There are two worlds, the spiritual and the natural. The spiritual world
does not draw anything from the natural, nor the natural world from the
spiritual. The two are totally distinct, and communicate only by
correspondences, the nature of which has been abundantly shown elsewhere.
To illustrate this by an example: heat in the natural world corresponds
to the good of charity in the spiritual world, and light in the natural
world corresponds to the truth of faith in the spiritual world; and who
does not see that heat and the good of charity, and that light and the
truth of faith, are wholly distinct? At first sight they appear as
distinct as two entirely different things. They so appear when one
inquires what the good of charity has in common with heat, or the truth
of faith with light; when in fact, spiritual heat is that good, and
spiritual light is that truth. Although these things are in themselves
so distinct, they make one by correspondence. They make one in this way:
when man reads, in the Word, of heat and light, the spirits and angels
who are with the man perceive charity instead of heat, and faith instead
of light. This example is adduced, in order that it may be known that the
two worlds, the spiritual and the natural, are so distinct as to have
nothing in common with each other; yet are so created as to have
communication, yea, conjunction by means of correspondences.
84. Since these two worlds are so distinct, it can be seen very clearly
that the spiritual world is under another sun than the natural world. For
in the spiritual world, must as in the natural, there is heat and light;
but the heat there, as well as the light, is spiritual; and spiritual
heat is the good of charity, and spiritual light is the truth of faith.
Now since heat and light can originate only in a sun, it is evident that
the spiritual world has a different sun from the natural world; and
further, that the sun of the spiritual world in its essence is such that
spiritual heat and light can come forth from it; whereas the sun of the
natural world in its essence is such that natural heat can come forth
from it. Everything spiritual has relation to good and truth, and can
spring from no other source than Divine Love and Divine Wisdom; for all
good is of love and all truth is of wisdom; that they have no other origin
any discerning man can see.
85. That there is any other sun than that of the natural world has
hitherto been unknown. The reason is, that the spiritual of man has so
far passed over into his natural, that he does not know what the
spiritual is, and thus does not know that there is a spiritual world,
the abode of spirits and angels, other than and different from the natural
world. Since the spiritual world has lain so deeply hidden from the
knowledge of those who are in the natural world, it has pleased the Lord
to open the sight of my spirit, that I might see the things which are in
that world, just as I see those in the natural world, and might afterwards
describe that world; which has been done in the work Heaven and Hell, in
one chapter of which the sun of the spiritual world is treated of. For
that sun has been seen by me; and it appeared of the same size as the sun
of the natural world; also fiery like it, but more glowing. It has also
been made known to me that the whole angelic heaven is under that sun;
and that angels of the third heaven see it constantly, angels of the
second heaven very often, and angels of the first or outmost heaven
sometimes. That all their heat and all their light, as well as all things
that are manifest in that world, are from that sun will be seen in what
follows.
86. That sun is not the Lord Himself, but is from the Lord. It is the
Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom proceeding from Him that appear as a
sun in that world. And because Love and Wisdom in the Lord are one (as
shown in Part I.), that sun is said to be Divine Love; for Divine Wisdom
is of Divine Love, consequently is Love.
87. Since love and fire mutually correspond, that sun appears before the
eyes of the angels as fiery; for angels cannot see love with their eyes,
but they see in the place of love what corresponds to it. For angels,
equally with men, have an internal and an external; it is their internal
that thinks and is wise, and that wills and loves; it is their external
that feels, sees, speaks and acts. All their externals are correspondences
of internals; but the correspondences are spiritual, not natural. Moreover,
Divine love is felt as fire by spiritual beings. For this reason "fire,"
when mentioned in the Word, signifies love. In the Israelitish Church,
"holy fire" signified love; and this is why, in prayers to God, it is
customary to ask that "heavenly fire," that is Divine Love, "may kindle
the heart."
88. With such a difference between the spiritual and the natural (as shown
above, n. 83), nothing from the sun of the natural world, that is, nothing
of its heat and light, nor anything pertaining to any earthly object, can
pass over into the spiritual world. To the spiritual world the light of
the natural world is thick darkness, and its heat is death. Nevertheless,
the heat of the world can be vivified by the influx of heavenly heat, and
the light of the world can be illumined by the influx of heavenly light.
Influx is effected by correspondences; and it cannot be effected by
continuity.
89. OUT OF THE SUN THAT TAKES FORM [existit] FROM THE DIVINE LOVE AND THE
DIVINE WISDOM, HEAT AND LIGHT GO FORTH.
In the spiritual world where angels and spirits are there are heat and
light, just as in the natural world where men are; moreover in like
manner as heat, the heat is felt and the light is seen as light. Still
the heat and light of the spiritual world and of the natural world are
(as said above) so entirely different as to have nothing in common. They
differ one from the other as what is alive differs from what is dead.
The heat of the spiritual world in itself is alive; so is the light; but
the heat of the natural world in itself is dead; so is its light. For
the heat and light of the spiritual world go forth from a sun that is
pure love, while the heat and light of the natural world go forth from
a sun that is pure fire; and love is alive, and the Divine Love is Life
itself; while fire is dead, and solar fire is death itself, and may be
so called because it has nothing whatever of life in it.
90. Since angels are spiritual they can live in no other than spiritual
heat and light, while men can live in no other than natural heat and
light; for what is spiritual accords with what is spiritual, and what is
natural with what is natural. If an angel were to derive the least
particle from natural heat and light he would perish; for it is totally
discordant with his life. As to the interiors of the mind every man is
a spirit. When he dies he withdraws entirely from the world of nature,
leaving behind him all its belongings, and enters a world where there
is nothing of nature. In that world he lives so separated from nature
that there is no communication whatever by continuity, that is, as
between what is purer and grosser, but only like that between what is
prior and posterior; and between such no communication is possible except
by correspondences. From this it can be seen that spiritual heat is not
a purer natural heat, or spiritual light a purer natural light, but that
they are altogether of a different essence; for spiritual heat and light
derive their essence from a sun which is pure Love, and this is Life
itself; while natural heat and light derive their essence from a sun
which is pure fire, in which (as said above) there is absolutely nothing
of life.
91. Such being the difference between the heat and light of the two
worlds, it is very evident why those who are in the one world cannot
see those who are in the other world. For the eyes of man, who sees
from natural light, are of the substance of his world, and the eyes
of an angel are of the substance of his world; thus in both cases they
are formed for the proper reception of their own light. From all this
it can be seen from how much ignorance those think who, because they
cannot see angels and spirits with their eyes, are unwilling to believe
them to be men.
92. Hitherto it has not been known that angels and spirits are in a
totally different light and different heat from men. It has not been known
even that another light and another heat are possible. For man in his
thought has not penetrated beyond the interior or purer things of nature.
And for this reason many have placed the abodes of angels and spirits in
the ether, and some in the stars - thus within nature, and not above or
outside of it. But, in truth, angels and spirits are entirely above or
outside of nature, and are in their own world, which is under another sun.
And since in that world spaces are appearances (as was shown above),
angels and spirits cannot be said to be in the ether or in the stars; in
fact, they are present with man, conjoined to the affection and thought of
his spirit; since man is a spirit, and because of that thinks and wills;
consequently the spiritual world is wherever man is, and in no wise away
from him. In a word, every man as regards the interiors of his mind is in
that world, in the midst of spirits and angels there; and he thinks from
its light, and loves from its heat.
93. THE SUN OF THE SPIRITUAL WORLD IS NOT GOD, BUT IS A PROCEEDING FROM
THE DIVINE LOVE AND DIVINE WISDOM OF GOD-MAN; SO ALSO ARE THE HEAT AND
LIGHT FROM THAT SUN.
By that sun which is before the eyes of the angels, and from which they
have heat and light, is not meant the Lord Himself, but the first
proceeding from Him, which is the highest [degree] of spiritual heat.
The highest [degree] of spiritual heat is spiritual fire, which is Divine
Love and Divine Wisdom in their first correspondence. On this account that
sun appears fiery, and to the angels is fiery, but not to men. Fire which
is fire to men is not spiritual, but natural; and between the two fires
there is a difference like the difference between what is alive and what
is dead. Therefore the spiritual sun by its heat vivifies spiritual beings
and renews spiritual objects. The natural sun does the same for natural
beings and natural objects; yet not from itself, but by means of an influx
of spiritual heat, to which it renders aid as a kind of substitute.
94. This spiritual fire, in which also there is light in its origin,
becomes spiritual heat and light, which decrease in their going forth.
This decrease is effected by degrees, which will be treated of in what
follows. The ancients represented this by circles glowing with fire and
resplendent with light around the head of God, as is common also at the
present day in paintings representing God as a Man.
95. That love begets heat, and wisdom light, is manifest from actual
experience. When man loves he grows warm, and when he thinks from wisdom
he sees things as it were in light. And from this it is evident that the
first proceeding of love is heat, and that the first proceeding of wisdom
is light. That they are also correspondences is obvious; for heat takes
place [existit] not in love itself, but from love in the will, and thence
in the body; and light takes place not in wisdom, but in the thought of
the understanding, and thence in the speech. Consequently love and wisdom
are the essence and life of heat and light. Heat and light are what
proceed, and because they are what proceed, they are also correspondences.
96. That spiritual light is altogether distinct from natural light, any
one may know if he observes the thoughts of his mind. For when the mind
thinks, it sees its objects in light, and they who think spiritually see
truths, and this at midnight just as well as in the daytime. For this
reason light is predicated of the understanding, and the understanding
is said to see; thus one sometimes declares of something which another
says that he sees (that is, understands) that it is so. The understanding,
because it is spiritual, cannot thus see by natural light, for natural
light does not inhere in man, but withdraws with the sun. From this it
is obvious that the understanding enjoys a light different from that of
the eye, and that this light is from a different origin.
97. Let every one beware of thinking that the sun of the spiritual world
is God Himself. God Himself is a Man. The first proceeding from His Love
and Wisdom is that fiery spiritual [substance] which appears before the
angels as a sun. When, therefore, the Lord manifests Himself to the
angels in person, He manifests Himself as a Man; and this sometimes in
the sun, sometimes outside of it.
98. It is from this correspondence that in the Lord the Lord is called
not only a "sun" but also "fire" and "light." And by the "sun" is meant
Himself as to Divine Love and Divine Wisdom together; by "fire" Himself
in respect to Divine Love, and by "light" Himself in respect to Divine
Wisdom.
99. SPIRITUAL HEAT AND LIGHT IN PROCEEDING FROM THE LORD AS A SUN, MAKE
ONE, JUST AS HIS DIVINE LOVE AND DIVINE WISDOM MAKE ONE.
How Divine Love and Divine Wisdom in the Lord make one has been explained
in Part I.; in like manner heat and light make one, because they proceed
from these, and the things which proceed make one by virtue of their
correspondence, heat, corresponding to love, and light to wisdom. From
this it follows that as Divine Love is Divine Esse [Being] and Divine
Wisdom is Divine Existere [Taking form] (as shown above, n. 14-16), so
spiritual heat is thy Divine proceeding from Divine Esse, and spiritual
light is the Divine proceeding from Divine Existere. And as by that union
Divine Love is of Divine Wisdom, and Divine Wisdom is of Divine Love (as
shown above, n. 35-39), so spiritual heat is of spiritual light, and
spiritual light is of spiritual heat And because there is such a union
it follows that heat and light, in proceeding from the Lord as a sun,
are one. It will be seen, however, in what follows, that they are not
received as one by angels and men.
100. The heat and light that proceed from the Lord as a sun are what in
an eminent sense are called the spiritual, and they are called the
spiritual in the singular number, because they are one; when, therefore,
the spiritual is mentioned in the following pages, it is meant both
these together. From that spiritual it is that the whole of that world
is called spiritual. Through that spiritual, all things of that world
derive their origin, and also their name. That heat and that light are
called the spiritual, because God is called Spirit, and God as Spirit
is the spiritual going forth. God, by virtue of His own very Essence,
is called Jehovah; but by means of that going forth He Vivifies and
enlightens angels of heaven and men of the church. Consequently,
vivification and enlightenment are said to be effected by the Spirit
of Jehovah.
101. That heat and light, that is, the spiritual going forth from the
Lord as a Sun, make one, may be illustrated by the heat and light that
go forth from the sun of the natural world. These two also make one in
their going out from that sun. That they do not make one on earth is
owing not to the sun, but to the earth. For the earth revolves daily
round its axis, and has a yearly motion following the ecliptic, which
gives the appearance that heat and light do not make one. For in the
middle of summer there is more of heat than of light, and in the middle
of winter more of light than of heat. In the spiritual world it is the
same, except that there is in that world no daily or yearly motion of
the earth; but the angels turn themselves, some more, some less, to the
Lord; those who turn themselves more, receive more from heat and less
from light, and those who turn themselves less to the Lord receive more
from light and less from heat. From this it is that the heavens, which
consist of angels, are divided into two kingdoms, one called celestial,
the other spiritual. The celestial angels receive more from heat, and
the spiritual angels more from light. Moreover, the lands they inhabit
vary in appearance according to their reception of heat and light. If
this change of state of the angels is substituted for the motion of the
earth, the correspondence is complete.
102. In what follows it will be seen, also, that all spiritual things
that originate through the heat and light of their sun, make one in
like manner when regarded in themselves, but when regarded as proceeding
from the affections of the angels do not make one. When heat and light
make one in the heavens, it is with the angels as if it were spring; but
when they do not make one, it is either like summer or like winter - not
like the winter in the frigid zones, but like the winter in the warmer
zone. Thus reception of love and wisdom in equal measure is the very
angelic state, and therefore an angel is an angel of heaven according
to the union in him of love and wisdom. It is the same with the man of
the church, when love and wisdom, that is, charity and faith, make one
in him.
103. THE SUN OF THE SPIRITUAL WORLD APPEARS AT A MIDDLE ALTITUDE, FAR
OFF FROM THE ANGELS, LIKE THE SUN OF THE NATURAL WORLD FROM MEN.
Most people take with them out of the world an idea of God, as being
above the head, on high, and an idea of the Lord, as living in heaven
among the angels. They take with them this idea of God because, in the
Word, God is called the "Most High," and is said to "dwell on high;"
therefore in prayer and worship men raise their eyes and hands upwards,
not knowing that by "The Most High" is signified the inmost. They take
with them the idea of the Lord as being in heaven among the angels,
because men think of Him as they think of another man, some thinking
of Him as they think of an angel, not knowing that the Lord is the Very
and Only God who rules the universe, who if He were among the angels in
heaven, could not have the universe under His gaze and under His care and
government. And unless He shone as a sun before those who are in the
spiritual world, angels could have no light; for angels are spiritual,
and therefore no other than spiritual light is in accord with their
essence. That there is light in the heavens, immensely exceeding the light
on earth, will be seen below where degrees are discussed.
104. As regards the sun, therefore, from which angels have light and heat,
it appears above the lands on which the angels dwell, at an elevation of
about forty-five degrees, which is the middle altitude; it also appears
far off from the angels like the sun of the world from men. The sun
appears constantly at that altitude and at that distance, and does not
move from its place. Hence it is that angels have no times divided into
days and years, nor any progression of the day from morning, through
midday to evening and into night; nor any progression of the year from
spring, through summer to autumn, into winter; but there is perpetual
light and perpetual spring; consequently, with the angels, as was said
above, in place of times there are states.
105. The sun of the spiritual world appears at a middle altitude chiefly
for the following reasons: First, the heat and light which proceed from
that sun are thus at their medium intensity, consequently are equally
proportioned and thus properly attempered. For if the sun were to appear
above the middle altitude more heat than light would be perceived, if
below it more light than heat; as is the case on earth when the sun is
above or below the middle of the sky; when above, the heat increases
beyond the light, when below, the light increases beyond the heat; for
light remains the same in summer and in winter, but heat increases and
diminishes according to the degree of the sun's altitude. Secondly, the
sun of the spiritual world appears in a middle altitude above the angelic
heaven, because there is thus a perpetual spring in all the angelic
heavens, whereby the angels are in a state of peace; for this state
corresponds to springtime on earth. Thirdly, angels are thus enabled to
turn their faces constantly to the Lord, and behold Him with their eyes.
For at every turn of their bodies, the angels have the east, thus the Lord,
before their faces. This is peculiar to that world, and would not be the
case if the sun of that world were to appear above or below the middle
altitude, and least of all if it were to appear overhead in the zenith.
106. If the sun of the spiritual world did not appear far off from the
angels, like the sun of the natural world from men, the whole angelic
heaven, and hell under it, and our terraqueous globe under these, would
not be under the view, the care, the omnipresence, omniscience,
omnipotence, and providence of the Lord; comparatively as the sun of
our world, if it were not at such a distance from the earth as it
appears, could not be present and powerful in all lands by its heat
and light, and therefore could not render its aid, as a kind of
substitute, to the sun of the spiritual world.
107. It is very necessary to be known that there are two suns, one
spiritual, the other natural; a spiritual sun for those who are in the
spiritual world, and a natural sun for those who are in the natural world.
Unless this is known, nothing can be properly understood about creation
and about man, which are the subjects here to be treated of. Effects may,
it is true, be observed, but unless at the same time the causes of effects
are seen, effects can only appear as it were in the darkness of night.
108. THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE SUN AND THE ANGELS IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD
IS AN APPEARANCE ACCORDING TO RECEPTION BY THEM OF DIVINE LOVE AND DIVINE
WISDOM.
All fallacies which prevail with the evil and the simple arise from
appearances which have been confirmed. So long as appearances remain
appearances, they are apparent truths, according to which every one
may think and speak; but when they are accepted as real truths, which
is done when they are confirmed, then apparent truths become falsities
and fallacies. For example: It is an appearance that the sun is borne
around the earth daily, and follows yearly the path of the ecliptic. So
long as this appearance is not confirmed it is an apparent truth,
according to which any one may think and speak; for he may say that the
sun rises and sets and thereby causes morning, midday, evening, and
night; also that the sun is now in such or such a degree of the ecliptic
or of its altitude, and thereby causes spring, summer, autumn, and
winter. But when this appearance is confirmed as the real truth, then
the confirmer thinks and utters a falsity springing from a fallacy. It
is the same with innumerable other appearances, not only in natural,
civil, and moral, but also in spiritual affairs.
109. It is the same with the distance of the sun of the spiritual world,
which sun is the first proceeding of the Lord's Divine Love and Divine
Wisdom. The truth is that there is no distance, but that the distance is
an appearance according to the reception of Divine Love and Wisdom by the
angels in their degree. That distances, in the spiritual world, are
appearances may be seen from what has been shown above (as in n. 7-9,
That the Divine is not in space; and in n. 69-72, That the Divine, apart
from space, fills all spaces). If there are no spaces, there are no
distances, or, what is the same, if spaces are appearances, distances
also are appearances, for distances are of space.
110. The sun of the spiritual world appears at a distance from the angels,
because they receive Divine Love and Divine Wisdom in the measure of
heat and light that is adequate to their states. For an angel, because
created and finite, cannot receive the Lord in the first degree of heat
and light, such as is in the sun; if he did he would be entirely consumed.
The Lord, therefore, is received by angels in a degree of heat and light
corresponding to their love and wisdom. The following may serve for
illustration. An angel of the lowest heaven cannot ascend to the angels
of the third heaven; for if he ascends and enters their heaven, he falls
into a kind of swoon, and his life as it were, strives with death; the
reason is that he has a less degree of love and wisdom, and the heat of
his love and the light of his wisdom are in the same degree as his love
and wisdom. What, then, would be the result if an angel were even to
ascend toward the sun, and come into its fire? On account of the
differences of reception of the Lord by the angels, the heavens also
appear separate from one another. The highest heaven, which is called
the third, appears above the second, and the second above the first; not
that the heavens are apart, but they appear to be apart, for the Lord is
present equally with those who are in the lowest heaven and with those
who are in the third heaven. That which causes the appearance of distance
is not in the Lord but in the subjects, that is, the angels.
111. That this is so can hardly be comprehended by a natural idea, because
in such there is space, but by a spiritual idea, such as angels have, it
can be comprehended, because in such there is no space. Yet even by a
natural idea this much can be comprehended, that love and wisdom (or what
is the same, the Lord, who is Divine Love and Divine Wisdom) cannot
advance through spaces, but is present with each one according to
reception. That the Lord is present with all, He teaches in Matthew (28:20),
and that He makes His abode with those who love Him, in John (14:23).
112. As this has been proved by means of the heavens and the angels, it
may seem a matter of too exalted wisdom; but the same is true of men. Men,
as to the interiors of their minds, are warmed and illuminated by that
same sun. They are warmed by its heat and illuminated by its light in the
measure in which they receive love and wisdom from the Lord. The difference
between angels and men is that angels are under the spiritual sun only, but
men are not only under that sun, but also under the sun of this world; for
men's bodies can begin and continue to exist only under both suns; but not
so the bodies of angels, which are spiritual.
113. ANGELS ARE IN THE LORD, AND THE LORD IN THEM; AND BECAUSE ANGELS ARE
RECIPIENTS, THE LORD ALONE IS HEAVEN.
Heaven is called "the dwelling-place of God," also "the throne of God,"
and from this it is believed that God is there as is a king in his kingdom.
But God (that is, the Lord) is in the sun above the heavens, and by His
presence in heat and light, is in the heavens (as is shown in the last
two paragraphs). But although the Lord is present in heaven in that manner,
still He is there as He is in Himself. For (as shown just above, n. 108-112)
the distance between the sun and heaven is not distance, but appearance of
distance; and since that distance is only an appearance it follows that the
Lord Himself is in heaven, for He is in the love and wisdom of the angels
of heaven; and since He is in the love and wisdom of all angels, and the
angel constitute heaven, He is in the whole heaven.
114. The Lord not only is in heaven, but also is heaven itself; for love
and wisdom are what make the angel, and these two are the Lord's in the
angels; from which it follows that the Lord is heaven. For angels are not
angels from what is their own; what is their own is altogether like what
is man's own, which is evil. An angel's own is such because all angels
were once men, and this own clings to the angels from their birth. It is
only put aside, and so far as it is put aside the angels receive love and
wisdom, that is, the Lord, in themselves. Any one, if he will only elevate
his understanding a little, can see that the Lord can dwell in angels,
only in what is His, that is, in what is His very own, which is love and
wisdom, and not at all in the selfhood of angels, which is evil. From this
it is, that so far as evil is put away so far the Lord is in them, and so
far they are angels. The very angelic of heaven is Love Divine and Wisdom
Divine. This Divine is called the angelic when it is in angels. From this,
again, it is evident that angels are angels from the Lord, and not from
themselves; consequently, the same is true of heaven.
115. But how the Lord is in an angel and an angel in the Lord cannot be
comprehended, unless the nature of their conjunction is known. Conjunction
is of the Lord with the angel and of the angel with the Lord; conjunction,
therefore, is reciprocal. On the part of the angel it is as follows. The
angel, in like manner as man, has no other perception than that he is in
love and wisdom from himself, consequently that love and wisdom are, as
it were, his or his own. Unless he so perceived there would be no
conjunction, thus the Lord would not be in him, nor he in the Lord. Nor
can it be possible for the Lord to be in any angel or man, unless the one
in whom the Lord is, with love and wisdom, has a perception and sense as
if they were his. By this means the Lord is not only received, but also,
when received, is retained, and likewise loved in return. And by this,
also, the angel is made wise and continues wise. Who can wish to love
the Lord and his neighbor, and who can wish to be wise, without a sense
and perception that what he loves, learns, and imbibes is, as it were,
his own? Who otherwise can retain it in himself? If this were not so, the
inflowing love and wisdom would have no abiding-place, for it would flow
through and not affect; thus an angel would not be an angel, nor would man
be a man; he would be merely like something inanimate. From all this it
can be seen that there must be an ability to reciprocate that there may
be conjunction.
116. It shall now be explained how it comes that an angel perceives and
feels as his, and thus receives and retains that which yet is not his;
for, as was said above, an angel is not an angel from what is his, but
from those things which he has from the Lord. The essence of the matter
is this:- Every angel has freedom and rationality; these two he has to
the end that he may be capable of receiving love and wisdom from the Lord.
Yet neither of these, freedom nor rationality, is his, they are the Lord's
in him. But since the two are intimately conjoined to his life, so
intimately that they may be said to be joined into it, they appear to
be his own. It is from them that he is able to think and will, and to
speak and act; and what he thinks, wills, speaks, and does from them,
appears as if it were from himself. This gives him the ability to
reciprocate, and by means of this conjunction is possible. Yet so far as
an angel believes that love and wisdom are really in him, and thus lays
claim to them for himself as if they were his, so far the angelic is not
in him, and therefore he has no conjunction with the Lord; for he is not
in truth, and as truth makes one with the light of heaven, so far he cannot
be in heaven; for he thereby denies that he lives from the Lord, and
believes that he lives from himself, and that he therefore possesses
Divine essence. In these two, freedom and rationality, the life which
is called angelic and human consists. From all this it can be seen that
for the sake of conjunction with the Lord, - the angel has the ability
to reciprocate, but that this ability, in itself considered, is not his
but the Lord's. From this it is, that if he abuses his ability to
reciprocate, by which he perceives and feels as his what is the Lord's,
which is done by appropriating it to himself he falls from the angelic
state. That conjunction is reciprocal, the Lord Himself teaches
(John 14:20-24; 154-6); also that the conjunction of the Lord with man
and of man with the Lord, is in those things of the Lord that are called
His words (John 15:7).
117. Some are of the opinion that Adam was in such liberty or freedom of
choice as to be able to love God and be wise from himself, and that this
freedom of choice was lost in his posterity. But this is an error; for
man is not life, but is a recipient of life (see above, n. 4-6, 54-60);
and he who is a recipient of life cannot love and be wise from anything
of his own; consequently, when Adam willed to be wise and to love from
what was his own he fell from wisdom and love, and was cast out of Paradise.
118. What has just been said of an angel is likewise true of heaven, which
consists of angels, since the Divine in greatest and least things is the
same (as was shown above n. 77-82). What is said of an angel and of heaven
is likewise true of man and the church, for the angel of heaven and the
man of the church act as one through conjunction; in fact, a man of the
church is an angel, in respect to the interiors which are of his mind. By
a man of the church is meant a man in whom the church is.
119. IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD THE EAST IS WHERE THE LORD APPEARS AS A SUN,
AND FROM THAT THE OTHER QUARTERS ARE DETERMINED.
The sun of the spiritual world and its essence, also its heat and light,
and the presence of the Lord thereby, have been treated of; a description
is now to be given of the quarters in the spiritual world. That sun and
that world are treated of, because God and love and wisdom are treated of;
and to treat of those subjects except from their very origin would be to
proceed from effects, not from causes. Yet from effects nothing but
effects can be learned; when effects alone are considered no cause is
brought to light; but causes reveal effects. To know effects from causes
is to be wise; but to search for causes from effects is not to be wise,
because fallacies then present themselves, which the investigator calls
causes, and this is to turn wisdom into foolishness. Causes are things
prior, and effects are things posterior; and things prior cannot be seen
from things posterior, but things posterior can be seen from things prior.
This is order. For this reason the spiritual world is here first treated
of, for all causes are there; and afterwards the natural world, where all
things that appear are effects.
120. The quarters in the spiritual world shall now be spoken of. There are
quarters there in like manner as in the natural world, but like that world
itself, they are spiritual; while the quarters in the natural world, like
that world itself, are natural; the difference between them therefore is
so great that they have nothing in common. In each world there are four
quarters, which are called east, west, south, and north. In the natural
world, these four quarters are constant, determined by the sun on the
meridian; opposite this is north, on one side is east, on the other, west.
These quarters are determined by the meridian of each place; for the sun's
station on the meridian at each point is always the same, and is therefore
fixed. In the spiritual world it is different. The quarters there are
determined by the sun of that world, which appears constantly in its own
place, and where it appears is the east; consequently the determination
of the quarters in that world is not from the south, as in the natural
world, but from the east, opposite to this is west, on one side is south,
and on the other, north. But that these quarters are not determined by
the sun, but by the inhabitants of that world, who are angels and spirits,
will be seen in what follows.
121. As these quarters, by virtue of their origin, which is the Lord as
a sun, are spiritual, so the dwelling-places of angels and spirits, all
of which are according to these quarters, are also spiritual. They are
spiritual, because angels and spirits have their places of abode according
to their reception of love and wisdom from the Lord. Those in a higher
degree of love dwell in the east; those in a lower degree of love in the
west; those in a higher degree of wisdom, in the south; and those in a
lower degree of wisdom, in the north. From this it is that, in the Word,
by "the east," in the highest sense, is meant the Lord, and in a relative
sense love to Him; by the "west," a diminishing love to Him; by the "south"
wisdom in light; and by the "north" wisdom in shade; or similar things
relatively to the state of those who are treated of.
122. Since the east is the point from which all quarters in the spiritual
world are determined, and by the east, in the highest sense, is meant the
Lord, and also Divine Love, it is evident that the source from which all
things are, is the Lord and love to Him, and that one is remote from the
Lord in the measure in which he is not in that love, and dwells either in
the west, or in the south, or in the north, at distances corresponding to
the reception of love.
123. Since the Lord as a sun is constantly in the east, the ancients,
with whom all things of worship were representative of spiritual things,
turned their faces to the east in their devotions; and that they might do
the like in all worship, they turned their temples also in that direction.
From this it is that, at the present day, churches are built in like manner.
124. THE QUARTERS IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD ARE NOT FROM THE LORD AS A SUN,
BUT FROM THE ANGELS ACCORDING TO RECEPTION.
It has been stated that the angels dwell separate from each other; some
in the eastern quarter, some in the western, some in the southern, and
some in the northern; and that those who dwell in the eastern quarter are
in a higher degree of love; those in the western, in a lower degree of
love; those in the southern, in the light of wisdom; and those in the
northern, in the shade of wisdom. This diversity of dwelling-places
appears as though it were from the Lord as a sun, when, in fact it is
from the angels. The Lord is not in a greater and lesser degree of love
and wisdom, that is, as a sun He is not in a greater or lesser degree of
heat and light with one than with another, for He is everywhere the same.
But He is not received by one in the same degree as by another; and this
makes them appear to themselves to be more or less distant from one
another, and also variously as regards the quarters. From this it follows
that quarters - in the spiritual world are nothing else than various
receptions of love and wisdom, and thence of heat and light from the
Lord as a sun. That this is so is plain from what was shown above
(n. 108-112), that in the spiritual world distances are appearances.
125. As the quarters are various receptions of love and wisdom by angels,
the variety from which that appearance springs shall now be explained.
The Lord is in the angel, and the angel in the Lord (as was shown in a
preceding article). But on account of the appearance that the Lord as a
sun is outside of the angel, there is also the appearance that the Lord
sees him from the sun, and that he sees the Lord in the sun. This is
almost like the appearance of an image in a mirror. Speaking, therefore,
according to that appearance, it may be said that the Lord sees and looks
at each one face to face, but that angels, on their part, do not thus
behold the Lord. Those who are in love to the Lord from the Lord see Him
directly in front; these, therefore, are in the east and the west; but
those who are more in wisdom see the Lord obliquely to the right, and
those who are less in wisdom obliquely to the left; therefore the former
are in the south, and the latter in the north. The view of these is
oblique because love and wisdom (as has been said before), although they
proceed from the Lord as one, are not received as one by angels; and the
wisdom which is in excess of the love, while it appears as wisdom, is
not wisdom, because in the overplus of wisdom there is no life from love.
From all this it is evident whence comes the diversity of reception
according to which angels appear to dwell according to quarters in the
spiritual world.
126. That this variety of reception of love and wisdom is what gives
rise to the quarters in the spiritual world can be seen from the fact
that an angel changes his quarter according to the increase or decrease
of love with him; from which it is evident that the quarter is not from
the Lord as a sun, but from the angel according to reception. It is the
same with man as regards his spirit. In respect to his spirit, he is in
some quarter of the spiritual world, whatever quarter of the natural
world he may be in, for quarters in the spiritual world, as has been
said above, have nothing in common with quarters in the natural world.
Man is in the latter as regards his body, but in the former as regards
his spirit.
127. In order that love and wisdom may make one in an angel or in a man,
there are pairs in all the things of his body. The eyes, ears, and
nostrils are pairs; the hands, loins, and feet are pairs; the brain is
divided into two hemispheres, the heart into two chambers, the lungs
into two lobes, and in like manner the other parts. Thus in angel and
man there is right and left; and all their right parts have relation to
the love from which wisdom comes; and all the left parts, to the wisdom
which is from love; or, what is the same, all the right parts have
relation to the good from which truth comes; and all the left parts, to
the truth that is from good. Angel and man have these pairs in order that
love and wisdom, or good and truth, may act as one, and as one, may have
regard to the Lord. But of this more in what follows.
128. From all this it can be seen in what fallacy and consequent falsity
those are, who suppose that the Lord bestows heaven arbitrarily, or
arbitrarily grants one to become wise and loving more than another, when,
in truth, the Lord is just as desirous that one may become wise and be
saved as another. For He provides means for all; and every one becomes
wise and is saved in the measure in which he accepts these means, and
lives in accordance with them. For the Lord is the same with one as with
another; but the recipients, who are angels and men, are unlike by reason
of unlike reception and life. That this is so can be seen from what has
just been said of spiritual quarters, and of the dwelling-places of the
angels in accordance with them; namely, that this diversity is not from
the Lord but from the recipients.
129. ANGELS TURN THEIR FACES CONSTANTLY TO THE LORD AS A SUN, AND THUS
HAVE THE SOUTH TO THE RIGHT, THE NORTH TO THE LEFT, AND THE WEST BEHIND
THEM.
All that is here said of angels, and of their turning to the Lord as a
sun, is to be understood also of man, as regards his spirit. For man in
respect to his mind is a spirit, and if he be in love and wisdom, is an
angel; consequently, after death, when he has put off his externals,
which he had derived from the natural world, he becomes a spirit or an
angel. And because angels turn their faces constantly toward the sun in
the east, thus toward the Lord, it is said also of any man who is in love
and wisdom from the Lord, that "he sees God," that "he looks to God,"
that "he has God before his eyes," by which is meant that he lives as an
angel does. Such things are spoken of in the world, because they actually
take place [existunt] both in heaven and in the spirit of man. Who does
not look before himself to God when he prays, to whatever quarter his
face may be turned?
130. Angels turn their faces constantly to the Lord as a sun, because
they are in the Lord, and the Lord in them; and the Lord interiorly leads
their affections and thoughts, and turns them constantly to Himself;
consequently they cannot do otherwise than look towards the east where
the Lord appears as a sun; from which it is evident that angels do not
turn themselves to the Lord, but the Lord turns them to Himself. For when
angels think interiorly of the Lord, they do not think of Him otherwise
than as being in themselves. Real interior thought does not cause distance,
but exterior thought, which acts as one with the sight of the eyes; and
for the reason that exterior thought, but not interior, is in space; and
when not in space, as in the spiritual world, it is still in an appearance
of space. But these things can be little understood by the man who thinks
about God from space. For God is everywhere, yet not in space. Thus He is
both within and without an angel; consequently an angel can see God, that
is, the Lord, both within himself and without himself; within himself
when he thinks from love and wisdom, without himself when he thinks about
love and wisdom. But these things will be treated of in detail in
treatises on The Lord's Omnipresence, Omniscience, and Omnipotence. Let
every man guard himself against falling into the detestable false doctrine
that God has infused Himself into men, and that He is in them, and no
longer in Himself; for God is everywhere, as well within man as without,
for apart from space He is in all space (as was shown above, n. 7-10,
69-72); whereas if He were in man, He would be not only divisible, but
also shut up in space; yea, man then might even think himself to be God.
This heresy is so abominable, that in the spiritual world it stinks like
carrion.
131. The turning of angels to the Lord is such that at every turn of their
bodies they look toward the Lord as a sun in front of them. An angel may
turn himself round and round, and thereby see the various things that are
about him, still the Lord as a sun appears constantly before his face.
This may seem wonderful, yet it is the truth. It has also been granted
me to see the Lord thus as a sun. I see Him now before my face; and for
several years I have so seen Him, to whatever quarter of the world I have
turned.
132. Since the Lord as a sun, consequently the east, is before the faces
of all angels of heaven, it follows that to their right is the south; to
their left the north; and behind them the west; and this, too, at every
turn of the body. For, as was said before, all quarters in the spiritual
world are determined from the east; therefore those who have the east
before their eyes are in these very quarters, yea, are themselves what
determine the quarters; for (as was shown above, n. 124-128) the quarters
are not from the Lord as a sun, but from the angels according to reception.
133. Now since heaven is made up of angels, and angels are of such a
nature, it follows that all heaven turns itself to the Lord, and that,
by means of this turning, heaven is ruled by the Lord as one man, as in
His sight it is one man. That heaven is as one man in the sight of the
Lord may be seen in the work Heaven and Hell (n. 59-87). Also from this
are the quarters of heaven.
134. Since the quarters are thus inscribed as it were on the angel, as
well as on the whole heaven, an angel, unlike man in the world, knows
his own home and his own dwelling-place wherever he goes. Man does not
know his home and dwelling-place from the spiritual quarter in himself,
because he thinks from space, thus from the quarters of the natural world,
which have nothing in common with the quarters of the spiritual world.
But birds and beasts have such knowledge, for it is implanted in them to
know of themselves their homes and dwelling-places, as is evident from
abundant observation; a proof that such is the case in the spiritual
world; for all things that have form [existunt] in the natural world are
effects, and all things that have form in the spiritual world are the
causes of these effects. There does not take place [existit] a natural
that does not derive its cause from a spiritual.
135. ALL INTERIOR THINGS OF THE ANGELS, BOTH OF MIND AND BODY, ARE TURNED
TO THE LORD AS A SUN.
Angels have understanding and will, and they have a face and body. They
have also the interior things of the understanding and will, and of the
face and body. The interiors of the understanding and will are such as
pertain to their interior affection and thought; the interiors of the
face are the brains; and the interiors of the body are the viscera, chief
among which are the heart and lungs. In a word, angels have each and all
things that men on earth have; it is from these things that angels are
men. External form, apart from these internal things, does not make them
men, but external form together with, yea, from, internals - for otherwise
they would be only images of man, in which there would be no life, because
inwardly there would be no form of life.
136. It is well known that the will and understanding rule the body at
pleasure, for what the understanding thinks, the mouth speaks, and what
the will wills, the body does. From this it is plain that the body is a
form corresponding to the understanding and will. And because form also
is predicated of understanding and will, it is plain that the form of
the body corresponds to the form of the understanding and will. But this
is not the place to describe the nature of these respective forms. In
each form there are things innumerable; and these, in each of them, act
as one, because they mutually correspond. It is from this that the mind
(that is, the will and understanding) rules the body at its pleasure,
thus as entirely as it rules its own self. From all this it follows that
the interiors of the mind act as a one with the interiors of the body,
and the exteriors of the mind with the exteriors of the body. The
interiors of the mind, likewise the interiors of the body, will be
considered further on, when degrees of life have been treated of.
137. Since the interiors of the mind make one with the interiors of the
body, it follows that when the interiors of the mind turn themselves to
the Lord as a sun, those of the body turn themselves in like manner; and
because the exteriors of both, of mind as well as body, depend upon their
interiors, they also do the same. For what the external does, it does
from internals, the general deriving all it has from the particulars from
which it is. From this it is evident that as an angel turns his face and
body to the Lord as a sun, all the interiors of his mind and body are
turned in the same direction. It is the same with man, if he has the Lord
constantly before his eyes, which is the case if he is in love and wisdom.
He then looks to the Lord not only with eyes and face, but also with all
the mind and all the heart, that is, with all things of the will and
understanding, together with all things of the body.
138. This turning to the Lord is an actual turning, a kind of elevation;
for there is an uplifting into the heat and light of heaven, which takes
place by the opening of the interiors; when these are opened, love and
wisdom flow into the interiors of the mind, and the heat and light of
heaven into the interiors of the body. From this comes the uplifting,
like a rising out of a cloud into clear air, or out of air into ether.
Moreover, love and wisdom, with their heat and light, are the Lord with
man; and He, as was said before, turns man to Himself. It is the reverse
with those who are not in love and wisdom, and still more with those who
are opposed to love and wisdom. Their interiors, both of mind and body,
are closed; and when closed, the exteriors re-act against the Lord, for
such is their inherent nature. Consequently, such persons turn themselves
backward from the Lord; and turning oneself backward is turning to hell.
139. This actual turning to the Lord is from love together with Wisdom;
not from love alone, nor from wisdom alone; for love alone is like esse
[being] without its existere [taking form] since love has its form in
wisdom; and wisdom without love is like existere without its esse, since
wisdom has its form from love. Love is indeed possible without wisdom;
but such love is man's, and not the Lord's. Wisdom alone is possible
without love; but such wisdom, although from the Lord, has not the Lord
in it; for it is like the light of winter, which is from the sun; still
the sun's essence, which is heat, is not in it.
140. EVERY SPIRIT, WHATEVER HIS QUALITY, TURNS IN LIKE MANNER TO HIS
RULING LOVE.
It shall first be explained what a spirit is, and what an angel is. Every
man after death comes, in the first place, into the world of spirits,
which is midway between heaven and hell, and there passes through his own
times, that is, his own states, and becomes prepared, according to his
life, either for heaven or for hell. So long as one stays in that world
he is called a spirit. He who has been raised out of that world into
heaven is called an angel; but he who has been cast down into hell is
called either a satan or a devil. So long as these continue in the world
of spirits, he who is preparing for heaven is called an angelic spirit;
and he who is preparing for hell, an infernal spirit; meanwhile the
angelic spirit is conjoined with heaven, and the infernal spirit with
hell. All spirits in the world of spirits are adjoined to men; because
men, in respect to the interiors of their minds, are in like manner
between heaven and hell, and through these spirits they communicate with
heaven or with hell according to their life. It is to be observed that
the world of spirits is one thing, and the spiritual world another; the
world of spirits is that which has just been spoken of; but the spiritual
world includes that world, and heaven and hell.
141. Since the subject now under consideration is the turning of angels
and spirits to their own loves by reason of these loves, something shall
be said also about loves. The whole heaven is divided into societies
according to all the differences of loves; in like manner hell, and in
like manner the world of spirits. But heaven is divided into societies
according to the differences of heavenly loves; hell into societies
according to the differences of infernal loves; and the world of spirits,
according to the differences of loves both heavenly and infernal. There
are two loves which are the heads of all the rest, that is, to which all
other loves are referable; the love which is the head of all heavenly
loves, or to which they all relate, is love to the Lord; and the love
which is the head of all infernal loves, or to which they all relate, is
the love of rule springing from the love of self. These two loves are
diametrically opposed to each other.
142. Since these two loves, love to the Lord and love of rule springing
from love of self, are wholly opposed to each other, and since all who
are in love to the Lord turn to the Lord as a sun (as was shown in the
preceding article), it can be seen that all who are in the love of rule
springing from love of self, turn their backs to the Lord. They thus face
in opposite directions, because those who are in love to the Lord love
nothing more than to be led by the Lord, and will that the Lord alone
shall rule; while those who are in the love of rule springing from love
of self, love nothing more than to be led by themselves, and will that
themselves alone may rule. This is called a love of rule springing from
love of self, because there is a love of rule springing from a love of
performing uses, which is a spiritual love, because it makes one with
love towards the neighbor. Still this cannot be called a love of rule,
but a love of performing duties.
143. Every spirit, of whatever quality, turns to his own ruling love,
because love is the life of every one (as was shown in Part I., n. 1-3);
and life turns its receptacles, called members, organs, and viscera, thus
the whole man, to that society which is in a love similar to itself, thus
where its own love is.
144. Since the love of rule springing from love of self is wholly opposed
to love to the Lord, the spirits who are in that love of rule turn the
face backwards from the Lord, and therefore look with their eyes to the
western quarters of the spiritual world; and being thus bodily in a
reversed position, they have the east behind them, the north at their
right, and the south at their left. They have the east behind them because
they hate the Lord; they have the north at their right, because they love
fallacies and falsities therefrom; and they have the south at their left,
because they despise the light of wisdom. They may turn themselves round
and round, and yet all things which they see about them appear similar to
their love. All such are sensual-natural; and some are of such a nature
as to imagine that they alone live, looking upon others as images. They
believe themselves to be wise above all others, though in truth they are
insane.
145. In the spiritual world ways are seen, laid out like ways in the
natural world; some leading to heaven, and some to hell; but the ways
leading to hell are not visible to those going to heaven, nor are the
ways leading to heaven visible to those going to hell. There are countless
ways of this kind; for there are ways which lead to every society of
heaven and to every society of hell. Each spirit enters the way which
leads to the society of his own love, nor does he see the ways leading
in other directions. Thus it is that each spirit, as he turns himself to
his ruling love, goes forward in it.
146. DIVINE LOVE AND DIVINE WISDOM PROCEEDING FROM THE LORD AS A SUN AND
PRODUCING HEAT AND LIGHT IN HEAVEN, ARE THE PROCEEDING DIVINE, WHICH IS
THE HOLY SPIRIT.
In The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Lord it has been shown,
that God is one in person and essence in whom there is a trinity, and that
that God is the Lord; also, that the trinity in Him is called Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit; and that the Divine from which, (Creative Divine) is
called the Father; the Human Divine, the Son; and the proceeding Divine,
the Holy Spirit. This is called the "proceeding Divine," but no one knows
why it is called proceeding. This is not known, because until now it has
been unknown that the Lord appears before the angels as a sun, from which
sun proceeds heat which in its essence is Divine Love, and also light
which in its essence is Divine Wisdom. So long as these things were
unknown, it could not be known that the proceeding Divine is not a Divine
by itself; consequently the Athanasian doctrine of the trinity declares
that there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another
of the Holy Spirit. Now, however, when it is known that the Lord appears
as a sun, a correct idea may be had of the proceeding Divine, which is
called the Holy Spirit, that it is one with the Lord, but proceeds from
Him, as heat and light from a sun. For the same reason angels are in
Divine heat and Divine light just so far as they are in love and wisdom.
Without knowing that the Lord appears as a sun in the spiritual world,
and that His Divine thus proceeds, it can in no way be known what is meant
by "proceeding," whether it means simply communicating those things which
are the Father's and the Son's, or simply enlightening and teaching. But
inasmuch as it has been known that God is one, and that He is omnipresent,
it is not in accord with enlightened reason to recognize the proceeding
Divine as a Divine per se, and to call it God, and thus divide God.
147. It has been shown above that God is not in space, and that He is
thereby omnipresent; also that the Divine is the same everywhere, but
that there is an apparent variety of it in angels and men from variety
of reception. Now since the proceeding Divine from the Lord as a sun is
in light and heat, and light and heat flow first into universal recipients,
which in the world are called atmospheres, and these are the recipients
of clouds, it can be seen that according as the interiors pertaining to
the understanding of man or angel are veiled by such clouds, is he a
receptacle of the proceeding Divine. By clouds are meant spiritual clouds,
which are thoughts. These, if from truths, are in accordance, but if from
falsities, are at variance with Divine Wisdom; consequently, in the
spiritual world thoughts from truths, when presented to the sight, appear
as shining white clouds, but thoughts from falsities as black clouds. From
all this it can be seen that the proceeding Divine is indeed in every man,
but is variously veiled by each.
148. As the Divine Itself is present in angel and man by spiritual heat
and light, those who are in the truths of Divine Wisdom and in the goods
of Divine Love, when affected by these, and when from affection they think
from them and about them, are said to grow warm with God; and this
sometimes becomes so evident as to be perceived and felt, as when a
preacher speaks from zeal. These same are also said to be enlightened by
God, because the Lord, by His proceeding Divine, not only kindles the
will with spiritual heat, but also enlightens the understanding with
spiritual light.
149. From the following passages in the Word it is plain that the Holy
Spirit is the same as the Lord, and is truth itself, from which man has
enlightenment:
Jesus said, When the spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into
all truth; He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall
have heard, that shall He speak (John 16:13).
He shall glorify Me; for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show
it unto you (John 16:14, 15).
That He will be with the disciples and in them (John 14:17; 15:26).
Jesus said, The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and
they are life (John 6:63).
From these passages it is evident that the Truth itself which proceeds
from the Lord, is called the Holy Spirit; and because it is in light,
it enlightens.
150. Enlightenment, which is attributed to the Holy Spirit, is indeed
in man from the Lord, yet it is effected by spirits and angels as media.
But the nature of that mediation cannot yet be described; only it may be
said that angels and spirits can in no way enlighten man from themselves,
because they, in like manner as man, are enlightened by the Lord; and as
they are enlightened in like manner, it follows that all enlightenment is
from the Lord alone. It is effected by angels or spirits as media, because
the man when he is enlightened is placed in the midst of such angels and
spirits as, more than others, receive enlightenment from the Lord alone.
151. THE LORD CREATED THE UNIVERSE AND ALL THINGS OF IT BY MEANS OF THE
SUN WHICH IS THE FIRST PROCEEDING OF DIVINE LOVE AND DIVINE WISDOM.
By "the Lord" is meant God from eternity, that is, Jehovah: who is called
Father and Creator, because He is one with Him, as has been shown in The
Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Lord; consequently in the
following pages, where also creation is treated of, He is called the
Lord.
152. That all things in the universe were created by Divine Love and
Divine Wisdom was fully shown in Part I., (particularly in n. 52, 53);
here now it is to be shown that this was done by means of the sun, which
is the first proceeding of Divine Love and Divine Wisdom. No one who is
capable of seeing effects from causes, and afterwards by causes effects
in their order and sequence, can deny that the sun is the first of
creation, for all the things that are in its world have perpetual
existence from it; and because they have perpetual existence from it,
their existence was derived from it. The one involves and is proof of
the other; for all things are under the sun's view, since it is determined
that they should be, and to hold under its view is to determine
perpetually; therefore it is said that subsistence is perpetual existence.
If, moreover, any thing were to be withdrawn entirely from the sun's
influx through the atmospheres, it would instantly be dissipated; for
the atmospheres, which are purer and purer, and are rendered active in
power by the sun, hold all things in connection. Since, then, the
perpetual existence of the universe, and of every thing pertaining to it,
is from the sun, it is plain that the sun is the first of creation, from
which [is all else]. The sun is spoken of as creating, but this means the
Lord, by means of the sun; for the sun also was created by the Lord.
153. There are two suns through which all things were created by the Lord,
the sun of the spiritual world and the sun of the natural world. All
things were created by the Lord through the sun of the spiritual world,
but not through the sun of the natural world, since the latter is far
below the former; it is in middle distance; above it is the spiritual
world and below it is the natural world. This sun of the natural world
was created to render aid, as a kind of substitute; this aid will be
spoken of in what follows.
154. The universe and all things thereof were created by the Lord, the
sun of the spiritual world serving as a medium, because that sun is the
first proceeding of Divine Love and Divine Wisdom, and from Divine Love
and Divine Wisdom all things are (as was pointed out above, n. 52-82).
In every thing created, greatest as well as least, there are these three,
end, cause and effect. A created thing in which these three are not, is
impossible. In what is greatest, that is, in the universe, these three
exist in the following order; in the sun, which is the first proceeding
of Divine Love and Divine Wisdom, is the end of all things; in the
spiritual world are the causes of all things; in the natural world are
the effects of all things. How these three are in things first and in
things last shall be shown in what follows. Since, then, no created thing
is possible in which these three are not, it follows that the universe
and all things of it were created by the Lord through the sun, wherein
is the end of all things.
155. Creation itself cannot be brought within man's comprehension unless
space and time are removed from thought; but if these are removed, it can
be comprehended. Removing these if you can, or as much as you can, and
keeping the mind in ideas abstracted from space and time, you will
perceive that there is no difference between the maximum of space and
the minimum of space; and then you cannot but have a similar idea of the
creation of the universe as of the creation of the particulars therein;
you will also perceive that diversity in created things springs from
this, that there are infinite things in God-Man, consequently things
without limit in the sun which is the first proceeding from Him; these
countless things take form, as in an image, in the created universe. From
this it is that no one thing can anywhere be precisely the same as
another. From this comes that variety of all things which is presented to
sight, in the natural world, together with space, but in the spiritual
world with appearance of space; and it is a variety both of generals and
of particulars. These are the things that have been pointed out in PartI.,
where it is shown that in God-Man infinite things are one distinctly
(n. 17-22); that all things in the universe were created by Divine Love
and Divine Wisdom, (n. 52, 53); that all things in the created universe
are recipients of the Divine Love and of the Divine Wisdom of God-Man
(n. 54-60); that the Divine is not in space (n. 7-10); that the Divine
apart from space fills all spaces (n. 66 - 72); that the Divine is the
same in things greatest and least (n. 77-82).
156. The creation of the universe, and of all things of it, cannot be
said to have been wrought from space to space, or from time to time,
thus progressively and successively, but from eternity and from infinity;
not from eternity of time, because there is no such thing, but from
eternity not of time, for this is the same with the Divine; nor from
infinity of space, because again there is no such thing, but from infinity
not of space, which also is the same with the Divine. These things, I
know, transcend the ideas of thoughts that are in natural light, but they
do not transcend the ideas of thoughts that are in spiritual light, for
in these there is nothing of space and time. Neither do they wholly
transcend ideas that are in natural light; for when it is said that
infinity of space is not possible, this is affirmed by every one from
reason. It is the same with eternity, for this is infinity of time. If
you say "to eternity," it is comprehensible from time; but "from eternity"
is not comprehensible, unless time is removed.
157. THE SUN OF THE NATURAL WORLD IS PURE FIRE, CONSEQUENTLY DEAD; NATURE
ALSO IS DEAD, BECAUSE IT DERIVES ITS ORIGIN FROM THAT SUN.
Creation itself cannot be ascribed in the least to the sun of the natural
world, but must be wholly ascribed to the sun of the spiritual world;
because the sun of the natural world is altogether dead; but the sun of
the spiritual world is living; for it is the first proceeding of Divine
Love and Divine Wisdom; and what is dead does not act at all from itself,
but is acted upon; consequently to ascribe to it anything of creation
would be like ascribing the work of an artificer to the tool which is
moved by his hands. The sun of the natural world is pure fire from which
everything of life has been withdrawn; but the sun of the spiritual world
is fire in which is Divine Life. The angelic idea of the fire of the sun
of the natural world, and of the fire of the sun of the spiritual world,
is this; that in the fire of the sun of the spiritual world the Divine
Life is within, but in the fire of the sun of the natural world it is
without. From this it can be seen that the actuating power of the natural
sun is not from itself, but from a living force proceeding from the sun
of the spiritual world; consequently if the living force of that sun were
withdrawn or taken away, the natural sun would have no vital power. For
this reason the worship of the sun is the lowest of all the forms of
God-worship, for it is wholly dead, as the sun itself is, and therefore
in the Word it is called "abomination."
158. As the sun of the natural world is pure fire, and therefore dead,
the heat proceeding from it is also dead, likewise the light proceeding
from it is dead; so also are the atmospheres, which are called ether and
air, and which receive in their bosom and carry down the heat and light
of that sun; and as these are dead so are each and all things of the earth
which are beneath the atmospheres, and are called soils, yet these, one
and all, are encompassed by what is spiritual, proceeding and flowing
forth from the sun of the spiritual world. Unless they had been so
encompassed, the soils could not have been stirred into activity, and
have produced forms of uses, which are plants, nor forms of life, which
are animals; nor could have supplied the materials by which man begins
and continues to exist.
159. Now since nature begins from that sun, and all that springs forth
and continues to exist from it is called natural, it follows that nature,
with each and every thing pertaining thereto, is dead. It appears in man
and animal as if alive, because of the life which accompanies and actuates
it.
160. Since these lowest things of nature which form the lands are dead,
and are not changeable and varying according to states of affections and
thoughts, as in the spiritual world, but unchangeable and fixed, therefore
in nature there are spaces and spatial distances. There are such things,
because creation has there terminated, and abides at rest. From this it
is evident that spaces are a property of nature; and because in nature
spaces are not appearances of spaces according to states of life, as they
are in the spiritual world, these also may be called dead.
161. Since times in like manner are settled and constant, they also are
a property of nature; for the length of a day is constantly twenty-four
hours, and the length of a year is constantly three hundred and sixty-five
days and a quarter. The very states of light and shade, and of heat and
cold, which cause these periods to vary, are also regular in their return.
The states which recur daily are morning, noon, evening, and night; those
recurring yearly are spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Moreover, the
annual states modify regularly the daily states. All these states are
likewise dead because they are not states of life, as in the spiritual
world; for in the spiritual world there is continuous light and there
is continuous heat, the light corresponding to the state of wisdom, and
the heat to the state of love with the angels; consequently the states of
these are living.
162. From all this the folly of those who ascribe all things to nature can
be seen. Those who have confirmed themselves in favor of nature have
brought such a state on themselves that they are no longer willing to
raise the mind above nature; consequently their minds are shut above and
opened below. Man thus becomes sensual-natural, that is, spiritually dead;
and because he then thinks only from such things as he has imbibed from
his bodily senses, or through the senses from the world, he at heart even
denies God. Then because conjunction with heaven is broken, conjunction
with hell takes place, the capacity to think and will alone remaining; the
capacity to think, from rationality, and the capacity to will, from
freedom; these two capacities every man has from the Lord, nor are they
taken away. These two capacities devils have equally with angels; but
devils devote them to insane thinking and evil doing, and angels to
becoming wise and doing good.
163. WITHOUT A DOUBLE SUN, ONE LIVING AND THE OTHER DEAD, NO CREATION IS
POSSIBLE.
The universe in general is divided into two worlds, the spiritual and the
natural. In the spiritual world are angels and spirits, in the natural
world men. In external appearance these two worlds are entirely alike, so
alike that they cannot be distinguished; but as to internal appearance
they are entirely unlike. The men themselves in the spiritual world, who
(as was said above) are called angels and spirits, are spiritual, and,
being spiritual, they think spiritually and speak spiritually. But the
men of the natural world are natural, and therefore think naturally and
speak naturally; and spiritual thought and speech have nothing in common
with natural thought and speech. From this it is plain that these two
worlds, the spiritual and the natural, are entirely distinct from each
other, so that they can in no respect be together.
164. Now as these two worlds are so distinct, it is necessary that there
should be two suns, one from which all spiritual things are, and another
from which all natural things are. And as all spiritual things in their
origin are living, and all natural things from their origin are dead, and
these origins are suns, it follows that the one sun is living and the
other dead; also, that the dead sun itself was created by the Lord through
the living sun.
165. A dead sun was created to this end, that in outmosts all things may
be fixed, settled, and constant, and thus there may be forms of existence
which shall be permanent and durable. In this and in no other way is
creation founded. The terraqueous globe, in which, upon which, and about
which, things exist, is a kind of base and support; for it is the outmost
work [ultimum opus], in which all things terminate, and upon which they
rest. It is also a kind of matrix, out of which effects, which are ends
of creation, are produced, as will be shown in what follows.
166. That all things were created by the Lord through the living sun, and
nothing through the dead sun, can be seen from this, that what is living
disposes what is dead in obedience to itself, and forms it for uses, which
are its ends; but not the reverse. Only a person bereft of reason and who
is ignorant of what life is, can think that all things are from nature,
and that life even comes from nature. Nature cannot dispense life to
anything, since nature in itself is wholly inert. For what is dead to
act upon what is living, or for dead force to act upon living force, or,
what is the same, for the natural to act upon the spiritual, is entirely
contrary to order, therefore so to think is contrary to the light of
sound reason. What is dead, that is, the natural, may indeed in many ways
be perverted or changed by external accidents, but it cannot act upon life;
on the contrary life acts into it, according to the induced change of form.
It is the same with physical influx into the spiritual operations of the
soul; this, it is known, does not occur, for it is not possible.
167. THE END OF CREATION HAS FORM [existat] IN OUTMOSTS, WHICH END IS
THAT ALL THINGS MAY RETURN TO THE CREATOR AND THAT THERE MAY BE
CONJUNCTION.
In the first place, something shall be said about ends. There are three
things that follow in order, called first end, middle end, and last end;
they are also called end, cause, and effect. These three must be together
in every thing, that it may be anything. For a first end without a middle
end, and at the same time a last end, is impossible; or, what is the same,
an end alone, without a cause and an effect is impossible. Equally
impossible is a cause alone without an end from which and an effect in
which it is, or an effect alone, that is, an effect without its cause
and end. That this is so may be comprehended if it be observed that an
end without an effect, that is, separated from an effect, is a thing
without existence, and therefore a mere term. For in order that an end
may actually be an end it must be terminated, and it is terminated in its
effect, wherein it is first called an end because it is an end. It
appears as if the agent or the efficient exists by itself; but this so
appears from its being in the effect; but if separated from the effect
it would instantly vanish. From all this it is evident that these three,
end, cause, and effect, must be in every thing to make it anything.
168. It must be known further, that the end is everything in the cause,
and also everything in the effect; from this it is that end, cause, and
effect, are called first end, middle end, and last end. But that the end
may be everything in the cause, there must be something from the end [in
the cause] wherein the end shall be; and that the end may be everything
in the effect, there must be something from the end through the cause
[in the effect] wherein the end shall be. For the end cannot be in itself
alone, but it must be in something having existence from it, in which it
can dwell as to all that is its own, and by acting, come into effect,
until it has permanent existence. That in which it has permanent
existence is the last end, which is called effect.
169. These three, namely, end, cause, and effect, are in the created
universe, both in its greatest and least parts. They are in the greatest
and least parts of the created universe, because they are in God the
Creator, who is the Lord from eternity. But since He is Infinite, and
in the Infinite in finite things are one distinctly (as was shown above,
n. 17-22), therefore also these three in Him, and in His infinites, are
one distinctly. From this it is that the universe which was created from
His Esse, and which, regarded as to uses, is His image, possesses these
three in each and all of its parts.
170. The universal end, that is, the end of all things of creation, is
that there may be an eternal conjunction of the Creator with the created
universe; and this is not possible unless there are subjects wherein His
Divine can be as in Itself, thus in which it can dwell and abide. In
order that these subjects may be dwelling-places and mansions of Him,
they must be recipients of His love and wisdom as of themselves; such,
therefore, as will elevate themselves to the Creator as of themselves,
and conjoin themselves with Him. Without this ability to reciprocate no
conjunction is possible. These subjects are men, who are able as of
themselves to elevate and conjoin themselves. That men are such subjects,
and that they are recipients of the Divine as of themselves, has been
pointed out above many times. By means of this conjunction, the Lord is
present in every work created by Him; for everything has been created
for man as its end; consequently the uses of all created things ascend
by degrees from outmosts to man, and through man to God the Creator from
whom [are all things] (as was shown above, n. 65-68).
171. To this last end creation progresses continually, through these
three, namely, end, cause, and effect, because these three are in the
Lord the Creator (as was said just above); and the Divine apart from
space is in all space (n. 69-72); and is the same in things greatest
and least (77 - 82); from which it is evident that the created universe,
in its general progression to its last end, is relatively the middle end.
For out of the earth forms of uses are continually raised by the Lord the
Creator, in their order up to man, who as to his body is also from the
earth. Thereafter, man is elevated by the reception of love and wisdom
from the Lord; and for this reception of love and wisdom, all means are
provided; and he has been so made as to be able to receive, if he will.
From what has now been said it can be seen, though as yet only in a
general manner, that the end of creation takes form [existat] in outmost
things; which end is, that all things may return to the Creator, and that
there may be conjunction.
172. That these three, end, cause, and effect, are in each and every
thing created, can also be seen from this, that all effects, which are
called last ends, become anew first ends in uninterrupted succession
from the First, who is the Lord the Creator, even to the last end, which
is the conjunction of man with Him. That all last ends become anew first
ends is plain from this, that there can be nothing so inert and dead as
to have no efficient power in it. Even out of sand there is such an
exhalation as gives aid in producing, and therefore in effecting something.