Thursday, December 8, 2011

Divine love And Wisdom

  It is the same with charity and faith and their conjunction as with the will and understanding and their conjunction. There are two loves, according to which the heavens are distinct, celestial love and spiritual love. Celestial love is love to the Lord, and spiritual love is love towards the neighbor. These loves are distinguished by this, that celestial love is the love of good, and spiritual love the love of truth; for those who are in celestial love perform uses from love of good, and those in spiritual love from love of truth. The marriage of celestial love is with wisdom, and the marriage of spiritual love with intelligence; for it is of wisdom to do good from good, and it is of intelligence to do good from truth, consequently celestial love does what is good, and spiritual love does what is true. The difference between these two loves can be defined only in this way, that those who are in celestial love have wisdom inscribed on their life, and not on the memory, for which reason they do not talk about Divine truths, but do them; while those who are in spiritual love have wisdom inscribed on their memory, therefore they talk about Divine truths, and do them from principles in the memory. Because those who are in celestial love have wisdom inscribed on their life, they perceive instantly whether whatever they hear is true or not; and when asked whether it is true, they answer only, It is, or It is not. These are they who are meant by the words of the Lord:
Let your speech be Yea, yea, Nay, nay (Matt. 5:37).
And because they are such, they are unwilling to hear anything about faith, saying, What is faith? is it not wisdom? and what is charity? is it not doing ? And when told that faith is believing what is not understood, they turn away, saying, The man is crazy. These are they who are in the third heaven, and who are the wisest of all. Such have they become who in the world have applied the Divine truths which they have heard immediately to the life by turning away from evils as infernal, and worshiping the Lord alone. These, since they are in innocence, appear to others as infants; and since they never talk about the truths of wisdom and there is nothing of pride in their discourse, they also appear simple. Nevertheless, when they hear any one speaking, they perceive from the tone all things of his love, and from the speech all things of his intelligence. These are they who are in the marriage of love and wisdom from the Lord; and who represent the heart region of heaven, mentioned above. Those, however, who are in spiritual love, which is love towards the neighbor, do not have wisdom inscribed on their life, but intelligence; for it is of wisdom to do good from affection for good, while it is of intelligence to do good from affection for truth (as has been said above). Neither do these know what faith is. When faith is mentioned they understand truth, and when charity is mentioned they understand doing the truth; and when told that they must believe, they call it empty talk, and ask, Who does not believe what is true? This they say because they see truth in the light of their own heaven; therefore, to believe what they do not see they call either simplicity or foolishness. These are they who constitute the lung region of heaven, also mentioned above. But those who are in spiritual-natural love have neither wisdom nor intelligence inscribed on their life, but only something of faith out of the Word, so far as this has been conjoined with charity. Inasmuch as these do not know what charity is, or whether faith be truth, they cannot be among those in the heavens who are in wisdom and intelligence, but among those who are in knowledge only. Yet such of them as have fled from evil as sins are in the outmost heaven, and are in a light there like the light of the moon by night; while those who have not confirmed themselves in a faith in what is unknown, but have cherished a kind of affection for truth are instructed by angels, and according to their reception of truths and a life in agreement therewith, are raised into the societies of those who are in spiritual love and therefore in intelligence. Those become spiritual, the rest becoming spiritual-natural. But those who have lived in faith separate from charity are removed, and sent away into deserts, because they are not in any good, thus not in any marriage of good and truth, in which all are who are in the heavens. All that has been said of love and wisdom in this Part may be said of charity and faith, if by charity spiritual love is understood, and by faith the truth whereby there is intelligence. It is the same whether the terms will and understanding, or love and intelligence be used, since the will is the receptacle of love, and the understanding of intelligence. People who are motivated by celestial love have wisdom engraved on their life and not on their memory, and for this reason they do not talk about Divine truths but practice them.

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