Selection from Divine Providence ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
It is a law of the Divine providence that evils should be put away by man; for unless they are put away the Lord cannot be conjoined with man, and cannot from Himself lead man into heaven. But as it has not been known that man ought as if of himself to put away the evils in the external man, and unless man does this as if of himself the Lord cannot put away the evils that are in man's internal.EVERY MAN HAS AN EXTERNAL AND AN INTERNAL OF THOUGHT
The same is here meant by the external and internal of thought as by the external and internal man, and by this nothing else is meant than the external and internal of the will and understanding; for the will and understanding are what constitute man, and as these two manifest themselves in the thoughts, the terms external and internal of thought are used. Since, then, it is the spirit of man and not his body that wills and understands and therefore thinks, it follows that this external and internal are the external and internal of man's spirit. The action of the body, whether in words or deeds, is only an effect from the internal and external of man's spirit, since the body is mere obedience.Every man of mature age has an external and an internal of thought, and therefore an external [and an internal] of will and understanding, or an external and an internal of the spirit, which is the same as the external and the internal man; and this is evident to any one who observes carefully another's thoughts and intentions as exhibited in his words or acts, and also his own thoughts when in company and when he is alone. For one can talk with another in a friendly way from external thought, and yet be at enmity with him in internal thought. From external thought together with its affection a man can talk about love towards his neighbor and love to God, when in his internal thought he cares nothing for the neighbor and has no fear of God. From external thought together with its affection a man can talk about the justice of civil laws, the virtues of moral life, and matters of doctrine and spiritual life; and yet when alone by himself he may from internal thought and its affection speak against the civil laws, the virtues of moral life, and matters of doctrine and spiritual life; and this is done by those who are in the lusts of evil, but who wish it to appear before the world that they are not in them.
Moreover, many think to themselves, when they hear others talking, whether these are interiorly in themselves thinking in accord with the thoughts they are expressing, whether or not they are to be believed, and what their intentions are. It is well known that flatterers and hypocrites have a double thought; for they are able to keep things to themselves and to guard against disclosing their interior thought; and some can conceal it more and more deeply, and as it were block up the doors lest it appear. That both exterior and interior thought are possible to man is also clearly evident from his being able from his interior thought to look upon his exterior thought, and also to reflect upon it, and to judge of it whether it is evil or not evil. That the mind of man is such is due to the two faculties that man has from the Lord, called liberty and rationality. Unless man had from these an external and an internal of thought he would not be able to perceive and see any evil in himself and be reformed; in fact, he would not be able to speak, but only to utter sounds like a beast.
From infancy to early manhood man is in the external of thought from an affection for knowing, which then constitutes its internal; also there exhales from his life's love, which is innate from his parents, something of lust and inclination therefrom. But afterwards the way he lives determines his life's love; and its affections with the perceptions therefrom constitute the internal of his thought; while the life's love determines the love of the means; and the enjoyment of this and the knowledges thereby called forth from the memory constitute the external of his thought.
(from Divine Providence 103-105)