TCR 336. From the wisdom of the ancients came forth this tenet, that the universe and each and all things therein relate to good and truth; and thus that all things pertaining to the church relate to love or charity and faith, since everything that flows forth from love or charity is called good, and everything that flows forth from faith is called true. Since then charity and faith are distinguishably two, and yet make one in man, that he may be a man of the church, that is, that the church may be in him, it was a matter of controversy and dispute among the ancients, which one of the two should be first, and which therefore is by right to be called the firstborn. Some of them said that truth is first and consequently faith; and some good, and consequently charity. For they saw that immediately after birth man learns to talk and think, and is thereby perfected in understanding, which is done by means of knowledges, and by this means he learns and understands what is true; and afterwards by means of this he learns and understands what is good; consequently, that he first learns what faith is, and afterward what charity is. Those who so comprehended this subject, supposed that the truth of faith was the firstborn, and that good of charity was born afterwards; for which reason they gave to faith the eminence and prerogative of primogeniture. But those who so reasoned overwhelmed their own understandings with such a multitude of arguments in favor of faith, as not to see that faith is not faith unless it is conjoined with charity, and that charity is not charity unless conjoined with faith, and thus that they make one, and if not so conjoined, neither of them is anything in the church. That they do completely make one, will be shown in what follows.

[2] But in these prefatory remarks I will show briefly how or in what respect they make one; for this is important as throwing some light on what follows. Faith, by which is also meant truth, is first in time; while charity, by which is also meant good, is first in end; and that which is first in end, is actually first, because it is primary, therefore also it is the firstborn, while that which is first in time, is not actually first, but only apparently so. But to make this understood, it shall be illustrated by comparisons with the building of a temple, and of a house, the laying out of a garden, and the preparation of a field. In the building of a temple, the first thing in time is to lay the foundation, erect the walls and put on the roof; then to put in the altar and rear the pulpit; while the first thing in end is the worship of God therein, for the sake of which the preceding work is done. In the building of a house, the first thing in time is to build its outside parts, and also to furnish it with various articles of necessity; while the first thing in end is a suitable dwelling for the man and the others who are to constitute his household. In the laying out of a garden, the first thing in time is to level the ground, prepare the soil, and plant trees in it and sow in it the seeds of such things as will be of use; while the first thing in end is the use of its products. In the preparation of a field, the first thing in time is to smooth, plough and harrow it, and then to sow it; while the first thing in end is the crop; thus again, use. From these comparisons anyone may conclude what is essentially first. Does not everyone who wishes to build a temple or a house, or to lay out a garden, or cultivate a field, first intend some use? And does he not continually keep this in his mind and meditate upon it while he is procuring the means to it? We therefore conclude that the truth of faith is first in time, but that the good of charity is first in end; and that this latter, because it is primary, is actually the firstborn in the mind.

[3] But it is necessary to know what faith is, what charity is, each in its essence; and this cannot be known unless each is divided into separate propositions-faith into its own, and charity into its own. Faith shall therefore be treated under the following heads:-

1. Saving faith is faith in the Lord God the Saviour, Jesus Christ.

2. The sum of faith is that he who lives well and believes rightly, is saved by the Lord.

3. Man acquires faith by going to the Lord, learning truths from the Word, and living according to them.

4. An abundance of truths cohering as if in a bundle, exalts and perfects faith.

5. Faith without charity is not faith, and charity without faith is not charity, and neither has life except from the Lord.

6. The Lord, charity, and faith make one, like life, will, and understanding in man; and if they are divided, each perishes, like a pearl reduced to powder.

7. The Lord is charity and faith in man, and man is charity and faith in the Lord.

8. Charity and faith are together in good works.

9. There is a true faith, a spurious faith, and a hypocritical faith.

10. In the evil there is no faith.

These shall now be explained separately.

TCR 337. Saving faith is faith in God the Saviour, because He is God and Man, and He is in the Father and the Father in Him; thus they are one; therefore those who go to Him, at the same time go to the Father also, thus to the one and only God, and there is no saving faith in any other. That men ought to believe or have faith in the Son of God, the Redeemer and Saviour, conceived from jehovah, born of the virgin Mary, and called Jesus Christ, is evident from the commands so frequently repeated by Him and afterwards by His apostles. That faith in Him was commanded by Himself, is clearly evident from the following passages:--

TCR 338. That the faith of the apostles was no other than a faith the Lord Jesus Christ, is evident from many passages in their Epistles, from which I will present only the following:--

Paul testified,

Because theirs was a faith in Jesus Christ, and also because faith is also from Him, they called it the faith of Jesus Christ, as in the passage just quoted (Gal. 2:16), and in the following:--

From all this it can be seen what kind of faith is meant by Paul in the saying now so often quoted in the church:--

namely, that it is not a faith in God the Father, but in His Son, still less a faith in three Gods in order, in one from whom, in another for the sake of whom, and in a third through whom (comes salvation). It is believed in the church, that its tripersonal faith is meant by Paul in that saying, for the reason that the church, during fourteen centuries, or ever since the Nicene Council, has acknowledged no other faith, and consequently has known no other, and has therefore believed this to be the one only faith, and that no other is possible. So wherever the word faith occurs in the New Testament that faith is supposed to be meant, and to it everything there has been applied; therefore the only saving faith, which is a faith in God the Saviour, has perished; and in consequence so many fallacies and so many paradoxes adverse to sound reason have crept into the doctrines of the church. For every doctrine of the church that will teach and point out the way to heaven or to salvation depends on faith; and so many fallacies and paradoxes having crept into that faith, as before said, it became necessary to proclaim the dogma, that the understanding must be kept in subjection to faith. But since in that saying of Paul (Rom. 3:28) the term faith does not mean faith in God the Father but faith in His Son; and works of the law do not there mean the works of the law of the Decalogue, but the works of the Mosaic law for the Jews, as is plain from subsequent verses there, and also from like passages in (Galatians 2:14, 15), that foundation stone of the present faith is gone, and with it falls the temple built upon it, like a house sinking into the earth and leaving only the top of its roof above ground.

TCR 339. Men ought to believe, that is, have faith, in God the Saviour Jesus Christ, because that is a faith in a visible God within whom is the invisible; and faith in a visible God, who at once Man and God, enters into a man; for faith in its essence is spiritual but in its form is natural; consequently with man such a faith becomes spiritual-natural. For anything spiritual, in order to be anything with man, must have a recipient in the natural. The naked spiritual does indeed enter into man, but it is not received; it is like the ether, which flows in and out producing no effect, for to produce an effect there must be perception and consequent reception, both of these in his mind; and no such reception is possible with man except in his natural. But on the other hand merely natural faith, or faith destitute of a spiritual essence, is not faith, but only persuasion or knowledge. In externals persuasion emulates faith; but since there is in its internals no spirituality, neither is there anything saving in it. Such is the faith of all who deny the Divinity of the Lord's Human; such was the Arian faith, and such also is the Socinian faith, because both reject the Lord's divinity. What is faith without an object toward which it is determined? Is it not like gazing into the universe, where the sight falls, as it were, into vacuity and is lost? It is like a bird flying beyond the atmosphere into the ether, where, as in a vacuum, it ceases to breathe. The abiding of this faith in man's mind may be compared to that of the winds in the wings (halls?) of Aeolus, or of light in a falling star. It rises like a comet with a long tail, and like it passes over and disappears.

[2] In a word, faith in an invisible God is actually blind, since the human mind fails to see its God; and the light of that faith, not being a spiritual-natural faith, is a fatuous light; which light is like that of the glow-worm, or like that seen above marshes or sulphurous glebes at night, or like the phosphorescence of rotten wood. From that light nothing comes except what pertains to fantasy, which creates a belief that the apparent is the real, when yet it is not. Faith in an invisible God shines with no other light than this, especially when God is thought to be a Spirit, and spirit is thought to be like ether. What follows but that man regards God as he does the ether? Consequently he seeks God in the universe; and when he does not find Him there, he believes the nature of the universe to be God. This is the origin of the prevailing naturalism of the day. Did not the Lord say,

and also,

Furthermore,

[3] But faith in the Lord God the Saviour is different; He, being God and Man, can be approached and be seen in thought. Faith in Him is not indeterminate, but has an object from which and to which it proceeds and when once received is permanent, as when anyone has seen an emperor or king, as often as the fact is recalled the image returns. That faith's sight is like one's seeing a bright cloud, and in the midst of it an angel who invites the man to him, so that he may be raised up into heaven. Thus does the Lord appear to those who have faith in Him; He draws near to every man so far as man recognizes and acknowledges Him, which he does, so far as he knows and keeps the Lord's commandments, which are, to shun evils and do good; and at length the Lord comes into man's house, and together with the Father who is in Him, makes His abode with man, according to these words in John:--

The foregoing was written in the presence of the Lord's twelve apostles, who were sent to me by the Lord while I was writing it.

TCR 340. That man was created for eternal life, and that every man may inherit it provided he lives according to the means of salvation prescribed in the Word, is admitted by every Christian, and by every heathen who possesses religion and sound reason. Nevertheless, the means of salvation are manifold, although they each and all have relation to living well and believing rightly, thus to charity and faith, for living well is charity, and believing rightly is faith. These two general means of salvation are not only prescribed in the Word but are imposed as commandments, and as they are commanded, it follows that by means of them man can procure for himself eternal life from the power implanted in him and given to him by God; and so far as man uses that power and at the same time looks to God, so far God makes it effective in converting everything of natural charity into spiritual charity, and everything of natural faith into spiritual faith; thus God makes dead charity and faith to be alive, and the man also.

[2] There are two things that must coexist, before man can be said to live well and believe rightly. In the church these two are called the internal and the external man. When the internal man's will is right and the external acts rightly, the two make one, the external (acting) from the internal and the internal through the external, thus man from God and God through man. But on the other hand, if the internal man's will is evil and yet the external acts rightly, they both act none the less from hell; for the man's willing is from bell, and his doing is hypocritical; and in all hypocrisy his willing which is infernal, is interiorly concealed like a snake in the grass or a worm in a flower.

[3] The man who knows that there is an internal and an external man, and who also knows what they are, and that the two can act as one actually, and can also act as one apparently; and who knows, moreover, that the internal man lives after death, and the external is buried, possesses in potency the arcana both of heaven and of the world in abundance. And he who conjoins these two men in himself in good becomes happy to eternity; while he who divides them, and still more he who conjoins them in evil, becomes unhappy to eternity.

TCR 341. Under the belief that the man who lives well and believes aright is not saved, and that God is able freely and at pleasure to save and damn whom He will, the man who is lost may justly accuse God of unmercifulness and severity, and even of cruelty, and may even deny that God is God. He may also claim that in His Lord God has spoken unmeaning things, and has commanded things of no importance, or that are trifling. or again, if the man who lives well and believes aright is not saved, he may also accuse God of violating His covenant, which He made on Mount Sinai and wrote with His finger upon the two tables. That God cannot but save those who live according to His commandments and have faith in Him, is evident from the Lord's words in (John 14:21-24); and anyone in possession of religion and sound reason can confirm himself in this, when he reflects that God who is unceasingly in man and who gives him life and also the ability to understand and love, must needs love him who lives well and believes aright, and must needs conjoin Himself with him by love. Is not this inscribed by God on every man and every creature? Can a father and mother reject their children, or a bird or beast its young? Not even tigers, panthers, or serpents can do this. For God to do otherwise would be contrary to the order into which He is and according to which He acts, and also contrary to the order into which He created man. Since then, it is impossible for God to damn anyone who lives well and believes aright, so on the other hand it is impossible for Him to save anyone who lives wickedly and therefore believes what is false; this too is also contrary to order, and therefore contrary to God's omnipotence, which can proceed only in the path of justice; and the laws of justice are truths that cannot be changed. For the Lord says:--

This can be seen by anyone who knows anything about the essence of God, and man's freedom of will. For example, Adam was at liberty to eat of the tree of life, and also of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If he had eaten of the tree or trees of life only, would it have been possible for God to expel him from the garden? I believe that it would not. But after he had eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and will, would it have been possible for God to retain him in the garden? Again I believe that it would hot; likewise that God cannot cast into hell an angel that has been received into heaven, neither introduce into heaven a condemned devil. That neither of these can He do from His Divine omnipotence, may be seen above in the section on the Divine Omnipotence (n. 49-70).

TCR 342. In the preceding section (n. 336-339), it is shown than saving faith is faith in the Lord God the Saviour Jesus Christ. But the question arises, What is the first principle of faith in Him? The answer is, The acknowledgment that He is the Son of God. This was the first principle of faith, which the Lord revealed and announced when He came into the world. For unless men had first acknowledged that He was the Son of God, and thus God from God, in vain would He Himself and His Apostles after Him have preached faith in Him. Now as the case is somewhat similar at the present day-but with those who think from their selfhood, that is, solely from the external or natural man, saying to themselves, How could Jehovah God beget a Son, and how can a man be God?-it is necessary to confirm and establish from the Word this first principle of faith. For this reason the following passages are quoted:--

The Lord said that upon this rock, that is, upon the truth and the confession that He is the Son of God, He would build His church; for "rock" signifies truth, and also the Lord in respect to Divine truth. So with those who do not confess this truth that He is the Son of God, the church is not; therefore it is said above, that this is the first principle of faith in Jesus Christ, and thus is faith in its origin.

Again elsewhere, as in (Matt. 8:29; 27:40, 43, 54; Mark 1:1; 3:11; 15:39; Luke 8:28; John 9:35; 10:36; 11:4, 27; 19:7; Rom. 1:4; 2 Cor. 1:19; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 4:13; Heb. 4:14; 6:6; 7:3; 10:29; 1 John 3:8; 5:10; Apoc. 2:18). There are also many passages where He is called "Son" by Jehovah, and where He calls Jehovah God His Father, as in this:--

So in many other passages. And again in David:--

[3] From the foregoing now comes this conclusion, that everyone who wishes to be truly a Christian and to be saved by Christ, ought to believe that Jesus is the Son of the living God. He who does not believe this, but only that He is the Son of Mary, implants in his mind various ideas respecting Him, which are injurious and destructive to that salvation (n. 92, 94, 102). Of such it may be said, as of the Jews,

Such profane His church and temple, and make it a den of robbers. These are they who make the worship of Him like the worship of Mohammed, and do not distinguish between true Christianity, which is the worship of the Lord, and naturalism. They may be compared to men riding in a carriage or coach over thin ice, and the ice breaks under them, and they sink, and they, with their horses and vehicle, are covered by the icy water. They may also be likened to men who make a little boat of woven reeds and rushes, daubing it with pitch that it may hold together, and in it put out to sea; but there the cohesiveness of the pitch is destroyed, and they are choked by the waters of the sea and swallowed up and are buried in its depths.

TCR 343. Before proceeding to show how faith originates, namely, by going to the Lord, learning truths from the Word, and living according to them, it is necessary first to set forth the summaries of faith, from which may be gained the general idea that runs through the several parts; for thus what is taught not only in this chapter on Faith, but also in those on Charity, Free Will, Repentance, Reformation, and Regeneration, and on Imputation, will be more clearly comprehended; for faith enters into all parts and each part of a system of theology, as blood flows into the members of the body and vivifies them. What the present church teaches respecting faith is known in the Christian world generally, and particularly in its ecclesiastical class; for the books treating solely of faith and faith alone fill the libraries of the doctors of the church, and almost nothing beyond this is regarded as properly theological at the present day. But before what the present church teaches respecting its faith is taken up, considered and examined (which will be done in an Appendix), the general principles which the New Church teaches respecting its faith shall be presented. They are the following.

TCR 344. The Esse of the Faith of the New Church is:

1. Confidence in the Lord God the Saviour Jesus Christ.

2. A trust that he who lives well and believes aright is saved by Him.

The Essence of the Faith of the New Church is:

Truth from the Word.

The Existence of the Faith of the New Church is:

1. Spiritual sight.

2. Accordance of Truths.

3. Conviction.

4. Acknowledgment inscribed on the mind.

The States of the Faith of the New Church are:

1. Infantile faith, adolescent faith, adult faith.

2. Faith in genuine truth and faith in appearances of truth.

3. Faith of the memory, faith of reason, faith of light.

4. Natural faith, spiritual faith, celestial faith.

5. Living faith, and faith founded on miracle.

6. Free faith, and forced faith.

The Form itself of the Faith of the New Church, in its universal view, and its particular view, may be seen above (n. 2, 3).

TCR 345. As the constituents of spiritual faith have been presented in a summary, so also shall those of merely natural faith, which in itself is a persuasion counterfeiting faith, and a persuasion of what is false, which is called heretical faith. It may be designated as follows:

1. Spurious faith, in which falsities are mixed with truths.

2. Meretricious faith from truths falsified, and adulterous faith from goods adulterated.

3. Closed or blind faith, which is a faith in things mystical that are believed, although it is not known whether they are true or false, or whether they are above reason or contrary to it.

4. Wandering faith, which is a faith in several Gods.

5. Purblind faith, which is a faith in some other than the true God, and among Christians in any but the Lord God the Saviour.

6. Hypocritical or Pharisaic faith, which is a faith of the lips and not of the heart.

7. Visionary and distorted faith, which is falsity made to appear like truth by ingenious confirmation of it.

TCR 346. It has been said above that faith, as to its existence in man, is spiritual sight. Now as spiritual sight which is the sight of the understanding, and thus of the mind, and natural sight which is the sight of the eye and thus of the body, mutually correspond, every state of faith may be compared with some state of the eye and its sight-a state of faith in what is true with every normal state of eyesight, and a state of faith in what is false with every perverted state of eyesight. Let us compare then the correspondences of these two kinds of sight, mental and bodily, as to their perverted states. Spurious faith, in which falsities are mixed with truths, may be compared to that disease of the eye and consequently of the sight, called white specks on the cornea, which produces dimness of sight. Meretricious faith which comes from truths falsified, and adulterous faith which is from goods adulterated, may be compared to that disease of the eye and consequently of the sight, called glaucoma, which is a drying up and hardening of the crystalline humor. Closed or blind faith, which is a faith in things mystical that are believed, although it is not known whether they are true or false, or whether they are above reason or contrary to it, may be compared to the disease of the eye called gutta serena or amaurosis, which is a loss of sight while the eye still looks as though it saw perfectly, which arises from an obstruction of the optic nerve. Erratic faith, which is a faith in several Gods, may be compared to the disease of the eye called cataract, which is a loss of vision, arising from a stoppage between the sclerotic coat and the uvea. Purblind faith, which is a faith in any other than the true God, and among Christians in any but the Lord God the Saviour, may be compared to the disease of the eye called strabismus. Hypocritical or Pharisiac faith, which is a faith of the lips and not of the heart, may be compared to atrophy of the eye, and consequent loss of sight. Visionary and distorted faith, which is falsity made to appear like truth by an ingenious confirmation of it, may be compared to the disease of the eye called nyctalopia, which is seeing in darkness from an illusive light.

TCR 347. As to the formation of faith: it is effected by man's going to the Lord, learning truths from the Word, and living according to them. First: Faith is formed by man's going to the Lord, because faith that is faith, or that is a saving faith, is from the Lord and in the Lord. That it is from the Lord is evident from His words to His disciples:--

That it is faith in the Lord, is evident from the passages presented in abundance (n. 337, 338), to the effect that men ought to believe in the Son. Since then faith is from the Lord and in the Lord, it may be said that the Lord is faith itself, for its life and essence are in Him, and thus from Him.

[2] Secondly: Faith is formed by man's learning truths from the Word, because faith in its essence is truth; for all things that enter into faith are truths; consequently faith is nothing but a complex of truths shining in the mind of man; for truths teach not only that man ought to believe, but also in whom he ought to believe, and what he ought to believe. Truths ought to be taken from the Word, because all truths that conduce to salvation are in the Word, and there is efficacy in them because they are given by the Lord, and are therefore inscribed on the whole angelic heaven; consequently when man learns truths from the Word, he comes into communion and consociation with angels beyond what he knows. Faith destitute of truths like grain without inner substance, which when ground yields nothing but bran; while faith from truths is like useful grain, which when ground yields flour. In a word, the essentials of faith are truths; and if truths do not reside in and constitute the faith, it is only like the shrill sound of a whistle; but when they do reside in and constitute it, faith is like a voice of glad tidings.

[3] Thirdly: Faith is formed by man's living according to truths, because spiritual life is life according to truths, and truths do not actually live until they are in deeds. Truths abstracted from deeds are merely matters of thought, and unless they become of the will also, are only in the entrance to the man, and thus are not inwardly in him; for the will is the man himself, and the thought is so far the man, in quantity and quality, as it adjoins the will to itself. He who learns truths and does not practise them, is like one who sows seed in a field and does not harrow it in; and consequently the seed becomes swollen by the rain and is spoiled. But he who learns truths and practises them, is like one who sows the seed and covers it, and the rain causes it to grow to a crop and to be of use for food. The Lord says:--

And again:--

also:--

All words of the Lord are truths.

TCR 348. From the foregoing it is clear that there are three things by which faith is formed in man; first by going to the Lord; secondly, by learning truths from the Word; and thirdly, by living according to them. Now as these are three things, and one not the same as another, it follows that they can be separated; for a man may go to the Lord, and not know any but historical truths respecting God and the Lord; also a man may know truths from the Word in abundance, and yet not live according to them. But in the man in whom these three things are separated, that is, in whom one is apart from the other, there is no saving faith. Saving faith arises when the three are conjoined, and becomes such as the conjunction is. Where these three things are separated, faith is like a sterile seed, which when dropped in the earth moulders into dust. But where the three are conjoined, faith is like a seed in the ground which grows up to a tree, and the fruit of it is according to their conjunction. Where these three things are separated, faith is like an egg which contains no prolific principle; but where they are conjoined, faith is like an egg that can produce a beautiful bird. The faith of those in whom these three things are separated, may be likened to the eye of a fish or of a crab when cooked; but the faith of those in whom the three are conjoined, may be likened to an eye translucent from the crystalline humor even to and through the uvea of the iris. Separated faith is like a picture drawn in dark colors on a black stone; but conjoined faith is like a picture drawn in beautiful colors on a transparent crystal. The light of a separated faith may be compared to that of a firebrand in the hand of a traveller at night; while the light of a conjoined faith may be compared to that of a blazing torch which when waved about shows plainly each step of the way. Faith without truths is like a vine bearing wild grapes; but faith from truths is like a vine bearing clusters full of noble wine. Faith in the Lord destitute of truths may be compared to a new star appearing in the expanse of heaven, which in time grows dim; but faith in the Lord together with truths may be compared to a fixed star, which remains constant. Truth is the essence of faith; therefore, as the truth is, such is the faith; without truths it is a wandering faith, but with them it is fixed. Moreover, faith from truths shines in heaven like a star.

TCR 349. From the conception of faith that prevails at the present day it cannot be seen that faith in its compass is a complex of truths, still less that man can contribute anything toward acquiring faith for himself; and yet faith in its essence is truth; for it is truth in its own right, and as truth can be acquired so also can faith. Who cannot go to the Lord if he will? Who cannot collect truths from the Word if he will? And every truth in the Word and from the Word, gives light; and truth in light is faith. The Lord who is Light itself, flows into every man; and in everyone in whom there are truths from the Word, He causes truths to shine and thus to become truths of faith. And this is what the Lord teaches in John:--

The Lord's words are truths. But to make it properly understood that an abundance of truths cohering as if in a bundle exalts and perfects faith, the consideration of the subject shall be distributed under the following heads:-

1. Truths of faith may be multiplied to infinity.

2. They are disposed into series, thus, as it were, into bundles.

3. According to their abundance and coherence faith is perfected.

4. However numerous truths are and however diverse they appear, they make one from the Lord, who is the Word, the God of heaven and earth, the God of all faith, the God of the vineyard or the church, the God of flesh, light itself, the truth, and life eternal.

TCR 350. (1) The Truths of Faith maybe multiplied to Infinity. This is evident from the fact that the wisdom of the angels of heaven increases to eternity. Moreover, the angels say that there is no end to wisdom, as its source is no other than Divine truths analytically distributed into forms by means of light flowing in from the Lord. Such human intelligence as is truly intelligence is from no other source. Divine truth may be multiplied to infinity, because the Lord is Divine truth itself, or truth in its infinity, and He draws all men to Himself; but as angels and men are finite they can follow the current of the attraction only according to their measure, although the force of the attraction persists to infinity. The Lord's Word is a great deep of truths from which comes all angelic wisdom, although to the man who knows nothing of its spiritual and celestial meanings, it appears like the water in a pitcher. The multiplication of the truths of faith to infinity may be compared to the seed of men, from one of whom may be propagated families to ages of ages. The prolification of the truths of faith may be compared to the prolification of seeds in a field or a garden, which may be propagated to myriads of myriads and perpetually. In the Word "seed" means nothing but truth, "field" means doctrine, and "garden" wisdom. The human mind is like soil, in which spiritual and natural truths are implanted like seeds and may be endlessly multiplied. Man derives this from the infinity of God, who is perpetually in man with His heat and light, and the faculty of generating.

TCR 351. (2) The Truths of Faith are disposed into Series, thus, as it were into bundles. This has been hitherto unknown. It is unknown because the spiritual truths of which the whole Word is composed could not be seen, owing to the mystical and enigmatical faith which forms every point of the present theology; consequently they have been buried in the earth like storehouses. To make clear what is meant by series and bundles, it shall be explained. The first chapter of this book, which treats of God the Creator, is divided into a series of sections, the first of which treats of the Unity of God, the second the Being of God or Jehovah, the third the Infinity of God, the fourth the Essence of God (which is Divine love and Divine wisdom) the fifth the Omnipotence of God, and the sixth Creation The arrangement of each section into its articles constitutes the series, and the contents of these are bound together as if into bundles. These series in general and in particular, thus conjointly and separately, contain truths which, according to their abundance and coherence, exalt and perfect faith.

[2] He who does not know that the human mind is organized, or that it is a spiritual organism terminating in a natural organism, in which and according to which the mind produces its ideas or thinks, must needs suppose that perceptions, thoughts, and ideas are nothing but radiations and variations of light flowing into the head, and presenting forms which man sees and acknowledges as reasons. But this is foolishness; for everyone knows that the head is full of brains, that the brains are organized, and that in them the mind dwells, and that its ideas are fixed therein, and are permanent so far as they are accepted and confirmed. The question is, therefore, What is the nature of that organization? The answer is, that it is an arrangement of all things in series, as it were in bundles, and that in this way the truths belonging to faith are arranged in the human mind. That it is so, may be illustrated as follows.

[3] The brain consists of two substances, one of which is glandular, and is called the cortical and cineritious substance, and the other fibrillous, and is called the medullary substance. The first, or the glandular substance, is arranged into clusters like grapes on a vine; these clustered formations are its series. The second, or the medullary substance, consists of perpetual bundlings of little fibers issuing from the glandules of the former substance; these bundlings are its series. All the nerves that proceed from the brain, and pass down into the body for the performance of various functions, are nothing but groups and bundles of fibers; in a like manner all the muscles, and in general all the viscera and organs of the body. All these are such because they correspond to the series in which the mental organism is arranged.

[4] Moreover, in all nature there is nothing that is not formed into series of little bundles; every tree, every bush, shrub and plant, nay, every ear of corn and blade of grass in whole and in part, is so formed. The universal cause is, that such is the confirmation of Divine truths; for we read that all things were created by the Word, that is, by Divine truth, and that the world also was made by it (John 1:1). From all this it can be seen that unless there were such an arrangement of substances in the human mind, man would possess no ability to reason analytically, which everyone has according to this arrangement, thus according to his supply of truths cohering, as it were, in a bundle; and the arrangement is in accord with his use of reason from freedom.

TCR 352. (3) According to the Abundance and Coherence of Truths Faith is perfected. This follows from the preceding statements, and is evident to everyone who collects reasons, and observes carefully what multiplied series of them effect when they cohere as a unit; for then one series strengthens and confirms another, and together they constitute a form which when put in action is manifested as a single act. Since then faith in its essence is truth, it follows, that according to the abundance and coherence of truths it becomes more and more perfectly spiritual, therefore less and less sensual-natural; for it is raised up into a higher region of the mind, from which it sees beneath it troops of confirmations or itself in the nature of the world. True faith by an abundance of truths cohering as if in a bundle also becomes more lustrous, more perceptible, more evident, and clearer; and becomes also more capable of conjunction with the goods of charity, consequently more capable of alienation from evils, and gradually more removed from the allurements of the eye and the lusts of the flesh, therefore in itself happier. Especially does it become more powerful against evils and falsities, and thus more and more living and saving.

TCR 353. It has been said above, that in heaven every truth gives forth light, and therefore that faith in its essence is truth giving forth light; consequently the beauty and comeliness of faith caused by that glow, when truths of faith are multiplied, may be compared to various forms, objects, and pictures, formed by different colors harmoniously combined; also to the precious stones of various colors in the breastplate of Aaron, which together were called the Urim and Thummim; in like manner to the precious stones of which the foundations of the wall of the New Jerusalem are to be built (see Apoc. 21). It may also be compared to the precious stones of many colors in a king's crown. Indeed, precious stones signify truths of faith. It may also be compared to the beauty of the rainbow, of a field of flowers, or of a blooming garden in early spring. The light and glory of faith from an abundance of concordant truths fitly arranged in it, may be compared to the illumination of churches by numerous candelabra, or of houses by chandeliers, or of streets by lamps. The exaltation of faith by an abundance of truths, may be illustrated by comparison with the increase of sound and also of melody, arising from many musical instruments played in concert; and with the increase of fragrance arising from a collection of sweetly-exhaling flowers; and so on. The power of a faith formed from a multiplicity of truths, as opposed to falsities and evils, may be compared to the firmness of a church built of stones properly laid, with columns built into its walls, and under its fretted ceiling; it may also be compared to a battalion formed in square, where the soldiers stand side by side, and thus form and act as one force; it may also be compared to the muscles of which the whole body is interwoven, which although so numerous and so differently located, still in action constitute one power; and so on.

TCR 354. (4) However numerous the truths of faith are, and however diverse they appear, they make one from the Lord, who is the Word, the God of heaven and earth, the God of all flesh, the God of the vineyard or church, the God of faith, light itself, the truth, and life eternal. The truths of faith are various, and to man they seem diverse; some, for example, have relation to God the Creator, others to the Lord the Redeemer, others to the Holy Spirit and the Divine Operation, others to faith and charity, others to freedom of choice, repentance, reformation and regeneration, imputation, and so on; still in the Lord and in man from the Lord they make one, like many branches on one vine (John 15:1). For the Lord unites scattered and separate truths into one form, as it were, in which they present one aspect and exhibit one action. This may be illustrated by a comparison with the members, viscera and organs in one body; which although various, and in man's sight diverse, are nevertheless felt by man, who is their general form, to be one, and when he is acting from them all he acts as if from one. It is the same with heaven, which, although divided into innumerable societies, still in the Lord's sight appears as a one. (That heaven appears as one Man has been shown above.) It is the same again with a kingdom, which although divided into several governments, and also into provinces and cities, still makes one under a king who governs with justice and judgment. So do the truths of faith from which the church is a church make one from the Lord, because the Lord is the Word, the God of heaven and earth, the God of all flesh, the God of the vineyard or church, the God of faith, light itself, the truth, and life eternal.

[2] That the Lord is the Word, and therefore all truth of heaven and the church, is evident from John:--

That the Lord is the God of heaven and earth is evident from Matthew:--

That the Lord is the God of all flesh, can be seen from John:-

That the Lord is the God of the vineyard or church, in Isaiah:--

and in John:--

That the Lord is the God of faith, Paul teaches:--

That the Lord is light itself, appears from John:--

And elsewhere:--

That the Lord is the truth itself, appears from John:--

That the Lord is life eternal, in John:--

[3] To this must be added, that owing to his worldly occupations man can acquire for himself only a few of the truths of faith; nevertheless if he goes to the Lord and worships Him alone, he acquires the power to gain a knowledge of all truths. Therefore every true worshiper of God, as soon as he hears any truth of faith which he has not known before, at once sees, acknowledges, and accepts it; and for the reason that the Lord is in him, and he in the Lord; and consequently the light of truth is in him, and he is in the light of truth; for as before said, the Lord is light itself, and truth itself. This may be corroborated by the following experience: A spirit appeared to me, who in the company of some others seemed simple, because he had acknowledged the Lord alone as the God of heaven and earth, and had strengthened this his faith by certain truths from the Word; this spirit was taken up into heaven among the wiser angels; and it was told me that there he was as wise as they; and that altogether as if from himself he spoke truths in great abundance, of which he had before known nothing.

[4] In a like state will those be who come into the Lord's New Church. This is the state that is described in Jeremiah:--

It is such a state that is described in Isaiah:--

TCR 355. It is very evident from their Epistles that it never entered the mind of any of the apostles that the church of this day would separate faith from charity by teaching that faith alone justifies and saves apart from the works of the law, and that charity therefore cannot be conjoined with faith, since faith is from God, and charity, so far as it is expressed in works, is from man. But this separation and division were introduced into the Christian church when it divided God into three persons, and ascribed to each equal Divinity. But that there is no faith apart from charity, nor any charity apart from faith, and that neither has life except from the Lord, will be made clear in the following chapter. At present, to prepare the way, it shall be shown:-

1. That man can acquire for himself faith.

2. And also charity.

3. And also the life of both.

4. And yet that nothing of faith, of charity, or of the life of either, is from man, but from the Lord alone.

TCR 356. (1) Man can acquire for himself faith. This is shown in the sections above (n. 343-348), as follows, that faith in its essence is truth, and that anyone is able to acquire truths from the Word, and that so far as anyone does acquire them for himself, and loves them, he implants in himself the beginnings of faith. To which shall be added, that unless man were able to acquire faith for himself, all that is commanded in the Word respecting faith would be useless. For we there read that it is the will of the Father that men should believe in the Son, and that whosoever believes in Him has eternal life, and he who does not believe shall not see life. We read also that Jesus was to send the Paraclete, who would convince the world respecting sin because it believed not on Him; besides other statements cited above (n. 337, 338); furthermore, that all the apostles preached faith, a faith in the Lord God the Saviour Jesus Christ. What meaning would there be in all this, if a man were to stand with hanging hands like a sculptured statue with movable joints, and await influx, and meanwhile the joints (being able only to adapt themselves to receive faith) were inwardly moved toward something that has no relation to faith? For modern orthodoxy, in that part of the Christian world that is separate from Roman Catholicism, teaches as follows: Man is so utterly corrupt and dead to good that until he is regenerated there does not abide in man's nature, or continue in it since the fall, even a spark of spiritual strength by which he is capable from or by himself of being prepared for God's grace, or of apprehending it when offered, or of retaining it; nor is he able for himself, in things spiritual, to understand, believe, embrace, think, will, commence, carry out, act, operate, co-operate, or apply or adapt himself to grace, or do anything toward his own conversion, wholly, or by halves, or in the smallest measure; also that in spiritual things, which regard the salvation of the soul, he is like the statue of salt of Lot's wife, or like a stock or a stone destitute of life, having no use of eyes, or mouth, or any other sense. Nevertheless he has the power to move from place to place, to direct his external members, to go to public meetings, and to hear the Word and the Gospel. This doctrine is set forth in the book of the Evangelical churches called the Formula Concordiae, the Leipsic edition of 1756 (pp. 656, 658; 661-663; 671-673); to which book, consequently to which faith, the priests take oath at their inauguration. The Reformed churches profess a like faith. But who that has reason and religion would not hiss at these things as absurd and ridiculous? Would he not say to himself, If this were so, what would the Word amount to, or religion, or the priesthood, or preaching, but mere emptiness, or sound about nothing? Tell some pagan who has any judgment and whom you wish to convert, that he is such in respect to conversion and faith, and would he not look upon Christianity as one would look upon an empty vessel? For take from man all power of believing as of himself, and what else is be? But this will be placed in clearer light in the chapter on Freedom of Choice.

TCR 357. (2) Man can acquire for himself charity. It is the same here as with faith. For what does the Word teach but faith and charity, since these two are the essentials of salvation? For we read:--

It teaches also that man ought to bear fruit like a good tree; that he who does good shall be rewarded in the resurrection; besides other like things. What would be the use of all this if man were unable of himself to exercise charity, or acquire it for himself in any way? Cannot man give alms, can he not aid the needy, can he not do good in his own house and in his employment? Can he not live according to the commandments of the Decalogue? Has he not a soul from which he can do these things, and a rational mind whereby he can lead himself to act for this or that end? Can he not think that he ought to do these things because they are commanded in the Word, thus by God? No man lacks this power, and for the reason that the Lord gives it to everyone; and He gives it as something that is the man's own; for who, in exercising charity, knows otherwise than that he does it from himself?

TCR 358. (3) Man may also acquire for himself the life of faith and charity. Here again it is the same. For man acquires for himself this life when he goes to the Lord who is Life itself; and access to Him is closed to no man, for the Lord continually invites every man to come to Him; for He says:--

And again:--

Who does not know that the invitation or call is universal, and also the grace of reception? Man obtains life by going to the Lord because the Lord is Life itself, not only the life of faith but also the life of charity. That the Lord is that life, and that man has it from the Lord, is evident from the following passages:--

By the life in faith and charity is meant spiritual life, which is given by the Lord to man in his natural life.

TCR 359. (4) Yet nothing of faith or of charity, or of the life of either, is from man, but from the Lord alone. For we read,

And Jesus said:--

But this is to be understood thus, that man of himself is unable to acquire for himself any but natural faith, which is a persuasion that a thing is so because some man of authority has said so; or any but natural charity, which is an endeavor to gain favor with a view to some recompense. In such faith and charity there is what is man's own, and as yet no life from the Lord. Nevertheless, by means of such faith and charity man prepares himself to be a receptacle of the Lord; and so far as he prepares himself, the Lord enters, and causes his natural faith to become spiritual, likewise his charity, and thus makes both to be alive; and this is done when man goes to the Lord as the God of heaven and earth. Because man was created an image of God, he was created an abode of God; therefore the Lord says:--

Again:--

From all this comes the conclusion, that as man prepares himself naturally to receive the Lord, so the Lord enters and makes all that is within man inwardly spiritual, and thus alive. But on the other hand, so far as man does not prepare himself he removes the Lord from him and does everything from his own self; and what man himself does from himself has no real life in it. But these points cannot as yet be presented in such a light as to appear at all clearly until Charity and Freedom of Choice have been treated of; but they will be made clear later in the chapter on Reformation and Regeneration.

TCR 360. It has been said above that faith in its beginning in man is natural, and that as man draws near to the Lord it becomes spiritual; so also with charity. But no one has known, as yet, the distinction that exists between natural and spiritual faith and charity. This great arcanum must therefore be disclosed. There are two worlds, a natural and a spiritual; and in each world there is a sun, and from each sun heat and light go forth; but the heat and light from the sun of the spiritual world have life within them; this life is from the Lord who is the midst of that sun; while the heat and light from the sun of the natural world have nothing of life in them; they simply serve the former heat and light as receptacles for the conveying of these to man, as instrumental causes always subserve their principal causes. It must be understood, therefore, that all things spiritual are from the heat and light of the sun of the spiritual world. These are spiritual because they contain in them spirit and life; while all things natural are from the heat and light of the sun of the natural world, which viewed in themselves are without spirit and life.

[2] Since then faith is a matter of light, and charity of heat, it is plain that so far as a man is in the heat and light that go forth from the sun of the spiritual world, he is in spiritual faith and charity; while so far as he is in the light and heat that go forth from the sun of the natural world, he is in natural faith and charity. Evidently, therefore, as spiritual light is inwardly in natural light as in its receptacle or casket, and spiritual heat in like manner within natural heat, so also is spiritual faith inwardly in natural faith, and spiritual charity inwardly in natural charity; and this is effected in the degree that man advances from the natural to the spiritual world; and this he does so far as he believes in the Lord who is light itself, the way, the truth, and the life, as He Himself teaches.

[3] This being so, it is clear that when man is in spiritual faith, he is also in natural faith. For as just said, spiritual faith is inwardly in natural faith; and as faith is a matter of light, it follows that by that implanting of spiritual faith man's natural becomes, as it were, transparent, and according to the nature of its conjunction with charity, beautifully colored. This is because charity is ruddy and faith shining white; charity is ruddy from the flame of spiritual fire, and faith shining white from the splendor of the light therefrom. The contrary happens when the spiritual is not inwardly in the natural, but the natural inwardly in the spiritual; which is the case with men who reject faith and charity. With such the internal of their mind, in which they are when left to their own thoughts, is infernal, and they think from hell, although they do not know it; while the external of the mind of such, from which they converse with their companions in the world, is in a manner spiritual, but it is filled full of such unclean things as are in hell; consequently they are in hell, for compared with the former class they are in an inverted state.

TCR 361. When it is thus known that the spiritual is inwardly in the natural in those who are in faith in the Lord, and at the same time in charity toward the neighbor, and consequently the natural in them is transparent, it follows that to the same extent man is wise in spiritual things, and therefrom in natural things; for when he thinks about or hears or reads anything, he sees interiorly within himself whether it is the truth or not. This he perceives from the Lord, from whom spiritual light and heat flow into the higher sphere of his understanding.

[2] So far as faith and charity in man become spiritual, he is withdrawn from his own, and ceases to look to himself or to reward or remuneration, and looks solely to the delight in perceiving the truths of faith and doing the good works of love; and so far as this spirituality increases, that delight becomes blessedness. From this is man's salvation, which is called eternal life. This state of man may be compared with the most beautiful and charming things in the world, and in the Word is compared with them, as for instance, with fruitful trees and the gardens in which they are, with flowery fields, with precious stones, with delicacies, with nuptials and their festivities and rejoicings.

[3] But when the reverse is the case, that is to say, when the natural is inwardly in the spiritual, and consequently the man in his internals is a devil, but in his externals is like an angel, he may be compared to a dead man in a coffin of costly and gilded wood; he may also be compared to a skeleton adorned with clothing like a man, and drawn about in a magnificent carriage; or to a corpse in a sepulchre built like the temple of Diana; and his internal may be pictured even as a nest of serpents in a cavern, and his external as butterflies whose wings are tinted with all kinds of colors, but which nevertheless stick foul eggs to the leaves of useful trees, and so destroy the fruit. Or the internal of such may be compared to a hawk, and their external to a dove, and their faith and charity to a hawk pursuing a fleeing dove, which at length be wearies and then darts upon and devours.

TCR 362. Some things shall first be stated that have been heretofore unknown in the learned world, and consequently among the ecclesiastics, as much so as things buried in the earth, and yet they are treasures of wisdom, and unless they are dug up and given to the public, man will toil in vain to arrive at any correct knowledge of God, faith, charity, and the state of his own life, as to the manner in which he should direct it and prepare it for the state of eternal life. The things heretofore unknown are as follows: That man is a mere organ of life; that life with everything belonging to it flows in from the God of heaven, who is the Lord; that in man there are two faculties of life, which are called the will and understanding, the will the receptacle of love, and the understanding the receptacle of wisdom; so, too, the will is the receptacle of charity, and the understanding the receptacle of faith;

[2] that everything that man wills and everything he understands flows into him from without-the goods pertaining to love and charity, and the truths pertaining to wisdom and faith, from the Lord, and the opposites of these from hell; that it is provided by the Lord that man should feel in himself as his own whatever flows in from without, and should consequently bring it forth from himself as his own, although nothing of it is his; that nevertheless such things are imputed to him as his on account of his freedom of choice in which are his willing and thinking, and on account of the knowledges of good and truth given him, which enable him to choose freely whatever conduces to his temporal and his eternal life.

[3] The man who looks askance at these truths, or with half an eye only, may draw from them many insane conclusions; but he who looks at them with a straight and direct eye may draw from them many wise conclusions. That this and not the other may be done it was necessary to put forth first decisions and tenets respecting God and the Divine Trinity, and afterward to establish others respecting Faith and Charity, Freedom of Choice, and Reformation and Regeneration, as also Imputation; and then as means, Repentance, Baptism, and the Holy Supper.

TCR 363. But in order that the present article on faith (which is, that the Lord, charity, and faith make one, like life, will, and understanding in man, and that if they are divided each perishes like a pearl reduced to powder) may be seen as truth and acknowledged, it is expedient to consider it in the following order:-

1. The Lord with all of His Divine love, with all of His Divine wisdom, thus with all of His Divine life, flows into every man.

2. Consequently with the whole essence of faith and charity.

3. These are received by man according to his form.

4. But the man who divides the Lord, charity, and faith, is not a form that receives but a form that destroys them.

TCR 364. (1) The Lord with all of His Divine love, with all of His Divine wisdom, thus with all of His Divine Life, flows into every man. In the Book of Creation we read:--

This describes man as being not life but only an organ of life. For God could not create another being like Himself; if He could have done so there would be as many gods as there are men. Neither could He create life (just as light cannot be created); but He could create man a form of life, as He created the eye a form of light; neither could or can God divide His essence, for it is one and indivisible. Since, therefore, God alone is life, it follows without question that from His life He gives life to every man, and that man without that life-giving would be in regard to his flesh nothing but a sponge, and in regard to his bones nothing but a skeleton, having no more life in him than a clock, which has its motion from a pendulum together with a weight or spring. This being so it also follows, that God flows into every man with all of His Divine life, that is with all of His Divine love and Divine wisdom, these two constituting His Divine life (n. 39, 40), for the Divine is indivisible.

[2] But how God inflows with the whole of His Divine life, may in some measure be perceived in somewhat the same manner as seeing that the sun of the world with its whole essence, which is heat and light, flows into every tree, every shrub and flower, every stone both common and precious; and that the sun does not distribute its heat and light, dispensing a part to this object and a part to that, but each object draws its own portion from the common influx. The same is true of the sun of heaven, from which Divine love goes forth as heat, and Divine wisdom as light. As the heat and light of the sun flow into human bodies, so do these flow into human minds and vivify them according to the nature of their forms, each form taking what is necessary for itself from the common influx. To this the following words of the Lord are applicable:--

[3] Moreover, the Lord is omnipresent; and where He is present, there He is with His whole essence, and it is impossible for Him to withhold some of it and give a part to one and a part to another, but He gives it to all, and to man the ability to take either little or much. He says, moreover, that He makes His abode with those who keep His commandments, also that the faithful are in Him and He in them. In a word, all things are fall in God, and from that fullness each one takes his portion. The same is true of general things, as the atmospheres and the oceans. The atmosphere is the same in its least part as in its greatest; it does not apportion a part of itself for man's respiration, another part to the birds to fly in, another to the sails of vessels, and another to the fans of windmills; but each of these takes from the atmosphere in its own portion and applies to itself so much as is sufficient. It is the same again with a storehouse full of grain; from it the possessor daily takes his food; the storehouse does not distribute it.

TCR 365. (2) Consequently the Lord with the whole essence of faith and charity, flows into every man. This follows from the previous proposition, since the life of the Divine wisdom is the essence of faith, and the life of the Divine love is the essence of charity; therefore when the Lord is present with these, which are properly His, namely, the Divine wisdom and Divine love, He is also present with all the truths belonging to faith, and all the goods belonging to charity; for faith includes every truth that a man perceives from the Lord and thinks and speaks; and charity every good by which man is affected from the Lord, and which he consequently wills and does.

[2] It has been said above that Divine love, which goes forth from the Lord as a sun, is perceived by the angels as heat, and the Divine wisdom therefrom, as light; and one who does not think beyond the appearance might imagine this heat to be mere heat and this light to be mere light, like the heat and light that go forth from the sun of our world. But the heat and light that go forth from the Lord as a sun, contain in their bosom all the infinities that are in the Lord-the heat all the infinities of His love, and the light all the infinities of His wisdom, thus also to infinity all the good pertaining to charity and all the truth pertaining to faith. This is because that sun is itself everywhere present in its heat and light; it is the circle most closely surrounding the Lord, emanating both from His Divine love and from His Divine wisdom; for, as frequently stated before, the Lord is in the midst of that sun.

[3] All this now makes clear that there is nothing to restrict the capacity of man to take from the Lord (since He is omnipresent) all the good belonging to charity and all the truth belonging to faith. That these are in no way restricted is made evident by the love and wisdom that the angels of heaven possess from the Lord, in that these are ineffable, and to a natural man incomprehensible, and are also capable of being increased to eternity. That infinite things are included in the heat and light that go forth from the Lord, although they are perceived simply as heat and light, may be illustrated by various things in the natural world; as for example, the sound of a man's voice and speech is heard merely as a simple sound; and yet when the angels hear it, they perceive therein all the affections of his love, and what they are and their quality are made manifest. That these things are hidden within the sound of the voice, even man can in some measure perceive from the tone of one who is speaking to him: as whether there is contempt or sarcasm or hatred in it, as also whether there is charity, benevolence, gladness, or other affections in it. Like things are hidden in the beam of the eye, when it looks at another.

[4] This may be illustrated also by the fragrances arising from a large garden, or from extended plains covered with flowers. The fragrant odor exhaled therefrom consists of thousands and even myriads of different odors, yet they are perceived as one. The same is true of many other things, which although extrinsically they appear uniform, yet intrinsically they are manifold. Sympathies and antipathies are no other than exhalations of affections from the mind, which attract another according to similitudes, and cause aversion according to dissimilitudes; and these, although innumerable and unperceived by any bodily sense, are nevertheless perceived by the sense of the soul as one, and in the spiritual world all conjunctions and consociations are effected in agreement with them. All this has been set forth to illustrate what has been said above about the spiritual light that goes forth from the Lord, that in it reside all things of wisdom, and therefore all things of faith; and that it is that light whereby the understanding analytically sees and perceives rational things, as the eye sees and perceives natural things symmetrically.

TCR 366. (3) What flows in from the Lord is received by man according to his form. Form means here man's state in respect both to his love and to his wisdom, consequently in respect both to his affections for the goods of charity and to his perceptions of the truths of faith. That God is one, indivisible, and the same, from eternity to eternity, not the same simply but infinitely the same, and that all variableness is in the subject in which He dwells, has been shown above. That the recipient form or state induces variations, can be seen from the life of infants, children, youths, adults, and aged persons; in each there is the same life, because the same soul, from infancy to old age; but as one's state is varied according to age and what is suitable thereto, in like manner is life perceived.

[2] The life of God in all its fulness is not only in good and pious men, but also in the wicked and impious, likewise both in the angels of heaven and in the spirits of hell. The difference is that the wicked obstruct the way and close the door, lest God should enter the lower regions of their minds; while the good clear the way and open the door, and invite God to enter into the lower regions of their minds as He inhabits the highest regions; and thus they form a state of the will for love and charity to flow into, and a state of the understanding for wisdom and faith to flow into, consequently for the reception of God. But the wicked obstruct that influx by various lusts of the flesh and spiritual defilements, which bestrew the way and clog the passage. Nevertheless, God with all His Divine essence resides in the highest regions of their minds, and gives to them the capacity to will good and understand truth-a capacity which every man has and which he could by no means possess were there not life from God in his soul. That even the wicked have this capacity it has been granted me to know from much experience.

[3] That everyone receives life from God according to his form may be illustrated by comparison with plants of every kind Every tree, every shrub, every bush and every blade of grass, receives an influx of heat and light according to its form, not only those that have a good use, but those also that have an evil use. The sun with its heat does not change their forms, but the forms change the effects of the sun in themselves. It is the same with the subjects of the mineral Kingdom; each one of them, the valuable and the common alike, receives influx according to the form of the contexture of parts composing it, thus one stone differently from another, one mineral differently from another, one metal differently from another. Some of them adorn themselves with most beautiful variegated colors, some transmit the light without variegation, and some blur and suffocate it in themselves. From these few examples it can be seen that as the sun of the world with its heat and light is just as present in one object as in another, while it is their recipient forms that vary its operations, so is the Lord, from the sun of heaven in the midst of which He is, present in all men with His heat which in its essence is love, and with His light which in its essence is wisdom, and that it is the man's form, which is induced upon him by the states of his life, that varies the Lord's operations; consequently the cause that man is not born again and saved, is not the Lord, but man himself.

TCR 367. (4) But the man who divides the Lord, charity, and faith, is not a form that receives but a form that destroys them. For he who separates the Lord from charity and faith, separates life from them, and when this is done, charity and faith either cease to exist or are abortions. That the Lord is life itself may be seen above (n. 358). He who acknowledges the Lord and sets charity aside, acknowledges Him with the lips only; his acknowledgment and confession is purely cold; within which there is no faith; for it lacks spiritual essence, since the essence of faith is charity. But he who practises charity and does not acknowledge the Lord as the God of heaven and earth, one with the Father (as He Himself teaches), practises merely natural charity in which there is no eternal life. The man of the church knows that all good that is good in itself is from God, consequently from the Lord, who is "the true God and eternal life" (1 John 5:20); so also with charity, because good and charity are one.

[2] Faith separate from charity is not faith, because faith is the light of man's life and charity is its heat; therefore the separation of charity from faith is like the separation of heat from light; man's state then becomes like that of the world in winter, when everything on the earth dies. For charity to be charity and faith to be faith they can no more be separated than the will and the understanding; if these are separated the understanding comes to nothing, and presently the will also. It is the same with charity and faith, because charity resides in the will, and faith in the understanding.

[3] Separating charity from faith is like separating essence from form. In the learned world it is known that essence without form, or form without essence, is nothing; for essence has no quality except from form, nor is form a subsistent entity except from essence; consequently nothing can be predicated of either separate from the other. Charity is the essence of faith, and faith is the form of charity just as good (as said above) is the essence of truth, and truth is the form of good.

[4] As there are these two, namely, good and truth, in each thing and in all things that have essential existence, so there are charity and faith, charity because it belongs to good, and faith because it belongs to truth. This may be illustrated by comparisons with many things in the human body, and with many things on the earth. They may be fitly compared with the respiration of the lungs and the systolic motion of the heart; since charity can no more be separated from faith than the heart from the lungs; for when the pulsation of the heart ceases, immediately the respiration of the lungs ceases; and when the respiration of the lungs ceases, all senses faint, all the muscles are deprived of motion, and in a short time the heart stops also and the life is wholly gone. This is a proper comparison, because the heart corresponds to the will and thus to charity, and the respiration of the lungs to the understanding, and thus to faith; for (as said above) charity resides in the will, and faith in the understanding; and this is what "heart" and "breath" mean in the Word.

[5] Again there is a parallel between the separation of charity and faith and the separation of blood and flesh; for the blood separated from the flesh is gore, and becomes corruption, while the flesh separated from the blood gradually becomes putrid and breeds worms. So too, in the spiritual sense, "blood" signifies the truth of wisdom and faith, and "flesh" the good of love and charity. That this is the significance of "blood" may be seen in the Apocalypse Revealed (AR n. 379), and of "flesh" (AR n. 382).

[6] For charity and faith to be anything, they can no more be separated than food and water or bread and wine with man; for food or bread taken without water or wine, merely distends the stomach, and like an indigested mass destroys it and becomes like putrid filth. So does water or wine without food or bread distend the stomach, and likewise the vessels and pores, which being thus deprived of nutrition, emaciate the body even to death. This is also a proper comparison, since "food" and "bread" in the spiritual sense signify the good of love and charity, and "water" and "wine" the truth of wisdom and faith, as may be seen in the Apocalypse Revealed (AR n. 50, 316, 778, 932).

[7] Charity conjoined with faith, and faith in its turn with charity, may be likened to the face of a handsome virgin beautiful from the intermingling of red and white. This again is a proper comparison, since love and charity therefrom in the spiritual world are red from the fire of the sun there, while truth and faith therefrom are white from the light of that sun; and therefore charity separate from faith may be likened to a face inflamed with pimples, and faith separate from charity to the pallid face of a corpse. Faith separate from charity may also be likened to a paralysis of one side, which is called hemiplegia, from which, when it increases, the man dies. It may also be compared to St. Vitus' dance, or to the dance of St. Guy, which is caused by the bite of the tarantula. The rational faculty becomes like a man so bitten; like him it dances furiously and so deems itself alive, when yet it can no more collect various reasons into one, and think about spiritual truths, than one can when asleep in bed oppressed with a nightmare. This will suffice to demonstrate the two points of this chapter: first, That faith without charity is not faith, and that charity without faith is not charity, and that neither has life except from the Lord; secondly, That the Lord, charity, and faith make one, like life, will, and understanding in man; and if they are divided each perishes, like a pearl reduced to powder.

TCR 368. That the man of the church is in the Lord and the Lord in him, can be seen from the following passes in the Word:--

Yet man himself cannot be in the Lord, but charity and faith that are in him from the Lord, from which two he is essentially man. But in order to make this arcanum somewhat clear to the understanding, it shall be investigated in the following order:-

1. It is by conjunction with God that man has salvation and eternal life.

2. Conjunction with God the Father is not possible, but only conjunction with the Lord, and through Him with God the Father.

3. Conjunction with the Lord is reciprocal, that is, the Lord is in man and man in the Lord.

4. This reciprocal conjunction is effected by means of charity and faith.

The truth of these propositions will be obvious from the following explanation.

TCR 369. (1) It is by conjunction with God that man has salvation and eternal life. Man was so created as to be capable of conjunction with God; for he was created a native of heaven and also of the world, and so far as he is a native of heaven he is spiritual, while so far as he is a native of the world he is natural; and the spiritual man can think of God and perceive such things as are of God; he can also love God, and be affected by what is from God; from which it follows that he is capable of conjunction with God. That man can think of God and can perceive such things as are of God, is beyond all doubt; for he can think of the unity of God, of the Esse of God, which is Jehovah, of the immensity and eternity of God, of the Divine love and wisdom, which constitute the Essence of God, of Gods omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence; of the Lord the Saviour His Son, and of redemption and mediation; also of the Holy Spirit, and finally of the Divine trinity; all of which are of God, yea, are God. Moreover, he can think also of the operations of God, which are chiefly faith and charity, and of other things which proceed from these two.

[2] That man is capable not only of thinking about God but also of loving Him is evident from the two commandments of God Himself, which read thus:--

That man is able to obey God's commandments, and that this is loving Him and being loved by Him, is evident from the following:--

[3] Furthermore, what is faith but conjunction with God by means of truths which belong to the understanding, and thence to thought? And what is love but conjunction with God by means of the goods that belong to the will, and thence to affection? God's conjunction with man is a spiritual conjunction within the natural; and man's conjunction with God is a natural conjunction from the spiritual. For the sake of this conjunction as an end, man was created a native both of heaven and of the world. As a native of heaven he is spiritual, as a native of the world he is natural. If therefore, man becomes spiritual-rational and also spiritual-moral, he is conjoined with God, and through that conjunction he has salvation and eternal life. But on the other hand, if man is merely natural-rational and also natural-moral, there is indeed a conjunction of God with man, but not conjunction of man with God. This is the source of spiritual death, which viewed in itself is natural life apart from spiritual life; for the spiritual, in which there is the life of God, is then extinct in man.

TCR 370. (2) Conjunction with God the Father is not possible, but only conjunction with the Lord, and through Him with God the Father. This the Scripture teaches and reason sees. The Scripture teaches that God the Father has never been seen or beard, and cannot be seen or heard; consequently that from Himself, as He is in His own Esse and Essence, He cannot operate at all in man. For the Lord says, That no man hath seen God save He that is with the Father, He hath seen the Father (John 6:46).

This is because He is in the firsts and the principles of all things, thus pre-eminently above every sphere of the human mind; for He is in the firsts and the principles of all things of wisdom and all things of love, with which man can have no conjunction whatever; consequently if He Himself should draw, near to man, or man to Him, man would be consumed and would melt away like wood in the focus of a powerful sun-glass, or rather like an image thrown into the sun itself. Therefore it was said to Moses, who longed to see God,

[2] But that there may be conjunction with God the Father through the Lord, is evident from the passages just quoted, that not the Father, but the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, and who has seen the Father, has brought to view and revealed those things which are of God and from God; and also from the following:--

Again:--

He also said:--

He also says,

[3] This is because the Lord our Saviour is Jehovah the Father Himself in human form; for Jehovah descended and became Man that He might be able to draw near to man, and man to Him, and conjunction might thus be effected, and through that conjunction man might have salvation and eternal life. For when God became Man, and thus also became Man-God, being then accommodated to man He could draw near to him and be conjoined with him as God-Man and Man-God. There are three things that follow in order; accommodation, application, and conjunction. There must be accommodation before there is application; and there must be accommodation and application both together before there is conjunction. Accommodation on God's part was that He became Man; application on God's part is perpetual so far as man applies himself in return; and so far as this is done, conjunction is effected also. These three follow each other and proceed in their order in each and all things, which become one and coexist.

TCR 371. (3) Conjunction with the Lord is a reciprocal conjunction, that is, that the Lord is in man and man in the Lord. That conjunction is reciprocal, Scripture teaches and reason also sees. As to His conjunction with His Father, the Lord teaches that it is reciprocal, for He says to Philip:--

The same is said by the Lord respecting His conjunction with man, namely, that it is reciprocal; for He says:--

[2] From these plain statements it is clear that the conjunction of the Lord and man is reciprocal; and because it is reciprocal it necessarily follows, that man ought to conjoin himself to the Lord, in order that the Lord may conjoin himself to man; and that otherwise conjunction is not effected, but withdrawal and a consequent separation, yet not on the Lord's part, but on man's part. In order that such reciprocal conjunction may exist, there is granted to man freedom of choice, giving him the ability to walk in the way to heaven or in the way to hell. From this freedom that is given to man flows his ability to reciprocate, which enables him to conjoin himself with the Lord, and also with the devil. But this liberty, what it is and why it was given to man, will be illustrated hereafter, when Freedom of Choice, Repentance, Reformation and Regeneration, and Imputation are treated of.

[3] It is to be lamented that the reciprocal conjunction of the Lord and man, although it stands out so clearly in the Word, is unknown in the Christian church. It is unknown because of certain hypotheses respecting faith and freedom of choice. The hypothesis respecting faith is that it is bestowed upon man without his contributing anything toward the acquisition of it, or adapting and applying himself, any more than a stock, to the reception of it. The hypothesis respecting freedom of choice is that man does not possess a single grain of freedom of choice in spiritual things. But that the reciprocal conjunction of the Lord and man, on which depends the salvation of the human race, may not remain longer unknown, necessity itself enjoins its disclosure, which may be best effected by examples, because they illustrate.

[4] There are two kinds of reciprocation by which conjunction is effected: one is alternate and the other mutual. The alternate reciprocation by which conjunction is effected, may be illustrated by the action of the lungs in breathing. Man draws in the air and thereby expands the chest; then he expels the inhaled air and thereby contracts the chest. This inhalation and the consequent expansion is effected by means of the pressure of the air proportionate to its column; while the expulsion and the consequent contraction are effected by means of the ribs by the power of the muscles. Such is the reciprocal conjunction of the air and the lungs, and on it depends the life of all bodily sense and motion, for these swoon when respiration ceases.

[5] Reciprocal conjunction, which is effected by alternation, may also be illustrated by the conjunction of the heart with the lungs and of the lungs with the heart. The heart from its right chamber pours the blood into the lungs, and the lungs pour it back again into the left chamber of the heart; thus is that reciprocal conjunction effected on which the life of the whole body is altogether dependent. There is a like conjunction of the blood with the heart, and vice versa. The blood of the whole body flows through the veins into the heart, and from the heart it flows out through the arteries into the whole body; action and reaction effect this conjunction. There is a like action and reaction (by which there is a constant conjunction) between the embryo and the mother's womb.

[6] But there is no such reciprocal conjunction of the Lord and man. That is a mutual conjunction, which is effected not by action and reaction, but by cooperation. For the Lord acts, and from Him man receives action, and operates as if of himself, even by the Lord from himself. This operation of man from the Lord is imputed to him as his own, because he is held constantly by the Lord in freedom of choice. The freedom of choice resulting from this is the ability to will and to think from the Lord, that is, from the Word, and also the ability to will and to think from the devil, that is, contrary to the Lord and the Word. This freedom the Lord gives to man to enable him to conjoin himself reciprocally with the Lord, and by conjunction be gifted with eternal life and blessedness, since this, without reciprocal conjunction, would not be possible.

[7] This reciprocal conjunction, which is mutual, may also be illustrated by various things in man and in the world. Such is the conjunction of soul and body in every man; such is the conjunction of will and action, also of thought and speech; such is the mutual conjunction of the two eyes, the two ears, and the two nostrils. That the mutual conjunction of the two eyes is in a manner reciprocal, is evident from the optic nerve, in which fibers from both hemispheres of the cerebrum are folded together, and thus folded together they extend to both eyes. It is the same with the ears and nostrils.

[8] There exists a like reciprocal and mutual conjunction between light and the eye, between sound and the ear, odor and the nose, taste and the tongue, touch and the body; for the eye is in the light and the light in the eye, sound is in the ear and the ear in the sound, odor is in the nose and the nose in odor, taste is in the tongue and the tongue in taste, and touch is in the body and the body in touch This reciprocal conjunction may also be compared to the conjunction of a horse and a carriage, an ox and a plough, a wheel and machinery, a sail and the wind, a musical pipe and the air; in short, such is the reciprocal conjunction of the end and the cause, and such also is that of the cause and the effect. But there is not time to explain all these examples one by one, for it would be a work of many pages.

TCR 372. (4) This reciprocal conjunction of the Lord and man is effected by means of charity and faith. It is known at the present day that the church constitutes the body of Christ, and that everyone in whom the church is, is in some member of that body, according to Paul (Eph. 1:23; 1 Cor. 12:27; Rom. 12:4, 5). But what is the body of Christ but Divine good and Divine truth? This is meant by the Lord's words in John:--

By the Lord's "flesh" and by "bread" the Divine good is meant, and by His "blood" and "wine" Divine truth is meant, as will be seen in the chapter on the Holy Supper. From this it follows, that so far as man is in the goods of charity and the truths of faith, so far he is in the Lord and the Lord in him; for conjunction with the Lord is spiritual conjunction, and spiritual conjunction is effected solely by means of charity and faith. That there is a conjunction of the Lord and the church, and consequently of good and truth, in each and all things of the Word, has been shown in the chapter on the Sacred Scripture (n. 248-253); and since charity is good and faith is truth, there is everywhere in the Word a conjunction of charity and faith. From the foregoing it now follows, that the Lord is charity and faith in man, and that man is charity and faith in the Lord; for the Lord is spiritual charity and faith in man's natural charity and faith, and man is natural charity and faith from the Lord's spiritual charity and faith, and these two conjoined produce a spiritual-natural charity and faith.

TCR 373. In every work that proceeds from man there is the whole man such as he is in his disposition or essentially. By disposition his love's affection and thought therefrom is meant; these form his nature, and in general his life. If we look at works in this way, they are like mirrors of man. This may be illustrated by like things in brutes and wild beasts. A brute is a brute, and a wild beast is a wild beast, in all their actions. In everything pertaining to it a wolf is a wolf, a tiger is a tiger, a fox is a fox, and a lion is a lion; the same is true of a sheep and a kid. It is the same with a man; but man is such as he is in his internal man. If in this he is like a wolf or a fox, then everything he does is inwardly wolfish and fox-like, and the reverse if he is like a lamb or a kid. But that such is the man everything he does is not evident in his external man, because the external takes on various forms round about the internal; nevertheless in the internal the quality lies inwardly hidden. The Lord says

And again:--

That in each and all things that go forth from him man is such as he is in his internal man, he makes clear in himself after death to the very life, since he then lives an internal and no longer an external man. It will be shown in the following order how, when the Lord, charity and faith reside in man's internal, there is good in him and that every work that goes forth from him is good.

1. Charity is willing well and good works are doing well from willing well.

2. Charity and faith are only mental and perishable things unless they are determined to works and coexist in them when possible.

3. Good works are not produced by charity alone, still less by faith alone, but by charity and faith together.

But on these points separately.

TCR 374. (1) Charity is willing well and good works are doing well from willing well. Charity and works are distinct from each other like will and action, or like the mind's affection and the body's operation; consequently like the internal man and the external; and these two are related to each other like cause and effect, since the causes of all things are formed in the internal man, and from this are all effects produced in the external. Therefore charity, since it belongs to the internal man, is willing well; and works, since they belong to the external man, are doing well from willing well.

[2] Nevertheless between the good willing of different persons there is infinite diversity; for while everything that one person does to favor another is believed or appears to flow forth from goodwill or benevolence, yet no one knows whether the good deeds spring from charity or not, still less whether they spring from genuine or from spurious charity. This infinite diversity between the good-will of different persons originates in the end, intention, and consequent purpose; these are inwardly concealed in the will to do good, and from them is derived the quality of everyone's will. The will also searches the understanding for the means and modes of attaining its ends, which are effects, and in the understanding it comes into the light which enables it to see not only the reasons but also the opportunities for determining itself to action in the proper time and manner, and thus producing its effects, which are works; and at the same time in the understanding it brings itself into the power to act. From this it follows that works belong essentially to the will, formally to the understanding, and actually to the body. Thus does charity descend into good works.

[3] This may be illustrated by comparison with a tree. Man himself, in all that belongs to him, is like a tree. In the seed of this tree there are concealed, as it were, the end, intention, and purpose of producing fruit; in these respects the seed corresponds to the will in man, which contains these three things, as stated above. Again, the seed from its interiors shoots up from the earth, clothes itself with branches, branchlets, and leaves, and so provides itself with means to its end, which is the fruit; in all this the tree corresponds to the understanding in man. Finally, when the time comes and there is opportunity for determination, the tree blossoms and yields fruits, these corresponding to good works in man, in that evidently they are essentially from the seed, formally from the branchlets and leaves, and actually from the wood of the tree.

[4] This may also be illustrated by comparison with a temple. Man is a temple of God, according to Paul (1 Cor. 3:16, 17; 2 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 2:21, 22). As a temple of God man's end, intention, and purpose are salvation and eternal life; in these there is a correspondence with the will, which contains these three things. Afterwards he acquires doctrinals of faith and charity from parents, teachers, and preachers, and when be comes into the exercise of his own judgment, from the Word and doctrinal works, all of which are means to the end; and these there is a correspondence with the understanding. Finally there comes a determination to uses, according to doctrinals as means, and this is effected by bodily acts, which are called good works. Thus the end through mediate causes produces effects, which are essentially of the end, formally of the doctrines of the church, and actually of the uses. Thus does man become a temple of God.

TCR 375. (2) Charity and faith are only mental and perishable things, unless they are determined to works and coexist in them when possible. Has not a man a head and a body which are joined together by a neck? And in the head is there not a mind that wills and thinks, and in the body is there not power that performs and executes? Therefore if man merely wills well, or thinks from charity, and does not do good and thus perform uses, is he not like a head only, and thus like a mind only, which apart from a body cannot continue to exist? From this is not anyone able to see that charity and faith are not charity and faith so long as they are merely in the head and its mind but not in the body? For they are then like birds flying in the air without any resting-place on the earth, or like birds ready to lay, but having no nests, in which case they would drop their eggs in the air or upon the branch of some tree, and the eggs would fall to the ground and be destroyed. There can be nothing in the mind that does not have some correspondent in the body, and its correspondent may be called its embodiment. So when charity and faith occupy the mind only, they have no embodiment in the man, and may be likened to those aerial beings called specters, like Fame as painted by the ancients with a laurel about her head and a horn in her hand. Being such specters, and still being able to think, they must needs be disturbed by fantasies, which are caused by reasonings from various kinds of sophistry, almost as reeds in marshes are shaken by the wind, while beneath them shells lie at the bottom and frogs croak on the surface. Who cannot see that Such things come to pass when men merely know from the Word some things about charity and faith, but do not practise them? Moreover, the Lord says:--

Charity and faith with their factitious ideas when not put in practice may be compared to butterflies in the air, which a sparrow darts upon and devours as soon as he sees them. The Lord also says:--

TCR 376. That charity and faith do not profit a man so long as they remain only in one part of his body, that is, in his head, and are not fixed in works, is evident from a thousand passages in the Word, of which I will here adduce only these:--

So also in many other passages. From this it can be seen that charity and faith are not charity and faith until they exist in works, and that while they exist only in the expanse above works, that is, in the mind, they are like appearances of a tabernacle or temple in the air, which are nothing but a mirage, and vanish of themselves; or they are like pictures drawn on paper which moths consume; or they are like an abode on a housetop where there is no sleeping-place, instead of in the house. All this shows that charity and faith are perishable things so long as they are merely mental or unless they are determined to works and coexist in them when possible.

TCR 377. (3) Good works are not produced by charity alone, still less by faith alone, but by charity and faith together. This is because charity apart from faith is not charity, and faith apart from charity is not faith (as shown above, n. 356-361). Wherefore charity cannot exist by itself or faith by itself; and it cannot be said that charity in itself produces any good works, or faith in itself. It is the same with these as with the will and understanding. The will by itself can have no existence and can therefore produce nothing; nor can the understanding have any existence by itself or produce anything; but all production is effected by both together, and is effected by the understanding from the will. There is this similarity, because the will is the abode of charity and the understanding is the abode of faith. It is said that still less can faith alone produce good works, because faith is truth, and faith operates to produce truths, and these illuminate charity and its exercises. That truths illuminate, the Lord teaches, saying:--

Consequently when man does good works in accordance with truths, he does them in light, that is, intelligently and wisely. The conjunction of charity and faith is like the marriage of husband and wife. From the husband as a father and the wife as a mother all natural offspring are born; and in like manner from charity as a father and faith as a mother all spiritual off spring, which are knowledges of good and truth, are born. This makes clear how spiritual families are generated. Moreover in the Word "husband" and &quo