New Chivrch should succeed in place of the
former vastated chu/rch. This has been the case from the most
ancient times, namely, that when a former church was vastated, a
new one succeeded. After the most ancient church the ancient
church succeeded ; after the ancient, the Israelitish or Jewish ;
after that, the Christian church ; and that after this last, a New
Church will succeed is foretold in the Apocalypse, in which such
church is signified by the New Jerusalem descending from
heaven. The reason why a New Church is provided by the
Lord to succeed the former vastated church, may be seen in
The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Sacred
Scripture, n. 104 — 113.
329. Iv. That thus all are predestined to heaven, and none
to hell. That the Lord casts none into hell, but that the spirit
casts himself thither, is shown in the work conceming Heaves
AND Hell, published in London in the year 1768, n. 545 — 550
268

the divine providence. 329
ITiis is the case with every wicked and 'rapious person after
deat'a, and it is the same with the wicked and impious in this
world ; with this difference, that in this world they may be
reformed and embrace and imbibe the means of salvation, but
not so_ after their departure out of the world. The means of
salvation relate to these two things, — the shunning of evils
because they are contrary to the divine laws in the Decalogue,
and the acknowledgment that there is a God. This every one
may do, provided he does not love evils ; for the Lord flows
continually with power into the wiU that he may be able to
shun evils, and with power into the understanding that he may
be able to think that there is a God ; yet no person can do the
one without at the same time doing tbe other : these two things
are joined together like the two tables of the Decalogue: of
which one is for the Lord, and the other for man. The Lord
from his table illuminates every one, and gives power ; but hi
proportion as a man does the things which are in his own table,
he receives power and illumination : before this the two appear
as if they were laid upon one another and sealed up ; but as a
man does the things whicb are in his table, they are disclosed
and opened. What is the Decalogue at this day but as a book
that is shut, or open only in the hands of infants and children ?
Tell any one who is of an advanced age. You must not do such
a thing, because it is contrary to the Decalogue, — and who
attends to you ? but if you say. Do not such a thing, because it is
contrary to the divine laws, this he can attend to ; and yet the
precepts of the Decalogue are the very essential divine laws.
An experiment was made with several in the spiritual world,
who, when the Decalogue or catechism was repeated, rejected
it with contempt ; the reason of which is, that the Decalogue
in its second table, which is man's table, teaches that evils are
to be shunned ; and he that does not shun them, whether from
impiety or from a religious notion that works are of no avail,
but faith only, when the Decalogue or catechism is repeated,
hears it with some contempt, as though he heard mention made
of some child's book, which is no longer of any use to him.
These particulars are stated in order that it may be known,
that there is not wanting to any man a knowledge of the nieans
by which he may be saved, or the power of being saved if he
will ; from which it follows, that all are predestined for heaven,
and none for hell. As however there prevails among some a
belief in predestination to no salvation, which is damnation,
and as such a belief is hurtful, and cannot be dispelled unless
reason also sees the madness and cruelty of it, therefore it shall
be treated of in the following series. 1. That any other pre
destination than predestination to heaven, is contrary to the
divine love and its infinity. 2. That any other predestination
than predestination to heaven is contrary to the divine wisdom
259 «

329, 330 ANGELIC WISDOM conceening

and its infinity. 3. That it is an insane heresy to suppose that
those only are saved who are born within the church. 4. That
it is a cruel heresy to suppose that any of the human race are
predestined to be damned.
330. That it may appear how hurtful is a faith in predes
tination, as commonly understood, these four propositions shall
be resumed and confirmed. First, That any other predestination
than predestination to heaven, is contra/ry to the divine love, which
is infinite. That Jehovah, or the Lord, is divine love, and that
the divine love is infinite, and the esse of all life ; also, that man
was created in the image of God according to the likeness of
God, is demonstrated in the treatise concerning The Divine
Love and the Divine Wisdom. Since also every man is formed
in the womb in that image according to that likeness by the
Lord, as is also demonstrated, it follows, that the Lord is the
heavenly Father of all men, and that men are his spiritual children.
So is Jehovah or the Lord called in the Word, and so are men
called therein ; therefore he says, " Call no man your Father
upon the earth ; for one is your Father, which is in heaven"
(Matt, xxiii. 9) ; by which is meant that He alone is the Father
as to life, and that an earthly father is only such as to the
covering of life, which is the body. In heaven, therefore, no
other Father is made mention of than the Lord. That men, who
do not invert that life, are called his sons, and said to be born
of him, is also evident from many passages in the Word. Hence
it may appear, that the Divine Love is in every man, the wicked
as well as the good ; consequently, that the Lord who is divine
love, cannot act any otherwise with them than as a father upon
earth does with his children, only with infinitely more tender
ness, because the divine love is infinite ; also, that he cannot
recede from any one, because the life of every one is from him.
It_ appears as if he receded from the wicked, whereas it is the
wicked themselves who recede ; but still out of love he leads
them : therefore the Lord says, " Ask, and it shall be given
you ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened
unto you. What man is there of you, who if his son ask bread,
will give him a stone ? If ye then, being evil, know how to
give good gifts unto your children, how much more will your
Father who is in the heavens give good things to them that ask
him?" (Matt vii. 7 — 11); and in another place, that "he
maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth
rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matt. v. 45). Moreover
it is well known in the church that the Lord desires the salvation
of all, and not the death of any. Hence it may be seen that
any other predestination than predestination to heaven is contrary
to the divine loye. Secondly, That any other predestinati-on
than, predestination to heaven, is eontrary to the dimine wisdom,
which is infinite. The divine love through its divine wisdom
260

THE DIVINE PRO-VIDENCE. 330
provides means by which every man may be saved ; therefore
to say that there is any other predestination than predestination
to heaven, is to say that it cannot provide means by which salva
tion may be effected, when, nevertheless, as was shown above,
all are possessed of the means, and these are from the Di-vine
Providence, wbich is infinite. The reason why there are some
who are not saved, is, because the divine love desires that a
man should feel in himself the felicity and bliss of heaven, for
otherwise it would be no heaven to him ; and this cannot be
effected unless it appear to him that he thinks and wills from
himself; for without that appearance nothing could be. appro
priated to him, nor would he be a man. For this reason there
is a Divine Providence, which is of the divine wisdom from the
divine love. By this, however, is not taken away the truth
that all are predestined for heaven, and none for hell ; yet it
would be taken away if the means of salvation were wanting.
But it was shown above, that the means of salvation are pro
vided for every one, and that heaven is of such a nature that
all who live well, of whatever religion they be, may have a
place there. A man is like the earth, -which produces all kinds
of fruits, and by virtue of which faculty earth is earth ; but its
producing evil fruit does not take away its power of producing
good fruit also, which would be taken away, however, if it could
only produce evil frtiit. A man may also be compared to an
object which variegates the rays of light in itself: if this pre
sents to the eye disagreeable colors only, it is not the fault of
the light ; for its rays may also be variegated to produce pleasing
colors. Thirdly, That to suppose that those only are saved who
are bom within tlie chwrch is an insane heresy. Those who are
born without the church are men as well as those who are within
it ; they are of the same heavenly origin, and are equally living
and immortal souls ; they have a religion by which they acknow
ledge that there is a God, and that they ought to live well ;
and, as was shown above, he that acknowledges a God and lives
well, becomes spiritual in his degree, and is saved. It is
alleged that they are not baptized ; but baptism does not save
any except those who are spiritually washed, that is, regene
rated ; for baptism is a sign and memorial thereof It is alleged
also that the Lord is not known to them, and that without the
Lord there is no salvation ; yet no one has salvation merely by
the Lord's being known to him, but by living according to his
precepts; and the Lord is kno-wn to every one who acknow
ledges a God, for he is the God of heaven and earth, as he
himself teaches in Matt, xxviii. 18 ; and other places. Besides,
those who are without the church have an idea of God as a man
more than the Christians ; and those who have this idea, and
live well, are accepted by, the Lord, for they acknc)wledge God
to be one in person and in essence, which Christians do not
261

330, 331 ANGELIC -WISDOM CONCERNING
They also think of God in their life ; for they consider evils aa
sins against God, and those who do this think of God in theil"
life. Christians have the precepts of their religion from the
Word ; but there are few who draw any precepts of life from it. .
The Papists do not read it ; and those of the Eeformed Church
who are in faith separate from charity do not attend to those
things in it which relate to life, but only to those which relate
to faith, and yet the whole Word is nothing else but the doc
trine of life. Christianity prevails only in Europe ; the religion
of the Mahometans and Gentiles in Asia, the Indies, Africa,
and America ; and the human race in the last-mentioned parts
of the world is ten times more numerous than in the Christian
countries, yet in the latter there are but few who place religion
in a good life : what then can be greater madness than to think
that the latter only are saved, and the former condemned, or
that a man possesses heaven by his birth, and not by his life ?
Therefore the Lord says, " I say unto you, that many shall
come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abra
ham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the
children of the kingdom shall be cast out" (Matt. viii. 11, 12).
Fourthly, Tliat to suppose any of the human race are predes
tined to he dammed is a cruel heresy. For it is cruel to think
that the Lord, who is love itself and inercy itself, would suffer
so vast a multitude of men to be born for hell, or that so many
myriads of myriads should be born condemned and devoted,
that is, born devils and satans ; and that he would not out of
his divine wisdom provide that those who live well and acknow
ledge a God should not be cast into everlasting fire and torment.
The Lord is the Creator and Saviour of all ; He alone leads all,
and -wills not the death of any one: therefore it is cruel to
think and believe that so great a multitude of nations and people
under his auspices and inspection should be predestined to be
delivered as a prey to the devil.

THAT THE LORD CANNOT ACT AGAINST THE LAWS OF THE
DIVINE PROVIDENCE, BECAUSE TO ACT AGAINST THEM
WOULD BE TO ACT AGAINST HIS DIVINE LOVE AND HIS
DIVINE WISDOM, CONSEQUENTLY AGAINST HIMSELF.
331. In The Angelic Wisdom conceening the Divine
Lo-vE AND THE DiviNE WisDOM, it is showH that the Lord is
divine love and divine wisdom, and that these two principles
are the very esse and life from which every thing is and Ifves.
It is shown, also, that the same proceed from him, and that
this proceeding divine is Himself Among the things which
proceed from him the Divine Providence is primary ; for this ia
262 r J .

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE. 331, 332
continually in the end for which the universe was created. The
operation and progression of the end by its means is what is
called the Divine Providence. Now as the proceeding divine is
himself, and the Divine Providence is the primary thing that
proceeds, it follows, that to act against the laws of his Divine
Providence is to act against himself It may also be said that
the Lord is Providence, as it is said that God is order ; for the
Divine Providence is the divine order primarily respecting the
salvation of men ;- and as there is no order without laws, for
laws constitute it, and every law derives this from order that
it also is order, it follows, tjfiat as God is order, he is also the
law of his own order. The same may be said of the Divine
Providence, that as the Lord is his own providence, he is also
the law of his own providence. Hence it is evident that the
Lord cannot act against the laws of his Divine Providence, be
cause to act against them would be to act against himself Now
there can be no operation but upon a subject, and by means
operating upon that subject ; operation, except upon a subject,
and upon that by certain means, is impossible ; and the subject
of the Divine Providence is man ; the means are divine truths
whereby he has wisdom, and divine goods whereby he has love ;
and the Divine Providence by these means operates its end,
which is man's salvation ; for he that wills an end, also wills
means. Therefore when he effects the end, he effects it by
means. These particulars, however, will be made more evident
when they are reviewed in the following order. I» That the ope
ration of the Divine Providence in saving a man begins at his
birth, continues to the end of his life, and afterwards to eter
nity, n. That the operation of the Divine Providence is
continually effected by means out of pure mercy. HI. That
momentaneous salvation from immediate mercy is impossible.
IV. That momentaneous salvation from immediate mercy is the
fiery flying serpent in the church.
333. I. That the operation of the Divine Providence in sav
ing a man begins at his hi/rth, continues to the end of his life, and
afterwards to eternity. It was shown above that a heaven out
of the human race is the very end of the creation of the uni
verse ; that this .end in its operation and progression is the
Divine Providence for the salvation of men ; and that all things
which are without man and serve for his use are secondary ends
of creation, which in the aggregate have relation to all things
that exist in the three kingdoms — the animal, vegetable, and
mineral. When these things constantly proceed according to
the laws of divine order established at their first creation, how
can the primary end, which is the salvation of the human race,
proceed otherwise than constantly according to the laws of its
order, which are the laws of the Divine Providence ? Only ob
serve a fruit tree ; does it not first spring- from a small seed as a
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332, 333 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENING
tender germ, afterwards grow successively into a stalk, spread
forth its branches, which are then covered with leaves, and af
terwards put forth flowers and bear fruit, wherein it deposits
new seeds, by which it provides for its perpetuity ? It is the
same with every shrub and herb of the field. Do not all and
singular things therein constantly and wonderfully proceed ac
cording to the laws of their order from end to end ? Why then
should not the primary end, which is a heaven out of the human
race, do the same ? Can any thing possibly take place in its
progression which does not most constantly proceed according
to the laws of the Divine Providence ? As there is a corre
spondence between the life of a man and the vegetation of a
tree, draw a parallel or comparison. A man's infancy may be
compared to the tender germ of a tree springing out of the
earth from the seed ; his childhood and youth, to that germ in
creasing to a stem and branches ; natural truths, whicn every
man fii-st imbibes, to the leaves with which its branches are
covered, leaves having no other signification in the Word ; a
man's initiation into the marriage of good and truth, or the
spiritual marriage, to the flowers which that tree produces in
the spring-time, spiritual truths being the small leaves of thos(!
flowers ; the first-fruits of the spiritual marriage, to the begin
nings of the fruit ; spiritual goods, which are the goods of
charity, to the fruit, being also signified by fruit in the Word ;
the procreations of wisdom from love, to the seeds, by means of
which procreations a man becomes like a garden and a paradise.
A man is also described in the Word by a tree, and his wisdom
from love by a garden. Nothing else is signified by the garden
of Eden. A man indeed is an evil tree from the seed ; but yet
there is provided an ingrafting or inoculation of branches taken
from the tree of life, by which the juices drawn from the old
root are converted into such as produce good fruit. This com
parison is made, in order that it may be known that when there
is so constant a progression of the Divine Providence in the
vegetation and regeneration of trees, it must by all means be
constant in the reformation and regeneration of men, who are
of much more value than trees, according to these words of the
Lord : " Are not five spaiTOws sold for two farthings, and not
one of them is forgotten before God ? but even the very hairs
of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore : ye are of
more value than many sparrows. And which of you with tak
ing thought can add to his stature one cubit ? If ye then be
not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought
for the rest ? Consider the lilies how they grow. If God so
clothe the grass, which is to-day in the field, and to-morrow is
cast into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O ye of
little faith ?" (Luke xii. 6, 7, 25—28.)
333. It was said above that the operation of the Divine Pro
264

THE DIVINE PRO-VIDBNCE. .'JSS 334
vidence in saying a man begins at his birth, and continues to
the end of his life. That this may be understood, it is to be
observed, that the Lord sees what a man is, and foresees what
he desires to be, consequently what he will be ; and in order
that he may be a man, and thereby immortal, the freedom of
his will cannot be taken away, as has been abundantly shown
above ; therefore the Lord foresees his state after death, and
provides for it from his birth to the end of his life ; with the
wicked he provides by permitting and continually withdrawing
them from evils ; with the good he provides by leading them to
good. Thus the Divine Providence is continually in the opera
tion of saving men ; but more cannot be saved than desire to be
saved. Those who acknowledge God, and are led by him, de
sire to be saved ; and those who do not acknowledge God, but
guide themselves, do not desire to be saved : for the latter do
not think of eternal life and salvation, but the former do. This
the Lord sees, but still he leads them, and leads them according
to the laws of his Divine Providence, against which he cannot
act, because to act against them would be to act against his
divine love and divine wisdom, that is, to act against himself
Now as he foresees tbe state of all after death, and also foresees
the places of those who are not willing to be saved, in hell, and
the places of those who are willing to be saved, in heaven, it
follows, as before said, that he provides for the wicked their
places hj permitting and withdrawing, and for the good the:.r
places by leading them ; and unless this were done continually
from the birth of every one to his life's end, neither heaven nor
hell could subsist ; for without such foresight and at the same
time providence, both heaven and heU. would be nothing but
confusion. That every one has his place provided for him by
means of the Lord's forekno-wledge, may be seen above, n. 202,
203. This may be illustrated by the following comparison:
Supposing an archer or marksman were to shoot at a mark, and
a right line were drawn from tbe mark to the distance of a mile
beyond it, — ^if in shooting, the arrow or ball were to miss the
mark a nail's breadth only, it would, at the end of the mile,
diverge immensely from the line drawn beyond the mark. Such
would be the case if the Lord did not every moment, even the
most minute point of time, have respect to eternity in foreseeing
and providing every one his place after death : this, however, is
done by the Lord, because all the future is present to him, and
all the present is to him eternal. That the Divine Providence,
ip all it does, has respect to infinity and eternity, may be seen
above, n. 46 — 69, 214, aqd the subsequent numbers.
334. It was said that the operation of the Divine Providence
continues to etemity, because every angel is perfected in wis
dom to eternity ; but every one according to the degree of af
fection for goodness and truth he was in when he departed out
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334, 335 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENING
of the world. It is this degree which is perfected to eternity.
What is beyond this degree is without the angel, and not within
him ; and that which is without him cannot be perfected within
him. This is meant by the good measure, pressed down, shaken,
and running over, which shall be given into the bosom of those
who give and forgive others (Luke vii., 37, 38), that is, who are
in the good of charity.
335. H. That the operation of the Divine Providence is con-
imually effected hy means which a/re out ofpu/re mercy. There
are means and modes of the Divine Providence : means are all
those things by virtue of which a man is made a man, and per
fected with respect to his understanding and his will ; modes
are those things by which such means are effected. The means
by -virtue of which a man is made a man, and perfected -with
respect to his understanding, are included under the general
appellation of truths, which become ideas in the thought, are
called things in the memory, and are in themselves knowledges
from which sciences are derived. All these means considered
in themselves are spiritual ; but as they exist in things natural,
they appear from their clothing or covering as natural things,
and some as material. They are infinite in number and variety,
and are more or less simple and compound, and more or less
perfect or imperfect. There are means for forming and per
fecting civil natural life ; also for forming and perfecting moral
rational life ; and for forraing and perfecting spiritual celestial
life. These means succeed, one kind after another, from in
fancy to a man's latest age, and after that to eternity ; and as
they succeed, by increasing, those which were prior become
means of those which are posterior, since they enter into every
thing that has a form as mediate causes ; for from these every
effect or conclusion is efficient, and thence becomes a cause.
Thus posteriors successively become means ; and as this goes on
to etemity, there is no postreme or ultimate that closes the
whole ; for as etemity is without end, so wisdom, which in
creases to etemity, is also without end. If there were any end
to wisdom in a wise man, the delight of his wisdom, which con
sists in its perpetual multiplication and fructification, would
perish ; so would also the delight of his life ; and in place of it
would succeed the delight of glory, in which alone there is no
celestial life. In such case a man no longer becomes wise like
a young man, but like an old man, and at length like a decrepit
man. Although the wisdom of a wise man in heaven increases
to eternity, yet there is no such approximationof angelic wisdom
to the divine wisdom as to reach it. It may be illustrated by
what is said of a right line drawn about an hyperbola, continu
ally approaching, but ne-ver touching it ; and by what is said of
squaring the circle. Hence may appear what is meant by
means by which the Divine Providence operates, that a man
266

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE. 335  338
may be a man, and be perfected in regard to his understanding,
and that these means are included under the general appellation
of truths. There is also a similar number of means, by which
a man is formed and perfected in regard to his will ; but these
are comprehended under the general appellation of goods.
From the latter a man derives love, and from the former wis
dom. The conjunction of them makes the man ; for such as is
the conjunction such is the man. It is this conjunction which
is called the marriage of goodness and truth.
336. The modes also by which the Divine Providence ope
rates upon means and by means, in forming a man and perfect
ing him, are also infinite in number and variety. They are as
numerous as the operations of the divine wisdom from the divine
love for tbe salvation of man, consequently as numerous as the
operations of the Divine Providence according to its laws above
described. That these modes are of a very hidden nature was
illustrated above by the operations of the soul upon the body,
conceming which men know so little that it can scarcely be
called any thing ; as, how the eye, the ear, the nose, the tongue,
and the skin feel, how the stomach digests, the mesentery pre
pares the chyle, tbe liver elaborates the blood, the pancreas and
spleen purify it, the kidneys separate impure humours from it,
the heart collects and distributes it, the lungs decant it, and how
the brain sublimates the blood and vivifies it anew, besides in
numerable other tbings, all of whicb are arcana into which scarce
any science can enter. It is therefore evident, that still less can
the secret operations of the Divine Providence be entered into ;
it is sufficient that its laws are known.
337. The reason why the Divine Providence effects all things
out of pure mercy, is, because the divine essence itself is pure
love : it is that which operates by the divine wisdom ; and that
operation is what is called the Divine Providence. The reason
why that pure love is pure mercy, is, 1. That it operates with
all who are in the world, who are such that they can do nothing
from themselves. 2. That it operates with the evil and unjust,
as well as with the good and just. 3. That it leads the former
in hell, and snatches them out of it. 4. That it continually
strives with them there, and fights for them against the devil,
that is, against the evils of hell. 5. That for this purpose it
came into the world, and underwent temptations even to the last
of them, which was the passion of the cross. 6. That it acts
continually with the unclean that it may cleanse them, and with
the insane that it may heal them ; consequently, it labours con
tinually out of pure mercy.
338. III. That momentaneous salvation from immediate
mercy is impossible. In the foregoing pages it is shown that the
operation of the Divine Providence for the salvation of man
begins at his birth, continues to tbe end of his life, and after-
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338 ANGEUC WISDOM CONCEENING
wards to etemity ; also, that this operation is continually carried
on by means out of pure mercy : hence it follows, that there is
no such thing as momentaneous salvation or immediate mercy.
But as many, who do not think at all from the understanding
conceming matters of the church or of religion, believe that they
are saved from immediate mercy, consequently that salvation
is momentaneous, and yet this is contrary to the truth, and is
besides a hurtful belief, it is requisite that it should be considered
in its proper order. 1. That a belief in momentaneous salvation
from immediate mercy is taken from the natural state of man.
2. That such a belief proceeds from ignorance of his spiritual
state, which is totally different from his natural state. 3. That
the doctrines of all the churches in the Christian world con
sidered interiorly are against momentaneous salvation from
immediate mercy ; but yet that it is established by men of the
external church. First, That a belief in momentaneous salva
tion from immediate mercy is taken from the natural state of
man. The natural man from his own state knows no otherwise
than that heavenly joy is like worldly joy, and enters by infiux
and is received in the same manner ; for example, that it is like
a man who had been poor becoming rich, and so being removed
from a sorrowful state of poverty to a happy state of opulence ;
or like a man who had before been of no estimation, being
honoured, and so being removed from a state of contempt to a
state of glory ; or like going out of the house of mourning to
nuptial joys. Since these states can be changed within a day,
and no other idea is entertained of the state of man after death,
it is evident whence it arises that there is a belief in moraenta-
ueous salvation from immediate mercy. In the world, also,
it is possible for many persons to be in one company, in one
civil society, and to be merry together, yet all of them 'to differ
in their minds. This is the case in a natural state ; and the
reason is, that the external of one man may be accommodated
to the external of another, although their intemals be dissimifar.
From this natural state it is concluded, that salvation consists
only in admission to the angels in heaven, and the admission
is from immediate mercy; therefore it is also believed that
heaven can be given to the wicked as well as the good, and that
then there is a consociation similar to what takes place in the
world, with this difference only, that it is full of joy. Secondly,
But that this faith proceeds from ignorance of a spiritual state,
which is totally different from a natural state. The spiritual
state, which is the state of man after deati, is treated of in
many places above, where it is shown that every one is his own
love, that no one can live with any others but such as are in a
similar love, and that if he comes to others, he cannot respire
his o-wn life. Hence it is that every one after death enters into
a society simi'ar to himself, composed of such as are in a similar
268

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE. 338
love ; that he acknowledges them as his relatives and friends ;
and, what is wonderful, that when he meets with them and
sees them, it is as though be had known them from his infancy.
This circumstance has its ground in the nature of spiritual
affinity and friendship. Yea more, no one in a society can dwell
in any other house than his own ; every one having his own
house, which he finds prepared for him as soon as he comes into
the society. He m.ay be in company with others out of his house,
but yet he cannot dwell anywhere but in it ; and what is still
more, no one can sit in an apartment in another's house in any
place but his own : if he sits in any other place, he becomes
impotent of mind aad silent ; and, what is wonderful, every one
when he enters a room knows his own place. It is the same
in temples, and also in assemblies when they are met together.
From these circumstances it is evident that a spiritual state is
totally different from a natural state, and such indeed that no
one can be anywhere but where his reigning love is ; for there
is the delight of his life, and every one desires to be in the
delight of his life. A man's spirit cannot be anywhere else,
because that constitutes his life, even his very respiration, as
also the pulsation of his heart. It is otherwise in the natural
world, where the external man is taught from his infancy to
feign, in his countenance, speech, and gesture, delights different
from those of his internal. Therefore, from the state of a man
in the natural world, a conclusion cannot be formed concerning
his state after death ; for the state of every one after death is
spiritual, and is such that he cannot be anywhere but in -the
delight of his love, which he acquired to himself by his life in
the natural world. Hence it may plainly appear, that no one
who is in the delight of hell can be let into the delight of heaven,
which in general is called heavenly joy ; or, what amounts to
the same, he that is already in the delight of evil cannot be let
into the delight of good. It may be still more clearly concluded
from this circumstance that the liberty of ascending into heaven is
not refused any one'after death : the way is shown him, leave is
given, and he is introduced ; but when he comes into heaven, and
by breathing draws in its delight, if he be in evil, he begins to feel
anguish in his breast, to be tormented at heart, to experience
a swoon, in which he writhes himself like a snake placed before
the fire, and with his face averted from heaven and turned toward
hell, escapes headlong ; and he cannot rest except in a society ol
his own prevailing love. Hence it may appear that to go to
heaven is not allowed to any one from immediate mercy, cou.«e-
quently, that it does not consist of admission merely, as many in
this worid imagine ; and that salvation is not momentaneous,
for this supposes immediate mercy. There were some, who iu the
world- believed in momentaneous salvation from immediate mer
cy, and when they became spirits were desirous that their infer'
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338 ANGELIC -WISDOM CONCERKING
nal delight or the delight of evil might, by means of the divine
omnipotence and the divine mercy together, be changed into
heavenly delight, or the delight of good ; and as this was their
desire, it was permitted that it should be done by angels, who
instantly removed their infernal delight : but then, because it
was the delight of their life's love, consequently their life itself,
they lay as if they were dead, deprived of all sense and motion :
and it was impossible to infuse into them any other life than
tbeir own, because all things of their minds and bodies were in
a state of retroversion, and could not be contrariwise retorted
or wrested. They were therefore revived by the intromission of
the delight of their life's love ; and they afterwards said, that
in that state they felt interiorly something direful and horrible,
which they would not make known. Hence it is said in heaven,
that it is easier to convert an owl into a dove, or a serpent into
a lamb, than an infernal spirit into an angel of heaven.
Thirdly, That the doctrines of the churches in, the Christian
world interiorly considered are against mom,entaneous salvation
from immediate mercy, but yet that it is established hy men of the
external church. The doctrines of all churches, viewed inte
riorly, teach life. Where is there any church whose doctrine
does not teach that a man ought to examine himself; ,to see
and acknowledge his sins ; to confess them, repent, and then
lead a new life? Who is admitted to the holy communion
without this admonition and command ? Inquire, and you will
be confirmed. What church is there whose doctrine is not
founded upon the precepts of the Decalogue ? and the precepts
of the Decalogue are precepts of life. What man is there of
the church, in whom there is any thing of the church, that
does not acknowledge, as soon as he hears it, that he that lives
well is saved, and that he that lives wickedly is condemned ?
Therefore in the Athanasian Creed, which is also the doctrine
received in the whole Christian world, it is said, that the Lord
will " come to judge the quick and the dead ; and those that
have done good shall go into life everlasting, and those that
have done evil into everiasting fire." From which it is evident
that the doctrines of all churches, viewed interiorly, teach life.
As they teach life, they teach that salvation is according to life ;
and a man's life is not inspired in a moment, but formed suc
cessively, and reformed as a man shuns evils as sins, conse
quently, as he knows what sin is and sees and acknowledges it,
as he does not will it and therefore desists from it, and as he
also knows the means which relate to the knowledge of God.
By these, which cannot be infused in a moment, a man's life is
formed and reformed ; for hereditary evil, which in itself is
infernal, is to be removed, and in place of it, good, which in
itself is celestial, is to be implanted. A man, from his here
ditary evil may be compared to an owl as to understanding,
270 ¦

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE. 338  340
aid a serpent as to will ; and a reformed man may be compared
to a dove as to understanding, and a lamb as to will ; therefore
momentaneous reformation and thence salvation may be com
pared to the moraentaneous conversion of an owl into a dove
and a serpent into a lamb. Who that knows any thing of the
life of man does not see that this cannot be effected, except
the nature of the owl and serpent be taken away, and the
nature of the dove and lamb be implanted ? Besides, it is well
known that every intelligent man may become more intelligent,
and every wise man more wise ; that intelligence and -wisdom
iu a man may increase, and in some do increase, from infancy
to their life's end ; and that thus the man is continually per
fected. " Why should not this be more eminently the case with
spiritual intelligence and wisdom, which ascends by two degrees
above natural intelligence and wisdom ? When it ascends, it
becomes angelic, which is unutterable : that this in the angels
increases to eternity was stated above. Who may not compre
hend, if he will, that what is perfected to eternity cannot pos
sibly be perfect in an instant ?
339. Hence then it is evident, that all who think from life
concerning salvation, do not think of any momentaneous salva
tion from immediate mercy, but of the means of salvation, on
and by which the Lord operates according to the laws of his
Divine Providence, and by which therefore every man is led out
of pure mercy by the Lord. But those who do not think from
life concerning salvation, imagine there is something moraenta
neous in salvation, and soraething iramediate in raercy ; as also
do those who separate faith frora charity. Charity is life, and
they suppose there is something momentaneous in faith at the
hour of death, if not before. Those also do the sarae who be
lieve remission of sins without repentance to be absolution from
sins, consequently salvation, and who with this idea receive the
Lord's Supper ; likewise those who have faith in the indulgences
of monks, in their prayers for the dead, and in their dispensa
tions grounded in the power they claim over the souls of men.
340. IV. That momentaneous salvation from immediate
m£/rcy is the fiery flying serpent in the chwrch. By a fiery fiying
serpent is meant evil shining from infernal fire : the same as is
meant by the fiery flying serpent in Isaiah, "Eejoicenot thou,
whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken :
for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and
his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent" (xiv. 29). Such an evil
flies in the church when there is faith in momentaneous salva
tion from immediate mercy ; for thereby, 1. Keligion is abol
ished ; 2. Security is induced ; and 3. Damnation is imputed to
the Lord. As to what concerns the Fiest, That thereby religion
is abolished; there are two essentials and at the same time univer
sals of religion, an acknowledgment of a God and repentance.
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340 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCEENING
These two essentials are useless to those who think to be saved
barely from mercy, -without regard to their lives ; for what
need have they of any thing more than to say, God have mercy
upon me? As to every thing else appertaining to religion,
they are in the dark, indeed they love darkness. Of the flrst
essential of the church, which is an acknowledgment of God,
they only think. What is God ? Who ever saw him ? If it is
affirmed that there is a God, and that he is one, they assent
that he is one ; if it is affirmed that there are three, they also
say that there are three, but that these three are to be called
one. This is their acknowledgment of God. Of the other
essential of the church, which is repentance, they think nothing
at all, and consequently nothing of sin, and at length do not
know that there is such a thing as sin. They then hear, and
imbibe it with pleasure, that the law does not condemn, because
a Christian is not under its yoke. If you only say, God have
mercy upon me for thy Son's sake, you will be saved. This is
repentance of life with them. But remove repentance, or, what
amounts to the same, separate life from religion, and what re
mains but the words. Have mercy upon me ? Hence it is, that
they cannot conceive otherwise but that salvation is effected in
a moment by means of those words, if not before, yet at the
hour of death. In such case, what is the Word to them but
like an obscure and enigmatical voice uttered frora a tripod in a
cave ? or like an unintelligible response from the oracle of an
idol ? In a word, if you remove repentance, that is, separate
life from religion, what else is a man but evil shining from in-
i'ernal fire, or a fiery flying serpent in the church ? for without
repentance a man is in evil, and evil is hell. Secondly, That
by faith in momentaneous salvation from, pure mercy alone, secu-
nty of life is induced. Security of life arises either from the
belief of the impious that there is no life after death, or from
the belief of those who separate life from salvation. A person
of the latter description, although he believe in etemal life,
still thinks. Whether I live well, or live ill, I can lie saved, be
cause salvation is pure mercy, and the mercy of God is univer
sal, as he wills not the death of any one. If haply a thought
occurs that mercy is to be implored by a form of words agree
able to the commonly received faith, he may think that this, if
not before, can be done at the hour of death. Every man that
is in such a state of secm-ity makes light of adulteries, frauds,
injustice, violence, blasphemies, and revenge ; and gives a loose
to his flesh and his spirit in the commission of all these evils.
Nor does he know what spiritual evil is, and its concupiscences.
If he hears any thing thereof out of the Word, it may be com
pared to something falling upon ebony and rebounding, or to
something which falls into a d jtch and is swallowed up. Thirdly,
That by such a faith damnation is imputed to the Lord. Who but
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THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 340
must conclude that, if he is not saved, it is not the man's fault.
but the Lord's, when every one can be saved from pure mercy ?
If it be aflirmed that faith is the means of salvation, he will
urge. What man is there to whom such faith may not be given,
as it only consists in thought, which can be infused in every
state of the spirit abstracted from worldly things, even with
confidence ? _ He may further urge, I cannot take it of myself ;
if therefore it is not given, and a man is damned, what else can
the damned think than that it is the Lord's fault, who could
save him and would not ? And would not this be to call the
Lord unmerciful ? Besides, in the warmth of his faith, he may
ask. Why can the Lord see so many damned in hell, when he
is nevertheless able to save all in a moment from a principle of
pure mercy ? Not to mention other suggestions of a similar
nature, -which can "be called nothing but impious impeachments
of the Divinity. Hence then it may appear, that faith in mo
mentaneous salvation from pure mercy is the fiery flying serpent
in the church.

Excuse my adding this relation to fill up the superfluous
paper. Certain spirits by permission ascended from hell, and
said to me. You have written a great deal from the Lord, write
something also from us. I replied. What shall I write ? They
said. Write, that every spirit, whether he be good or evil, is in
his own delight, — the good in the delight of his good, and the
evil in the delight of his evil. 1 asked them. What may your
delight be ? They said that it was the delight of committing
adultery, stealing, defrauding, and lying. Again I asked.
What is the nature of those delights ? They replied, that they
were perceived by others as stenches frora excrement, putrid
smells from dead bodies, and the effluvia of stagnated urine.
I said. Are those things delightful to you ? They replied. Most
delightful. I said. Then you are like the unclean beasts which
live in such filth. They answered, If we are, we are ; but such
things are the delights of our nostrils. I asked. What more
shall I write from you? They said. Write this, that it is per
mitted every one to be in his own delight, even the most unclean
as it is called, provided it does not infest good spirits and angels ;
but as we could not do otherwise than infest them, we were
driven out, and cast into hell, where we experience direful
sufferings. I asked. Why did you infest the good? They
replied, that they could not do ol;herwise. It is as if a certain
fury invaded us, when we see any angel, and feel t;he divine
sphere about him. I said. Then you are even like wild beasts.
273

340 ANGELIC WISDOM, ETC.
On hearing this, rage came upon them, which appeared like
the fire of hatred ; and to prevent thefr doing any mischief, they
were remanded to hell. Concerning delights perceived as odora
and stenches in the spiritual world, see above, n. 303, 304,
305, 324.
S74

INDEX TO
THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE.

The Numbers refer to the Paragraphs, and iMt to tlte Pages.

Abel represents love or charity, 242.
See Cain.
Abstract ideas concerning the Infinite,
46. There are abstract ideas given, by
which it can be seen that things exist,
though not what is their quality, 46.
Abuse of the faculties of man, called
liberty aud rationality, 15. By the abuse
of these two faculties, man may confirm
whatever he will, 286.
AooiDKNTs and contingencies are vain
words, 70.
AooDMULATiON of hereditary evils in suc
cessive generations, 328.
AoKNOwLEDOE. — Nothing can be ac
knowledged without the consent of the
will, 231. Every one acknowledges God,
^nd is conformed to Him according to the
good of hi.s life, 325, 826. Those who have
a<(knowledged nature alone, and human
prudence alone, constitute hell ; and those
who have acknowledged God and His Di
vine Providence, constitute heaven, 205.
AoKNOWLEDOMENT of God cffects a con
junction of God with man, and of man with
God, 825, 326. The acknowledgment of
God, and the good of life, save every man,
825. The acknowledgment of God, and
that all good and truth proceed from Him,
cause a man to be reformed and regene
rated, 91. There is an acknowledgment
of the Lord from wisdom, and an acknowl
edgment of the Lord from love, 91. The
acknowledgment of the Lord from wisdom
is given from doctrine, and the acknowl
edgment of tlie Lord from love is given
from a life according to doctrine, 91. This
latter giving conjunction, but the former,
presence, 91.
Ohs. — The word acTcnouiledgment, in the
writings of the author, is almost al
ways taken ^n the acceptation of knowl
edge, resulting from a profound exam
ination.
Action. — If love be taken away,, there is
r-r> longer any volition, and consequently
00 action, 8.
AOTDAtJ,T, 82, 324.
Oh^. — This expression has-been employ-
f"i to distinguish actiial/Uer frora reali-
*ttr, of which the author also makes
use ; thus 'between actually and really
there in the same distinction as be-
275

tween actual, taken in a philosophic
sense, and real.
Adam. — By Adam and his wife, in Gen
esis, are not meant the first of all the mei;
created in this world, but the men of the
most ancient church, whose new creatior'
or regeneration is thus described, 241, 275,
813, 828. Hereditary evil does not come
from Adam, as is supposed, for every one
is born into it from his parent, 277. ^he
condemnation of Adam signiiies that of thu
intellectual proprium, 318.
Admission into heaven from immediato
mercy, to remain there, is not possible, 888.
Adult, the, who does not come into es
sential liberty and rationality in the world,
can never come into them after death ; for
then, whatever is the state of his life which
has been acquired in the world, such it re
mains to eternity, 99.
Adultery. — Its horrible nature, 144.
Affect. — Correspondent unclean things
affect the wicked, and correspondent clean
things affect the good, 40.
Ois. — Affect is takeii in the acceptation
of inspiring with affection.
Affection. — Every affection, in its es
sence, ia a subordinate love derived from
the life's love, as a stream from its fountain,
195. The affections are derivations from
the life's love of every one, 28, 106. The
affections of a man's life's love are known
to the Lord alone, 197. They are led by
tlie Lord, by means of His Divine Provi
dence, 200. The Lord, by His Divine
Providence, connects together the affec
tions of the whole human race into one
form, which is the human, 201. Every af
fection of good, and, at the same time, of
truth, in its form, is a man, 66. No one
can perceive and think any thing without
affection, and every one perceives and
thinks according to affection, 2?. Affec
tions of external thought manifest them
selves in the sensation of the body, but
rarely in the thought of the mind, 199.
Affections of internal thought, from which
the internals exist, never manifest them
selves to a man, 199. Affections ar« inte
rior and exterior ; interior affections idjoin
to themselves consorts, which are cajlod
perceptions, and exterior affections idjoii:
to themselves consorts which are called

THE DIVINE PKO-VIDENCE.

thonghts, 194. Every affection has its com-
fianion as a consort : the affection of natural
ove having science — the affection of spirit
ual love, intelligence — and the affection of
celestial love, wisdom, 74. In beasts there
is a marriage of affection and science, the
affection being that of natural good, and
the science that of natural truth, 74. Man
has not only the affection of natural love,
but also the affection of spiritual love, and
that of celestial love, 75. The affection
which is of the love of good constitutes
heaven with man, 63.
Affection and Thought. — Every affec
tion is in heat, and every thought is in
light, 199. Every affection has its delight,
and every thought its pleasantness, 195.
There is no affection without its thought,
nor thought without its affection, 194.
There cannot exist any thought without
affection, 196. Affection corresponds to
sound, and thought to speech, 296. As
sound, together with speech, diffuses itself
in the air, in the natural world, so does
affection, together with thought, diffuse
itself among societies in the spiritual world,
296. Affections, with perceptions, make a
man's internal ; and the delights of the af
fections, together with the thoughts, make
his external, 108. The affections of a man's
life's love are led of the Lord by His Divine
Providence, and, at the same time, his
thonghts, from which human prudence is
derived, 200. Affections and thoughts are,
in their substantiate, substances, 279. Af
fections, which are of the will, are mere
changes and variations of the state of the
purely organic substances of the mind ;
and thoughts, which are of the under
standing, are mere changes and variations
of their form, .279, 819. The organic forms
of the mind are the subjects of a mafl's
affections and thoughts, 819. The affec
tions and thoughts thence derived are not
in space and time, 50.
Affinity, spiritual, 838.
Africans, the, believe that their dead
are men in the other life, 274.
Aoe. — All who have led a good life, when
they go to heaven, enter into their juvenile
age in the world, and continue in it to
eternity, 824. Women, though they have
been wrinkled and decrepit, return to the
flower of their youth and beauty, 824.
Ages. — By the golden, silver, copper, and
iron ages, mentioned by ancient writers, are
meant the four suocessive churches, 828.
Alive. — In the Word, the spiritual man
is called alive ; whilst the natural man,
however civilly and morally he may act, is
called dead, 822.
Allowable. — What is allowable in
thought is from the will, for it is consent,
81. What man thinl« allowable, he does
continually in the spirit, 81, 278. Man
ought to examine himself, to discover these
evils which in his spirit he considers allow
able, 278. The evils which a man thinks
allowable, although he does them not, are
appropriated to him, 81.
276

Alphabet. — In the spiritual world, each
letter in the alphabet signifies a thing, and
several letters joined into a word, which
constitute the name of a person, include
the entire state of a thing, 280.
Ammonites, the, in the Word, signify a
kind of evil, 251.
Amorites, in the Worn, signify a kind of
evil, 251.
Anabaptists, 259.
Analytically. — Whence a man has
power to think analytically, 817.
Anatomical details, 164, 180, 181, 199,
279, 296, 819, 836.
Ancient. — What was the love of dignities
and riches in the most ancient times, 215.
Angel. — Love and wisdom constitute the
life of the angels, 28. Angels and spirits
are affections which are of love, and thoughts
thence derived, 50, 300, 801. Every angel
turns his face towards the Lord, 29. They
do not from themselves turn their faces to
the Lord, but the Lord turns them to Him
self, 29. The angels of the third heaven
perceive the influx of Divine love and Di
vine wisdom from the Lord, 158. Some
times the Lord fills an angel with Hia Di
viue Principle, so that the angel knows no
other than that he is the Lord, 96.
Answer by influx, what results from it,
321. Antipathy of heaven and hell, 308.
Antipodes. — Heaven and hell are like
tvo antipodes, 300.
Aorta.— 296.
Appear, to. — Whatever a man does from
liberty, appears to him as his own act, 74-
77. When man is in deep meditation, he
sometimes appears in the society, in the
spiritual world, to which he belongs, 296.
The Lord appears to the angels at a dis
tance as a sun ; the reason given, 162.
Appearance. — Every appearance con
firmed as a truth, becomes a fallacy, 810,
220. Appearances are the garments or
truth : to confirm them, is as if a man were
to believe that garments are men, 220.
Those who confirm appearances in them
selves, become natural, 187. It is permit
ted to every man to speak from appear
ance; the angels also speak according to
appearance, but they think from truth, 162.
The appearance of space and time is to the
angels according to the states of the affeo-
tions, and thence of the thoughts, 50. The
Lord conjoins Himself with man by means
of appearancesj 119, 120. The reason why
man is kept m the appearance that ho
thinks, wills, speaks, and acts from him
self, 824. In the spiritual world, spaces
are only appearances, 29.
Obs. — those things are called appear
ances which, in the spiritual world,
present themselves before the sight of
spirits and angels ; these things are
named appearances, because, corre
sponding to the interiors of spirits and
angels, and representing them, they
vary according to the states of thei'r
interiors. There are real and unreal

INDEX.

appearances ; the unreal appearances
are those which do not correspond to
the interiors. See JI. and H., 175.
Appropriate, to. — The Divine Provi
dence appropriates neither evil nor good to
any one, but self-derived prudence appro
priates both, 808. Whatever a man thinks,
speaks, and does from his will, is appro
priated to him, and remains, as well good
as evil, 226, 227. Whatever a man does
from liberty according to his thought, is
appropriated to him as his own, and re
mains, 78. Nothing is appropriated to a
man which he only thinks, nor yet that
which he thinks to will, except he, at the
same time, wills it to such a degree, that
when opportunity is given, he does it, 80.
The evils which a man thinks allowable,
although he does them not, are appropri
ated to him, 81. No one thing whicli a
man has appropriated to himself, can be
eradicated, because it is made an ob
ject of his love, and, at the same time,
of his reason, and thence of his life, 79.
If a man would believe, as is the truth,
that every thing good and true is from the
Lord, and every thing evil and false from
hell, he would neither appropriate to him
self good, and make it meritorious, nor
would he <ippropriate to himself evil, and
make himself guilty of it, 320.
Appropriation of good and evil, 78-81,
820, 821.
Arabia was one of those countries where
the ancient church existed, and in which
the ancient Word was known, 328.
Arcana. — The arcana of heaven are in
numerable, of which scarcely any come to
our knowledge, 254. Man possesses within
himself the faculty of understanding the
arcana of wisdom, like the angels them
selves, 223. Devils and satans can also
understand them, 99. Arcana of Angelic
Wisdom can only be comprehended by the
man whose spiritual mind is opened, 164.
Angelic arcana, 4, 124, 125, 163, 164, 254.
Arcanum ofarcana of Angelic Wisdom, 172.
Arguments. — Ordinary arguments against
Divine Providence, 236-239 ; refuted, 241-
274. Arlanism, its origin, 262. It reigns in
the hearts of more people than is imagined,
262. Arians, their fate in the other life, 231.
Ark, the, among the Israelites, by reason
of the Decalogue therein contained, was
the moat holy thing of the church, 826.
Arrangement, the, of affections in hea
ven, and of eonoupisoences in hell, is won
derful, 302.
Arrogate, to, to one's self Divine power,
is to say that we can open and shut heaven,
remit and retain sins, consequently can
save and condemn men, 257.
Arteries, 296.
As it were from himself, 76, 88, 92, 95,
96, 102, 164, 210, 821. As if in itself, 54.
Assyria signifies the profanation of what
IS holy, 251. Assyria was one of those
countries where the ancient church exist-
277

ed, and in which the ancient Word waa
known, 328.
Athanasian Creed, 202, 262, 127, 338.
Athanasius could not think otherwise
than that three Persons are three Gods, 262.
Atheists.— Those whoattribute all things
to nature, and nothing to the Divine Being,
and have made this a part of their faith by
reasonings from visible objects, are athe
ists, 98, 99.
Avarice is the root of all evils, 220.
Babel, in the Word, signifies the pro
fanation of good in those who attribute to
themselves things divine, 231, 257.
Babylon.— The church, not long after
its establishment, was converted into Bab
ylon, and afterwards into Philistia, 264.
What Babylon is, 264.
Baptism is a sign and memorial of regen
eration ; it does not save any except those
who are spiritually washed, that is, regen
erated, 330. See To Regenerate.
Beasts. — Faculties of beasts, difference
between their faculties and those of men,
74, 96. He that believes all he thinks and
does to be from himself, is not unlike a
bciist, 321. He does not know the differ
ence between a man and a beast, except
that the former speaks, and the latter ut
ters sounds, and imagines that they both
die alike, 321. Difference between a beast
and a man become a beast, 276.
Beatitudes, the, of heaven cannot be
described in words, though in heaven they
can be perceived by the sense, 39.
Beautiful. — The true, in the sight of the
eye, is that which is called beautiful, 312.
Behind, from. — What it is to see the Di
vine Providence from behind, 187.
Blasphemies. — Their origin, 276.
Blessings. — Wliat are true blessings, and
what arc not, 217, 250.
Blindness of the understanding. Why
those who are in a state of blindness of tho
understanding cannot be reformed, 144.
Blood signifies the Divine Truth, 231.
Bloods, in the Word, signify the violence
called the falsification of truth, and that
called the adulteration of good, 231.
Body, the, of man consists of the grosser
substances of nature, 220. These he puts
off by death, and retains the purer sub-
i-tances of nature, which are next to what
is spiritual, and which then are his conti
nents, 220. When the body is sick, the
mind also is sick, 142. In the whole, and
in every part of the body, there are inter
nals and externals : the externals are called
skins, membranes, and coverings ; the in
ternals are forms of nervous fibres and
blood-vessels, variously composed aud
united, 180.
Bones, the, of the Grand Man, or ot
heaven, are constituted by those to whciii
the Gospel cannot r«ach, but only some re
ligion, 254, 826.
Born, to be. — Man is born into the ulti
mate of life, which is called the corporeal
sensual principle, and consequently in the

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE.

darkness of ignorance, 276. Every man,
hereditarily from his parents, is born into
the love of self and the love of the world,
and into evils of every description from
these two kinds of loves as fountains, 83. If
a man were born in the love in which he was
created, lie would not be in any evil, nor
indeed would he know what evil is, 275.
Brain. — Its organization, 279. The brain
sublimates the blood, and vivifies it anew,
836. Bride. — Why heaven and the church are
called the Bride in the Word, 8.
Bridegroom.— Why the Lord in the
Word is called the Bridegroom, 8.
Cain signifies wisdom or faith specifically,
wisdom separate from love, or faith separ
ate from charity. Cain, who slew Abel, is
this faith which annihilates love and char-.
ity, 242. See Abel. What is meant by the
mark set upon Cain, 242.
Calf of Gold. — Why the worship of it
was permitted, 243.
Calvin, 50.
Cancer. — The evils which remain shut
up, and do not appear, are compared to a
cancer, 251.
Captivity of the Jewish people in Baby
lon represents the vastation of the church,
246. Carotid Arteries, 296.
Cart, the new, 1 Sam. vi., signified new,
but natural doctrine, 326.
Cartilages, the, of the Grand Man, or
of heaven, are constituted of those to whom
the Gospel cannot reach, but only some re
ligion, 254, 826.
Catechism or Decalogue, regarded as a
child's book, which is no longer of any
.use, 829.
Oatholioism, Roman. — Its dominion, 215.
Why it has been permitted, 257. -why it
la of the Divine Providence of the Lord,
that they should divide the Holy Supper,
giving the bread alone to the people, also
"that they should make it corporeal and
material, and account this doctrine to be a
primary tenet of religion, 257.
Catholics, Boman, in general suffer
themselves to be forced to religion, but it
is the case with those in whose worship
there is nothing internal, but all is ex
ternal, 186.
Cause.— Whatever is done from any cause
is done from the Divine Providence of the
Lord, according to some of its laws, 246.
Nothing can be and exist without a cause,
212. The causes of permissions are laws of
Divine Providence, 249. If the cause is
taken away from tbe effect, the effect per
ishes, 8. The cause is called the middle
end, 108.
Cause, to be tbe. — The Lord ia not the
cause of a man's thinking what is evil and
false, 292. Those who are not saved, are
themselves the cause of it, 830.
• Centre. — From the centre to the circum
ference, 79; The things which are of the
centre diffuse themselves towards the cir-
278

cumference, 86. Evils with falses are with
the wicked as it were in the centre, and
good principles with truths in the circum
ference; bxtt good principles with truths
are in the centre with the good, and evils
with falsities in the circumference, 86.
Thus good, in the circumference with the
wicked, is defiled by the evils of the centre,
and evils in the circumference with the
good are renderel mild by the good prin
ciples of tho centre, 86. Wliatever is in
the centre ia directly under inspection, and
is seen and perceived, 288.
Chaldea signifies the pl-ofanation of
truth in those who attribute to themselves
things divine, 281. Also, the profanation
of what is holy, 251. Chaldea was one of
those countries in which the ancient church
existed, and where the ancient Word was
known, 828.
Changes and variations of state and form
in the organic substances of the mind, 196,
279, 819. What is the nature and quality
of theae changes, 319. Changes and varia
tions of state in organic substances are of
such a nature, that when once they become
habitual, they are permanent, 279.
Chariot, in the Word, signifies doctrine
grounded on spiritual truths, 826.
Charm, the, resulting from speaking with
the dead is an internal restraint ; but this
restraint is dissolved, and the inclosed
evils break out with blasphemy and pro
fanation, 184.*
Chrlst. — No one can even name the Lord,
or utter His names, Jesus and Christ, but
from Him, 58.
Christians, the, of the ancient ohurch
could not comprehend that God, the Crea
tor of the universe, himaelf came into the
world, and took upon Him the human na
ture; they, therefore," in thought, separated
His divinity from His humanity, 255.
Those who deny the sanctity of the Word,
are not reputed as Christians, 256.
Christian Eeligion. — Why it is estab
lished only in tlie smallest quarter of the
habitable globe, and why it is divided
there, 256. Why, in many kingdoms in
which it has been received, there are some
who claim to themselves divine power, and
wish to be adored as gods ; and why they
invoke dead men, 257. Why, among those
who profess the Christian religion, there
are some who place salvation in certain
words, which they think and speak, and
not in any good they do, 258. See Chris-
Man World. Why heretofore it was nol
known that the very essence of the Chris
tian religion is to shun evils as sins, 265.
Christian World. — Why the whole
Christian world worship God under thres
Persons, which is three Goda, and why
hitherto they have not known that God ia
one in person and in essence, in whom
there ia a Trinity, and that that God is the
Lord, 262. Why there have been and
still are so many heresies in the Christian
world, 259. See Heresies.
Church, the, is a communion of all those

INDEX.

who are in the acknowledgment of a God,
and the good of life, 825. The church of
the Lord is not in tho Christian world, but
it is common, or extended and spread over
the whole world, consequently amongst
those who are ignorant of the Lord, and
have not the -Word, 825. Tlie common
essentials of all religions are the acknowl
edgment of a God and the good of life,
825. jjpon this earth there have been
several churches, from the most ancient
times down to the present ; first, the most
ancient churoh, then the ancient church,
then the Hebrew ohuroh,from which sprung
the Israelitish and Jewish church, to which
succeeded the Christian church, 328. The
Christian church, after its establishment,
lapsed into Babylon, which transferred to
itself the divine power of the Lord, 262 ;
yet, that it might not be called divine
flower, but human, tliey made the Lord's
lumanity similar to that of another man,
262. It is always provided that a new
church should succeed in the place of the
former vastated church, 328. To the Chris
tian church will succeed the new church
foretold in the Apocalypse, signifled by
the newjerusalem descending from heaven,
828. Chyle. — Conveyance of the chyle into
the viscera of the body, 296, 164.
Civil. — What is civil and moral is the
receptacle of what is spiritual, 322. He
that knows the laws ot the kingdom of
which he is a citizen, and lives according to
them, is called a civil man, 322.
Coats of Skins, the, with which Adam
and Eve were clothed, signified ap
pearances of truth in which alone they
were principled whom they represented,
313. Colors would not oxist unless the .light
were constant, 190. See Constant. Colors
appear alike in the light of winter or of
summer, 298.
Combat. — Whence arises the combat of
the internal man with the external, 146. It
takes place in man when he sees evils to
be sins, and therefore wills to desist from
tliemj 145, 147. If it is grievous it is
called temptation, 145, 284. There is com
bat against the things which are in the
man himself, and which he feels therefore
as his own, 147. The most difficult combat
of all is that with the love of dominion from
the love of self, 146.
Commerce is a general good, when the
love of it is the end, and that of money
the means subservient, provided the mer
chant shuns and avoids frauds and evil
arts as sins, 220.
Common. — That is common which exists
from particulars, 201.
Communication. — In the spiritual world
there is a communication between the af
fections and the thoughts derived from
aem, 224.'
Comparisons regarding —
Celestial love, 107.
Infernal love, 107.
279

Those who ascribe all things to self.
der.ved prudence, 309.
The combat between good and evil in
man during reformation, 284.
The covetous, 112.
Joy in the highest and in the lowest
heaven, 254.
The evil which exists, but does not
appear, 278.
Piety without repentance, 121.
The delights of the affections of good.
40.
The delights of the concupiscences of
evil, 40.
The natural-rational and the spiritual-
rational, 154.
Wisdom conjoined to love, 85.
Wisdom not conjoined to love, 35.
-Wisdom in its progression, 335.
Life flowing into the wicked as well as
into the good, 160.
Conceit. — When the love of self inspires
its love into the understanding, it there be
comes conceit, which is the conceit of self-
derived intelligence, 206. The proprium
of man's understanding is the conceit of
self-derived intelligence, 321. The conceit
of self-derived intelligence attributes to it
self prudence, 197.
Concubine in the Wcn-d signifies a re
ligious principle, 245. The three hundred
concubines of Solomon represented th»
various religious principles prevailing in
the world, 245.
Concupiscences are the affections of the
love of evil, 33. They reside in the natural
man, 33. The concupiscences of evil are
innumerable, 296, 279. They possess the
interiors of the mind, 38. Evils are in the
external man, and the concupiscences of
evil in the internal, and these cohere to
gether like the roots of a tree to their
trunk, 119. The fire of the concupiscences
of evil being inclosed, consumes the in
teriors, and, devastates them even to the
gate, 278. Each concupiscence of evil ap
pears in hell when it is represented like
some noxious animal, 296. Concupiaceiices
enter the body by the external of thought,
112. A man cannot perceive the concu-
piacencea of his own evil : if he did not from
some other source know that they are evils,
he would call them goods, 118. The per
ceptions of concupiscence in all sorts of
craft aud cunning : the delights of concu
piscences are evils, and their thoughts
falses, 206.
Confess. — What it is to confess sins, 278.
Those who confesa themselves guilty of all
sins, and yet do not search out any sin
in themselves, do not confess their sins, 278.
Confession, a, of every sin, without
searching out any particular sin. is a laying
asleep of all, and at length a blending of
all ; it is like something general without
any particular, which is nothing, 278.
Obs. — Confession consists in seeing,
knowing, and acknowledging our sins,
and regarding ourselves as iniserabl*
sinners, T. C. B., 539.

THE DrVINE PEOVIDENCE.

CoNTrttM, to. — Every thing of which a
man is persuaded, and in which he is con
firmed, remains as his proprium, 817.
There is nothing but what may be con
firmed, and falsity more easily than truth,
818. 11 may be confirmed in such a degree
that it appears as truth, 286, 318. -When
falsity is conflrmed, truth does not appear,
but from confirmed truth falsity does ap
pear, 318. To be able to conflrm whatever
a man pleases is not intelligence, but only
ingenuity, which may exist even amongst
the moat wicked, 818. Every thing con
firmed by the will, and at the same time
by the understanding, remains to eternity,
but not that which is conflrmed by the un
derstanding only, 318. He who oonflrms
evil loves, offers violence to divine goods,
and he who confirms false psinciples, offers
violence to divine truths, 281.
Confirmation, the, of what is false is a
negation of the truth, and the confirmation
of evil is a rejection of good, 231. There
may be intellectual confirmation and not at
the same time voluntary ; but all voluntary
confirmation is also intellectual, 818. The
voluntary, and at the same time the intel
lectual confirmation of evil, causes a man
to think that self-derived prudence is all,
and the Divine Providence nothing, but
not the intellectual confirmation of it alone,
318. Confirmers. — There are some very dex
terous confirmers, who know no truth,
and yet can confirm both truth and falsity,
318. Conflict and Combat between good and
evil in man when he is reformed, 284.
Confused.— All imperfection of form re
sults from what is confused or indistinct, 4.
Conjoin, to. — How a man is more and
more nearly conjoined to the Lord, 33.
Every one acknowledges God, and is con
joined with Him according to the good of
his life, 826. The Lord is so conjoined to
a man, spirit, and angel, that all which haa
relation to the divine is not from them, but
from the Lord, 58. A man becomes wiser
in proportion as he is more nearly conjoined
to the Lord, 84; also happier, 87 ; he also
appears to liimself to be more distinctly at
his own disposal, and perceives more evi
dently that he is the Lord's, 42. The Lord
joins a man to himself by appearances and
by correspondences, 219. The Lord, by
his Divine Providence, joins himself to
things natural by things spiritual, and to
things temporary by things eternal, ac
cording to uses, 220. The Lord joins him
self to uses by correspondences, and so by
appearances, according to confirmations,
by a man, 220. The understanding does
not join itself with the will, nor the thought
of the understanding with the affection of
the will, but the will and its affection join
themselves with the understanding and its
thought, 80.
Conjugial love is celestial spiritual love
itself, which is an image of the love of the
Lord and of the church, 144.
280

Conjunction with tho Lord is the recep
tion of love and wisdom from him, 164.
Conjunction with the Lord and regenera
tion make one, 92. There is a conjunction
nearer and nearer, and also one more and
more remote, 28, 32. How a man is more
and more nearly conjoined to the Lord, 83.
In what manner the conjunction of the
Lord with the angels, and of the angels
with the Lord, is effected, 28. The con
junction of the Lord with a man, and the
reciprocal conjunction of a man with the
Lord, is effected by the two faculties ot
liberty and rationality, 92. They aro ef
footed by his loving his neighbor as him
self, and loving the Lord above all things,
94. There is a conjunction of the Lord
with every man, as well the wicked as the
good ; it is thence that a man has immor
tality : but he alone has eternal life — that is,
the life of heaven — in whom there is a re
ciprocal conjunction from inmost parts to
ultimates, 96. The acknowledgment ot
God effects a conjunction of God with man,
326. Upon the conjunction of the Creator
with man, the connection of all things de
pends, 3. Conjunction, in the spiritual
world, proceeds from the affection which
is of love, 326. All conjunction in the
spiritual world is effected by inspectiVin,
29; examples, 826. Spirituai conjunction
is like itaelf, both in things general and in
things particular; it derives its origin from
the conjunction of the Lord with the
spiritual world and with the natural world
in general and in particular, 326. Con
junction of the will with the understand
ing, 165. Conjunction of all things of the
will and understanding, or of the mind ot
a man, with his life's love, 108.
Connection, the, of all things depends
on the conjunction' of the Creator with
man, 3.
Consent is equivalent to act, 111.
Constant or fixed things were created,
in order tiiat things inconstant or unfixed
might exist^ 190. Enumeration of certain
constant things, 190.
Consummation. — The end of a church is
called its conaummiition, 828. The manner
in which the consummations of the most
ancient church, the ancient church, the
Israelitish and Jewish church, and the
Christian church, are described in the
Word, and the mode in which they suc
cessively took place, 328.
Contagion of evil, whence it arises, 328.
Contiguity. — What is living in man or
an angel is from the proceeding divine,
which is joined to him by contiguity, and
appeara to him as his own, 57.
COERESPONDENCES. — All things of the
mind correspond to all things of the body,
181. The Lord conjoins himself to uses ij'"
means of correspondences, 220. All thiugh
in the Word are mere correspondences or
things spiritual and celestial; and because
they are correspondences, they are also
appearances, 220. The science of corre
spondences, which is the science tjf ref tf.

INDEX.

eentations, was, amongst the ancients, the
peculiar science of their wise men, and was
cultivated particularly in Egypt, 255.
Covenant. — Why the two tables of the
law are called the covenant, 326.
Coverings. — After death a man ia equally
a man as iu the world ; with this difference
only, that he has put off that covering which
constituted his body in the world, 124.
Cows signify good natural affections,
826. Create, to. — All things were created
from the divine love by the divine wis
dom, 8. The divine love and divine wis
dom are in a certain image in every created
thing, 5. In every created thing there is
something which may be referred to the
marriage of good and truth, 74. No angel
or spirit was immediately created such, but
all were first born men, 220. Every man
is created to live to eternity in a state of
happiness, 824. Man was created that he
might be a receptacle of the love and wis
dom of God, 828. The difference between
creating and proceeding from, 219.
Creation. — The end of creation is a
heaven out of the human race, 323. All
things which are without man, and serve
for his use, are secondary ends of creation,
882. The Lord created the universe to the
end that an infinite and eternal creation
might exist therein from himself, 202, 203.
By the creation of heaven and earth, in the
first chapter of Geneaia, is signified the new
creation or regeneration of tha men of the
most ancient chnrch, 241.
Creation, the flrst, 332.
Obs. — By this expression, which we meet
with occasionally in the writings, the
author does not mean that there has
been a first and second creation ; but
as preservation is perpetual creation,
and as in preserving God continually
creates, this expression points out
more particularly the creation of the
universe.
Crowns. — The seven crowns upon the
head of the dragon, Apoc. xii. 3, signifies
the holy things of the Word and of the
churoh profaned, 810.
Crucify. — Why the Jewish nation was
permitted to crucify the Lord, 247.
Cruelties. — Their origin, 276.
Cunning. — The perceptions of concupis
cences are all sorts of craft and cunning,
206. Cunning, the. — Their fate in the other
life, 310.
Cup of cold water, Matt. a. 42, signifies
Bomething of truth, 230.
Cube, to. — The evils of a man's life's
love are cured by spiritual means, as dis
eases are by natural means, 281. How the
Lord cures man, 281, 282. The healing of
the understanding alone would be like a
palliative — it is the will itaelf which must
be cured, 282. In what way the Lord heals
the love of a man's will, 283.
CuBSK, the, of Cain involves the spiritual
Btate into which those who separate faith
281

from charity, or wisdom from love, com*
after death, 242. What are real curses,
217, 250.
Dagon represented the religions prin
ciple of those who are in faith separated
from charity, 826.
Damnation is non-salvation, 329. Tlie
first state of man is a state of damnation,
83. By a belief in momentaneous salva
tion, through immediate mercy, damnation
is imputed to the Lord, 340.
Damned, to be. — To suppose any of the
human race are predestined to be damned,
is a cruel heresy, 330.
Danes. — What is taught them in the
prayer at the holy communion, 114.
Darkness.— In the Word, falsities are
called darkness ; and thence those who are
in falsities are said to walk in darkness,
318. Outer darkness, 231.
Darkness. — -When an angel of heaven
looks into hell, he sees nothing there bnt
profound darkness; and when a spirit of
hell looks into heaven, he sees nothing
there but darkness, 167.
David, by, in several passages of the
Word is represented the Lord, who wan
about to come into the World, 245.
Death is a continuation of life, 277*. By
death a man puts off the grosser substances
of nature, of^which his body conaiats, and
retains the purer substances of nature,
which are next to what is spiritual, and
which then are his continents, 220. Thus
the death of the body ia the rejection of
temporary and natural ultimatea, 220. In
the spiritual world it ia not asked after
death, what has your faith been, or what
your doctrine ? but, what has yourlife been?
101. Why the natural man, however civ
illy and morally he may act, is called dead,
222. Decalogue, the, was primary in the
Word, being deposited in the ark : it was
called Jehovah, and constituted the holy
of holies in the tabernacle, and the most
sacred place in the temple at Jerusalem,
826. There are two tables of the Deca
logue, one for God, and the other for man,
826. The Decalogue taught to children,
253, 265. The Decalogue, at this day, is as
a book that is shut, or open only in the
hands of infants and children, 329.
Degrees. — There are two kinds of de
grees — discrete degrees, or those of alti
tude ; and continuous degrees, or those ot
latitude, 32. Every man by creation, and
thence by birth, haa three diacrete degrees,
or degrees of altitude ; the first ia the nat
ural degree, the second the spiritual degree,
and the third the celestial degree, 32, 824.
These degrees are actually in every one;
but in beasts there is only one degree of
life, which is similar to the ultimate degree
in a man, called natural, 824. These de-
£rees are actually opened in man by the
.ord according to his life in the world, but
not perceptibly and sensibly till after his
departure out of the world, 32. There are-

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE.

also in a man three degrees of wisdom ;
they are opened according to love, 84. The
spiritual degree is not continued from the
natural degree by continuity, but ia joined
to it by correspondences ; it is the same
with the celestial degree in regard to the
spiritual, 34. The first degree of the life
of maO) called the naturS degree, con
sidered in itself, loves nothing but self and
the world i. the reaaon why, 824. The de
gree of affection for goodneas and truth in
which each man waa when he departed out
of tills world, is perfected to eternity, 834.
Delight, the, of man's love constitutes
his very life, 186. DeUghts constitute the
life of every one, 803. Everj delight en
joyed by a man is from his love, 78. All
delight and pleasure is from the affection,
which is of love, 76. Every delight of love
is felt no otherwise than as a good, 83.
The delights of love are what are called
goods of charity, 145. To aot from the de
light of love is to act from liberty, 78 ; and
when refiaon favors the love, it is also to
act according to reason, 85. "What delight
and pleasure are, 312. The delight of his
affection fills and encompasses every angel
of heaven ; its common delight fills and en-
oompaaaea every society of heaven ; and the
delight of all together fills and encompasaes
the universal heaven ; in like manner the
delight of concupiscence fills and encom
passes every spirit of hell, every society in
hell, and the whole of hell,_808. There
exists no affection or concupiscence with
out its delights, 803. Delights are of two
kinds: those of the understanding, which
are also those Of wisdom ; and thoae of the
will, which are also those of love, 186. De
lights occupy the thoughts, and take away
reflections, 118. External delights allure
the internal to give its consent, and also its
love, 136. The delights of concupiscences
are evils, and their thoughts falses, 206.
The delight of evil increases with tlie
wicked man, who wills and does evil, 29&
The delight of infernal love is turned in
the other life into what is unpleasant, dolo
rous, and direful, 83. The delights of in
fernal spirits, 340. How great is the de
light of the love of dominion from the love
of self, 215.
Deluge. — By the deluge is described the
consummation of the most ancient church,
828. Deny, to. — Those who deny God in the
WQ-rld deny him after death, 326. Thoae
who deny the Lord cannot be admitted
into heaven, 821. In proportion as any
one denies the Lord, he is separated from
him, 326.
Description, short, of heaven and hell,
299-306. DKSOLATioN,"successive, vastation of good,
and desolation of the truth in the cliuroh,
until the consummation is complete, 328.
Destruction of the temple of Jerusalem,
signifies the vastation of the ohurch, 246.
Determination comes from what ia in
terior or superior to itself, 88. The mind
282

cannot think and will this or that froYR
itself, unless there be something interior
or superior by which it is determined to
it, 88.
Devil, by the, is meant hell in tho whole
complex, 204. There is no particular devil
who is sole lord in hell, but self-love is so
called, 802. Hell in its form is like a mon
strous man, whose sonl is self-love and
self-derived intelligence, consequently the
devil, 302. Whether we say evil, or the
devil, it is the same thing, for in all evil
there ia interiorly the devil, 283. Evil is
the devil, 215. Evil and the devil are one,
and the ftilse of evil and Satan are one, 33.
Those are called satans who confirm them
selves in the concupiscences of evil, and
those devils who live according to them,
810. Devils may understand the arcana
of wisdom, but as soon as they return to
their diabolical love they do not under
stand them, 223. See Satan-, obs. ; Bell.
Diastole.- What it is, 319.
Difference between those who believe
all good to be from the Lord, and those who
believe good to be from themselves, 93 ;
between man and beaata, 74, 96, 276 ; be
tween illumination from the Lord, and il
lumination from man, 168, 169; between
the love of dignities and riches for theiT
own sake, and the love of them for tha
sake of uses, 215.
Digestion of food, how it is effected, 296.
Dignities. — What and whence are dig
nities and riches, 215.
Dignities are natural and temporal in
their external form, but spiritual and eter
nal in their internal form, 220. Dignities
and riches 'are stumbling-blocks to the
wicked, but not to the good, 250.
Disciple.— By the name of a disciple.
Matt. X. 42, ia meant the state of thoae Who
are in some spiritual truths of the church,
""0. Disjunction. — In proportion aa any one
denies the Lord, he is separated from him,
and disjunction causes hell to turn the face
of a man to itself and to lead him, 326.
Dissensions and Heresies are inevitable,
the reason why, 259, 256. Their permis
sion is also according to the laws of Divine
Providence,. 259.
Distance. — The reason why the Lofd ap
pears to angels at a distance as a sun, 162.
Distance is an appearance according to
conjunction with him, 162. The spiritual
principle does not exist in distance as the
natural does, 312.
Divine.— The Divine principle is in every
created thing, but with infinite variety, ac
cording to different uses, 5. The Divine
in itself is' in the Lord, but the Divine
from itself is the Divine from the Lord in
things created, 52. The Divine cannot be
appropriated to a man as his own, but can
be adjoined to him, and thence appear as
his, 285.
Divine Essence, the, is love and wiadom,
46. See Essence,
Divine Human, the, ia the Divine whicli

INDEX.

k called the Son, 262. A Chriatian cannot
without difficulty be led to think of a Di
vine human being, 262.
Divine Itself, the, is. the Divine which
is called the Father, 262. The Divine Itself
is the Infinite and Eternal in Itself, 62.
Divine Love and Wisdom, the, proceed
as one from the Lord, 4. They are sub
stance and form in themaelves, 4, 46. The
divine love is of the divine wisdom, and
the divine wisdom is of the divine love, 4.
The divine love created all things, bnt
nothing without the divine wisdom, 8.
The divine love haa for its end a heaven
which may consist of men made angels,
and who are becoming snch, 27.
Divine Proceeding, the, is the Divine
which is called the Holy Spirit, 262.
Do, to, the commandments is to love
them, 38. By doing uses or good, is meant
serving others, and ministering unto them,
215. Whatever a man thinks he does from
himaelf, is said to be done from man, and
not from the Lord, 294. Whatever a man
does comes by influx, though derivatively,
or mediately, 808.
Dogmatic. — The reason why spirits, when
conversing with man, sometimes induce
some dogmatic principle of religion, which
is never done by any good spirit, still less
by any angel of heaven, 134,* 185.
Dominion, love of, when it began, 215.
DooB, the, John x. 9, signifies the Lord,
230. The open and closed door, 71. Self-
love keeps the door, in order that it may
not be opened by man, and thus be driven
out by the Lord, 210. Evils obstruct and
dose the door, 119. The Lord enters when
a man opens the door, 233. The door is
opened by the man's removing evil, which
he does by shunning and avoiding it as in
fernal and diabolical, 145, 283. When a
man opens the dooT as fVom himself, the
Lord, immediately extii'pates the concupis
cences, 119. ¦ The Lord continually urges
and presses that a man may open the door
to him, 119.
Dragon, the, signifies those who separate
faith from charity, 258.
Dwell. — The Lord cannot dwell with a
man and angel, but in his own, and not in
their proprium, 53.
Eagles signify men of rapine, who have
intelloctual sight, 20.
Ear, the, is the form of hearing, 279.
But little is known concerning the mode in
which the ear hears, 336. The understand
ing from the will flows into the ear, and not
only donatitutes tills sense, but also uses it
as its instrument in the natural world, 314.
Eat, to, of the tree of knowledge, signi
fies tlie appropriation of good and truth,
as if good and 'truth were from nan and
not from the Lord, 313, 241, 242, It also
signifies the pride of Self-derived in elli-
gence, 32.=t ; also, the knowledge of evil, 275.
Ebeb, from, the Hebrew church had its
origm, 328.
E-EN, the garden of, signifies the wisdom
283

and intelligence of the men of the most
ancient church, 241, 313.
Effect.— When the cause ia taken away
from the effect, the effect perishes. 3. The
effect is called the ultimate end, 108. Seo
End. Effort ceasing, motion ceases, 3.
Egypt was one of the countries in which
the ancient church existed, and where the
ancient Word was known. 828.
Egyptians, the, in the Word, signifies a
particular kind of evil, 251.
Elevation of the love, according to de
grees, is not perceived except obscurely by
a man, whereas the ascent of wisdom is
clearly perceived by those who know and
see what wiadom is, 34. Elevation, aa to
affection, would not be possible if man had
not the power of elevating his understand
ing from rationality, and that of willing to
do so from liberty, 75.
Embryo, in every human, the Lord forms
two receptacles, one of the divine love, and
the other of the divine wisdom — the recep
tacle of the divine love for man's future
will, and the receptacle of the divine wis
dom for hia future underatanding, 324.
Emebodb, the, whereby the Philistinea
were smitten, signifies natural loves which,
when separated from spiritual love, are un
clean, 326. The golden emerods which
they made when they sent back the ark,
signified natural loves purified and made
good, 826.
End, primary, middle end, and ultimate
end; or end, cause, and effect, 108. The
end is the very essential principle which
enters the cause and effect, 108. The end
infuses all its quality into the cause, and
through the cause into the effect, 108. It
joins' Itaelf with the cause, and by the
cauae with the effect, 108. He that wills
an end, alao willa meana, 881. The opera
tion and progreasion of the end by its
means is what ia called the Divine Provi
dence, 331. Man may reaaon concerning
divine things, provided he has for his end
that he may sea the truth, 219. End of
Divine Providence, 16, 27, 45. Ends of
creation, 27-45, 328, 382. Secondary ends
of creation, 382. See Cause, Effect.
English, the, in general, do not suffer
themselves to liu forced to religion. 136.
Teaching given to the Engiish in tl',e prayer
at the holy communion, 114.
Enmity, the, put between the serpent
and the woman, Gen. iii. 16, signifies the
cnir.ity between man's proprium and the
Lord, or between a man's self-derived
prudence and the Lord's Divine Provi
dence, 211. In the proprium of man, there
is an innate enmity against the Divine
Providence, 211. '•
Enthusiastic spirits, who, from the de
lirium they were in, called themselves the
Holy Ghost, 134. Thoae who are instructed
by influx what they ought to believe and
to do, are not instructed by the Lord, or
by any angel of heaven, but by some spirit
of an enthusiast, 821.

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE.

Equilibbium between heaven and hell,
28. Every man is kept in this equilibrium
aa long as he Uvea in the world, and is
thus in the liberty of thinking, willing,
speaking, and acting, in which he may be
reformed, 23.
Error of the age as to the remission of
sins, 279. As to immediate mercy, and
momentaneoua salvation, 2S0.
Esse, an, vrSthoat existere is not any thing,
11. See Existere.
Essence. — There is one only essence, from
which are all the essences that are created,
157. The very divine essence is pure love,
837. Essentials, there are three, of the ohurch,
what they ar«, 259. There are two essen
tials, and the same time two universals of
religion, 340.
Eternal, 46-69, The eternal is no other
than the divine existere, 48. See Infinite,
Image. Ether, 190.
Eve, — The condemnation of Eve signi-
¦dea the condemnation of the voluntary pro
prium, 813. See Adam.
Evil, hereditary. See Hereditary.
Evil and its attendant falsity serve for
the conjunction of good and truth in others,
by equilibrium, 21, 23.
Evil is the delight of the concupiscence
of acting and thinking contrary to divi.ie
order, 279. There are myriads of oorjcu-
piscences which enter into and coripose
every evil, 279. 296. Every evil pprings
from the love of self and the lovj of the
world, 83. Evil and the devil ars one, 38.
Every evil is followed by its prmishment,
249. Evils are permitted to the end that
salvation may be effected, !!49, 281. In
every evil lies inwardly concealed an ac
knowledgment of nature and human pru
dence alone, 205. Tlie7e is inherent in
every evil a hatred agffjnst good, 238. Evil
cannot be taken away from any one unless
it appear, be seen, and acknowledged, 188,
278. So long as Cjvils remain in the con-
supiscencea, and thence in the delights of
the love of the.n, there is neither any faith,
eharity, piety, or worship, except, only in
Bxternals, 88. The evils of concupiscences
of his life's love are perceived by man not
lis evils, but as delights, to which he does
not pay any attention, 296. In proportion
as evils are removed, they are remitted,
279, See EM and False, HeredUwy.
Evil and False, — Every thing evil and
false is from hell, 321. Evil cannot exist
without its falsity, 238. Evil from its de
light, and falaity from its pleasantneaa, may
pe called and thought good and true, 195.
'lo every one, that is evil which . destroys
<jhe pleasure of his affection, and that false
whsoh destroys the pleasantness of his
.hojght thence derived, 196. Evil and its
.?¦ttndant falsity aerve for equilibrium, re-
litiOn, and purification, and thereby for the
Wijunction of good and truth in others, 21.
Lxamination, self. — What it is, 278. It
jTght to be not only external, but internal
284

also, 152. What internal examination Is
It is by an examination of the internal man
that the external is essentially explored,
152. Existere, the, without the Esse is not
any thing, 11. See Esse.
Expulsion, the, of Adam aud Eve from
the Garden of Eden, signifies the total de
privation of wisdom, 313.
E.XTERNAL, the, has its essence from the
internal, 224. The external ia able to ap
pear otherwi'oe than according to its essence
from the internal, as is the case with hypo
crites, 224. The external of i man's
thought is in itself such as it is in its in
ternal, 106. External things have such a
a connection with internal things, that in
every operation they make one, 180.
Eye, the, in the Word signifies the un
derstanding, 264. The eye is the form of
the sight, 279. The eye of every one is
formed for the reception of the light in
which he is, 1 67. The eye does not see from
itself, bill it is man's mind or spirit which
there perceives such things bv the sense,
and nience is affected according to the
quclity of the sense, 314. Men know little
of the mode in which the eye sees, 886
Vhe understanding from the will flows into
the eye, and not only constitutes that aense,
but also uses it aa its instrument in thu
natural world, 314.
Eyes, tho, correspond to wisdom and its
pe-rceptions, 29.
Face, the, is the type of the mind, 277
The external face is the appearance, and
the internal face ia the essence, 220, £24.
The internal lies interiorly concealed in the
face of the external, 224. In the spiritual
world each one, as to the face, appears such
as he is, 224. To see the Divine Provi
dence on the back and not in the face, is to
see it after, and not before, 187.
Faculty, the, of willing, which is called
liberty, and the faculty of understanding,
which is called rationality, are aa it were
inherent in a man, 98. These two facultiea
are from the Lord in man, 73. Without
theae two faculties a man would not have
will and understanding, and therefore
would not be a man, 96. He could not be
conjoined to the Lord, and consequently be
reformed and regenerated, 96, 85 ; he
would not have immortality and eternal
life, 96. These two faculties are equally
with the wicked as with the good, 15, 96,
99, 285. The Lord preserves these two
facultiea inviolable and as sacred, in every
proceeding of his Divine Providence, 96.
See Liberty, JRationality.
Faith separate from charity, 264, 265.
Blindness of those who are in this faith,
115. The danger of persua.sive faith, 181.
Fallacies blind the understanding, 175.
Every appearance confirmed as a truth be •
conies a fallacy, 310, 220.
Falsification, the, of truth consists in
doing violence to Divine truths, by cpn-
firming false principles, 281. In the Word.

INDEX.

falsifications of truth are described by
whoredoms, 238. See Whoredoms, obs.
FALsrrv, the, of evil is falaity in the un
derstanding from evils in the will, and the
falsity which is not the falaitj of evil, is
tlic falsity in the understanding and not in
tlie will, 318. Falaity which is not the fal
sity of evil may be conjoined with good, but
the falsity of evil cannot be conjoined with
good, 318. The falsity of evil and Satan
are one, 88. Falsity may be confirmed
more easily than truth, 318. A man calla
that false which destroys the pleasantneaa
of hia thought, 195. Thoughts from con-
cupiscencea are falses, 296.
Families may be distinguished by simi
larity of face, 277.
Fantasy. — Insane ideas, which nature,
though in herself void of life, inspires into
the fiintasy of self love, 288.
Obs. — Fantasy is an appearance of per
ception ; it consists in seeing the true
as false, and the good as evil, also the
evil aa good, and the falae as true.
A. a, 7680.
Fat aignifies Divine good, 281.
Father. — The Lord is the Heavenly Fa
ther of all men, 330. The Lord is the
only Father as to life, and an earthly fa
ther is only such as to the covering of life,
830. Fault is imputed to a man, and he be
comes guilty of evil, if he knows the evil
and doea not shun it, 294. Fault is not
with those from whom the infiux flows,
but with those who receive it, for he re
ceives it as his own, 294. It is man's fault
if he is not saved, 827.
Favoe, to, evils and falses and to do good,
do not accord, 14,
Fear, to, God, is to fear to offend him,
and to offend him is to sin, and tills is not
really of fear, but of love, 140.
Feae, the, of God, in a genuine sense, ia
no other than love and the fear of loaing it,
136. Who those are that have the fear of
God, 253. Various kinds of fear : fear of
the loss of liouor and of gain ; of the loss
of reputation ; of civil and ecclesiastical
punishments ; of infernal punishment ; of
the loss of dignity and opulence, 139. Fear
closes the interiors of the mind, 139. No
ene is reformed in a state of fear, 139.
Feel, to.— All that a man feels comes by
influx, 308. Man knows but little how the
eye, the ear, the nose, the tongue, and the
skin feel, 836. Why man does not perceive
and feel any thing of the operation of Di
vine Providence, 175, 176.
Felicities, the, of heaven cannot be de-
loribed in words, though in heaven they
pan be perceived by the sense, 89. Though
inexpressible, they ascend in a similar de-
ffree with wisdom, 89. Theae felicities enter
in proportion as a man removes the con
cupiscences of tne love of evil and falsity,
as if of himself, 89. These felicities rarely
manifest themaa.ves in the world, because
A man is then in a natural state, and what
is natural does not communicate with what
286

is spiritual by con-.inuity, but by corre
spondence, 41,
Fermentation or Leaven, in the Word
signifies the falsity of evil, 284,
Febmentations, spiritual,— How they are
effected in the heavens and in the earths, 26.
FmREs. — All the fibres and vessels of
those who are in hell are inverted, 296. Op
erations of the brain upon the fibres, 180.
Fig-tree. — See Leaves.
Finite, the, is not capable of compre
hending the Infinite, 46, 68. In what man
ner, nevertheless, the finite can be con
joined with the infinite, 54, 57. By finites
are meant all things created from the Di
vine, and especially men, spirits, and angels,
62. A man or an angel ia finite, and merely
a receptacle which in itself is dead, his
living principle being from the proceeding
Divine, which is joined to him by con
tiguity, and which appears to him as his
own, 57. See Inimite.
Fire. — With those who are in the love of
aelf and the world, there ia more of the flre
and ardor of performing uaes than with
those who are not in that love ; the reason
why, 215, 250, 262.
First Prinoiijles. — The Lord governs the
universal world, from flrat principles, by
nltimjites, 124, See XJUvmates, Inmost.
Flatterers, 14, 89, 104, 224.
Flesh. — By the will of the flesh, John i.
13, is understood the voluntary proprium
which is evil, 298.
Flow in, to, — Every thing flows from
heaven or from hell — from hell by permis
sion, and from heaven by the Divine Provi
dence, 261. The whole of thought and af
fection, even in the infernal spirits, flows
in from heaven ; but that influent good is
there turned into evil, and truth into falsity.
Thus every thing into its opposite, 288,
294, 307. The spiritual flows into the nat
ural, but not the natural into the spiritual,
314. Flowers, the, of trees correspond to a
man's initiation into the marriage of good
and true, 382, The small leaves of those
flowers being spiritual truths, 832,
FoROE, to. — The external cannot force
what is internal, but the internal can force
the external, 129, 136. To be forced is not
to act from liberty according to reason, but
from what ia not liberty and from another,
129. The Lord never forces any one, 43.
No one can be forced to believe, 129, 186.
It ia hurtful to force men to Divine worship
by threata and punishment, 136. To be
constrained by love, and by the fear of los
ing it, is to be constrained by one'a self,
138. What it is to constrain one'a self, 147.
To constrain one's self is neither contrary
to liberty nor rationality, 136, 145, 147. In
flux from the spiritual world does not force,
129. There is an internal constraint and
an internal freedom, 136. What coMstrained,
and what unconstrained worahip is, 187.
FoBOE. — The internal ia so averse to force
frora the external, that it turns itself away,
136.

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE.

Forehead, the, corresponds to love and
Its affections, 29.
Foreknowledge, a, of the future takes
away the essential human principle, which
consists in acting from liberty according to
reason, 178, 179. See Future.
Form. — There is one only form from
which are all the forms that are created,
157. Every form turns what is influent
into its own quality, 827. In every form
what is common and what is particular, or
what is universal and what is singular, by
a wonderful conjunction act as one, 180.
Whatsoever exists derives from its form
that which is understood by quality, pre
dicate, change of state, relation, and the
like, 4. The form makes a one so much
the more perfectly in proportion as the
things which enter into it are distinct from
each other, and nevertlieless united, 4.
Form of heaven, 62, 63. This form is made
more and more perfect to eto'nity, accord
ing to the increase of members, the union
becoming more perfect in proportion as
more enter the form of Diviue love, which
is the form of forms, 62. Organic form of
the mind, 279, 319. ForiD of government
of the life's iove, 107. See Substa-nee.
FoEM, to, — All of the understanding and
will must be formed l3y the external before
it is formed by the internal, 136. All uf
the understanding &r^ will being formed
flrst by the thinga which enter through the
senaea of the body, eapecially the signtand
hearing, 136.
Foresight, the, of the Lord, is like His
Providence, continual; one does not exist
without the other, 67, 883, Without the
foresight of the Lord, and at the same time
His Providence, neither heaven nor hell
could subsist, 833.
Fortune. — What is called fortune is
nothing else but Divine Providence in ulti
matea, where, by constant and inconstant
things, it deals wonderfully with human
prudence, and at the aame time conceals
Itself, 212. The Divine Providence, which
is called fortune, is in the smallest particu
lars of matters, even those which are
trifling, 251, 212. That which is called the
fortune of war, is the Divine Providence
operating eapecially in the counsels and de
signs meditated by the general, although
he at the time, and afterwards, may ascribe
»he whole to his own prudence, 251. See
Accidents. Fountain, the only, of life ia the Lord, 292.
Fountains. — Why the ancients conse-
trated fountains, 255.
Foxes, — Those who are in self-derived
firudence are like foxes, 811.
Frauds. — Their origin, 276.
Freely. — To will freely aa of himself, is
from the faculty given to man, called lib
erty, 96. So long as the delight of the love
of evil reigns, a man cannot freely will what
is good and true, 85. Every man may
freely think whatever he will, as well against
God as in favor of God; and he who thinks
ac;ait>«t God is rarely punished in the nat-
288

ural world, because there he is always in a
state capable of reformation, but he is pun
ished in the apiritual world after death, for
then he can no longer be reformed, 249,
278.* FSench, — The French nation, why it is
called a noble nation, 257.
Friendship, spiritual, 838.
Fructifioations and multiplications have
not failed in the natural world from the
beginning of creation, and will not fail to
eternity, 56. So with men, affections can
be fructifled, and perceptions multiplied
without end, 57. This faculty of fructifi
cation and multiplication without end, or
to inflnity and eternity, exists in things
natural with men, in things spiritual with
spiritual angels, and in things celestial with
celestial angels, 57.
Fruits in the Word, signify spiritual
goods, 332. The flrst fruits of the spiritual
marriage are like the beginnings of the
fruits, 882.
Future, all the, ia preaent to the Lord,
and all the present is to Him eternal, 883.
It is not granted to any one to know the
future, but every one is allowed to conclude
ooncerningthings to come from reaaon, 179.
The deaire of foreknowing the future is
connate with most people, but it derives
its origin from the love of evil, it is there
fore taken away from those who believe in
Divine Providence, 179.
Garden, 241, 313. See Men.
Garments, white, signifles a state of puri-
flcation from evils, 279.
Genesis. — The learned have in vain en
deavored to explain what is contained in
the flrst chapter, 241. This chapter treats
of the new creation or regeneration of the
man of the most ancient church, 241.
Genil — The most cunning sort of sensual
men are called genii; they have a deep hell
behind and wish to be invisible, therefore
they appear hovering about there like
spectres, which are their fantasies, 310.
Gentiles, the, and Mahometans, are ten
times more numerous than Christians, yet
among the latter there are but few who
place religion in a good life: what then can
be greater madness than to think that tho
former are condemned, or that a man pos
sesses heaven by his birth and not by his
life, 830. The Gentiles who have lived well
in the worid are instructed after death, and
come into heaven more easily than Chris
tians, 328, 880. The Gentile thinks more
of God from religion iu his life than the
Christian does, 822.
Germans. — Instruction given to them in
the prayer at the holy communion, 114.
GLcrrTis.- Its functions, 279.
Goats signify thoae who separate faith
from charity, 258. By the goats in Matt.
x.xv. 41-46, are meant those who omit to
think of evil, and who consequently are
continually in it, 101.
God is one in person and in essence, 262,
268. This one God is the Lord Jesus

INDEX.

Christ, 268. See Lo^-d. I a man mani
festly saw the Divine Providence, he would
either deny God or make himself a god,
182. Those who have transferred to them
selves all the Divine power, without leaving
any to Him, wish themselves to be wor
shipped as gods, 257.
Good is the delight of the affection of
afiting and thinking according to the Di-
¦vine order, 279. There are myriads of af-
foetions which enter into every good and
compose it, 279. In all good there is an
inherent love of defending itself against
evil, and of removing the same from it, 283.
By good is understood that which univer
sally comprehends and involves all things
of love, 11. All things appertaining to
love are called good things, 11. Good with
out relation to something cannot be called
good, 11. All good is called good from its
delight or beatitude, 324. The good of life
or to live well, is to shun evila because
they are contrary to religion, therefore
against God, 325, 826.. See Good and Truth.
Obs. — In the works of the author when
good alone is spoken of, spiritual good
is always meant ; if any other good is
treated of, it is called natural, civil, or
moral good.
¦ Good and Tbdth. — Good appertains to
love, and trufh to wisdom, 5, 7. Love calls
all which appertains to it good, and wis-
¦dom calls all which appertains to it truth,
5, Every one calls that good which from
the love of his will he feels delightful, and
that true which from the wisdom of his
understanding he feels as pleasant, 195. All
things in the universe have relation to good
and truth, and even to the conjunction of
good and truth, 5, 7, 11. Good is not any
thing unless united to truth, and truth is
hot any thing unless united to good, 11.
Good in the angels of heaven, and in men
on the earth, is not good in itself, except so
far as it is united to truth, and truth is not
truth in itself, except so far as it is united
to good, 10, 14. By good is understood
that which universally comprehends and
¦involves all things of love, and by truth is
understood that which universally compre-
henda and involves all things of wisdom,
11. Everything good and 'true is from the
Lord, 821. There cannot be any good with
out its truth, 233. Good is to every one
that which is the delight of his affection,
and ti'uth that which is the pleasantness of
his thought thence deri'ved, 195. Goods
and truths are indeed changes and varia
tions of state in the forms bf the mind, but
these are only perceived, and exist by their
delights and jileasantnesses, 195. What
natural good and truth, and what spiritual
'good and truth are, 312. See Marriage.
Govern, to, — The Lord govems the uni
versal angelic heaven as one man ; he gov
erns it as the soul governs the body, 163,
The Lord governs hell by opposites, and
the wicked who are in the world, he gov
erns in hell asto interiors, but not as to ex
teriors, 299, 307.
287

Government, the, of the Divine love and
wisdom of the Lord, ia what is called the
Divine Providence, 2, 285.
Governments in heaven, 217. Seeifej-o«».
Gbah*. — There does not exist in any mai.
one grain of will or prudence that is proper
to himself, 293.
Grandfather. — Sometimes the . face of
the grandfather returns in the grandchild
or great-grandchild, 277,
Guarding, by the, of the way to the tree
of life. Gen. iii. 24, the Loril's provident
care to protect from violation the hoiy
things of the church and the Word, is sig
nifled, 818.
Guilty. — What renders man guilty of
evil, 294.
Hair in the Word signifles the least of
all thinga, 169.
Happy. — A man becomes happier in pro
portion as he is more nearly conjoined to
tho Lord, 37.
Harmonies are of infinite variety ; but
they would not exist if the atmospheres in
their laws and the ears in their form were
not constant, 190.
Hatreds, their origin, 276.
Heads, by the seven, of the dragon, Eev.
xii. 3, 9, ia signified craftiness, 810. The
serpent's head. Gen. iii. 15, is the love of
self, 211, 241.
PIkab, to. — All that man hears comes by
influx, 808. Hearing cannot exist withoci.
its form, which is the ear, 279.
Heart, the, signifies the affection whio .
pertains to the love or will, 80. By thi
heart is meant the man's love, 172. Thit
which is not in theheart perishes in the
underatanding, 172. The heart corresponds
to the will, and the lungs to the understand
ing, 193. Tlie pulsation of the heart is the
natural principle of life, and the will of the
mind the spiritual principle of life, 193.
The heart conjoins itself to the lungs, and
the will to the understanding, 198. Func
tions of the heart, 279, 296. The heart col
lects the blood, and distribntea it, 386.
Heat in the spiritual world ia the Divine
love proceeding from the Lord, 292, Anal
ogy between the effecta produced by spir
itual heat and these produced by natural
heat, 292, 160. From the delights of the
affectiona, and the pleasantneaa of the per
ceptions and thoughts, vital heat is derived,
195. Heaven is from the human race, 27. A
heaven proceeding from the human race is
the great end of creation, 27, 823. Heaven
ia not heaven from the angels, but from the
Lord, 28. Heaven is a dwelling with the
Lord to eternity, 27. It is conjunction with
the Lord. 28. Heaven is in the human
form, 204, The angelic heaven before the
Lord is as one man, 64, 254. Its descrip
tion, 60. 63, It is the image of the Infinite
and Eternal, 62. What heaven is in gen
eral or in many, and what heaven is in
particular or in one, also what heaven is in
the spiritual wOrid, and what it is in the

THE DIVINE PKOVIDENCE.

natu'ol world, 27. Heaven is distinguished
into Hfi many general societies as there are
organs, viscera, and members in aman, and
each .general society into as many less gen-
eriu or particular societies, as there are
larger parts in each viscus or organ, 66.
The Lord's heaven in the natural world is
called the church, and an angel of this
heaven is a man of the church who is con
joined to the Lord, 80. Man by creation
is a heaven in its least form, 67. Those
who have acknowledged God and His Di
viue Providence conatitute heaven, 205.
Mahometan heaven, 265. See Mahometa-ns.
Hebrew Church. — It was in this church
founded by Eber, that sacrificial worship
first originated, 328.
Hell consists of myriads of myriads,
every one there being in a human form,
although it be a monstrous one, and all the
fibres and vessels in it inverted, 296. Hell
itself is in the human form, bnt in a mon
strous human form, 204. A wicked man
is a hell in the least form, 296. The uni
versal hell is arranged into societiea accord
ing to the oonoupiacences of evil, opposed
to the affections of good, 278.* Those who
have acknowledged nature alone, and hu
man prudence alone, o"natitute hell, 205.
Man IS in hell when he is in evil, 101. See
Devil, Satan.
Hebeditaby Evil is from parents, and
not from Adam and Eve, as is supposed,
but every one is born into it from hia pa
rent, that parent from his parent, and so
on, every one from his own parent respec
tively, and thus it is successively transferred
from one to another, by which it is increased
and augmented abundantly, and thus trans
mitted to posterity, 277, 328. By his hered
itary evil a man continually pants towards
the lowest hell, but the Lord by His Divine
Providence continually withholds him, 138,
Heresies in the Christian world, 238, 259,
Every heresy may be confirmed, 318. To
suppose that no one can be aaved but those
who are born within the church ia an in
sane heresy, 829, 830. It is a cruel heresy
to suppose that any of the human race are
predestined to be damned, 829, 330.
Heretic, a, cannot see his falsities ex
cept he admit the genuine truth of the
chnrch, 318.
Hieroglyphics. — Their origin, 255.
Holiness, spiritual, which is also the
spirit of truth proceeding from the Lord,
is -interiorly in every particulpr of the lit
eral sei «3 cf the Word, and this holiness
is violn'ed when the Word ia falsified and
adulteriie.l, 231.
Honors are blessings, and ^ney are curses,
216, 217. Why the Lorl p'-f-iits the wicked
to be elevated to hjpjij, 250. TheLord
never withholds amf J '.lorj seekin J ho'.ors,
but from seeking '..hpj fjr the sake of pre
eminence, or for the Bake of self, 183. See
Dignities, Riches.
Hope. — Whence a man has what is called
hope, 178.
HoBNs, the ten, of the dragon, Apoc. xii.
288

8, signifies the power of -ersuading by
means of fallacies, 310.
House. — In the spiritual world each in
his society has his own house, which he
flnds prepared for him as soon as he comes
into the society : he may bo in company
with others out of hia house, but yet he
cannot dwell anywhere but in it, 338_.
Human, the, v/ith man, whence it pro
ceeds, 227. To think from the truth is
truly human, 321 ; and also to think and
will from God, 293.
Humanity. — Christians in thought sepa
rate the divinity of 'the Lord from His hu
manity, placing His divinity beside the
Father in heaven, and His humanity they
know not where, 265, 262. Humanity it
self consists in the two faculties of man
which are liberty and rationality, 281.
Humble, to.— The Lord continually hum
bles the proud, and exalts the humble, 183.
Husband. — Why the Lord is called the
husband in the -Word, 8.
Hyperbola. — Angelic wisdom, in com
parison with Divine wisdom, is like a right
fine drawn about an hyperbola, continually
approaching but never touching it, 835.
Htpoorisies are lighter or more grievous
according to confirmations against God, and
reasonings exteriorly in favor of God, 281.
Hypocrites, 14, 89, 104, 222, 224, 281.
Idea, spiritual, ia of the internal thought,
natural idea of the external, 274. There
are abstract ideas given by which it can bo
seen that things exist, though not what is
their quality, 46.
Idealists are visionaries, 46, 809.
Idols. — Why there are men who worship
idols, 254.
Idolaters, — Those who conflrm in them
selves the appearance, and not at the same
time the truth, arc not able to remove from
themselves evils as sins, but are all interior
idolaters, for they are worshipers of self
and the world. If they have no religion
they become worabipera of nature, and
thus Atheists ; but if they have any reli
gion, they become worshipers o.' men, and
at the same time of images, 154.
Idolatries. — Their origin, 256. Of the
idolatry which, exists in the Christian
world, 254.
Ignoeance. — Why no person is reformed
in a state of ignorance, 143.
Illumination is predicated of the under
standing, 165, 166. Man is taught by illu
mination, 166. There is interior tjid exte
rior illumination from the Lord, and there
is interior and exterior illumination frora
man, 168. Interior illumination from the
Lord is that by which a man perceives
whether what is said be true or not true,
iind o.xter'or illumination is derived thence
in tne thought, 168. Interior illumination ,
from man is from conflrmation alone, and
exterior illumination from man is from
science alone, 168. Another sort of illumi
nation, 170. Illumination of Swedenborg,
135. Natural and rational illumination is

INDEX.

from spiritual light: this illumination is
called natural and rational, because it is
spiritual- natnral, 166.
Image and likeness of God. — What is
understood by it, 27, 828. Man ia an image
of God by hia being a recipient of Divine
wisdom, and a likeness of God by his being
a recipient of Divine love. Therefore the
receptacle which ia called the understand
ing IS an image of God, and the receptacle
which is called the will ia a likeness of
God, 328. ¦ Tho image and likeness of God,
although seemingly, are not actually de
stroyed in man ; for they remain inherent
in his two faculties, called liberty aud ra
tionality, 328. The angelic heaven is the
very image and likeness of the Lord, 163.
In the created universe there is an image
of man, and it is an image of what is infl
nite and eternal, therefore an image of God
the Creator ; that is, of the Lord from eter
nity, 52. The divine love and wisdom of
the Lord exists in a certain image in every
thing created by him, 8. An image of what
is inflnite and eternal exists in the varie
ty, fructification, and multiplication of all
things, 56. The image of what is infinite
and eternal does not exist in a man except
iu the marriage of good and truth, 58. As
far as a man is in the union or in the mar
riage of good and truth, so far is he an
image and likeness of the Lord, 8. The
image of God, which consists in a man be
ing able to imderstand truth and to do
good, dwells in a man of sonnd mind, and
is not eradicated, 322. Why there are men
who worship graven images, 254.
Image, the, which Nebuchadnezzar saw
in his dream, signifies the four churches
which succeeded each other, 828.
Immortal, the, part of man which is his
mind is stripped naked by death, and then
he becomes a spirit in a human form, 324.
Immortality. — Why every man has im
mortality, 96. Difference between immor
tality and life eternal, 96. The idea of the
ancients on the subject of immortality, 324.
Whence it is that some men aspire after
immortal fame, 274.
Impeachments, impious, of the Divinity,
840. Impieties, all, and all glorying therein,
are permissions, the causes of which are
laws of the Divine Providence, 249.
Impious. — Why the impious are promoted
to honor, made nobles and primates, abound
in wealth, and live elegantly and magnifi
cently, 250.
Infants, all, in the spiritual world are
introduced into angelic wisdom, and by it
into celestial love, by delights and pleas
antness from .the Lord, 186. Every one
that dies an infant goes to heaven, is edu
cated and instructed there as a man in the
world, and by the affection of good and
tiuth Imbibes wisdom and becomes an
augel, 324.
INFINITK, 46-49. The Inflnite is no other
than the Diviue Esse, 43. There cannot be
an infinity of space, nor an infinity of time,
289

because that which ia infinite is wilhont s
first and last end, or without bounds, 48.
Infinite and eternal ia to be thought of with
out space and time, 51. The Divine Provi
dence, in all that it does, has respect to
what is infinite and eternal, 56-69, 202.
The infinite thinga of love and of wisdom
proceed from the Lord, and flow into all
in heaven, and thence into all in hell, and
from both into all tho world, 294. See
Finite, Image.
Influx. — All that a man thinks and wills,
and thence speaks and does, ia by influx;
by influx from heaven if it is good, and by
influx from hell if it is evil, 287, 288, 294,
307, 308. Good is by influx from the Lord,
and evil from the proprium of man, 287.
There is an influx of the Lord into the
love of good and its affections, and by
these into the perceptions and thoughts ;
and there is an influx of hell into the love
of evil and its affections, which are lusta,
and by thoae into the perceptions and
thonghts, 83. Those who are instructed
by influx what they ought to believe and
to do, are not instructed by the Lord, or
by any angel of heaven, but bv some spirit
of an enthusiast, 321. AH'infinx from the
Lord is effected by illumination of the un
derstanding, by the affection of truth, and
by the influx of the latter into the former,
321. By influx from the spiritual world,
which does not force, man is in full liberty
to think and to will, 129. Man ought not
to hang down his hands and wait for in
flux, 200, 210, 321.
Ingrafting. — A man indeed is an evil
tree from the seed ; but yet there ia pro
vided an ingrafting or inoculation of
branches taken from the tree of life, by
which the juices drawn from the old root
are converted into such as produce good
fruit, 332, 296.
Inherent, 50, 98, 233, 274, 281, 317, 328.
Obs. — That is called inherent which pro
ceeds from a common or general in
flux. A. E; 955, 0>mm/>n influx is
the continual effort of the Lord in all
that pertains to the life of man, that
he may act according to order. What
is inherent is like an ingrafting.
Inherent, to be. — With all those who
have any religion, there ia an inherent
knowledge that men live after death, 274.
A man sees the mind of another from his
face, and perceives his affectiona from the
sound of hia voice, without any other
knowledge than what is inherent in every
one, 317. See Inherent, obs.
Inmost, the, of a man is his life's love,
125. The Divine Providence operates from
the inmoat and the ultimate principlea of
man at the same time, 124, 125, 220. The
Lord acts from the inmost principles of a
man, and upon the successive to the ulti
mate, 125. The things which are in a
man's inmost principlea, and in the sueees-
aive from the inmost to the ultimate, are
altogether unknown to him, 125. The in
most and intermediate principles are to-

THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE.

'gether in the ultimates, 124. There ia a
perpetual connection of the outmost with
the inmost, 180, See Outmost.
Innocence. — In what consisted the state
of innocence in which Adam and Eve
were, 275,
Insanity, — In hell insanity is called wis
dom, and wisdom insanity, 223.
Instinct is a result of influx, 317.
Instruct, to. — Those who have lived
well and acknowledged God, are instruct
ed after death by angels, 323.
Intklligknoe, — Opinion of the angels
concerning intelligence in man, 293. In
telligence appeara to be hia own both in a
good man and in a wicked man, 298. The
difference between the intelligence of the
one and the other, is like that which is
thought to exist in itself, and that which is
thought not to exist in itself, but as if in
itself, 298. Self-derived intelligence can
induce the human form only in externals,
but the Divine Providence induces it iu
internals, and through internals in exter
nals, 298. See Conceit.
Intelligent. — None are intelligent but
thoae who perceive truth to be truth, and
confirm the same by truths continually
perceived, 818.
Intention. — To think from intention is
to will and to do, 152. Intentions are
thoughts from the will, 152,
Interiors, — By a man's interiors ia meant
the internal of his thought, of which he
does not know any thing before he comes
into the spiritual world and its light, which
is the case after death, 233, In a man's
interiora there cannot exist evil and at the
same time good, nor consequently the false
of evil and at the same time the truth of
good, 233. In the interiors of the mind of
man there are infinite thinga which cannot
be determined by numbers, 199. The
Lord alone regulates the interiors of the
mind of man by his Divine Providence,
199, Intermediates, the, of man are the
thinga which are in the internal of his
thought, 126, Intermediate principles de
pend successively upon the inmost even to
the ultiinate, and in ultimate principles
they exist altogether, 125,
Internal, — By the internal of the will
and the internal of the understanding are
meant nothing else but the internal man,
103, There exists internal constraint and
internal liberty, 188. Internal constraint is
an internal that man has in comnion with
the beasts; the human internal resides
above the animal internal, and cannot be
forced, 136. Tho external cannot con
strain the internal, but the internal can
constrain the external, 186. Man is only
in acme externals with the Lord; if he
were at the same time in internals, he
would pervert and destroy all the order
and tenor of the progresa of the Divine
Providence, 180, As a man disposes ex
ternals, the Lord disposes internals, 181.
See Body, Extemalt.
290

INTESTINES. — Their functions, 279, 29(1
180. Invocation of dead men, 257.
Israelites, the, were introduced into the
land of Cairaan merely that they might
represent a church and its internal princi
ples, by the external things of worship,
182. .Iehovah. — The Lord is Jeliovah, 157.
Jest. — Profanation is committed by those
who jest from the Word, and concerning
the Word, 231.
Jesuits, 222.
Jesus. — In the spiritual world where
every one is obliged to speak aa he thinks,
no one can even name Jesus, unless he
has lived in the world as a Christian, 262.
No one can even utter the name Jesus,
but from the Lord, 58.
Jews, by the, in the Word, are meant
all who are of the ohurch and acknowl
edge the Lord, 260. What was the end
which the Divine Providence had in view
in preserving the Jews and scattering
them over a great part of the earth, 260.
If they persevere in denying the Lord's di
vinity, it is because tliey are of such a dis
position, that if they were to receive and
acknowledge the Lord's divinity and the
holy things of the church, they would pro
fane them, 260. Why the Jews were per
mitted to crucify the Lord, 247. It is easy
to tell by seeing the face only whether a
person ia a Jew or not, 277.
Joy. — Every one who is received into
heaven, enters into the supreme joy of hia
heart, and greater than that he cannot sup
port, 254.
Judaism. — Why Judaism still continues,
260. Judge, the unjust, 109, 168, 296.
Judgment, the last, is now accomplish
ed, 268.
Judgments, all the, of the laraeliliah
and Jewish Churches represented spiritual
thinga of the church, which are its inter
nals, 245.
Kidneys, the. — Their organization, 180,
279. The kidneys separate the blood from
impure humors, 296.
Kindle, to. — All evil which does not ap
pear, kindles itself, being like fire among
wood under the ashes, 278,*
King, the, with the Israelitish and Jew
ish nations represented the Lord, 245.
Why many kings were permitted to pro
fane the temple and the holy things of tha
church, 246.
Kingdom, the, of the Lord is a kingdom
of uses, 26, 250. In Christendom there are
kingdoms which represent the uations with
which the children of Israel waged war,
251. Knowledges are like instruments in ths
hands of artificers, 96.
Lamps signify the truths of faith, 82C-
LARYNr, its functions, 279, 180.

INDEX.

¦iAWS of Divine Providence, 70-190. The
Ij, d cannot act against the laws of Divine
Providence, because to act against them
would be to aot against Himself, 831.
Whatever is done to the end that salvation
may be effected is according to the laws of
the Divine Providence, 284. The laws of
permission are also the laws of Divine
Providence, 284. All the laws of the Di
vine Providence are necessities, 249. See
I^rntidence. Leaven in the Word signifies the false
of evil, 284. See alao 25.
Leaves in the Word signify natural
truths, 332. By the fig-leaves with which
Adam and Eve covered their nakedness,
are signified moral truths, under which
were concealed the" things appertaining to
their love and pride, 813. See Tree.
Led, to be.— How man is led by the
Lord, 154-174i The sign that any one is
led by the Lord is, that ne loves his neigh
bor, 208. Those who respect God in their
lives and do no evil to their neighbor are
led by the Lord, 253 ; and are elevated
above their proprium, 316. Thoae who
acknowledge nature and their own pru
dence, are like infernal spirits, who dislike
to be led of the Lord, and love to be led of
themselves, 208.
Legate diacustvPjf' wjth two priests in
the spriritual wor!d concerning human
jirndence, 197.
Leibnitz, 289.
Liberty is the faculty of thinking, wi'll'-
ihgj speaJiing and doing, according to the
understanding, 15, 78, 96, 98, 227, 286.
Liberty is given to man by the Lord alone,
78, 219. Man ia in full liberty to think artd
to will, but not in full liberty to speak and
act whatever he thinks and wills, 281.
Unless a man' had full liberty, he not only
would not be saved, but would even totally
perish, 281. See Liberty and Ratioit-alUy.
All liberty is of loVe," insomuch that love
and liberty are one, 78. Liberty like love
cannot be separated from volition, 89.
There is infernal liberty, and there ia ce
lestial liberty ; to think and to will evil is
infernal liberty, and to think and to will
good is celestial liberty, 43. Celestial lib
erty is liberty itself, 149. There are in
general three kinds of liberty, natural, ra
tional, and apiritual, 78. Every man has
by birth natural liberty, under the influ
ence of which he foves nothing but himaelf
and the world, 78. Eational liberty is
grounded in the love of fame, for the sake
of honor or interest, 73. Spiritual liberty
is gi'ounded inthe love of eternal life, 73.
A man derives all liberty from hia love, 43.
Whatsoever a man does from freedom he
perbeives as hia own^ 48. Every man
wishes to be free, and to remove slavery
from himself, 148. It is a law of Divine
Pro /idence that man should act from free
dom according to reason, 71, 97, 123, 176.
A man has liberty of reason from this cir
cumstance, that he ia in the midst between
heaven and the world, and can think from
291

heaven and from the world, also fi-om
heaven concerning the world, and from the
world concerning heaven, 142. To act
from liberty according to reason, and to
act from liberty and rationality, is the sam9
thing, 97. It is one thing to act from lib
erty according to reason, and another to act
from liberty itself according to reason it
aelf, 97, 98. Those only who have suffered
themaelves to be regenerated by the Lord,
act from essential liberty, according to es'-
sential freedom; all others aot from liberty
according to their thought which they
make like reason, 98. -Who those are to
whom essential freedom or essential liber
ty, and at the same time essential reason
or esrential rationality, cannot be given,
and those to whbm they are given with
difficulty, 98, 99. To act from the delight
of love is to act frora liberty, and when
reason favors the love, it ia also to act ac
cording to reason, 86. Man is continually
led by the Lord in freedom, and is also re
formed and regenerated in freedom, 43,
86. Internal and external liberty, 78. Why
we are ignorant what spiritual liberty is,
149. _ Liberty and Eationality.— See Fa'cu^
ties. These two faculties are as it were in
herent in man, for the essential human
principle resides in them, 98. Every man
has liberty and rationality, and every one
may come into essential liberty and ration
ality if he ahuns evils as sins, 99 ; but the
adult who in theworld does not come into
them, cannot come into them after death,
99. See Liberty.
Lies.— Their origin, 275.
Life. — There is out only fountain of life,
which is the Lord, 292, 808. Man is a re
cipient of life, 308. Life itaelf from which
is the life of all things, ia the divine love
and divine wisdom of the Lord, 157, 174.
Life appears in man in such a similitude
as if it were his own, consequently proper
to himaelf, 808. The life of man is his
love, 88. The Lord flows into the- life's
love of every one, and by his affections in
to his perceptions and thoughts, and not
vice versa, 33. The life of every one must
be his own, no one living in a life foreign
to hia own, 227. The life forms to itself
doctrine, and forms, to itself faith, 101. In
the Word, life in heaven is called life ever
lasting, and also' simply life, and this life
is also eternal happiness, 324. Without
liberty and rationality man would not
have eternal life, 96. The life of tbe
wicked is from the same origin, 160. The
life of animals is a life of affection, merely
natnral, with its concomitant consoienc* ;
it is a mediate life corresponding tc t-ve
life of those which are in the spiritual
worid, 161, 74, 96.
Light. — There is spiritual light and there
is natural light, both alike as to external
appearance, but unlike as to internal, inn.
Spiritual light in its essence is the div.l-je
truth of the Lord's divine wisdom; 317. It is
this light which enlightens the human lu'-

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE.

derstanding, 166, 817. Natural lightis from
the sun of this world, and thence in itself
void of life ; but spiritual light is from the
sun of tho spiritual world, and thence in it
self living, 166. There are three degrees of
light in the spiritual world — celestial light,
spiritual light, and spiritual-natural light ;
celestial light, or that of the third heaven,
is a ruddy, flaming light ; apiritual light,
with those of the middle heaven, is a white,
shining light; and spiritual-natural light,
is such aa is the light of day in our world,
and is with thoae who are in the loweat
heaven, and in the world of spirits, 166.
The light in hell is also of three degrees,
the light in the lowest hell being hke the
light of burning coals ; the light in the
middle hell like that from the flame of a
wood fire; and the light in the highest
hell like the light of candles, and to some
like the light of the moon by night, 167.
All the light of the spiritual world has
nothing in common with that of the natu
ral world, they being as different as life
and death, 166, 169. It is not easy to dia-
tinguiah between the light of confirmation
and the light of the perception of truth, 318.
Neverthcleaa the difference ia as great as
between the light of infatuation and genu
ine light, 818. The light of infatuation
in the spiritual world is such, that it
is changed into darkness when genuine
light flows in, 318. In the Word, those
who are in truths, are said to walk in the
light, and are called the children of light,
318. Who those are who are meant by
the devils, who pretend to be angels of
light, 228.
Likeness. — See Image.
IjIps. — Their functions, 279.
Live, to. — Man lives from the Lord alone,
and not from himself, 156, 157. Without
the appearance that a man lives from him
self he would not be a man, 156, Man lives
as a man after death, 274. To live well, or
the good of life, is to shun evils because
they are contrary to religion, therefore
against God, 825, "826.
Liver.— Its organization, 180, 279. It
elaborates the blood, 336.
Lobes of thelung, 319.
Look at, to, — The Lord looks at the an
gels in the forehead, and the angels direct
their eyes towards the Lord, 29. The more
interiorly any object is inapected, the more
wonderful, perfect, and beautiful are the
things seen in it, 6.
Lobd, tho, is the only God of heaven and
earth, 330. The Lord' is perfect man, 65.
How the Lord is the Divine Truth of the
Divine Good, 172, The Lord is the Word,
because it is from Him and concerning
Ilim, 172. That the Lord alone is heaven,
29. The Lord is not in heaven among the
angels, or with them as a kin" in His king
dom ; as to appearance in the sun there.
He is above thein, but as to the life of their
lOve and wisdom. He is in them, 31. The
iiurd, for the sake of reception and con
junction, wills that whatsoever a man does
292

freely according to reason, may appear to
him as hia own, 77. The l^ord alone onuses
every one to tiiink and will according to
his quality, and according to the laws of
His Providence, 294. A man is led of the
Lord by influx, and taught by illumination,
165, 166. When a man is taught frora the
Word, he is taught from the Lord, 172.
Ohs. — In all the writings of our author,
by the Lord is meant Jesus Christ, the
Saviour of the world, who is the one
and only Lord.
Lot. — Why a man does not know what
will be his lot after death, 179. Tlioee
who believe in Divine Providence have
confidence that the Lord will appoint their
lot, hence they do not desire to foreknow
it, 179. The life of every one continues
with liim, and thence is nis lot, because
the lot is of the life, 179.
Love, the, is the life of man, 13. Love
is as the flre of life, from which is the light
of life, 167. The life's love of no one can
exist without' derivationa which are called
affections, 106. The life's love produces
from itaelf subordinate loves, which are
called affections, 194. The life's love,
which is also the governing love, remains
with every one after death and cannot be
removed, 231. The life's love of every one
makes to itself an understanding and so
also a light, 167. Love ' pertains to the
will, 136. The love of the will flows into
the understanding, there causing its light
to be felt ; hence it comea into the thoughts
and also into the intentions, 281. ThcTove
of the will infuses into the underatanding
whatever it chooses, but not vice versa, 297.
The love of the will forms faith to itself,
136. Love dwells in its affections as a
master in hia domain, or aa a king in his
kingdom, 106. Love wishes to communi
cate its own to another, 324. Pure love ia
the Divine Essence which operates by the
Divine Wisdom, 387. Celestial love and
infernal love. Celestial love is love to the
Lord and towards the neighbor, and in
fernal love is the love of self and of the
world, 106, 107, 199. Love of self, what it
is, 206, 215. Self-love, which is the head
of all evils, ia more ingenious than other
loves in adulterating goods and falsify
ing trutha, 283, The man who subdues
this love subdues easily all other loves,
146,^ Spiritual love is such that it wishes
to give what it has to another, and in pro
portion as it can do this, it is in its esse, in
Its peace, and in ita blessedness, 27. The
love in which man waa created is .I.e love
of his neighbor, that he may wish him as
well as he wishes himself, and even better,
and that he may be in the dcU.ght of that
love, when he doea good to h-mj 275. This
love is truly human, 275, When the love
of the neighbor was turned into the love
of self, and this latter increased, then hu
man love was turned into animal love, 276.
Love of means, 109, 110, -What ia the na
ture of the love of dignities and richea for
their own sake, and what the nature of the

INDEX.

love of them for the sake of use, 215.
These two loves are aa distinct from each
other as heaven and hell, 215. Conjugial
love is spiritual celestial love itself, 144.
Love and liberty are one, 73. To act from
love is to act from liberty, 43. See Liberty.
Love, to, God is to obey the precepts of
His law, 326, What it ia to love the Lord
above all things, and our neighbor as our-
, selves, 94,
Love and Wisdom, — Love ia the ease of
wiadom, and wisdom is the quality of love,
13. Love in its form ia wisdom, 13,
Love without wisdom cannot do any thing,
nor wisdom without love, 3, 4. Love calls
all which appertains to it good, and wisdom
calls all which appertains to it truth, 5,
Love pertains to the will, and wisdom to
the nnderstanding, 136, Love and wiadom
enter into a man by his face, and not by the
hinder part of the head, 95, Love and
wisdom are neither in space nor time, 49,
How love is conjoined to wisdom, 28,
Lowing, the,'of the kine in the way,
1 Sam. vi., signifies the difficult conversion
of the concupiscences of evil in the natural
man into good affections, 326.
LuciFEB, by, Isaiah xiv., is meant Babel ;
that is, the profanation of good by those
who attribute to tho'inselves things divine,
281, 257.
Lukewarm, the, Kev. iii. 14, 15, signifies
profaners, 281, 29^,
Luminous. — In the spiritual world there
appears sometimes something luminous
about the head, or about the mouth, and
above the chin, 169.
Lungs, the, correspond to the under
standing, 193. The lungs decant the blood,
836, 296. Changes and variations of state
of the lungs, in speaking and singing, 279.
Disease of the lungs, whence it arises, 180.
See Heart.
Lutheb confessed that when he estab-
liahed Solifidianism, he was warned by an
angel of the Lord not to do it: the reason
why he did not obey the injunction, 258.
Machiavelists, 810.
Mahometan Keligion, the, was raised
up by the Divine Providence of the Lord,
255. Why this religion has been received
by so many empirea and kingdoms, 265,
Mahometans, all the, who acknowledge
the Lord, and at the same time live accord
ing to the commandments of the Deca
logue, which they also possess, by shunning
evils as sins, are received into that heaven
which is called the Mahometan heaven,
266. Mammon, by the, of unrighteousness
Luke xvi. 8, 9, are meant the knowledges
of thinga good and true which the wicked
possess, and which they use solely for the
purpose of acquiring to themselves digni
ties and riches, 250.
Man is the form of his own love, 319.
Man by creation is a heaven in its least
form, and thence an image of the Lord,
67 ; but by birth a man is like a little hell,
293

251, 296. If a man were born in the love in
which he was created, he would not be
in any evil, nor indeed would he know
what evil is: he would be born, not in
the darkness of ignorance, but in a cer
tain light of knowledge, and thence also of
intelligence, 275. He alone is man who
ia interiorly such aa he desires to be
thought by others, 298. A wicked man is
a hell in its least form, aa a good man ia a
heaven in its least form, 296, 299, 306.
Every raan with respect to his spirit is in
sorae society of the spiritual world, — a
wicked man in some infernal society, and
a good man in some celestial society ; ho
also appears there sometimes when he is iu
deep meditation, 296. In the celestial or
grand man, of which the Lord is the life
or soul, there are all things which are in a
natural man, with that dift'erence whicli
exists between things celestial and natural,
326, Every man is both in evil and in
good; for he is in evil from himself, and
in good from the Lord, and he cannot live
unless he is in both; the reaaon why, 227.
Every man lives as a man after death, 274.
Every man whilst he lives in this world is
kept in equilibrium between heaven and
hell, and thus in the liberty of thinking,
v/illing, speaking, and acting, in which lib
erty he may be reformed, 23. Man ought
to do good and think truth as from him
self, but still to acknowledge that they are
from the Lord, 116. Man knows his
thoughts, and thence his intentions, be
cause he sees them in himself, 197. If a
man believed, as is the truth, that every
thing good and true ia from the Lord, and
every thing evil and false from hell, he
would neither appropriate to himself good,
and make it meritorious, nor would he
appropriate to himself evil, and make him
self guilty of it, 320. If a man manifestly
saw the Diviue Providence, he would in
terfere with the order and tenor of its pro
gress, and pervert and destroy it, ISO. A
man is not admitted interiorly into the
truths of wisdom and goods of charity, ex
cept so far as he can oe kept in them to
the end of life, 221. Why it was not
known heretofore that man lives as a man
after death, and why this was not discov
ered till now, 274, Correspondence of the
life of man with the vegetation of a tree ;
parallel or comparison drawn, 332. By the
will of mab, John i. 18, is meant the intel
lectual proprium, which is the false of evil,
298. Man's Own.— What does not appear as
man's own cannot be made of his love,
and so appropriated as hia own, 43.
Marriage, the, of good and truth is tho
same thing aa the union of love and wis
dom, 7, The marriage of good and truth
is from the marriage of the Lord with the
church, and the latter frora the marriage
of love and wisdom in the Lord, 21, 8.
Since the marriage of good and truth ex
isted by creation in every created thin",
and since this was afterwards separated,

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE.

the Lord must operate continually that it
may be restored, 9. Thia marriage haa
been broken by the separation of faith
from cSiarity, 22. In the Word, and in all
and every thing of the Word, there is a
marriage of good and truth, 21. The con
junction of the Lord with the choi'ch and
of the church with the Lord is called the
celestial and spiritual marriage, 28, 83.
There exiats a marriage of good and truth
in the cause, and there exists a marriage
of good and truth from the cause in the
effect, 12. Marriage of evil and of the
false, 298'.
MAssEa, — The Divine Providence has
permitted that the Eoman Catholic should
placo the sanctity of worship in masses
not understood by the vulgar ; the reason
why, 257,
Means, the, of Divine Providence 'are all
those thinga by virtue of which a man is
made man, and perfected with respect to
his understanding and will, 835. These
means are inflnite in number and variety,
835. The means by which man is led to
the Lord, 221, 249. Means of separation,
of purification, of withdrawal and expul
sion of evil, 296. Means of salvation, 829.
Mediately. — What is effected mediately
by preaching does not tsike away the im
mediate teachingof the Lord, 172,
Meditation.— When man is in profound
meditation, he sometimes appears as to his
spirit in a society iu the spiritual world,
296. Melancthon, 50.
Membranes, the, of the grand man or of
heaven are constituted of those to whom
the gospel cannot reach, but only some re
ligion, 254.
Memory is the permanent state of the
changes of state and of form in the purely
organic substances of the mind, 279.
When truths are only in the understand
ing and thence in the memory, they are
not within the man but without him, 233 ;
the memory of a man compared to the ru
minatory stomach in which certain animals
deposit their food, 233. So lon^ aa the
food is there it is not within their body,
but without it, but as soon as they bring it
up thence and swallow it, it enters into the
life and nourishes the body, 238. In
man's memory, there is not only materials
but spiritual food, namely truths, and this
food in itself consists of knowledges, 283 ;
in proportion as the man by the exercise
of his thinking principle takes in thence,
his spiritual mind is nourished, 233. Man
)ias an external or natural, and an internal
or spiritual memory, 227. This memory is
the book of his life, which after death is
opened, and according to which he is
judged, 227.
Mercy, pure, is pure love, 337. It is'
consequently the Lord, 837. Immediate
mercy is not possible, because man's salva
tion is effected by means according to
which the Lord leads him, 221. From be
ing wicked, man cannot be made good by
294

the immediate merey of the Lord, 279,
338, See SaUatum.
Meritorious,— The good in which a man
is, if it is done for th,e sake of salvation, is
a meritorious good, 90.
Mesentery, 164, ISO, 296, 336.
Mesopotamia waa one of thoae countries
in which the ancient church existed, and
where the ancient Word was known, 328.
Mice, the, by which the country of the
Philistines was wasted, 1 Sam. vi., signify
the devastation of the church by the falsi
fications of truth, 326 ; and the golden
mice made by the Philistines signify the
vastation of the oliurch removed bygood,
S2S. Mind, the, (animus), is composed of
affectiona, peroeptiona, and thoughts, 56.
Disease of the mind takes away rationality,
and thereby the liberty of acting accord
ing to reason, 141. See Mind (Mens), Lib
erty. Obs. — The animus is a sort of external
mind, formed by external affections
and inclinations, resulting principally
from education, society, and custom.
See C. L., No. 246 ; see also Mind
(Mens), Obs.
Mind (Mens). — The mind of man in all
the particulars of its form, is similar to
that of heaven or hell, there is no differ
ence, except that one is great and'the other
small, 299. The human mind consists of
throe degrees, 75. There is in man a nat
ural, spiritual, and celestial mind, 147. So
long as man is in the concupiscences of
evil and their delights,, he is in the natural
mind only, and so long as the spiritual
mind is shut, 147. The natural mind,- man
has in common with beasts ; the rational
spiritual mind is the truly human mind,
821. The mind of man which in itself ia
spiri,tual, cannot be anywhere b,ut among
spirits, into whose society it also comes
after death, 807. Such as ia the mind,
such ia the body, consequently tho entire
man, 112. The human mind is continually
in these three principles, end, cause, and
effect ; if one of these is wanting, tho mind
is not in ita life, 178. How the Lord gov
erns the interiors and exteriors of man's
mind, 307.
Obs. — The Mind (Mens) is composed of
two faculties which make man truly
man, namely, the will and understand
ing. The mind composed of the spir
itual will and understanding is the in
ternal man ; it incloses the inmost man
or soul (animu), and it is. enveloped
by the natural mind or external man,
composed of the natural will and un
derstanding ; thia natural mind, with
a mind still more exterior or external
c.\lled the animus,, which is formed by
external affections and inclinations,
resulting principally from education,
society, and custom, ia the exterior
man. The whole organized into a per.
feet human form, is called tho spirit
(spiritus). The spirit, in our world.

INDEX.

is incloasd by a terrestrial body which
renders it invisible ; but set free by
natural death from this body, it enters
into the spiritual world, where the
spirit is perfectly visible and tangible.
See Soyl.
Miracles. — No one ia reformed by mira- '
cies, because they force man to believe, 129,
130. (See To Force.) Faith induced by
miracles is not faith, but perauasion ; it ia
only an external without an internal, 131.
The effect of miracles upon the good is
different from what it is upon the wicked,
188, The good do not desire miracles, but
they believe the miracles which are record
ed in the Word, and if they hear any
thing of a miracle, they attend no other
wise to it than as a light argument which
confirms their faith, 133, By miracles the
wicked may be driven and forced into
faith, 138. \Vhy there were so many mir
acles among the descendants of Jacob, 132,
Why there are no miracles in the present
day, 131, 133.
Misfortune. — No one ia reformed in a
state of misfortune, 140,
Moabites, in the Word, signify some
particular kind of evil, 251.
Modes, the, of Divine Providence are all
those things by which the means for form-
ipg man and perfecting him are eft'eeted,
885. These modes are infinite in number
and variety, 886. These modes are of a
very hidden nature, 836.
Moral. — What is moral is the receptacle
of what is spiritual, 322. He is called a
¦ moral man who makes the laws of his
country his morals and his virtues, and
lives conformably to them from reason,
822. See Civil.
Moralists. — What becomes after death
of those natural moralists who think civil
and moral life, with the prudence belong
ing to it, effects all things, and the Divine
Providence nothing, 117.
Moravians, 259, 321.
Morning, — Why Lucifer is called the
son of the morning, 257.
Mortal. — In order that every man may
live to eternity, that which is mortal about
him is taken away, 324. That which is
mortal with man is the material body,
which is tiiken away by death, 324.
Mortifio.\tion, — The evils that are shut
in and do not appear are like the diseases
called cancer and mortification, 251.
Motion ceases when the producing effort
is withdrawn, 3.
Mouth, by the, in the spiritual sense
is meant the thought, because the thought
speaks by the mouth, 80. In Luke vi. .45,
mouth signifies the thought which is of the
nnderstanding, 80.
Multiplications.— See Fructifications.
Muscles.— Operations of the brain upon
the muscles, 180.
Myriads. — 'riiere are myriads of myriads
of angels who compose the form of heaven,
.(ind there are myriads who enter it every
/en, and will do so to eternity, 63.
295

Nails, the, of the grand man or of hear-
en, are constituted of those to whom the
gospel has not been able to reach, but only
some religion, 264, 326.
Nakedness, the, of Adam and Eve, of
which they were not ashamed, signifles a
state of innocence, 275.
Name signifies quality of state, 230. By
the name of God, in the Word, is signified
God with every thing divine which is in
Him, and proceeds from Him, 230 ; thus
the Word ia the name of God, and the
spiritual things of the church are also the
name of God, 230. In the spiritual world
there are not names as in the natural
world, but every one is named according
to the quality of his love and wisdom, 230.
Nations are distinguishable by similarity
of faces, 277. Moat of the nations which
are even remote from the Christian world
consider the laws, such as those of the
Decalogue, not as civil, but as divine, and
hold them sacred, 254. In the earliest
ages, nations, families, and houses dwelt
separately, and were not formed into king
doms as in the present day, 215. Nations
or Gentiles, see Gentiles.
Natural, the, communicates with the
apiritual, not by continuity, but by corre-
apondence, 41. The natural things which
are proper to nature relate in general to
time ana space, and in particular to the ob
jects which are seen upon earth, 220.
Naturalists. — Those who confirm in
themselves appearances, and make them
truth, become naturalists, believing noth
ing but what they can at the same time
perceive with one of the bodily senses,
310. Nature. — Things proper to nature are
especially spaces and times, both subject
to limit and termination, 219. The ex
tremes and ultimates of nature cannot re
ceive things spiritual and eternal as they
are in themselves, 220.
Nebuchadnezzar. — What is meant by
the image which he saw in a dream, 828.
Noah. — The ancient church is described
in the Holy Word by Noah, his three sons,
and their descendants, 328.
Nose, the, signifies the perception of
truth, 310. When the nose ia closed, it in
dicates no perception at all, 310. _ The
noae doea not amell from itself, but it is the
mind of man which perceives the odors by
the sense, and thence is affected according
to the quality of the sense, 314. Man
knows little of the mode in which the nos
trils smell, 336.
Offspring. — The evil of the parent is
transmitted to his offspring, 281.
Oil signifies the good of charity, 828.^
Old. — Though women may have died
old and decrepit, when they go to heaven
they return to the flower of their youth
and beauty, 324.
Omit. — They who omit to thiuk of evil
are continually in it, 101. Who those .are,
101.

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE.

One, — The Divine Love and Wisdom
proceed from the Lord as a One, 4. A one
does not exist without a form, but the form
Itaelf niakea a one, 4. The form makes a
one so much the more perfectly as the
things which enter into it are distinct from
one another, and nevertheless united, 4.
How things perfectly distinct are united,
and thus make a one, 4.
Operation, the, and progression of the
end by its means, is what is called Divine
Providence, 831. There can be no oper
ation but upon a aubject, and by meana
operating upon that subject, 381. The
continual operation of Divine Providence
wjth every one. has nothing for its end but
their reformation, and thereby salvation,
257. Man does not perceive or know any
thing of the operation of Divine Provi
dence, 175. If a man perceived and felt
the operation of Divine Providence, he
would not act from liberty according to
reason, and nothing would appear to him
as his own, 176. Every operation of the
Lord is from primary and ultimate things
at once, consequently in full, 220. The
operations of the Lord in man's internala
are not apparent to him, 174. The opera
tions of the organic substances of the body
are natural, and those of the organic aub-
stancea of the mind are spiritual, but both
act together as a one by correspondences,
279. Secret operations of the soul in the
body, 296, 336.
Opposites combat each other, until one
destroys the other, 18. Two opposites
cannot exist together in one aubatance or
form, without its being distracted and per
ishing, 233. Every thing is known from its '
opposite, 88.
Opposition, mutual, of heaven and hell,
300. Good is known as to its quality, by
relation to what is less good, and by oppo
sition to evil, 24.
Opulence is a thing which is only some
thing imaginary, 260. When aud with
whom opulence is replaced by poverty in
the other life, 220.
Order,: — God is order, 831. He is also
the law of His own order, for there is no
order without laws, 381.
Organization, the, induced in the world
remains to eternity, 826.
Organize, to. — Every part of tho brain
ia organized, 279.
Organs.— The things which are in the
natural world flow into the organs of the
external senses of the body, and such
things as are in the spiritual world flow
into the organic substances of the internal
senses or of the mind, 808. Therefore, as
the organs of the external senses or of the
body are receptacles of natnral objects, so
the organic substances of the internal
senses or of the mind are receptacles of
spiritual objects, 808.
Origin of kingdoms and empires, 215.
Origin of the love of possessing wealtli be
yond the necessaries of life, 215.
Outmost. — There is a perpetual conneo-
29G

tion of the outmost with the inmost, 133.
As the outmost acts or is acted upon, so
also the interiors from the inmost aot or are
acted upon, 180.
Obs. — By the outmost is signified thai
which ia the most external, in opposi
tion to the inmoat, which is the most
internal.
Owls. — Why owls see objects by night
aa clearly as other birds see them by day,
167. Palace of Wisdom. — The twelve steps
to the palace of wisdom signify principles
of good conjoined to those of truth, and
principles of truth conjoined to those of
good, 86.
Pancreas. — Its organization, 180, 279.
It purifies the blood, 336.
Parables. — Why the Lord spoke in par
ables, 281.
Particular. — In every form what is
common and what is particular, by a won
derful conjunction, act as one, 180. That
which exists from particulars is called
common, 201.
Paul. — Saying of Paul (Eom. iii. 28)
explained, 115.
People. — The Israelitish and Jewish
people represented the churoh, 245.
Perceive. — If a man perceived and felt
the operation of Divine Providence, he
would not act from liberty according to
reason, nor would any thing appear to him
as his own, 176.
Perception, every, of a thing arises from
the relation or opposition of that thing to
some other, 24. The perceptions and
thoughts are derivations from spiritual
light, 173. The Divine Good and the Di
vine Truth are given to the evil and to the
good ; if they were not, no one would have
perception and thought, 173. Perception
and thought are of life, therefore from the
aame fountain from which is life, 173. See
Life. Obs. — Perception ia a sensation derived
from the Lord alone, relative to the
good and the true, A. G., 104. Percep
tion consists in seeing that a truth is
truth, and that a good is good ; also,
in seeing that an evil is evil, and a
falae is false, A. C, 7680.
Perfect, to be. — What is perfected to
eternity cannot possibly be perfect in an
instant, 388. Each degree of wisdom may
be perfected to its height, but yet cannot
enter into a superior degree, 84.
Perfections increase and ascend with
degrees and according to them, 279.
Periphery. — See Gehtre.
Perish, to. — A man would totally perish
if he had not full liberty to think and to
will, 281.
Peritoneum. — Its organization, 180.
Permission. — The laws of permission are
also the laws of Divine Providence, 234.
The Divine Providence with the wicked is
a continual permission of evil, in ordei
that they may be continually drawn out o.

INDEX.

it, 296. Evil of life is not introduced by
the Lord into the will, and through it into
the thought, but it is introduced by man,
and this is called Permission, 296. All that a
wicked man wills and thinks is of permis
sion, 296. Evils are permitted for an end,
which is salvation, 249, 275, and following.
The causes of permissions are the laws of
Divine Providence, 249, Nothing can be
permitted without a cause, and the cause
exists only in some law of Divine Provi
dence, which law explains why the thing
is permitted, 234. When it is said that
God permits, it is not meant that he wills,
but that he cannot prevent such a thing on
account of the end proposed, which is sal
vation, 234. The Lord permits evils of
life, and many heresies pertaining to wor
ship, lest man should fall into the most
grievoua kind of profanation, 233. See
Frofa-nation. Pharbees, the Modern, are those who
with their mouth apeak things pious and
holy, and also, in their tone of voice and
gesture, counterfeit affection of the love of
such things, yet in their hearts do not be
lieve and love them, 231.
Philistia. — The church not long after its
establishment was converted into Babylon,
and afterwards into Philistia, 264. By
Philistia is meant faith separate from char
ity, 264.
Philistines, the, signify those who sep
arate faith from charity, 253, 326.
Places, — The Lord foresees the places
of those who are not willing to be saved,
in hell, and the places of those who are
willing to be saved, in heaven, 338, He
provides for the wicked their places by
permitting and withdrawing, and for the
good their places by leading them, 333. In
the spiritual world no one can ait iu
an apartment in another's house, in any
place but his own; if he sit in any other
place, he becomes impotent of mind and
silent, 838. Every one when he enters a
room, knows his own place, 838.
Pleasantness is predicated of wisdom
and thought, 195. Each thought has its
pleasantness, 195. See Delight.
Pleura, the, its organization, 180.
Pleurisy, 180.
Power, the, of willing and of understand
ing is not from a man, but from the Lord,
who in and of Himself is able to will and
to understand, 88.
PowEB.^ — Every created substance is en
dued with power, but power does not op
erate from itself, but from Him who be
stowed it, 3.
.'''owEB OF Hell.— Before the Last
Judgment, the power of hell prevailed over
that of heaven, 263.
Prayer, the Lord's. — What is meant by
the words " Hallowed be t^^J¦ name," 230.
Preachers. — The Word is not taught by
preachers, but it is taught by the Lord, by
means of preachers, 172. A preacher who
is in evil may teach things relating to spir-
itaal life ; but in the other life, when he
297

comes into his internal state, ne sees noth
ing but what is false, and does nothing but
what is evil, 298,
Precepts,— The Lord provides that in
every religion there shall be precepts sim
ilar to thoae in the Decalogue, 254. In the
Word, to have the commandments is to
know them ; and to keep them, is to leva
them, 38.
Predestination, as usually understood,
does not exist, 322, 324, 330. Any other
predestination than predeatination to heav
en, is contrary to the Divine love, which i»
infinite, 880,; also to the Divine wisdom,
which is infinite, 380. To suppose any oi
the human race are predestined to be
damned is a cruel heresy, 330.
Predestined. — All are predestined to
heaven, and none to hell, 822, 829.
Predicate. — Whatsoever exists derives
from its form that which is underatood by
quality and also attrltjutc, 4.
Presence. — In the apiritual world, when
any one thinks of another from the affec
tion of speaking with him, the other be
comes present, and they see each other face
to face; 29, 50, 326. The reason why, 326.
There are preaent with every man apirits
who are in a similar affection with him,
and they are as really present as any one
can be with company shut up in the
same room, 50, Space and time contribute
nothing to presence with regard to spirits
and angels, who are affections, and thoughts
derived from them, 50,
Present, — Who those are who think
from what is present in the world, and not
from what is present in heaven, 69. How
any one in the spiritual world shows him
self present, 29, 50. See Presence.
Preservation, the, of all things depends
upon the conjunction of the Creator with
man, 3.
Prince of this world, why the devil is so
called, 216.
Principles. — There are two principles of
life in every man, one natural and the oth
er spiritual ; the natural principle of life is
the pulsation of the heart, and the spiritual
principle of life is the will of the mind,
198. ¦Proceed, to. — Difference between to
proceed and to be created, 219, Nothing
can proceed from any one but that which
is in him, 219. Nothing can proceed from
man but what is temporary, and nothing
from the Lord bnt what is eternal, 219.
Among the things which proceed from the
Lord, the Divine Providence is primary,
331 Proceeding, the Divine. — The Infinite
and Eternal from Itself, is the Proceeding
Divine, or the Lord in others created out
of Himself, therefore in men and angela,
55. This Divine is the same with the Di
vine Providence, 55. , , ,
Pboduoe, to,— What is produced, does
not proceed, but is created, 219. See Te
Proceed. .
Peofanation, by, is understood, in gen

THE DIVINE PKOVIDENCE.

eral, all impiety, 229. There are several
kinds of profanation of what ia holy, 226,
229, and following ; in general seven kinds,
231. The worst kind of profanation, 229.
See To Profane.
Pbofanation, the, of good, consists in
doing violence to divine goods, in order to
confirm evil loves, 281. In the Word, adul
terations of good are described by adulter
ies, falsifications of truth by whoredoms,
283. Theae adulterations and falsifications
are effected by reasonings from the natural
man, which is in evil, 233.
Pbofane, to, is to mix things holy with
profane, 228, 258. To profane in the worst
manner is to receive and acknowledge
things holy, and afterwards to depart from
and deny them, 228. What is meant by
profaning the name of God, 230.
Profane, the, are those who profess to
believe in God, maintain the sanctit.y of
.he Word, acknowledge the spiritual thinga
of the ohurch, and yet with the mouth
only, 229. These profane what is holy in
and with them ; but the impious, who deny
tlie Divine Being, and all things divine,
have nothing holy in them to profane, 229.
See Profaners.
Profaners, by, are meant all impious
persons who in their hearts deny God, the
sanctity of the Word, and consequently
the spiritual things of the church, which
are sanctity itself^ and concerning which
they speak impiously, 229. Difference be
tween those profaners and those who are
called profane, 229.
Progression. — In every created thing
there is a constant and wonderful progres
sion according to the laws of its order, 332.
In the progression of every created tiling,
the First from which it is derived exists
intimately, 56.
Prophet. — By the name and reward of a
prophet. Matt. x. 41, is meant the state and
felicity of thoae who are in divine truths, 230.
Proprium, the, of man is the love of self,
iind thence the love of the world, or the
loves of the world, and thence the love of
self, 206. There is with man a voluntary
and an intellectual proprium, 298. The
voluntary proprium is in its essence self-
love, or evil, and the intellectual proprium
is pride proceeding from that love, or the
false of evils, 298. The proprium of man
aa to the affections which are natural, is
not unlike the life of a beast, 233. There
does not exist in any raan one grain of .will
or of prudence that is proper to himself,
293. No man has any proprium, in the
sense in which proprium is commonly un
derstood, 309. Things proper to nature are
especially spaces and times, both aubject to
limit and termination, 219; the things
which are proper to a man, are those of his
proper will and proper understanding, 219.
Thinga proper to the Lord are all infinite
and eternal, consequently without limit and
without end ; the things which are thence,
19 it were, proper to a man, are of the Lord
alone in him, 219
298

Provide, to. — It is provided by the Lord
that every one is capable of being saved,
328. It is also provided that a new ehurcu
should succeed in place of the former vas
tated church, 328.
Pbo-videnoe, the Divine, is the govern-
meut of the Divine Love and Divine W-is-
doni of the Lord, 1 and following, 831, 837.
The restoratinn of the marriage of good
and truth, and the conjunction thereby of
the created universe with the Lord through
man, is of the Divine Providence, 9. The
Divine Providence of the Lord has for its
end a heaven out of the human race, 27,
I. In, all that it does it regards what is
infinite and eternal, 46. It regards what is
inflnite and eternal from itaelf in finites, 52,
58. In all its proceedings with a man, it
has respect to his eternal state, 59. Tho
laws of Divine Providence, hitherto hid in
wisdom among the angola, are now reveal
ed, 70. It is a law of Divine Providence
that man should aot from freedom accord
ing to reason, 71, 97. It is a law of Divine
Providence that man, as from himself,
should remove evils as sins in the external
man, 100. It is a law of Divine Providence
that man should not be forced by external
means to think and will, and so to believe
and love the things which are of religion,
but that a man should lead, and sometimes
force, himself to it, 129. It is a law of Di
vine Providence that a man ahould'be led
and taught from the Lord out of heaven by
the Word, and by doctrine and preaching
from the Word ; and this, in all appear-.
ance, as from himself, 154. It is a law of
Divine Providence that a man should not
perceive and feel anything of the operation
of the Divine Providence, but yet should
know and acknowledge it, 175. If a man
perceived and felt the operation of Divine
Providence, he would not act frora liberty
according to reason, nor would any thing
appear to him as his own, 176. If a man
plainly saw the Divine Providence, he
would interfere with the order and tenor
of his .progress, and would prevent and
destroy it, ISO. If a man manifestly saw
the Divine Providence, he would either
deny God, or make himself a god, 182.
The Divine Providence never acts in unity
with the love of a man's will, but continu
ally against it, 183, 234. The Lord tacitly
leads a man by his Divine Providence, aa
an imperceptible tide or prosperous cur
rent doea.a.ship, 186, I.t is granted a man
to see the Divine Providence on the back,
and not in the face, also in a spiri'.aal state,
and not in a natural state, 187. To see the
Divine Providence on the back and notiu
the face, is to see it after and not before ;
and to see it from a spiritual state,, and not
frora a natural state, is to see it from hea
ven, and not from the world, 187. jhe Di
vine Providence operates through means,
and means are effected ^hrougn inan or
throjigh the world, 187. The man who is
made i^.iritiial by t|ie acknowledgment ol
God, and wise by the rejection oflwa i>rt-

INDEX.

primn, sees the Divine Providence in the
universal world, and in all and every par
ticular thereof, 189. The Divine Provi
dence, from things the most singular, is
universal, 191, 201, 2u2. It exi.ats in the
most minute particulars of nature, and in
the most minute particulars of human pru
dence, and by governing these particulars,
governs universally, 201. The reason why
it operates so secretly that scarcely any one
knows that it exists, 211. In ultimates it
deals wonderfully with human prudence,
and at the same time conceals itself, 212.
It has respect to things temporary, only so
far as they accord with things ete'rnal, 214.
It ia the conjunction of things temporary
and eternal in a man, 220. All the laws of
Divine Providence have for their end the
reformation, and thereby the salvation, of
man, 279. The Divine Providence is equal
ly with the wicked and the good, 285. The
Divine Providence not only with the good,
but also with the wicked, is universal in
things the most particular, but yet it is not
in their evils, 287. The Divine'Providence
appropriates neither good nor evil to any
one, but self-derived prudence appropriates
both, 308. The Lord cannot act against the
laws of tbe Divine Providence, because to act
against them, would be to act against him
self, 331. The subject of the Divine Prov
idence is man, the means are Divine truths,
whereby he has wisdom, and Divine goods,
whereby he haa love, 331. The operation
of the Divine Providence, in saving a man,
-begins at his birth, continues to the end of
hia life, and afterwards to eternity, 382 to
384. Its operation effects all things out of
pure mercy, 887. What is the inmost end
01 purpose of the Diviue Providence con-
cQrning heaven, 64 to 68 ; concerning hell,
6i. Who and what thoae are who acknowl
edge the Divine Providence, 208. A man's
Sroprium has an innate enmity againat the
livinc Providence, 211 ; arguments of those
who confirm theraselves against it, 236 to
239 ; refuted 241 to 274. See Contents.
Prudence comes from God and not from
man, 191, Self-derived prudence proceeds
from self-love, and the pride of aelf-derived
intelligence, 321, Self-derived prudence is
nothing, and only appears as if it was, and
also ought so to appear, 191. Human pru
dence is nothing, 70. Frora self-derived
Jirudence a man persuades himself, and
confirms himself in the idea, that every
good and truth is in and from himself, and
ill like manner every evil and falsity, 312.
Whence and what self-derivedprudence is,
206, 197, 316, 321. What self-derived pru
dence is, and what that prudence which is
not self-derived, SIO, and following. Who
and what kind of persons those are who
¦acknowledge self-derived prudence, 208.
1'rudentlv.— He that thinks and acts
prudently, as from himself, and at the same
time acknowledges that he doea so from
the Lord, is a man ; but not he that con
firms in himself an idea that all that he
thinks and does is frora himself, 321.
299

Pulsation, the, of the heart ia the nat
ural principle of the life of man, 193. Tho
pulaation of the heart, together with the
respiration of the lungs, governs the whole
man as to his body, 193. The pulsation ol
the heart corresponds to the will of the
mind, 193. See Principles.
Punishment.— Every evil is followed by
its puniahment, which the impioua man
suflfers after death, 249. No one ia reformed
by threats and puniahments, because they
force, 136. See To Force.
PuRiFiOATioN from evils is effected in two
ways, one by temptations, the other by
fermentations, 25. All purification frora
evila is from the Lord, 151. So long as the
ultimates are kept elosed by the mun him
self, there cannot be any'purification ef
fected by the Lord, 110. 'Washing among
the Jews repreaented purification from
evila, 151. The Diviue Providence of the
Lord causes evil, and its attendant falsity,
to serve for the purification and the con
junction of good.and truth in others, 21,
25. False opinions in regard to purifica
tion, 121. Means of purification, 296.
Quakers, 259, 321.
Quality. — "Whatsoever exiats derives
from its form that which is understood by
quality, 4. See Form.
Eage. — Whence it proceeds, 276.
Eain, Matt. V. 45, signifies the Divine
truth of the Divine Wisdom, 178, 292.
Eational, the, faculty of those who are
principled in appearance, and at the aame
time in the truth, is a spiritual-rational ;
but the rational faculty of those who are
principled in appearance, and not, at the
same time, in the truth, is a natural- rational,
154. These latter are blind reasoners, 168.
Obs. — The rational faculty of man par
takes of the spiritual and the natural,
or is a medium between the spiritual
and natur.il, A. C, 268.
Eationality is the faculty of understand
ing, 72, 73, 96, 98, 167, 227, 2S6. Eation
ality is given to man by the Lord alone, 73.
Eationality is from apiritual light, and not
from natural light, 167. It is in the light
of heaven, which illuminates, 168, By ra
tionality a man can be elevated into wis
dom almost angelic, 222. Those who are
ill hell have the faculty of understanding,
which is called rationality, 167. See Fac-
-ulty. Liberty, and Rationality.
KEAaoN, to.— The Lord willa that a man
ahould reaaon concerning things Jivine, to
the end that he may see that tbey are so
or not so, 219.
Eeasonebs. — Sensual men who confirm
themselves in favor of nature against God,
are more ingenious reasoners than others,
and cunning and craftiness they call iiuel-
ligence and wiadom, 310.
Eeoeptaole. — Man was created to be a
receptacle of the divine love and wisdom,
328. In what manner civil and moral Ufa
is a receptacle of spiritual life, 322.

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE.

Eeoipeooation conjoins, 92. What the
reciprocal principle ia in man, 92.
^Reform, to. — The external man is to be
reformed by the internal, and not contrari
wise, 150. The external is reformed by
the internal when the former desists from
the evila which the latter does not will,
because they are infernal ; and more so
when he therefore shuns them, and fights
againat them, 151. Man is reformed and
regenerated by the two faculties called lib
erty and rationality, and without them he
can neither be reformed nor regenerated,
82, 85, 96, No one is reformed oy mira
cles and signs, nor by visions and conver
sing with the dead, nor by threats and
punishments, nor in states which are not
of rationality and liberty, 130, 144.
Eefokmation. — All reformation is effect
ed iu a plenary manner, thiit is, in prima
ries and in ultimates at the same time, 277.
Why ultimates are reformed in this wqrld
conformably to primaries, but cannot be so
afterwards, 277. What the state of refor
mation is with man, 83. Degrees of refor
mation, 151, Principal means of reforma
tion, 2'i3, See Regeneration.
Eegen'ebate, to, a man, is to unite in
him good and truth, or love and wisdom,
aa they are united in the divine which pro-
ceeda from the Lord, 58. From being nat
ural, to become apiritual, ia to be regener
ated, 83. See To Reform, Acknowledg
ment. Eegeneration. — The conjunction of man
with tlie Lord, and of the Lord with man,
is what is called reformation and regenera
tion, 123. What is the state of regenera
tion in man, 83.
Eelation. — ^How relation is effected, 24.
Good is not known as to ita quality but by
relation to what is less good, and by oppo
sition to evil, 24.
Eeligion. — The very essence of the
Christian religion consists in shunning
evila as sins, 265. Heretofore it was not
known that the Christian religion con
sists in shunning evils as sins, 265, 278.
The Christian, religion ia established only
in the smallest quarter of the habitable
globe, and there it is divided, 256, 259.
There are two essentials, and at the sarae
time two universals of religion, acknowl
edgment of God and repentance, 340. All
who are born raen, whatever may be their
religion, are capable of being saved, pro
vided they acknowledge a God and live ac
cording to the commandments of the Deca
logue, 253, 254, 322. The common essen
tials of all religion, and by which every one
may be saved, are, to acknowledge a God,
and not to do evil, because it is against
God, 326. The Lord provides that in every
religion there shall be precepts similar to
thoae in the Decalogue, 264. When once
a religion.is implanted in any nation, that
people are led by th^ Lord according to
the precepts and tenets of their religion,
254. Every nation which Uvea according
to ita religion, that is, which refrains from
300

evil, because it is against God, reoeivea
soraething apiritual into its natural princi
ple, 822. Every reUgion in process of time
decreases and is consummated, 328.
Obs.— There is a difference between re
ligion and the church which it is im
portant to notice. It ia true that the
church of the Lord is universal, and is
with aU those who acknowledge a Di
vine Being and live in charity, what
ever other dogmas they may have ; but
the church ia more especially where
the Word ia, and where the Lord is
known by meana of the Word. In
thoae countriea where the Word does
not exist, or rather where it has been
taken away from the people, and re
placed by human decisions, aa in Ro
man Catholicism, there is religion
alone, but, ao to apeak, there ia no
church. Among Protestants there is a
church, but this church ia at ita end,
because it has perverted the Word,
Eeligions, — Principles of various na
tions, 268, and following. The seven hun
dred wives of Solomon signify the various
principles prevailinpr in the world, 245.
The Mahometan religion is received by a
greater number of kingdoms than tie
Christian religion, 255. See Mahometan.
~Obs. — Eeligious principle (Eeligiosnm) is
the religion prevailing among these
who are out of the church.
Eemission, the, of evil is not its removal,
but the removal of evil is its remission,
279, 280. There is remission of sins when
a man examines himself, perceives hia sins,
acknowledges them, confesses them before
God, and desists from them, 127. Eepent-
ance must precede remission, and without
repentance there is no remission, 280.
Eemit, to. — The Lord remits the sins of
all men. He does not accuse and impute ;
yet He can only take them away according
to the laws of His Divine Providence, 280.
Sins, when they are remitted, are not on
that account removed, but when tbey are
removed they are also remitted, 280. See
St/ns. Eepentanoe must precede remission of
sins, and without repentance there is no
remission, 280. Repentance is useless to
those who thiuk to be saved barely from
mercy, without regard to their lives, 340.
Without repentance a man is in evil, and
evil is hell, 840. A man in doing the work
of repentance, ought to look up to the Lord
alone ; if he looks up to God the Father
only, he cannot be purified, nor if to the
Father fbr the sake of the Son, nor if to the
Son as a man only, 122. Eepentance from
sins is the way to heaven, and faith sepa
rate from repentance is not faith, 114,
127. Obs. — Eepentance is to slum what is
evil and falae, and to have it in aver
sion, A. C, 9448, To do the work of
repentance is after having confessed
our sins before God, and having asked
forgiveness for them with a hnmbl*

INDEX.

heart, to reujunco them and load a
new life acoordiug to the precepts of
faith, A. C, 8889,
Eepeesentative.^— A wicked man as well
as a good ma-n may be the representative
of the internal principles of a church, by
tho external things of worship, 132.
Eesi-de, to. — The Lord resides in liberty
and rationality in every man, in the wicked
aa well aa in the good, and by them he joins
himself to every man, 96.
Eespect, to have, to God in the life is
nothing else but to think thia or that evil
a ain against God, and therefore not to do
it, 20 ; it ia to shun evils as sins, 93.
Eestoeation, the, of the marriage of
good and truth, and the conjunction there
by of the created universe with the Lord,
is of the Divine Pi evidence, 9.
Eeburbeotion. — All who have any re
ligion have int'a'-inan inherent knowledge
that men live uSler death, 274. S.ee Inhe
rent. Eevenge. — Ivt origin, 276,
Eewabd, tb"!. Matt. x. 41, signifies felici-
1y ; the rewma of a prophet, the felicity of
those who are in divine trutha ; and the
reward of a righteoua man, the felicity of
those who are in divine goods, 230.
Bich. — What is the state after death of
those who in riches had respect to them
selves alone, 185.
EiCHEs are blessings and they are curses,
216, 217. They are blessings with those
VI ho do not place their hearts in them,
and they are curses with those who do
pla'^e their hearts in them, 217. Eiches
airt datnral and temporary with those who
have respect to them alone, and to them
selves in them ; but they are spiritual and
eternal with those who have respect to
good uses in them, 220. What is the na
ture of the love of dignities and riches for
their own sake, and what the nature of
the love of them for the sake of use, 215,
How the love of riches arose, 216. The
Lord never withholds a man from acquir
ing wealth, but from the cupidity of ac
quiring wealth for the sake of opulence
only, 188. See Dignities.
EiGHTEOus. — By the name and reward of
a righteous man. Matt. x. 41, is signified
the state of felicity of those who are in di
vine goods, 280.
Sabbath, tbe, in the Israelitish church
waa the most holy worship ; it signified
the union of truth with good, and of good
with truth, 21.
Sacrifices. — Worahip by sacrifices ex
isted neither in the most ancient ohurch,
nor yet in the ancient ohurch, but was first
instituted in the Hebrew church, which
had its origi'n from Eber, 328.
Sages, or wise men of antiquity ; what
their idea was in regard to the immortality
of the soul, 824.
Saints. — Why Divine Providence has
permitted that among the Eoman Catholics
they should 'nvoke dead men, called saints,
857. 301

Salvation,— The Lord wills the salvation
of all. 221. Without the Lord there is no
salvation, yet no man has salvation merely
by the Lord's being known to him, but by
living aucording to His precepts, 330. See
To Save. Salvation is the only end of Di
vine Providence, 2,57. Salvation cannot be
effected except by an acknowledgment o.
the Lord's divinity, and confidence that it
is wrought by him, when a man lives ac
cording to His commandments, 257. Mo
mentaneous salvation from immediate
mercy is impossible, 338 to 340. This sal
vation is the fiery flying serpent in the
ohurch, 340.
Satan and the falae of evil are one, 33.
They are called satans who confirm in
themselves the coucupiacences of evil, 310.
See Devil, and HeU.
Obs. — In the spiritual world those who
are wicked as to the underatanding in
habit the anterior part, and are called
satans; and those who are wicked as
to the will inhabit the posterior part,
aud are called devils, C. J., 492. In
the Word, by devil is understood
that hell which is behind, and where
are the most wicked, called evil genii :
and by satiin, that hell in which are
those who are not so wicked, and who
are denominated evil spirits, II. and
H., 544.
Save, to. — It is of the Divine Providence
that every man is capable of being saved,
and that those are saved who acknowledge
a God and lead a good life, 325. The oper
ation of Divine Providence in saving a
man begins at hia birth, and continues to
the end of his life, 832 to 334. More can
not be saved than desire to be saved, 383.
Who those are who deaire to be saved, and
who 8o not desire to bo saved, 333. No
mortal could have been saved except the
Lord had come into the world, 124. Every
one, in whatever heresy he may be with
reapect to his understanding, may still be
reformed and saved, 269. To suppose that
those only aro saved who are born within
the churoh, is an insane heresy, 830.
Sciences, the, can never be exhausted,
57. Security of life arises either from the be
lief of the impious, that there is no life after
death, or from the belief of those who sep
arate life from salvation, 340.
See, to, in himaelf, ia in hia internal man ;
to underatand by reaaons, is in his external
man, 150.
Seed, the, is the primitive form of the
love in which the fiither is — the form ot
his ruling love, with its proximate deriva
tions, which are the inmost affections oi
that love, 277. The seed, by which impreg
nation is effected, ia clothed with a body
from the mother, 277.
Self-Subsisting, the, principle is omni
present, omniscient, and omnipotent, 157
'This self-subsisting principle is the Lord
from eternity, or Jehovah, 157.
Sense, why the spiritual, of the Word,

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE.

heretofore unknown, was not revealed
sooner, 264. The natural senses of the
body, and the spiritual senses of the mind,
814. ¦
Ohs. — By the spiritual sense of the Word
is understood both the celestial and
spiritual, when no distinction is made
between the spiritual sense, properly
so called, and the celestial.
Sensitive, all the, principles are derived
from relation and from opposition, 24.
Serpent, the, which seduced our first
parents is the sensuality and proprium of
tiian, which in itself is the love of self, and
the pride of self-derived intelligence, 211,
813. The head of the serpent. Gen. iii. 15,
is self-love, 211, 241. The fiery flying ser
pent, Isa. xiv, 29, signified evil shining
from infernal fire, 340.
Servitode is the opposite of liberty, 43.
Every man wishes to remove slavery from
himself, 148. Man in general docs not
know what spiritual liberty and what spir
itual servitude are; he believes spiritual
servitude to be liberty, and spiritual liberty
to be servitude, 149. To be led by evil is
servitude, and to be led by good, or by the
Lord, is liberty, 43. Why man doea not
deaire to come out of apiritual servitude
into apiritual liberty, 149.
Sheep. — To call his sheep by name, John
X. 3, is to teach and lead every one who is
in the good of charity, according to the
etate of his love and wisdom, 230.
Shepherd, the, of the sheep, is he who
approaches the Lord, 280.
Sickness, — When man ia in sickness and
thinks of death, and of the state of his soul
uf ler death, he is not then in the world, but
IS abstracted in spirit, in which state alone
nil one can be refonned, 142. No one is
psformed in a state of mental sickncaa or
disorder ; for when the body is sick, the
mind alao ia aick, 141, 142, What are the
riiaorders of the mind, 141. It is vain to
think a person can repent or receive any
faith under sickness, for there is nothing
of action in such repentance, and nothing
of charity in such faith, 142. If such per
sons are not reformed before sickness, tliey
become after it, if they die, such as they
were before it, 142.
SiDON was one of those countries in
which the ancient chnrch existed, and
where the ancient word waa known, 828.
Sight. — Man has an internal and exter
nal sight, 166. The understanding, which
is a man's internal sight, ia no otherwise
illuminated by spiritual light than as a
man's eye or external sight is by natural
light, 166. The eye of every one is formed
for the reception of the light in which he
is, 167.
Sign, the, that any one is led by the
Lord, is that he loves his neighbor, 208.
Signs. — No one is reformed by miracles
«nd signs, because they force,' 129, 130.
What is meant by the sign set on Cain lest
Ue should be slain, 242.
Simple. — In proportion as a thing is
302

more simple and more pure, it is more full
and complete, 6.
Simultaneous. — In the ultimate princi
ple there ia the simultaneous, derived from
the first of all principlea, 124.
Singular. — In every fbrm, what is uni
versal and what is singular, "hy a wonderful
conjunction, act as one, 180. That is called
universal which is formed from singulars
connected together, 201. The Divine
Providence exists iu the most minute par
ticulars in nature, and in the most minute
particulars in human prudence, and by
governing these particulars, governs uni
versally, 201. The Divine Providence oi
the Lord is universal, because it is in par
ticulars, and it is particular because it is
universal, 124.
Sins, when, are removed they are also
remitted, but not i/ice versa, 280. Sins are
not removed by repentance, 180. See Re
pentance. To confess ourselves guilty of all
sins, and not to seek them out in ourselves,
is to imagine we have religion when yet we
have it not, 278, 279.
Obs. — Sin is evil against God, and also
consequently against our neighbor, T.
C. R., 525.
Skeletons. — Profaners appear, in the
apiritual world, like skeletons, 226.
Skin, the, does not feel from itaelf, but
it ia in the man's mind or spirit, which
there perceives such things by the sense,
aud thence is affected according to the
ouality of the sense, 314. Man knows lit
tle of the manner in which the skin feels,
386. The skin of the grand man, or ot
heaven, is constituted of those to whom
the gospel cannot reach, but only some re
ligion, 264, 826.
Smell. — Every delight corresponds to
some smell in the spiritual world, aud
these may be converted into it, 304.
Smell, to. — Whatever a man smells
comes by influx, 308.
Smoke. — Those who are in the love of
self are encompassed by the smoke, as it
were, of a conflagration, which no spiritual
truth in its light can pervade, 250.
Society. — The universal heaven is ar
ranged into societies according to the affec
tions of good, opposite to the concupiscen
ces of evil, 278*. Every man, with respect
to his spirit, is in sorae society in the spir
itual world, in a celestial society if he is in
the affection of good, and in an infernal so
ciety if he is in the concupiscence of evil,
278*, 296, 307. He also appears there
sometimes when he is in profound medita
tion, 296. Every society in heaven is be
fore the Lord as one man, 64.
SooiNiAiNSM,— Its origin, 262. It reigns
in the hearts of more people than is imasria-
ed, 262.
Socinians.— Their fate in another life,
281. Sole Subsisting Principle, the, is omni
present, omniscient, and omnipotent, and
this sole subsisting principle is the Lord
from eternity, or Jehovah, 157.

INDEX.

Soi/JMON represented the Lord after His
coming, an i after His glorlflcation, there
fore Solomon appeared in glory and mag
nificence, 245. -Why he was permitted to
catab -»h idolatrous worship, and to have
so many wives and concubines, 245.
Something. — Every thing which perishes
and becomes nothing, is inwardly in itself
nothing, though outwardly ind'eed it is
Something^, 217. Good is not any thing
unless united to truth, and truth is not
any thing unless united to good, 11. That
which is in good, and at the same time in
truth, is something ; and that which is in
evil, and at the si'me time in falsity, is not
any thing, 19. Unless the inflnite God
were all, a man would not be anything, 46.
Soothsayers, 222, 224, 298.
Soul, the, of every one is from his father,
and is only clothed with a body from his
mother, 277. The soul is in the seed, 277.
A man's soul is nothing else than the love
of his will, and the love of hia underatand
ing thence derived, 199. If man attributes
all things to himself and to nature, his aoul
becomes the love of self; but if he attrib
utes all things to the Lord, hia aoul be
comes the love of the Lord, 199. Natural-
i>ta can have only a sensual, and not a spir
itual idea of the state of the soul after
death, 810, Secret operations of the soul
in the body, 296, 836. See Mind, obs.
Sound corresponds to affection, and lan
guage corresponds to thought, 194, 279:
Frinn the sound or tone of a man's voice in
speaking, is known the afffection of his
love, and from ita variation, which is
speech, is known the affection of his
tuought, 194. How the articulations of
sound, which are the words in speech and
the moduhitions nf the voice in singing, are
affected by the lun^s, 279. How hypo
crites are discovered in the spiritual world
by the sound of their voice, 224.
Source, the only, of life is the Lord,
292, The source of all evils are the loves
ofself and of the world, 139, 215.
Space and time are proper to nature, 51.
Affection and thought are not in space and
time, 50. Time is only an appearance ac
cording to the state of affection from
whence thought is derived ; it ia the same
with the distance of space in thought, 49,
Angela and spirits are not in space and
time, but only in the appearance thereof,
50. Space does not exist in the spiritual
world, but in that world degrees of dis
tance and presence are appearances accord
ing to similitudes and dissimilitudes of af
fection, 33.
Speak, to, — The simple and the wise
speak alike according to appearance, but
do not think alike, 162, In the spiritual
world no one can apeak otherwise than as
he thinks, 224. -Whatever a man speaks
oomea derivatively or mediately, 308.
Speaking and Singing. — In what way
are produced the sound of the voice in
speaking and singing, and also the articu
lations of sound, 279. See Sound.
303

Speech corresponds to thought and
sound to affection, 279, All speech flows
from thought as an effect from its cause,
308. How speech is produced, 279. See
Sound. Spheres. — In the apiritual world all are
connected there according to the spheres
emanating from their affections through
their thoughts, 196. The character and
Quality of every one ia known also from
the spheres of hia life, 196,
Spider, the.— Infernal love, with ita af
fectiona of evil and falsity, compared to a
spider and the web which encompaases it,
Spirit, the, of a man ia affection, and
thought thence derived, 61, 196, In the
apiritual world spirits aro couneoted ac
cording to the spheres emanating from
their affections through their thonghts,
196, All there think from the affections
of their Ufe's love, 196.
Spiritual Man, the, is called alive, but
the natural man ia called dead, 822. Man
becomes spiritual hy the acknowledgment
of God, 189 ; and by shunning evils be
cause they are in opposition to God, 322.
The spiritual state, 187.
Spleen, the, — Its orsanization, 180, 279.
It purifies the blood, 336.
Squaring of the Circle. — Comparison
drawn, from what is said of squaring the
circle, between angelic and divine wisdom,
335. States, — There is with man an external
and an internal state, 298. Every man,
when he becoipes a spirit after death, is
alternately led into the atatea of hia life, the
external and the internal, 298. The apir
itual state of man ia totally different from
the natural atate, 388. There are with man
three states; the first state ia a state of dam
nation, the second a state of reformation,
and the third a state of regeneration, 83.
States in which there is no reformation,
138, Statutes, all the, of the Israelitish church
repreaented the apiritual thinga of the
church, which arc its internals, 245,
STOMACH.the.- Itsfunction3,279,296,336.
Subdue, to. — He who subduea the love of
dominion from the love of self, subdues
easily all other evil loves, 146.
Subjects, — The affections and thoughts
exist in substantiate subjects, 279. Tliese
subjects are the forms of the organic sub
stances of the mind, 319, What an affec
tion and thought are in their substantiate
subjects, 279, Form makes the subject, 4.
Subsistence is perpetual existence, 3.
SuB.aTANCE. — There is one only substance
from which are all the substancoa that are
created, 157, 6. This substance is the spir
itual sun, which is provided by the Lord,
and in which the Lord is, 5. This sub
stance is in every created thing, but with
inflnite variety, according to different uses,
6. Purely organic substances of the mind,:
their changes and variations of atate aie
the affections of the will ; and their charges

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE.

and variations of will are thoughts, which
are of the understanding, 279, 319.
Sun, the. — The Lord produced from Him
self the sun of the spiritual world, and by
that sun, all things in the universe, 5. This
sun is not only the first, but the one only
substance from which all things are, 5.
This sun, in which is the Lord, and which
is not in space, is in all things, 6. The
Lord appears aa a sun above the heavens,
162. In the Word, the sun signifies the
divine good of the di%'ine love, 173, 292.
Supper, the Holy, instituted by the Lord,
confirms the remisaion of ains to thoae who
repent, 122. Sec Remission, Repentance.
Support is perpetual creation, 3.
Swedenboeg declares that he has con
versed with many persons after death, as
well with thoae in Europe as with those in
Asia and Africa, and that they were near
him, 50; that ho has had conversations
with some who lived many years ago, with
some who lived before the deluge, and
some after it, with some who lived in the
Lord's time, with one of His apostles, and
with many who lived in the succeeding
ages ; and that they all appeared to him as
men of a middle age ; and that they said
they did not know what death is, but only
that there is such a thing aa damnation,
824. That the Lord was revealed to him,
aud afterwards continually appeared before
his eyes as the sun in which He is ; that
for several years, during which he had dis-
couraed with spirits and angels, no spirit
has dared, nor has any angel wished to say
any thing to him, much leaa to instruct him
about any thing in the Word, or any doc
trinal frcm the Word ; but the Lord alone
has taught and illuminated hira, 135. That
when it was granted hira by the Lord to
speak with spirits and angels, it waa re
vealed to him that man does not think or
will from himself, but from the Lord, if he
is good, and if evil, from hell ; that this
waa demonstrated to him by his own ex
perience; that he opened afterwards this
arcanum to some novitiate spirits, telling
them that he thought more interiorly, and
perceived what flowed into his exterior
thought, whether it were from heaven or
from hell ; that he rejected the latter and
received the former, but still it appeared
to himself, as to them, that he thought and
willed from himself, 290.
Swedes, the. — Instruction which ia given
to thein in the prayer for the holy com
munion, 114, 258.
Sword, to be devoured by the, aignifies
to perish by the falsity of evil, 278.
Syria was one of those countries in which
the ancient church existed, and where the
ancient Word was known, 328.
Syrians, the, in the Word, signify a spe
cies of evil, 251,
Systole, — What it is, 819.
Tables of the La,w, there are two, one
for the Lord, and the other for man, 95,
826. In proportion as a man, as from him-
304

self, obeys the laws of his own table, in the
same proportion the Lord enables him to
obey the laws of His table, 95. The laws
of man's table relate to the love of his
neighbor, and those of the Lord's table to
the love of the Lord, 95. Seo Decalogue.
Tacitly. — The Divine Providence acts
tacitly in regard to man, 183.
Talent, the, given to the servants to
traffic with, Luke xix., Mark xxv., signifies
the prudence which we are to use, 210.
Taste cannot exist without its form,
which is the tonsue, 279.
Taste, to. — All that man tastes comes by
influx, 808.
Teach, to. — The Lord alone teaches man,
though mediately, through the Word in il
lumination, 135. To be taught from the
Word is to be taught by the Lord, 172.
How man is taught by the Lord, 154-174.
Every one is taught according to the un
derstanding of his love, and what is over
and above does not remain, 172.
Teeth, the, of the grand man, which is
heaven, are constituted of those to whom
the gospel could not reach, but only some
religion, 326, 254.
Temple, the, built by Solomon, signifles
the divine humanity of the Lord, and also
the church, 245. The destruction of the
temple signifies the vastation of the churoh
itself, 246.
Temporary things which are proper to
man in the natural world relate, in general,
to dignities and riches, and in particular to
the necessities of each man, which are
food, clothing, and habitation, 214, 215, 220.
These a man puts off by death, and puts
on things apiritual and eternal correapond-
ing to them, 220. Nothing can proceed
from man but what is temporary, and
nothing from the Lord but what is eternal,
219. Things temporary and eternal are
separated by man, but are joined by the
Lord, 218.
Temptations, spiritual, are no other than
combats against evila and falsities, 25.
Genuine temptations, 141.
Tendons, the, of the grand man, or ot
heaven, are composed of those whom the
gospel has not reached, but who have only
some religion, 326, 254.
Thefts. — Their origin, 276.
Thief and Eobber, the, John x. 1, is ho
who does not approach the Lord, 230.
Think, to. — No one thinks from himself,
but thought flows in, 288. Every onu
thinks from others, and tlieso also not from
themselves, but still from others, 289, 294.
All think from the Lord, the wicked as
well as the good, 308. He whose thoughts
are not elevated above the sensual is in
volved in darkness with respect to the state
of his life, 274. What it is, while thinking
from the present, to think, at the same
time, from what is eternal, 59. It ia a law
of Divine Providence that man should
think as from himself, but yet should ao
knowledge that he does so from the Lord,
821. No one thinks from space and time.

INDEX.

,hen he thinks of those yho are in tne
fpirit.ial world, 50.
Think and Will, to.— Tho divine prin
ciple consista essentially in thinking and
willing from Itself, while the human prin
ciple conaiata essentially in thinking and
wiUing from God, 293. To think and to
will is spiritual, but to speak and to act is
natural, 71.
Thistles signify evil, 813.
Thorns signify falsity, 313.
Thought is nothing else than the form of
affection, 198. No thought of man can exist
except from some affection of his life's love,
198. All a man's thoughts are from the
affectiona of his life's love, and there do
not and cannot exist any thoughts at all
without these affections, 193. The thoughts
which are of the understanding are mere
changes and variations of the state of the
^.urely organic substance of the mind, 279.
Every man has an internal and an external
of thought, 103, 106-110, 120, 189, 145, 150.
By the external and internal of thought ia
understood the same thing as by the ex
ternal and internal man, 103. The internal
and external of thought are distinct as
prior and posterioR, or aa superior and in-
foi ior, 145. Man k.-iows nothing of the in
ternal 01 .lis though''s before he comes into
the spiritual world, and its light, which is
the ca!.e afler death, 233. Tho internal of
thought coheres with the external of
thought, in so close a connection, that they
cannot be separated, 238, Exterior and in
terior thought is given to a man, and from
his interior tiiougVit he can see his exterior
thought, and also reflect upon it and judge
cf it, whether it be evil or not evil, 104.
Tnought, by virtue of exterior illumination
from the Lord, sees a thing on both sides,
on one side seeing the reaaons which con
firm it, and on the other the appearances
which invalidate it; the latter it diapels,
and the formei 't collects, 163. Bj virtue
of thought, abstracted from time and space,
we comprehended the divine omnipresence
end the divine omnipotence, and likewise
he divine from eternity, 51. Speech ceases
'f it is deprived of thought, 3, See Affec-
»» and Thought, Perception, Illumination.
Threats, — No one is reformed by threats,
because they force, 129, 186. See I'o Force.
Tiu.i 'S only an appearance according to
-e state of affection from which thought
.a derived, 49. Se; Space a-,id Time.
Tongue, the, 180, 279, 336. The tongne
13 the form of taste, 279. The tongue
does not taste from itself, but it is the mind
or spirit which perceives the taste by the
senae, and thence is affected according to
tbe quality of the aense, 814. Man knows
.kittle in what nay the tongue feels, 336.
bpirita speak with a man in his mother
tongue, bnt only a few words, 135.
Torments. — Dreadful torments which evil
•pirits experience when thoy approach hea
ven, 324, 338.
Trachea, or windpipe, its functjons, 279,
180. 305

Tree.- Correspondence of tho life ol
man with the growth of a fruit-tree, 88i
Man in the Word ia described by a tree
832. Wiere the tree falls there it lica, ao
also it is with a man's life— as it was at hia
death, such it remains, 277. Celestial love,
with the affections of good and truth, and
the perceptions thence derived, may bi^
compared to a beautiful tree with branches,
leaves, and fruits 107. The tree of life
signifies the Lord with reapect to His Di
vine Providence, and the tree of knowl
edge man with respect to his self-derived
prudence, 318, 241.
Trine, the, in one exists in the Lord only.
123. Trinity, the Divine, is in the Lord, 26'|,
263. Truth, by, is underatood that which un .
versally comprehends and involves '.Jl
things of -wisdom, 11. All thi*'
taining to wisdom are called
Genuine truths, of which the spn.„..,.
sense of the Word consists,, were not re
vealed by the Lord till after' the last judg
ment was accomplished, and the New
Church, which is meant by the holy Jeru
salem, was about to be established by the
Lord, 264,
Tyre was one of those countries in which
the ancient church existed, and whore the
ancient Word was known, 328.
Ultimates, the, in man are the things
which are in the external of iiis thought,
125. The Lord acts from inmost princi
ples, and from ultimates or lowest princi
ples, at the same time, 124, 220. Inmost
and intermediate principlea exist together
in ultimates, 124. The ultimates cf life
which a man carries with him after death,
are quiescent, and conspire, that ia, act as
one, with hia interiors, 277. Ultimatea are
reformed in this world, conformably to
primaries, 227.
Underctand, to. — Difference between a
man's understanding a tii'.rg by reasons,
and seeing it in himself, 150 To under
stand is the companion of volition ; in the
same proportion as you will, in the same
proportion you can understand, 96.
Understanding, the, is a man's interna
sight, 166, The understanding, which is
man's internal sight, ia no otlierwiae illu
minated by spiritual light, than as a man's
eye. or external aiglit, is by natural '-^l.t,
166. Tncre is an internal understanding
and an external understanding. 111. Un
derstanding is given to man that he may
explore himself, 273. Sec [Tndsrslanding
and Will.
Understanding and Will. — In every
man there are two faculties, olc of whicn
conatitutca the underatanding and the otli-
er the will, 285. The faculty which consti
tutes tho understanding conaiata in his be
ing able to understand and think, and that
which constitutes the will oonsiats in his be
ing able freely to think and thence also to
lj-.eak and act, provided it be not contrary

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE.

W reaaon, 285. Man without liberty and
rationality would have neither will nor un
deratanding, and therefore would not be a
man, 96. 'The understanding has been
«eparated from the will in order that a man
may ^ce what his will ia, 278, 233, 818.
The love of the will infusea into the under
standing whatever it ohooaes, and not vice
versa: obliterating indeed every thing in
theuhderstar-!ing which is not from itaelf,
209. The understanding without tho will
cannot do any thing, 3. The will of man'a
life is led, and the understanding of his
life is taught, 156.
Union, the, of truth with good, and of
good with truth in man, is the chnrch and
heaven, 21. This union is called tbe mar
riage of good and truth, 8. In proportion
as men cuter into the form of the divine
iove, which is the form of forms, the more
perfect this union which makes heaven be-
oomea, 62. Union of charity and faith, of
the will and understanding, 82.
Unite, to. — No one can unite all the af
fections of the love of good into the form of
the divine love, but He who ia Love itaelf,
a'nd at the same time Wisdom itself, and at
once infinite and eternal, 68. It ia the per
petual object of the Divine Providence to
unite in man good to truth and truth to
good, 21.
Universe, the, with all and every thing
appertaining to it, was created from the
Divine Love by the Divine Wisdom, 3.
The Lord did not create thb universe for
Hia own sake, but for the sake of those
with whom Ife will dwell in heaven, 27.
He created the universe from Himself, and
not from nothing, 46.
Universal, what is, and what is particu
lar, by a wonderful conjunction, act as one,
180. That is called ¦universal which ia
formed of sing-.i;ars connected together,
801. A universal without a singular is
nothing, 278. The divine is universal, ex
isting in things the most singular; it is di
vine particulars which compose what ia
called universal, 294. The Divine Provi
dence is universal, because it is in things
the most singular, 201, 202. See Singular.
Universals, the two, of the church are
the acknowledgment of a God and the
leading of a good life, 326, 323.
Use ia good, and derivea its quality from
truth, 11. Uaes are goods, which are call
ed goods of charity, 220, 215. By uses
are meant not only the necessaries of
life which relate to food, clothing, and
habitation for a man and his family, but
also the good of his country, of society,
and of his fellow-citizens, 220. By doing
uses or good, is meant serving others, and
ministering to them, 215. To perform uaes
for the sake of fame or interest, is to do
them for the sake of self; to perforin uses
for the sake of uses, ia to perfbrm them
from tho Lord, 215. He who performs
uses for the sake of uses, is led by the
Lord, and he who performs uses for the
sake of self and the worlt is led bv the
306

devil, 215, 217. Ail those who !h::n evila
as sins perform uses from the Lord, while
all those who do not shun evils as sins per
form uses from the devil, 215. The king
dom of the Lord is a kingdom of uses, 3S,
250. The Lord by his Divine Pre videnoe
joins himaelf to things natural by thinga
spiritual, and to things temporal by things
eternal, according to uaes, 220. The Lord
joins himself to uaea by correspondencea,
and so by appearances according to confir
mations by a man, 220. How the lust of
doing uses for the sake of self-glory is
kindled, 250. Man ought to be in the love
of uaea, and thence of himaelf, and not first
in the' love of himself and thence of uses,
188. Variations of atate in the forms of the
mind, 195, 279, 819. See Changes.
Variety, there is a, in all thinga, so that
there does not exist, nor can exist to eter
nity, any one thing' the same with another,
56. Thus the variety is inflnite and eter
nal, 56, 57. There is a variety in every
thing, from its greateat to its least, 24. Va-.
riety cannot exist except in things constant,
atated; and certain ; examples, 190. There
ia an infinite'nUniber of varieties; enumer-
alion of certain of them, 190.
Vastation, successive, of good, and suo
cessive desolation of truth, 828. Vastation
of good in the church even to its consum
mation, 328.
Veil between the interiors and the exte-
riorsj or between the apiritual and natural
of the mind, 311. To think beneath the
veil, 310.
Vena Cava, 296.
Ventricle, left, 296. The memory of
man compared to the ruminating ventricle
or stomach of certain animals, 233.
Vessels, lymphatic and lacteal, 296.
Victory. — -Why it seems as if victory de*
olared on the side of prudence, and some-
dnies not on the side of justice, 252, 251.
Virgins, the fooliah, who had lamps but
no oil, and were therefore not admitted to
the marriage, represent thoae who have ac
knowledged truths with their mouths, but
not in their hearts, 328.
Viscera, 279, 296, ISO.
Visionaries and efithusiastic spirits, who
from the delirium they were iu called
themselves the Holy Ghost, 134.
Visions are of two kinds, divine and dia
bolical ; divine visions are effectel by rep
reaentativea in heaven, and diabdiciil vis
ions are effected by msigic in aell, 134.
There are also fantastical visions, which are
mere illusions of an abstracted mind, 134.
Divine visions are such as the propheta
had, who, when they were in them, were
not in the body, but in the spirit, 134.
Such visions do not exist at this day ; for
if they did they would not be understood,
because they aru effected by representa
tives, the particulars of which signify in
ternal things of the ohurch and arcana o)
heaven, 134. Diabolical visions soma

INDEX.

ames nave e.'cisted, being induced by en-
thuaiastio spirits and visionarioa, 184. See
Visionaries. No one can be reformed by
visions, or by speaking with the dead, be
cause they compel, 129, 134.
_ Wars. — All wars, although they are of a
civil nature, are representative of states of
the church in heaven, and are correspond
ences, 251. Such were all the wars which
are described in the Word, and such alao
arc all wars at the present day, 261. It ia
not known in this worid which kingdoms
in Chriatendom represent the Moabites and
Ammonites, which the Assyrians and Phil-
«ti|ies, and which the Chaldeans and As
syrians, and tho others with whom the
childre- of Israel carried on wars; never
theless -.here are kingdoms in Christendom
which represent tho.ae people, 251. Why
wars are permitted, 251.
Wash, to, the head and hands, John xii.
8, 9, and 10; signifies to purify the internal
nan ; and to wash the feet signifles to pu-
¦ify tho external man, 151,
Way. — The Lord doea not enter man by
any other than by an internal way, 131.
Tnis internal way is by the Word, and by
J-octrine and preachings derived from the
Word, 131. In the spiritual world there
sro actually ways, which extend towards
Rvery society of heaven and towards every
?ociety of hell, 60. There are ways there
for every love, and no one sees any other
ways than those of his own love, 60. Ev
ery one .after death goes in the way of his
.ove, he who is in good love to heaven,
ind he who is in evil love to heU, 319.
Whoredoms — Their origin, 276. In the
Word, whoredoms signify the falsi flcations
3f truth, 233.
Obs. — By whoredom is understood every
thing opposed to conjugial love. See
C. L., 425.
Wicked, the, continually lead themselves
mto evils, but the Lord continually with
draws them from evils, 295. A wicked
man is a hell in its least form, 296. The
wicked who are in the world, the Lord
governs in hell aa to interiora, but not aa
to exteriors, 307. The Divine Providence
with the wicked is a continual permiaaion
of evil, to the end that there may be a con
tinual withdrawal therefrom, 296.
WiFB in the Word signifles the church,
245. Heaven and the churoh are called
wife, 8. The seven hundred wives of Solo
mon signify various religious principles
prevailing in the world, 245. See Mam'iage.
Will and Love aot aa one, 96. There is
an internal and external will. 111. The
work ceases when will is taken away from
action, 3, The will of man is in opposition
to the Lord's will, 219. The will of the
Lord, 96 ; influx of this will into man, 96.
See uhderstamling and WUl.
Will, to, or volition, is not given with
out understanding, nnderstanding being
its consort, without which it cannot exist,
16. In a man tfiere exiats an interior voli-
30-'

tion or will, and an exterloi volition oi
¦will ; and he can act according to the exte
rior, and Ht the sume time not according to
the interior, 89. To will without knowing,
perceiving, and thinking what a man wills
ia nothing, but together with theae it be
comes soinetUiiig, 11. See To Thvnl, and
To WiU.
Wings signify spiritual truths, 20,
Wisdom is conjunction with the Lord, 36.
Wisdom is nothing if it is not conjoined to
love, 35. There are in man three degrees
of -wisdo-i- the natural, spiritual, and oe-
leatial : they aro opened according to hia
loye, 34. Wisdom can be elevated in a
triplicate ratio, -and in each degree it can
be perfected in a simple ratio, to its height,
34. The.-iC three degrees are not united to
one another by continuity, but are joined
by correapondences, 34. Wisdom is with
out end ; if there were any end to wiadon.
in a wise man, the delight of hia wiadom,
which conaiata in its perpetual multiplica
tion and fructification, would periah, 335.
Angelic wisdom is ineffable, 34. There is
no such appro.viniation of angelic wisdom
to the divine -n-isdom as to reach it, 335.
See Love and W-Udom..
Wise. — A man becoraes wiser in propor
tion aa he is more nearly conjoined to the
Lord, 34. No one is wise from himself,
but from the Lord, 36. Those are wiae
from the Lord who oast out of themsclvca
evil, 34.
Withdrawal from Evil, the, is effected
by the Lord by a thousand most secret
meana, 296,
Wolves, — Thoae -who are in self-derived
prudence are like wolves, 311.
Womb, — Every man is formed in the
womb in the image of God, according to the
likeness of God, by tho Lord, 380. Se«
Embryo. Word, the, — The Lord is the Word, be
cause tlie Word is from Him and concern
ing Him, and because it is the divine good
of the divine truth, 172. All doctrine of
the cliurch ia to be drawn from the Word,
172. When a man is taught from the
Word, lie ia taught from the Lord alone,
172. All things of the Word have com
munication with heaven, and consequently
with the Lord, 172. The whole Word is
nothing else but the doctrine of life, 830.
The Papists do not read the Word, and
those of the teformed church who are in
faith separate from charity do not attend
to thoae tliinL's in it which relate t'
life, but only to those which relate to faith
330. Why "heretofore it was not knowr
that in every particular of the Word there
is a spiritual sense, and that therein its
holiness consista, 264.
Works, 128, — By the works of the law,
spoken of by Paul, Romans iii. 28, are to
be understood the rituals described by
Moses in his books, and not the ooramand-
menta of tire Decalogue, 115.
World. — All the things which are done
in the natural world correspcud with spir

THE DIVINE PEOVIDENCE,

itnal things which are done in the spiritual
world, 251. In th« spiritual world all are
spiritual, even as to their bodies, 167. The
world of spirits ia in the midst between
heaven acd hell, 307. When a man dies
he comes first into ti e world of spirits, and
there into his external, which is there put
off ; and this being done, he is lran>ferred
to the place in which he is inscribed,
whether it be heaven or hell, 307.
World, Christian,— Why in the Chris
tian world they worship God under three
gersons which is three Gods, and why
itherto they have not known that God ia
one in person and in essence, in whom
there is a trinity, and that that God is the
Lord, 262. Why there have been and still
are in Christian world so many heresies,
259, See Heresies.
Worship. — It is dangerous to force men
to divine worship, 136. Constrained wor
ship shuts in evils, which then lie con
cealed like fire in wood, under the ashe^,
which continues to kindle and spread till
it breaks out into a fiame, 136. On the
contrary, worship which is not constrained
but spontaneous, does not shut in evils
which, therefore, are like fires that imme-
308

diately bum out and are dispersed, 136.
With those who are in internal worship
alone, without external worship, the in
ternal is constrained, 136. Constrained
worship is corporeal, inanimate, obscure,
and gloomy, 137. Unconstrained worahip
when it is genuine, is spiritual, living, lucid
and joyful, 137, Worship before the com
ing of the Lord was a representative wor
ship, 255,
Worship, to, other gods, 154, Why there
are i^ome men who worship the sun and
moon, and others who worship idols and
graven images, 254,
Worshipper, every, of self and of nature
confirms himself against the Divine Prov
idence, 249; under what circumstances,
249-252. Worshippers of themselves and
of the world, worshippers of men and of
images, worshippers of the Lord, 154.
Yoke. — Concerning those who believe
they are not under the yoke of the law, 43,
lot. Zeal.— A man may burn as it were with
zeal for the salvation of souls, and this,
nevertheless, from infernal fire, 139.

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