BX 8712 16 898 UC-NRLF 57 in THE NATURE OF THE Intercourse between the Soul and the Body ITHt'JI IS SUPPOSED TO BE EFFECTED EITHER BY PHYSICAL INFLVX, OK BY SPIRITUAL INFLUX, OR BY PRE-ESTABLISHED HARMONY FROM THE LATIN OF EMANUEL SWEDEiNBORG Servant of the Lord Jesus Christ Being a translation of his work entitled " Dh. COMMERCIO ANIM>E ET CORPUS, quod creditui fieri vel per Influxum Physicum, vel per Infiuxum Spiritualem, vel per Harmoniam Praestabilitam." Londini, 1769 'OF TH UNIVERSITY NEW YORK AMERICAN SWEDENBORG PRINTING AND PUBLISHING SOCIETY NO. 3 WEST TWENTY-NINTH STREET 1898 Theological Works Emanuel Swedenborg, PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN SWEDENBORG PRINTING AND PUBLISHING SOCIETY, No. 3 West Twenty-Ninth Street, NEW YORK. T^ Send for Descriptive Catalogue. All prices greatly reduced. Special terms to Clergymen. ^ ENGLISH EDITION. 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THE NATURE OF THE Intercourse between the Sou and the Body trm:n is SUPPOSED TO BE EFFECTED EITHER BY PHYSICAL INFLUX, of BY SPIRITUAL INFLUX, OR BY PRE-ESTABLISHED HARMONY FROM THE LATIN OF EMANUEL SWEDENBORG u Servant of the Lord Jesus Christ Being a translation of his work entitled " DH COMMKRCIO ANIMJE ET CORPUS, quod creditui fieri vel per Influxum Physicum, vel per Influxum Spiritualem, vel per Harmoniam Prsestabilitam." Londini, 1769 NEW YORK AMERICAN SWEDENBORG PRINTING AND PUBLISHING SOCIETY NO. 3 WEST TWENTY-NINTH STREET 1898 XL, CONTENTS. L That there are two Worlds, a Spiritual World inhabited by Spirits and Angels, and a Natural World inhabited by Men. . 9 II. That the Spiritual World first existed and continually sub- sists from its own sun ; and that the Natural World first ex- isted and continually subsists from its own sun 4 QL That the sun of the Spiritual World is pure Love, from JehovaH God, who is in the midst of it 6 IV. That from that Sun proceed Heat and Light ; and that the Heat proceeding from it in its essence is Love, and the Light thence in its essence is Wisdom I V. That both that Heat and that Light flow into Man, the Heat into his Will, where it produces the good of love, and the Light into his Understanding, where it produces the truth of wisdom T VI. That those two elements, viz. Heat and Light, or Love and Wisdom, flow conjointly from God into the soul of man, and by this into the mind, its affections and thoughts, and from these into the senses, speech, and actions of the body 9 VII. That the sun of the Natural World is pure fire ; and that the world of nature first existed and continually subsists by means or this sun 9 VIII. That therefore every thing which proceeds from this sun, re- garded in itself, is dead ,. 10 IX. That what is Spiritual clothes itself with what is Natural, as a man clothes himself with a garment 11 X. That Spiritual Existences so clothed in man, are what enable him to live as a Rational and Moral Man, thus a Spiritually Natural Man. 12 XL That the reception of that Influx is according to the state of Love and Wisdom with man 1ft XII. That the Understanding in ma.* is capable of being elevated into the Light, that is, into the Wisdom, in which are the an- gels of heaven, according to the improvement of his reason ; and that, in like manner, his Will is capable of being elevated into the Heat of heaven, that is, into the Love of heaven, ac- cording to the deeds of hia Life : but that the Love of the [ 17 ] 257 365451 CONTENTS. Section. Will is not elevated, except so far as the man wi is and does those things which the Wisdom of the Understanding teaches 14 Kill. That it is altogether otherwise with beasts 15 XIV. That there are three Degrees in the Spiritual World, and three Degrees in the Natural World, hitherto unknown, accord- ing to which all influx takes place 16 XV. That Ends are in t'ne first degree, Causes in the second, and Effects in the third .7 VI. That hence is evident what is the nature of Spiritual Influx, from its origin to its effects 10 T3K NATURE OF THE INTERCOURSE BETWEEN THE SOUL A]*D THE BODY. 1. THERE are three opinions and tenets, or three hypotheses, respecting the intercourse between the soul and the body, or respecting the manner in which the one operates on the other, and in which they both operate in union ; the first is called Physical Influx, the second Spiritual Influx, and the third Pre- established Harmony. The FIRST hypothesis, which is that of PHYSICAL INFLUX, draws its origin from the appearances of the senses, and the fallacies whicn spring from that source. For it appears as if the objects of sight, whieh affect the eyes, flowed into the thought, and produced it ; in like manner speech, which affects the ears, appears to flow into the mind, and produce ideas there ; and the case appears to be similar with respect to the smell, taste and touch. The organs of these senses first receive, by contact, impressions from surrounding objects ; and the mind appears to think, and also to will, ac- cording to the affections of those organs ; observing which, the ancient philosophers and schoolmen concluded there to be an influx from the organs of sense into the soul, and hence adopted the hypothesis of Physical or Natural Influx. The SECOND hy- pothesis, which is that of SPIRITUAL INFLUX, called by some Occasional Influx, draws its origin from order and its laws. For the soul is a spiritual substance, and is consequently purer, prior, and interior; but the body is material, and is consequently grosser, posterior, and exterior ; and it is according to order for what is purer to flow into what is grosser, what is prior into what is posterior, and what is interior into what is exterior ; thus what is spiritual into what is material ; and not the con- trary ; consequently, it is according to order for the mind, as the seat of thought, to flow into the sight according to the Itate induced on the eyes by the objects before them, which itate, also, that mind disposes at its pleasure ; and likewise for the mind as the seat of perception to flow into the hearing 359 2 TEE INTERCOURSE BETWEEN according to the state induced on the ears by speech. The THIRD hypothesis, which is that of PRE-ESTABLISHED HARMONY, originates from appearances and fallacies to which the rational faculty is subject. For in the operation itself, the mind acts together and simultaneously with the body ; but, nevertheless, every operation is first successive and afterwards simultaneous. Now successive operation is influx, and simultaneous operation is harmony ; which occur when the mind thinks and afterwards speaks, or when it wills and afterwards acts. It is therefore a fallacy of the rational faculty to establish that which is simul- taneous and exclude that which is successive. No fourth opin- ion respecting the intercourse between the soul and the body can be framed ; for either the soul must operate on the body, or the body on the soul, or both continually together. 2. Since the hypothesis of spiritual influx draws its origin, as just observed, from order and its laws, this opinion has been acknowledged and received by the wise in the learned world in preference to the other two ; for every thing which draws its origin from order, is truth, and truth manifests itself by virtue of its inherent light, even in that shade which obscures the ra- tional perception while the truth only exists in the form of an hypothesis. There are three things which involve this hypo- thesis in shade, viz., ignorance respecting what the soul is, ig- norance respecting what anything spiritual is, and ignorance respecting the nature of influx : wherefore these three things must first be unfolded before the rational faculty can see the truth itself. For truth, while it only exists in the form of an hypothesis, is not truth itself, but a conjecture respecting it ; it is like a picture seen at night on a wall by the light of the stars, to which the mind assigns a different form according to its fancy ; whereas its proper form is seen when the sun illu- minates it in the morning, and not only discovers and renders visible its general figure, but also its particular parts : just so, out of the shade in which the truth appears while this opinion exists in the form of an hypothesis, arises the open truth, when it is known what and of what nature that which is spiritual is respectively to that which is natural ; what and of what nature the human soul is ; and what is the nature of the influx that flows into the soul, and by the soul into the perceptive and thinking mind, and from this into the body. But these sub- jects can be explained by no man, unless he have received from the Lord the privilege of being in society with angels in the spiritual world and with men in the natural world at the same time ; and since this privilege has been bestowed on me., I have been enabled to describe what and of what nature they are. This I have done in the work on CONJUGIAL LOVE, in the Memorable Relation respecting the nature of what is SPIRITUAL, n. 326 329; in that respecting the HUMAN SOUL, n. 315 ; io 260 THE SOUL AND THE BODY. a that respecting INFLUX, n. 380 ; and more fully in that at n. 4:15 4:22.* Who does not know, or may not know, that the good of love and the truth of faith flow from God into man, and that they flow into his soul, and are felt in his mind ; and that they flow again, from his thought into his speech, and from his will into his actions ? That spiritual influx, and its origin and derivation, are from thence, shall be manifested in the fol- lowing order. I. That there are two worlds, a spiritual world, which is inhabited by spirits and angels, and a natural world, which is inhabited by men. II. That the spiritual world first existed and continually subsists from its own sun ; and that the natural world first existed and continually subsists from its own sun. III. That the sun of the spiritual world is pure love from Jehovah God, who is in the midst of it. IY. That from that sun proceed heat and light ; and that the heat proceeding from it is in its essence love, and the light thence is in its essence wisdom. Y. That both that heat and that light flow into man, the heat into his will, where it produces the good of love; and the light into his understanding, where it produces the truth of wisdom. YI. That those two elements, viz., heat and light, or love and ioisdom,fiow conjointly from God into the soul of man, and by this into his mind, its affections and thought*, and from these into the senses, speech and actions of the body. YII. That the sun of the natural world is pureflre; and that the world of nature first existed and continually sub- sists by this sun. V III. That therefore every thing which pro- seeds from this sun, regarded in itself, is dead. IX. That that which is spiritual, clothes itself with that which is natural, as man clothes himself with a garment. X. That spiritual things thus clothed in man enable him to live as a rational and moral man, thus as a spiritually natural man. XI. That the recep- tion of that influx is according to the state of love and wisdom with man. XII. That the understanding in man is capable of being elevated into the light, that is, into the wisdom, in which are the angels of heaven, according to the improvement of his rational faculty j and that his will is capable of beina elevated, in like manner, into heat, tJiat is, nto love, according to the deeds of his life / but that the love of the will is not elevated, except so far as man wills and does those things which the wis- dom of the understanding teaches. XIII. That beasts are con- stituted (juite otherwise. XIY. That there are three degrees in the spiritual world, and three degrees in the natural world, ac- cording to which all influx takes place. XY. That ends are in the first degree, causes in the second, and effects in the third. XVI. That hence may appear what is the nature of spiritual * Those who may not possess the work on CONJUGIAL, LOVE, will find the K articles In the TRTE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, n. 280 ; n. 697 ; n. 35 ; n. 77, and n. 261 8, 4: THE INTERCOURSE BETWEEN influx from its origin to its effects. Each of these propositions shall now be briefly illustrated. I. That there are two worlds, a spiritual world inhabited by spirits and angels, and a natural world inhabited by men. 3. That there is a spiritual world inhabited by spirits and angels, distinct from the natural world inhabited by men, is a fact which, because no angel has descended and declared it, and no man has ascended and seen it, has been hitherto un- known, even in the Christian world ; lest, therefore, from ig- norance of the existence of such a world, and the doubts re- specting the reality of heaven and hell which result from such ignorance, men should be infatuated to such a degreee as to become naturalists and atheists, it has pleased the Lord to open my spiritual sight, and, as to my spirit, to elevate me into hea- ven, and to let me down into hell, and to exhibit to my view the nature of both. It has thus been made evident to me that there are two worlds completely distinct from each other ; one, all the objects of which are spiritual, whence it is called the spiritual world ; and another, all the objects of w r hich are na- tural, whence it is called the natural world ; as also, that spirits and angels live in their own world, and men in theirs ; and further, that every man passes by death from his world into the other, in which he lives to eternity. It is necessary, in order that the nature of iiiflux, which is the subject of this little work, may be unfolded from its first origin, that some in- formation respecting both these worlds should be first premised; tor the spiritual world flows into the natural world, and actu- ates it in all its parts ; it not only operates upon men, but on beasts too ; and also constitutes the vegetative principle in treeu and herbs. II. That the spiritual world first existed and continually subsists from its own sun ; and that the natural world firsl existed and continually subsists from its own sun. 4. There is one sun of the spiritual world, and another sun of the natural world, because those worlds are completely dis- tinct from each other ; and every world must derive its origin from a sun ; for a world of which all the objects are spiritual, cannot originate from a sun, all the products of which are na- tural ; for then there must be a physical influx, which, never theless, is contrary to order. That the world first existed from the sun, and not the sun from the world, is manifest by an effect from the former cause still observable ; viz., that the world, in the whole and in every part, still subsists by the sun ; and subsistence demonstrates existence ; wherefore, it is 262 THE SOUL AND THE BODY. 4, 5 a common remark, that subsistence is perpetual existence ; whence it is evident, that take away the sun, and its world would fall into a chaos, and this chaos into nothing. That, in the spiritual world, there is a sun different from that in the natural world, I am able to testify, for I have seen it ; in ap- pearance, it is a globe of tire, like our sun, is of much the same magnitude, and at the same distance from the angels as our sun is from men ; but it does not rise or set, but stands immov- able in a middle altitude between the zenith and the horizon ; whence the angels enjoy perpetual light and perpetual spring. The man who reasons upon the subject without knowing any thing respecting the sun of the spiritual world, may easily fall into insane notions when he endeavors to form an idea of the creation of the universe; thus when he deeply considers it, he concludes that its origin must be from nature ; and as the origin of nature is the sun, he conceives that the universe pro- ceeded from the sun as its creator. Moreover, no one can form a right conception of spiritual influx, unless he knows the ori- gin of it ; for all influx proceeds from a sun, spiritual influx from its sun, and natural influx from its sun ; thus the internal sight of man, which is that of his mind, receives influx from the spiritual sun, but his external sight, which is that of his v>j> receives influx from the natural sun ; but, in operation, DOtn act in conjunction, just as the soul acts in conjunction with the body. Hence it is evident into whjtf UVIndness, darkness, and fatuity they may fall, who have no knowledge of the spi- ritual world and its sun ; they may fall into blindness, because the inind which judges by the sight of the eye alone, becomes in its reasonings like a bat, which flies by night with a wan- dering course, and is attracted by a mere linen cloth that may any where be hanging up ; they may fall into darkness, be- cause the sight of the mind, when the sight of the eye flows into it from without, is deprived of all spiritual light, and be- comes like the sight of an owl ; and they may fallinto/afaatfy, because the man still continues to think, but he thinks from, natural things concerning spiritual things, and not contrariwise; thus he thinks like a madman, a fool, and an idiot. HI. That the sun of the spiritual world is pure love, fron Jehovah God, who is in the midst of it. 5. Spiritual things cannot proceed from any other source thai from love, nor love from any other source than Jehovah God, who is Love itself: hence the sun of the spiritual world, from which, ab their fountain, all spiritual things issue, is pure love proceeding from Jehovah God, who is in the midst of it. That sun is not it- self God, but it is an emanation from God, being the proximate sphere diffused around him and proceeding from him. By 263 6, 6 THE INTERCOURSE BETWEEN means of this sun, the universe was created by Jehovah God by the universe, we mean, the whole expanse of worlds, which are as many as the stars in the expanse of our heaven). Crea- tion was effected by means of that sun, which is pure love, thus by Jehovah God, because love is the very ease of life, and wisdom is the existere of life thence derived, and all things were created from love by wisdom; this is meant by these words in John: "The Word was with God, and God was the Word ; all things were made by him, and without him nothing was made which was made ; and the world was made by him i. 3, 10 : the Word here is the Divine Truth, thus likewise the Divine Wisdom ; wherefore, also, the Word is called, ver. 9, the light which illuminates every man : in like manner the Di- vine Wisdom illuminates by means of the Divine Truth. They #ho deduce the origin of worlds from any other source than the Divine Love operating by the Divine Wisdom, fall into hallucinations like those of persons disordered in the brain, who see spectres as men, phantoms as luminous objects, and imaginary entities as real figures : for the created universe is a coherent work, originating from love operating by wisdom ; as you will see, if you are able to examine the chain of things in their order, from those which are first to those which are last. As God is one, bo also the spiritual sun is one ; for the exten- sion of space is not predicable of spiritual things, which are the derivations of that sun ; and essence and existence that are in- dependent of space are present everywhere in space without space : thus the Dhine Love is present from the beginning of the universe to ail its boundaries. That the Divine fills all things, and by such impletion preserves them in the state in which they were created, is a truth of which the rational fac- ulty has a distant apprehension ; which becomes a nearer one, in proportion as the mind has a knowledge of the nature of love, as it is in itself; of its conjunction with wisdom for the perception of ends ; of its influx into wisdom for the exhibition of causes ; and of its operation by means of wisdom for the pro- duction of effects. IY. That from that sun proceed heat and light; and that the heat proceeding from it in its essence is love, andtlie light thence in its essence is wisdom. 6. It is known that in the Word, and thence in the common language of preachers, fire is mentioned to express Divine Love ; thus it is usual to pray, that heavenly fire may fill the heart and kindle holy desires to worship God : the reason of which is, be- cause fire corresponds to love, and thence signifies it. Hence it is that Jehovah God was seen by Moses, as a fire, in a bush ; as also by the children of Israel at Mount Sinai ; and that lire was 264 THE SOUL AND THE BODY. 6, 7 commanded to be perpetually kept upon the altar, and tht lights of the candlestick in the tabernacle to be lighted every evening : these commands were given because fire signifies love. That such fire has heat proceeding from it, appears manifestly from the effects of love : thus, a man is set on fire, grows warm, and becomes inflamed, as his love is exalted into zeal, or into red-hot anger. The heat of the blood, or the vital heat of rne and of animals in general, proceeds solely from love, which constitutes their life. Neither is infernal fire any thing else than love opposite to heavenly love. This then is the reason that the Divine Love appears to the angels as the sun in their world, with the aspect of a globe of fire, like our sun, as was said above ; and that the angels enjoy heat according to their reception of love from Jehovah God by means of that sun. It follows from hence, that the light there is in its essence wis- dom ; for love and wisdom, like esse and existere, are incapa- ble of being divided, since love exists by means of wisdom and according to it. This resembles a familiar phenomenon in our world : at the time of spring, heat unites itself with light, and causes the vegetable creation to bud, and at length to bear fruit. Moreover, every one knows experimentally, that spiritual heat is love and spiritual light is wisdom ; for a man grows warm in proportion as he feels love, and has a perception of ligjit in his understanding in proportion as he attains wisdom. Ihave often seen that spiritual li-ght, which immensely exceeds natural light in clearness and in splendor, for it is as clearness ana splendor themselves in their very essence ; it appears like re- splendent and dazzling snow, such as the garments of the Lord appeared when he was transfigured, Mark ix. 3 ; Luke ix. 28. As light is wisdom, therefore the Lord calls himself the Light which illuminates every man, John i. 9 ; a-nd says in other places, that he is the Light, John iii. 19 ; viii. 12 ; xii. 35, 36, 47, that is, that he is Divine Truth itself, which is the Word, thus Wisdom itself. It is commonly imagined that natural light, which is the same as the light of reason, proceeds from the light of our world : but it proceeds from the light of the spirit- ual world ; for the sight of the mind flows into the sight of the eye, thus also the light of the spiritual world into the light of the natural world, but not contrariwise : if the contrary took place, there would be physical influx and not spiritual influx. V. That both that heat and that light flow into man, the heat into his will, where it produces the good of love, and the light into his understanding, where it produces the truth of wisdom. 7. It is known that all things universally have relation to good and truth, and that there is not a single object in exist- 265 7, g THE INTERCOURSE BETWEEN ence which has not something relative to those two principles. On this account, there are in man two receptacles of life, one, which is the receptacle of good, called the will, and another, which is the receptacle of truth, called the understanding; and as good belongs to love, and truth to wisdom, the will is the receptacle of love, and the understanding is the receptacle of wisdom. That good belongs to love, is evident from this con- sideration ; that what a man loves, this he wills, and when he brings it into act he calls it good ; and that truth belongs to wisdom appears hence, that all wisdom is composed of truths ; even the good which a wise man thinks, is truth, which be- comes good when he wills it and does it. He who does not rightly distinguish between these two receptacles of life, which are the will and the understanding, and does not form to himself a clear notion respecting them, will in vain endeavor to com- prehend the nature of spiritual influx : for there is influx into the will, and there is influx into the understanding ; there is an influx of the good of love into the will of man, and there is an^influx of the truth of wisdom into his understanding; each proceeding from Jehovah God immediately, by the sun in the midst of which he is, and mediately, by the angelic heaven. These two receptacles, the will and the understanding, are as distinct as heat and light are ; for the will receives the heat of heaven, which in its essence is love, and the understanding re- ceives the light of heaven, which in its essence is wisdom ; as was said above. There is an influx from the human mind into the speech, and there is an influx into the actions ; the influx into the speech takes place from the will by the understanding, and the influx into the actions takes place from the understand- ing by the will. They who are only acquainted with the in- flux into the understanding, and not at the same time with that into the will, are like persons having but one eye, who only see the objects on one side of them, and not those on the other ; and they are like persons who are maimed, who do their work awkwardly with one hand only ; and they are like persons that are lame, who walk by hopping on one foot, with the assist- ance of a crutch. From these few observations it is plain, that spiritual heat flows into the will of man, and produces the good of love, and that spiritual light flows into his understanding, and produces the truth of wisdom. YI. That those two elements, viz. heat and light, or lov and wisdom, flow conjointly from God into the soul of man, and by this into the mind, its affections and thoughts, and from these into the senses, speech, and actions of the body. 8. The spiritual influx hitherto treated of by men of learn- ing, is, the influx from the soul into the body ; but they have 26B THE SOUL AND THE BODY. 8 not noticed the prior influx into the soul, and by that into the body. It nevertheless is well known, that all the good of love, and all the truth of faith, flow from God into man, and that no portion of them is from man himself ; and whatever flows from God flows proximately into his soul, and by the soul into the rational mind, and by this into the organs which constitute the body. Any person, then, who investigates the nature of spirit- ual influx without taking this into the account, is like one who stops up the stream of a fountain and still looks there for un- failing waters ; or one who deduces the origin of a tree from the branch and not from the seed; or one who examines principiates* without attending to the first principle. For the soul is not life in itself, but is a recipent of life from God, who is life in itself; and all influx belongs to life, thus is from God. This is meant by this passage : " Jehovah God breathed into the nostrils of She man the breath of life [lives], and the man became a living soul," Gen. ii. 7 : to breathe into the nostrils the breath of life [lives], signifies, to implant the perception of good and truth. The Lord also says of himself, " As the Father hath life in him- Belf, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself," John v. 26 ; to have life in himself is to be God : and the life of the Boul is life influent from God. Now forasmuch as all influx oelongs to life, and life operates by means of its receptacles , and the inmost or first of the receptacles in man is his soul , therefore, in order that the nature of influx may be rightly ap prehended, it is necessary to begin frojn God, and not from ai intermediate station. Were we to begin from an intermediate station, our doctrine of influx would be like a chariot without wheels, or like a ship without sails. This being the case, there- fore, in the preceding articles we have treated of the sun of the spiritual world, in the midst of which is Jehovah God, n. 5 ; and of the influx of love and wisdom, thus of life, n. 6, 7. The reason that life from God flows into man by the soul, and by this into the mind, that is, into the affections and thoughts of the mind, and from these into the senses, speech, and actions of the body, is, because these are the subjects of life in suc- cessive order. For the mind is subordinate to the soul, and the body is subordinate to the mind : and the mind has two lives, one belonging to the will and another to the understanding ; the life of its will is the good of love, the derivations of which are called affections ; and the life of its understanding is the truth of wisdom, the derivations of which are called thoughts: by means of these and the former, the mind lives : but the life of the body are the senses, speech, and actions : that these are derived from the soul by the mind, follows from the order in which they stand, and from which they manifest themselves to a wise man without scrutiny. The human soul, being ft * A. logical term, denoting things derived from a first principle. 267 9 THE INTERCOURSE BETWEEN superior spiritual substance, receives influx immediate jy from God ; but the human mind, being an inferior spiritual substance, receives influx from God mediately by the spiritual world ; and the body, being composed of the substances of nature, which are called matter, receives influx from God mediately by the natural world. That the good of love and the truth of wisdom, flow from God into the soul of man conjointly, that is, united into one, but that they are divided by man in their progress, and are conjoined only with those who suffer themselves to be led by God, will be seen in the following articles. VII. That the sun of the natural world is pure jure ; and that the world of nature first existed and continually subsists l>y means of this sun. 9. That nature and its world, by which we mean the atmos pheres and the earths which are called planets, among which is the terraqueous globe on which we dwell, together with all the productions which annually adorn its surface, subsist solely from the sun, which constitutes their centre, and which, by the rays of its light, and the modifications of its heat, is every- where present, every one knows for certain, from his own ex- perience, from the testimony of the senses, and from the writings of those who have treated of such subjects: and as these things owe their perpetual subsistence to the sun, reason may with cer- tainty conclude, that they owe their existence also to the same ; for perpetually to subsist is perpetually to exist as they first existed ; hence it follows, that the natural world was created by Jehovah God by means of this sun as a secondary cause. That there are spiritual existences and natural existences, which are entirely distinct from each other ; and that the origin and support of spiritual existences are derived from a sun which is pure love, in the midst of which is the Creator and Upholder :of the universe, Jehovah God, has been demonstrated before ; but that the origin and support of natural existences are de- rived from a sun which is pure fire, and that the latter is de- rived from the former, and both from God, follows of itself, as what is posterior follows from what is prior, and what is prior from the First Cause of all. That the sun of nature and its worlds is pure fire all its effects demonstrate ; as the concentra- tion of its rays into a focus by the art of optics, from which proceeds fire of a vehemently burning nature, and also flame ; the nature of its heat, which is similar to heat from elementary fire ; the graduation of that heat according to its angle of in- cidence, whence proceed the varieties of climate, and also the four seasons of the year ; beside other facts ; by which the rational faculty may be confirmed, even by the senses of it body, that the sun of the natural world is mere fire ; and also, '268 THE SOUL AND THE BODY. 10 that it is fire in its utmost purity. They who know .nothing concerning the origin of spiritual existences from their sun, but are only acquainted with the origin of natural existences from theirs, can scarcely avoid confounding spiritual and natu- ral existences together, and concluding, through the fallacies of the senses, and those to which the rational faculty is sub- ject, that spiritual existences are nothing but a pure kind of natural existences, and that, from the activity of the latter ex- cited by heat and light, arise wisdom and love. These persons, since they see nothing else with their eyes, and smell nothing else with their nostrils, and breathe nothing else in their breast, than nature, ascribe to it all the rational powers also ; and thus they imbibe naturalism as a sponge sucks up water. Such persons may be compared to coachmen, who joke the horses behind the carriage, and not before it. The case is otherwise with those who distinguish between spiritual and natural ex- istences, and deduce the latter from the former ; these, also, perceive that there is an influx of the soul into the body, thus that it is spiritual, and that natural things, which are those of the body, serve the soul for vehicles and mediums, by which to produce its effects in the natural world. He who concludes otherwise may be compared to a crab, which assists its progress in walking with its tail, and draws its eyes backwards at every step ; and his rational sight may be compared to the sight of the eyes of Argus in the back of his head, when those in his forehead were asleep. Such persons, also, believe themselves to be Arguses in reasoning ; for they say, " Who does not see that the origin of the universe is from nature ? and what then is God but the inmost extension of nature ?" and the like irrational observations ; of which they boast more than wise men do of their rational sentiments. VTII. That, therefore, every thing which proceeds from this sun, regarded in itself, is dead. 10. Who does not see from the rational faculty belonging to his understanding, if this be a little elevated above the sensual faculties of the body, that love, regarded in itself, is alive, and that the appearance of fire which it assumes is its life, and, on the contrary, that elementary fire, regarded in itself, is respectively dead consequently, that the sun of the spiritual world, being pure love, is alive, and that the sun of the natural world, being pure fire, is dead? and that the case is the same with all the products which emanate and exist from them? There are two things which produce all the effects in the universe, LIFE and NATURE ; and they produce them according to order, when life, from within, actuates na- ture ; the case is otherwise, when nature, from without, drawa 269 11 THE INTERCOURSE BETWEEN * life to act ; which takes place with those who place nature, which in itself is dead, above and within life, and thence wholly devote themselves to the pleasures of the senses, and the concupiscences of the flesh, esteeming the spiritual con- cerns belonging to the soul, and the truly rational objects be- longing to the mind, as nothing. Such persons, on account oi this inversion, are they who are called THE DEAD ; such are all atheistic naturalists in the world, and all satans in hell. They are also called the dead in the Word ; as in David : " The? joined themselves to Baal-peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead" Ps. cvi. 28. " The enemy hath persecuted my soul, he hath made me to sit in darkness, as those who have been lone dead" Ps. cxliii. 3. "To hear the groaning of the bound, ai . to open to those that are appointed to death" Ps. cii. 20 : ai i in the Revelation : " I know thy works, that thou hast a name- that thou lives t, and art dead; be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die" iii. 1, 2. Thej are called the dead, because spiritual death is damnation, and damnation is the lot of those who believe lite to be from na- ture, and thus believe the light of nature to be the light of life, and thereby bury, suffocate, and extinguish every idea oi God, of heaven, and of eternal life. In consequence of so doing, such persons are like owls, which see light in darkness, and darkness in light : that is, they see false sentiments as true and evils as good : and as the delights of evil are the de- lights of their hearts, they are not unlike those birds and beasts which devour dead bodies as choice delicacies, and scent the stenches arising from graves as balsamic odors. Such persons can see no influx but such as is physical or natural ; if, not- withstanding, they affirm influx to be spiritual, they do not possess any idea of it, but merely repeat the words of their preceptor. IX. That what is spiritual clothes itself with what is natu- ral, as a man clothes himself vjith a garment. 11. It is well known that both an active and a passive force are necessary to every operation, and that nothing can be pro- duced by an active force alone, and nothing from a passive alone. The case is similar with what is spiritual and what is natural ; what is spiritual, as a living force, being active, and what is natural, as a dead force, being passive. Hence it fol- lows that whatever existed in this solar world at its first crea- tion, and whatever comes into existence from moment to mo- ment since, exists from what is spiritual by what is natural : and this is true, not only in regard to the subjects of the ani- mal kingdom, but also to those of the vegetable kingdom. Another fact is also known similar to the former, viz. that both 270 THE SOUL AND THE BODY. H & principal and an instrumental cause are necessary to every production, and that these two causes, when anything is being produced, appear as one, though they are distinctly two; wherefore it is one of the canons of wisdom, that the cause principal and the cause instrumental make together one cause. So also do what is spiritual and what is natural. The reason that, in producing effects, these two forces and causes appear as one, is, because what is spiritual is within what is natural, as the fibre is within the muscle, and as the blood is within the arteries ; or as the thought is inwardly in the speech, and the affection in the tones of the voice, causing themselves to be apprehended by these natural instruments. From these considerations, though, as yet, as through a glass darkly, it appears, that what is spiritual clothes itself with what is natu ral, as a man clothes himself with a garment. The organical body with which the soul clothes itself, is here compared to a garment, because a garment invests the body ; and the soul also puts off the body, and casts it off as an old coat, when it emigrates by death from the natural into its own spiritual world : for the body grows old like a garment, but not the soul, because this is a spiritual substance, which has nothing in common with the changes of nature, which advance from a commencement to an end, and are periodically terminated. They who do not consider the body as the vesture or covering of the soul, and as being in itself dead, and only adapted to receive living forces flowing into it through the soul from God, cannot avoid concluding from fallacies, that the soul lives bv itself, and the body by itself, and that there is, between their respective lives, a PRE-ESTABLISHED HARMONY; and likewise, that the life of the soul flows into the life of the body, or the life of the body into the life of the soul, indifferently, whence they conceive INFLUX to be both SPIRITUAL and NATURAL ; when, nevertheless, it is a truth which is testified by every object in creation, that a posterior existence does not act from itself, but from the prior existence from which it proceeded ; thus that neither does this act from itself, but from some existence still prior; and thus that nothing acts at all but by communication from the First Cause Itself, which does act of itself, and which is God. Besides there is but one only life, and this is not capable of being created, but is eminently capable of flowing into forms organically adapted to its reception : all the objects in the created universe, even to the most minute, are such forms. It is believed by many that the soul is itself a spark of life, and thus that man, since he lives from his soul, lives from his own life, thus of himself, consequently, not by an in- flux of life from God. But such persons cannot avoid twisting of fallacies a sort of Gordian knot in which they entangle all the judgments of their mind, till nothing but insanitv, in re- '271 12 THE INTERCOURSE BETWEEN gard to spiritual things, is the result : or they construct a laby- rinth, from which the mind can never, by any clue which rea- son supplies, retrace its way, and extricate itself: they also actually let themselves down into caverns under ground, where they dwell in eternal darkness. For from such a belief pro- ceed innumerable fallacies, each of which is horrible ; as that God has transferred and transcribed himself into men, whence every man is a sort of deity that lives of himself; and thus that he does good, and enjoys wisdom from himself; likewise, that he possesses faith and charity in himself, and exercises them from himself, and not from God ; beside other monstrous sentiments, such as prevail with those in hell, who, when they were in the world, believed nature to live, or to produce life by its own activity : when these look towards heaven its light appears to them as mere darkness. I formerly heard a \oice saying from heaven, that if a spark of life in man were his own, and not of God in him, there would be no heaven nor anything belonging to it; whence also, there could be no church on earth, and, consequently, no life eternal. For further par- ticulars relating to this subject, may be consulted the Memo- rable Eelation in the work on CONJUGIAL LOVE, n. 132 136.* X. That spiritual existences so clothed in man, are what en- able him to live as a rational and moral man, thus a spiritually natural man. 12. From the principle established above, viz., that the soul clothes itself with a body as a man clothes himself with a gar- ment, this follows as a conclusion : for the soul flows into the human mind, and by this into the body, and carries with it the life, which it continually receives from the Lord, and thus transfers it mediately into the body, where, owing to the close- ness of its union, it makes the body appear to live ; whence, and from a thousand testimonies of experience, it is evident, that what is spiritual united to what is material, as a living force with a dead force, causes man to speak rationally and to act morally. It appears as if the tongue and lips spoke from a certain life in themselves, and as if the arms and hands acted in a like manner; but it is the thought, which in itself is spi- ritual, which speaks, and the will, which likewise is spiritual, which acts, each by its own organs, which in themselves are material, being taken from the natural world. That this is the case, appears in the light of day, provided this consideration be attended to. Remove thought from speech, is not the tongue dumb in a moment? so, remove will from action, and do not the hands in a moment become still ? Spiritual existences in * And in the TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, n. 48. 272 THE SOUL AND THE BODY. 12. 13 this state of union with natural, and the consequent appear- ance of life in material objects, may be compared to generous wine when absorbed by a clean sponge, to the saccharine juice in a grape, to the savory liquor in an apple, and to the aro- matic odor in cinnamon ; the iibres con taming these things are portions of matter, which have neither taste nor smell of them- selves, but derive them from the fluids in and between them ; wherefore, if you squeeze out those juices, they become dead filaments ; such are the organs proper to the body, if life be taken away. That man is a rational being by virtue of the union in him of spiritual existences with natural, is evident from the analytical nature of his thoughts ; and that he is a moral being from the same cause, is evident from the propriety of his actions and the graces of his demeanor ; these he pos- sesses by virtue of his faculty of being able to receive influx from the Lord through the angelic heaven, which is the very abode of wisdom and love, thus of rationality and morality. Hence it may be perceived, that a spiritual and a natural con- stitution being united in man, is what enables him to live as a spiritually natural man. The reason that he lives in a similar and yet dissimilar manner after death, is, because his soul 18 then clothed with a substantial body, as in the world it was clothed with a material body. It is believed by many, that the perceptions and thoughts of the mind, being spiritual, flow in naked, and not by means of organized forms ; but let them dream thus who have not seen the interiors of the head, where the perceptions and thoughts reside in their first principles, and who are ignorant that it contains the brains, interwoven and composed of the cineritious and medullary substances, to- gether with glands, cavities, and septa, and with meninges and matres surrounding them all ; and who, likewise, do not know that a man thinks and wills soundly or insanely according as all these organs are in a state of integrity or derangement, con- sequently, that he is rational and moral according to the or- ganic structure of his mind. For the rational sight of man, which is the understanding without forms organized for the reception of spiritual light, would be an abstract nothing, just as his natural sight would be without the eyes ; and so in re- gard to the other mental functions. XL That the reception of that influx is according to the state of love and wisdom with man. 13. That man is not life, but an organ recipient of life from God, and that love in union with wisdom is life ; also, that God is Love itself and Wisdom itself, and thus Life itself, has been demonstrated above ; hence it follows, that so far as a man loves wisdom, or so far as wisdom embosomed in love is [18] 273 13 THE INTERCOURSE BETWEEN within him, so far he is an image of God, that is, a receptacU of life from God ; and, on the contrary, that so far as he is possessed by opposite love and thence by insanity, so far he does not receive life from God, but from hell, which life is call- ed death. Love and wisdom themselves are not life, but are the esse of life ; but the delights of love and the amenities of wisdom, which are the affections of them, constitute life, for by these the esse of life comes into existence. The influx of life from God carries with it those delights and amenities, like the influx of light and heat at the time of spring into the human minds, and also into birds and beasts of every kind, yea, into vegetables, which then germinate and become prolific : for the delights of love and the amenities of wisdom expand men's minds and adapt them to the reception of the influx of life from God, as joy and gladness expand the face, and adapt it to the influx ol the hilarities of the soul. The man who is affected with the love of wisdom, is like the garden in Eden, in which are two trees, the tree of life, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil ; the tree of life is the Deception of love and wis- dom from God, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the reception of them from self : the man who eats of the tatter tree 'B insane, but still believes himself to be wise like God ; but the man who eats of the former tree is truly wise, and believes no one to be wise but God alone, and that man is wise so far as he believes this, and the more so as he feels that he wills it. But more on this subject may be seen in the Me- morable Eelation in the work on CONJUGIAL LOVE, n. 132 136.* I will here add an arcanum continuing these facts from heaven : All the angels of heaven turn the fore part of the head towards the Lord as a sun, and all the angels of hell turn the back of the head to Him, and the latter receive the influx into the affections of their will, which in themselves are con- cupiscences, and make the understanding favor them, but the former receive the influx into the affections of their understand- ing, and make the will favor them, whence these are in the enjoyment of wisdom, but the others are possessed by insanity. For the human understanding has its seat in the cerebrum, which is under the forehead, and the will in the cerebellum, which is in the back of the head. "Who does not know that a man who is insane through cherishing false sentiments, favors the lusts of his own evil, and confirms them by reasons drawn from the understanding ; whereas a wise man sees from truths the quality of the lusts of his own will, and restrains them? A wise man does this, because he turns his face to God, that is, he believes in God, and not in himself; but an insane man does the other, because he averts his face from God, that is, he * Or T-RUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, n. 48. 274 THE SOUL AND THE BODY. 13, 14 believes 'n himself, and not in God. For a man to believe in himself is to believe that he enjoys love and wisdom from him- self, and not from God ; and this is signified by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil : but for a man to be- lieve in God, is to believe that he enjoys love and wisdom from Gud, and not from himself; and this is signified by eating of the tree of life. Rev. ii. 7. From these considerations it may be perceived, but still only with a degree of clearness answer- ing to the light of the moon by night, that the reception of the influx of life from God is according to the state of love and wisdom with man. This influx may further be illustrated by the influx of light and heat into vegetables, which blossom and bear fruit according to the structure of the fibres which form them, thus according to their reception of the light and heat ; it may also be illustrated by the influx of the rays of light into precious stones, which modify them into colors ac- cording to the situation of the parts composing them, thus also according to their reception of the rays ; and likewise by op- tical glasses and the drops of rain, which exhibit rainbows ac- cording to the incidence, the refraction, and thus the reception of the light. The case is similar with human minds in respect to spiritual light, which proceeds from the Lord as a sun, and perpetually flows in, but is variously received. XTT. That the understanding in man is capable of being elevated into the light, that is, into the wisdom, in which are the angels of heaven, according to the improvement of his rational faculty / and that his will is capable of being elevated, in like manner, into the heat of heaven, that is, into the love of heaven, according to the deeds of his Life ; hut that the love of the will is not elevated, except so far as man wills and does those things which the wisdom of the understanding teaches. 14. By the human mind are to be understood its two facul- ties, which are called the understanding and the will. The un- derstanding is the receptacle of the light of heaven, which in its essence is wisdom ; and the will is the receptacle of the heat of heaven, which in its essence is love, as was shown above. These two principles, wisdom and love, proceed from the Lord as a sun, and flow into heaven universally and individually, whence the angels have wisdom and love ; and they also flow into this world universally and individually, whence men have wisdom and love. But the two principles proceed in union from the Lord, and likewise flow in union into the souls of an- gels and men ; but they are not received in union in their minds ; light, which forms the understanding, being first re- ceived there, and love, which forms the will, being received gradually. This also is of Providence : for every man is to be 275 14 THE INTERCOURSE BETWEEN created anew, that i&, reformed, and this is effected by means of the understanding ; for he must imbibe from infancy the knowledges of truth and good, which are to teach him to live well, that is, to will and act rightly : thus the will is formed by means of the understanding. For the sake of this end, there is given to man the faculty of elevating his understanding al most into the light which is enjoyed by the angels of heaven, that he may see what he ought to will and thence to do, in order that he may be prosperous in the world for a time, and blessed after death to eternity. He becomes prosperous ana blessed, if he procures to himself wisdom, and keeps his will under its obedience ; but unprosperous and unhappy if he puts his understanding under obedience to his will : the reason is, because the will hereditarily tends to evils, even to those which are enormous ; wherefore, unless it were restrained by means of the understanding, man would rush into acts of wickedness, yea, from his inherent savage nature, he would destroy and slaughter, for the sake of himself, all who did not favor and indulge him. Besides, unless the understanding could be separately perfected, and the will by means of it, man would not be a man but a beast. For without that separation, and without the ascent of the understanding above the will, he would not be able to think, and from thought to speak, but only to express his affection by sounds ; neither would he be able to act from reason, but only from instinct ; still less would he be able to know the things which are of God, and God by means of them, and thus to be conjoined to Him, and to live to eternity. For man thinks and wills as from himself, ^ and this, as from himself, is what gives him the faculty of recipro- cal conjunction : for there can be no conjunction without re- ciprocality, just as there can be no conjunction of an active with a passive force without re-action. God alone acts, and man suffers himself to be acted on, and re-acts in all appear- ance as from himself, though interiorly it is from God. From these considerations, rightly apprehended, may be seen what is the nature of the will of man if it is elevated by means of the understanding, and what is its nature if it is not elevated, consequently what is the nature of the man. But the latter sub- ject, viz., what is the nature of man if the love of his will is not elevated by means of the understanding, shall be illustrated by comparisons. He is like an eagle flying on high, which, aa soon as it sees the food below which is the object of its lust, as chickens, young swans, or even young lambs, casts itself down in a moment and devours them. He is also like an adul- terer, who conceals a harlot in a cellar below, and who by turns goes up to the highest apartments of the house, and dis courses wisely with those who dwell there concerning chastity and alternately withdraws from the compan ythere, and ir 276 THE SOUL AND THE BODY. 15 dulges himself below with his harlot. He is also like a thief on a tower, who there pretends to act the part of a watchman, but who, as soon as he sees any object of plunder below, hastens down and seizes it. He may also be compared to gnats, which fly in a column over the head of a horse while he is running, but which fall down when the horse stops, and immerse them- selves in the marsh. Such is the man whose will or love is not elevated by means of the understanding ; for he then re- mains stationary below, immersed in the uncleanness of nature and the lusts of the senses. The case is altogether otherwise with those who subdue the allurements of the lusts of the will by the wisdom belonging to the understanding. With these, the understanding afterwards enters into a marriage covenant with the will ; thus wisdom with love, and they dwell together in the upper apartment with the utmost delight. XHI. That it is altogether otherwise with Beasts. 15. They who judge of things only as they appear before the senses of the 'body, conclude that beasts have will and un- derstanding as well as men, and hence that the only distinction consists in man's being able to speak, and thus to describe the things which he thinks and desires, while beasts can only ex- press them by sounds. Beasts, however, have not will and understanding, but only a resemblance of each, which the learned call an analogous endowment. A man is a man, be- cause his understanding is capable of being elevated above the desires of his will, and it thus can know and see them, and also govern them ; but a beast is a beast, because its desires drive it to do whatever it does. A man, then, is a man, in conse- quence of this, that his will is under obedience to his under- standing ; but a beast is a beast in consequence of this, that its understanding is under obedience to its will. From these considerations this conclusion follows, viz., That the under standing of man, forasmuch as it receives the light influent from heaven, and apprehends and perceives this as its own and thinks from it analytically, with all variety, altogether as from itself, is alive, and is thence truly understanding ; and that the will of man, forasmuch as it receives the influent love of heaven, and acts from it as from itself, is alive, and is thence truly will ; but that the contrary is the case with beasts. Wherefore they who think under the influence of the lusts of the will, are compared to beasts, and in the spiritual world they likewise at a distance appear as beasts ; they also act like beasts, with this only difference, that they are able to act otherwise if they will : but they who restrain the lusts of their will by means of the understanding, appear in the spiritual world as men, and are angels of heaven. In a word, the will 277 15 THE INTERCOURSE BETWEEN and the understanding in beasts always cohere, and forasmuch as the will is blind, being the receptacle of heat and not oi light, it makes the understanding blind also : hence a beast does not know and understand its own actions, and yet it acts, for it acts by an influx from the spiritual world ; and such ac- tion is instinct. It is imagined that a beast thinks from under- standing what to act; but this is by no means the case : it is compelled to act solely by the natural love which is in it from creation, with the assistance of the senses of its body. The reason that man thinks and speaks is solely because his under- standing is capable of being separated from his will, and of being elevated even into the light of heaven ; for the under- standing thinks, and thought speaks. The reason why beasts act according to the laws of order inscribed on their nature, and some beasts in a moral and rational manner, differently from many men, is, because their understanding is in blind obedience to the desires of their will, and thence they are not able to pervert those desires by depraved reasonings, as men do. It is to be observed, that when the terms u will " and " understanding " are here used in reference to beasts, a cer- tain resemblance of, and an endowment analogous to, those faculties, are what are meant : analogous endowments are called by the names of the faculties themselves, on account of the appearance. The life of a beast may be compared with a sleep-walker, who walks and acts by virtue of the will while the understanding sleeps ; and also with a blind man, who walks through the streets with a dog leading him ; and also with an idiot, who, from custom, and the habit thence acquired, does his work in a regular manner. It may likewise be com- pared with a person void of memory, and thence deprived of understanding, who still knows or learns how to clothe himself, to eat the food which he prefers, to love the sex, to walk the streets from house to house, and to do such things as soothe the senses and indulge the flesh, by the allurements and plea- sures of which he is drawn along, though he does not think, and thence cannot speak. From these considerations it is evident, how much they are mistaken who believe beasts to be endowed with rationality, and only to be distinguished from men by their external figure and by their not being able to express by speech the rational things which inwardly occupy their thoughts ; from which fallacies many even conclude, that if man lives after death, beasts will do so too ; and, on the con- trary, that if beasts do not live after death, neither will man ; beside other dreams, arising from ignorance in regard to the will and understanding, and also in regard to degrees ; by the aid of which, as steps for its ascent, the mind of man mount* up to heaven. 278 THE SOUL AND THE BODY. 16 XIV. That there are three degrees in the spiritual world, and three degrees in the natural world, hitherto unknown, accord- ing to which all influx takes place. 16. It is discovered by the investigation of causes from their effects, that degrees are of two kinds, one according to which tilings prior and posterior are constituted, and another accord- ing to which things greater and less are constituted. The de- grees which distinguish things prior and posterior, are to be called DEGREES OF ALTITUDE, or DISCRETE DEGREES ; but the degrees by which things greater and less are distinguished from each other, are to be called DEGREES OF LATITUDE, and also CONTINUOUS DEGREES. Degrees of altitude, or discrete de- grees, are like the generations and compositions of one thing from another ; as, for example, they are like the generation and composition of any nerve from its fibres, and of any fibre from its fibrils ; or of any piece of wood, stone, or metal from its parts, and of any part from its particles : but degrees of latitude, or continuous degrees, are like the increments and decrements of the same degree of altitude with respect to breadth, length, height, and depth ; as of greater and less bodies of water, or air, or ether ; and as of large and small masses of wood, stone, or metal. All things, even to the most particular, in both worlds, both the spiritual world and the natural world, are, from creation, in degrees of both these kinds : the whole animal kingdom in this world is in those degrees both in general and in particular ; so are the whole vegetable kingdom, and the whole mineral kingdom likewise ; and so is the expanse of atmospheres from the sun even to the earth. There are therefore three atmospheres discretely dis- tinct according to the degrees of altitude, both in the spiritual world and in the natural world, because each world has its sun : but the atmospheres of the spiritual world, by virtue of their origin, are substantial, and the atmospheres of the natu- ral world, by virtue of their origin, are material ; and since the atmospheres descend from their origins according to those degrees, and are the continents of light and heat, like vehicles to convey these principles to their destination, it follows that there are three degrees of light and heat : and since light in the spiritual world is in its essence wisdom, and heat there is in its essence love, as was demonstrated above in its proper article, it follows also, that there are three degrees of wisdom and three degrees of love, consequently three degrees of life ; for they are graduated by the atmospheres through which they pass. Hence it is that there are three angelic heavens; a supreme, which is also called the third heaven, inhabited by angels of the supreme degree; a middle, which is also called the second heaven, inhabited by angels of the middle degree* 279 16 THE INTERCOURSE BETWEEN aud an ultimate, which is also called the first heaven, inhab ited by angels of the lowest degree. Those heavens are also distinguished according to the degrees of wisdom and love : the angels of the ultimate heaven are in the love of knowing truths and goods ; the angels of the middle heaven are in the love of understanding them, and the angels of the supreme heaven are in the love of being wise, that is, of living accord- ing to those truths and goods which they know and under- stand. As the angelic heavens are distinguished into three degrees, so also is the human mind, because the human mind is an image of heaven, that is, it is a heaven in miniature. Hence it is that man is capable of becoming an angel of one of those three heavens : and he becomes such according to his reception of wisdom and love from the Lord ; an angel of the ultimate heaven if he only receives the love of knowing truths and goods ; an angel of the middle heaven if he receives the love of understanding them ; and an angel of the supreme heaven if he receives the love of being wise, that is, of living according to them. That the human mind is distinguished jito three regions, according to the three heavens, may be seen in the memorable relation inserted in the work on CON- JIJGIAL LOVE, n. 270. Hence it is evident, that all spiritual influx to man and into man descends from the Lord by these three degrees, and that it is received by man according to the degree of wisdom and love in which he is. A knowledge of these degrees is of the greatest utility at this day. For many, in consequence of not knowing them, tarry in the lowest de- gree, in which are the senses of their body, and on account of their ignorance, which is intellectual darkness, are incapable of being elevated into spiritual light, which is above them : hence naturalism takes possession of them, as it were sponta- neously, as soon as they enter on any investigation and scru- tiny concerning the human sonl and mind, and its rationality, and more so if they extend their inquiries to heaven and the life after death : whence they become like person? standing in the market places with telescopes in their hands, looking at the sky and uttering vain predictions; and also like persona who chatter and reason about every object they see, and every thing they hear, without any rational ideas, resulting from an understanding of the subject, being contained in their remarks : these are like butchers, who believe themselves to be skilful anatomists, because they have examined the viscera of oxen and sheep outwardly, but not inwardly. But it is a truth that to think from the influx of natural light not cleared by the in- flux of spiritual light, is merely to dream, and to speak from such thought is to make vain assertions, like fortune-tellers. But further particulars concerning degrees may be seen in the work on the DIVINE LOVE AND THE DIVINE WISDOM, n. 173 281 280 THE SOUL AND THE BODY. 17 XV. That ends are in the first degree, causes in the second, and effects in the third. 17. Who does not see that the end is not the cause, but that it produces the cause ? and that the cause is not the effect, but that it produces the effect ? consequently, that they are three distinct things which follow each other in order ? The end with man is the love of his will ; for what a man loves, this he proposes to himself and intends : the cause with him is the rea- son of his understanding; for the end, by means of the reason, seeks for middle or instrumental causes : and the effect is the operation of the body, from, and according to, the end and cause. Thus there are three things in man, which follow each other in order, just as is done by the degrees of altitude. When these three tilings are exhibited to observation, the end is within the cause, and by the cause is in the effect : thus, in the effect, these three things co-exist. On this account it is said in the Word, that every one shall be judged according to his works : for the end, or the love of his will, and the cause, oi the reason of his understanding, are contained together in the ef fects, which are the works of his body : thus in them is contained the quality of the whole man. They who are unacquainted with these truths, and do not thus distinguish the objects oi rational contemplation, cannot avoid terminating the ideas of their thought either in the atoms of Epicurus, the monads of Leibnitz, or the simple substances of Wolff : they thus shut up their understandings as with a bolt, so that they cannot even ex- ercise their reason upon the subject of spiritual influx, because they cannot think of any progression beyond those atoms, monads, or simple substances ; for the author of the doctrine of simple substances says, that if they are divided they are annihilated. Thus the understanding remains stationary in its first light, which merely proceeds from the senses of the body, and does not advance a step further. Hence it is not known but that spiritual substance is merely a subtile natural sub- stance ; that beasts have rationality as well as men ; and that the soul is a puff of wind, like that which is emitted from the breast when a person dies : beside other notions which do not partake of light but of darkness. As all things in the. spiritual world, and all things in the natural world, proceed according to these degrees, as was shown in the preceding article, it is evident that intelligence properly consists in knowing and dis- tinguishing them, and seeing them in their order. By these degrees, also, every man is known as to his quality, wnen his love is known ; for, as observed above, the end, wnich is of the will, the causes, which are of the understanding, and the ef fec f ,s, which are of the body, follow from his love, as a tree from its seed, and as fruit from a tree. There are loves of three 281 17, IS THE INTERCOURSE BETWEEN kinds ; the love of heaven, the love of the world, and the love of self : the love of heaven is spiritual, the love of the world ia material, and the love of self is corporeal. When the love is spiritual, all things which follow from it, as forms from theii essence, are spiritual likewise : so, also, when the principal love is the love of the world or of wealth, and thus is material, all things which follow from it, as principiates from their first principle, are material likewise ; and so, again, when the prin- cipal love is the love of self, or of eminence above all others, and thus is corporeal, all things which follow from it are cor- poreal likewise; because the man who cherishes this love regards himself alone, and thus immerses the thoughts of his mind in his body. Wherefore, as just remarked, he who knows the reigning love of any one, and is at the same time acquainted with the progression of ends to causes and of causes to effects, which three things follow each other in order, according to the degrees of altitude, knows the quality of the whole man. Thus the angels of heaven know the qual ity of every one with whom they speak ; they perceive his love from the sound of his voice, they see an image of it in his face, and the figure of it in the gestures of his body. XYI. That hence is evident what is the nature of spiritua, influx from its origin to its effects. 18. Spiritual influx has hitherto been deduced, by those who have treated of it, from the soul into the body, but not from God into the soul and thus into the body. The reason oi their proceeding thus has been, because no one had any know- ledge respecting the spiritual world, and respecting the sun there, from whence all spiritual things issue as from their foun- tain ; and thus no one had any knowledge respecting the influx of spiritual things into natural things. ISTow since it has been granted me to be in the spiritual world and in the natural world at the same time, I am obliged by my conscience to commu- nicate these facts. For of what use is the possession of know- ledge without its communication ? Without the latter, what is the former, but like collecting and storing up riches in a casket, and only looking at them occasionally and counting them over, without any intention of applying them to use ? In fact, it is spiritual avarice. But in order that it may be fully known what spiritual influx is, and what is its nature, it is necessary to know what that which is SPIRITUAL is in its essence, and what that which is NATURAL ; as also what the au MAN SOUL is : lest, therefore, this short lucubration should bo defective through ignorance of these subjects, it will be useful to consult some MEMORABLE RELATIONS inserted in the work on CONJUGIAL LOVE ; viz. that respecting the SPIRITUAL PRINCIPLE, 282 THE SOUL AND THE BODY. I n. 326 329 ; that respecting the HUMAN SOUL, u. 315 ; and that respecting THE INFLUX OF SPIRITUAL THINGS INTO NATURAL, n. 380 ; which latter subject is more fully treated of, n. 415 422.* 19. I will here subjoin this MEMORABLE RELATION. After these pages were written, 1 prayed to the Lord that I might be permitted to converse with some disciples of ARISTOTLE, and at the same time with some disciples of DES CARTES, and with Borne disciples of LEIBNITZ, in order that 1 miglit learn the opinions of their minds concerning the intercourse between the soul and the body. After my prayer was ended, there were present nine men, three Aristotelians, three Cartesians, and three Leibnitzians ; and they arranged themselves round me, the admirers of Aristotle being on the left side, the followers of Des Cartes on the right side, and the favorers of Leibnitz behind. At a considerable distance, and also at a distance from each other, were seen three persons crowned with laurel, whom I knew, by an influent perception, to be those three great .eaders or masters themselves. Behind Leibnitz stood a person holding the skirt of his garment, who, I was told, was Wolff. Those nine men, when they beheld one another, at first saluted each, other, and conversed together in a mild tone of voice. But presently "there arose from below a spirit with a torch in his -ight hand, which he shook before their faces, whereupon they became enemies, three against three, and looked at each other with a fierce countenance : for they were seized with the lust of altercation and dispute. Then the Aristotelians, who were also schoolmen, began to speak, saying, u Who does not see that objects flow through the senses into the soul, as a man enters through the doors into a chamber, and that the soul thinks according to such influx ? When a lover sees a beau tiful virgin, or his bride, does not his eye sparkle, and transmit the love of her into the soul? When a miser sees bags of money, do not all his senses burn toward them, and thence in- duce this ardor into the soul, and excite the desire of possessing them ? When a proud man hears himself praised by another, does he not prick up his ears, and do not these transmit those praises to the soul ? Are not the senses of the body like outer courts, through which alone entrance is obtained to the soul ? From these considerations and innumerable others of a similar kind, who can conclude otherwise than that influx proceeds from nature, or is physical ?" While they were speaking thus, the followers of Des Cartes held their fingers on their foreheads ; and now withdrawing them they replied, saying, "Alas, ye gpeak from appearances ; do ye not know that the eye does not * The same articles are repeated in the TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, and will bt fcund at n. 280, 697, 35, 77, and 12. 283 19 THE INTERCOURSE BETWEEN love a virgin or bride from itself, but from the soul ? and like- wise that the senses of the body do not covet the bags of money from themselves, but from the soul ; and also that the ears do not devour the praises of flatterers in any othermanner ? Is it .not perception that causes sensation ? and perception is a faculty of the soul, and not of the organs of the body. Say, if you can, what causes the tongue and lips to speak, but the thought? and what causes the hands to work, but the will ? and thought and will are faculties of the soul, and not of t.ie body. Thus what causes the eye to see, and the ear to hear, and the other organs to feel, but the soul ? From these considerations, and in- numerable others of a similar kind, every one, whose wisdom is elevated above the sensual apprehensions of the body, must con elude, that influx does not flow from the body into the soul, but from the soul into the body ; which influx we call occasional influx, and also spiritual influx." When these had finished, the three men who stood behind the former triads, and who were the favorers of Leibnitz, began to speak, saying, ""We have heard the arguments on both sides, and have compared them ; and we have perceived that in many particulars the latter are stronger than the former, and that in many others the former are stronger than the latter ; wherefore, if you please, tve will compromise the dispute." On being asked how, they replied, " There is not any influx from the soul into the body, nor from the body into the soul, but there is a unanimous and instantaneous operation of both together, to which a celebrated author has assigned an elegant name, when he calls it .Pre-es- tablished Harmony." After this the spirit with a torch appeared again, but the torch was now in his left hand, arid he shook it behind the back of their heads, whence the ideas of them all became confused, and they all cried out at once, " Neither our soul nor body knows what part to take ; wherefore let us settle this dispute by lot, and we will abide by the lot which comes out first." So they took out three bits of paper, and wrote on one of them, PHYSICAL INFLUX, on another, SPIRITUAL INFLUX, and on the third, PRE-ESTABLISHED HARMONY ; and they put them all into the crown of a hat. Then they chose one of their num- ber to draw ; who, on putting in his hand, took out that on which was written, SPIRITUAL INFLUX. Having seen and read it, they all said, yet some with a clear and flowing, some with a faint and indrawn voice, " Let us abide by this, because it came out first." But then an angel suddenly stood by, and said, " Do not imagine that the paper in favor of spiritual in- flux came out first by chance, for it was of providence : for you do not see the truta of that doctrine, on account of the confu- sion of your ideas, but the truth presented itself to the hand of him that drew the lots, that you might yield it your assent." THE SOUL AND THE BODY. ' 86"* *' 20. I was formerly asked, " How I, who was previously a philosopher, became a theologian ;" I answered, " In the same tiiaimer that fishermen became the disciples and apostles of fhe Lord :" and I added that 1 also from early vouth had been a spiritual fisherman. On this, my inquirer asked, "What is a spiritual fisherman ?" To which I replied, "A fisherman, in the spiritual sense of the Word, signifies a man who investi- gates and teaches natural truths, and afterwards spiritual truths in a rational manner." On his inquiring, " How this is de- monstrated ?" I said, u From these passages of the Word : ' A.nd the waters shall fail from the sea, and the livers shall be was- ted and dried up : therefore the fishers shall mourn, and all mat cast a hook into the sea shall lament,' Is. xix. 5, 8. In another place it is said respecting the sea, whose waters were healed, k the fishers shall stand from Engedi even unto Ene- glairn, they shall be a place to spread forth nets ; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceedingly many,' Ezek. xlvii. 10. And in another place: ' Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith Jehovih, and they shall fish them? Jerem. xvi. 16. Hence it is evident why the Lord chose fishermen for his disciples, .and said, " Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men," Matt. iv. 18, 19 ; Mark i. 16, 17 : and why he said to Peter, after he had caught a mul- titude of fishes, ' henceforth thou shall catch men,' Luke v. 9, 10." I afterwards demonstrated the origin of this signification of fishermen from the Apocalypse Revealed ; viz. that since water signifies natural truths, n. 50, 932, as does also a river, D. 409, 932, therefore a fish signifies those who are in possession of natural truths, n. 405 ; whence fishermen signify those who investigate and teach truth. On hearing this, my interrogator raised his voice and said, " Now I can understand why the Lord called and chose fishermen to be his disciples ; and inere- fore I do not wonder that he has also called and chosen you, since, as you have observed, you were from early youth a fisher- man in a spiritual sense, that is an investigator of natural truths : the reason that you are now become an investigator of spiritual truths, is, because these are founded on the former." To this he added, being a man of reason, that " the Lord alone knows who is the proper person to apprehend and teach or communi- cate the truths which should be revealed for his New Church, and whether such a person is to be found among the digni- taries of the Church or among their domestic servants. Besides," he continued, " among Christians, what divine does not first study philosophy at college, before he is ordained ? otherwise, whence could he obtain a sufficient degree of intelligence?" At last he said. " Since you are become a divine, explain what 235 20 THE INTERCOURSE BETWEEN THE SOUL AND THE BODY. is your system of divinity ?" I answered, " These are the two principles of it, THAT GOD is ONE, and THAT THERE ISA CONJE NO- TION OF CHARITY AND FAITH." He replied, " Who denies thes principles?" I rejoined, "The divinity of the present day when interiorly examined." THE END. PUBLICATIONS OF The New Church Board of Publication, No. 3 WEST TWENTY-NINTH STREET, NEW YORK. A full supply of all New Church Literature on hand. Subscriptions to the Potts' Swedenborg Concordance and other English publications received. All new publications of the Church supplied as soon as issued. Catalogues furnished on application. 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