THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 11-12)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE

for the

NEW JERUSALEM

FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

Emanuel Swedenborg

— Doctrinal Series —

(pt. 11-12)

NO ONE CAN FROM HIMSELF DO WHAT IS GOOD THAT IS REALLY GOOD.

From science a man knows whether gold is good in substance, is alloyed and falsified, or is merely overlaid; but he does not know from science whether the good he does is good in itself. This only does he know: that good from God is good, and that good from man is not good. Therefore, as it concerns his salvation for him to know whether the good he does is from God, or is not from God, this must be revealed. But before this is done something shall be said about goods.

There are civic good, moral good, and spiritual good.
• Civic good is that which a man does from the civic law: by means of and according to this good is the man a citizen in the natural world.
• Moral good is that which a man does from the law of reason: by means of and according to this good is he a man.
• Spiritual good is that which a man does from spiritual law: by means of and according to this good is he a citizen in the spiritual world.
These goods succeed one another in the following order: spiritual good is the highest, moral good is intermediate, and civic good is last. . . .

(LIFE 11-12)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 10)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE

for the

NEW JERUSALEM

FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

Emanuel Swedenborg

— Doctrinal Series —

(pt. 10)

NO ONE CAN FROM HIMSELF DO WHAT IS GOOD THAT IS REALLY GOOD.

. . . Goods from God, and goods from self, may be compared to gold. Gold that is gold from the inmost, called pure gold, is good gold. Gold alloyed with silver is also gold, but is good according to the amount of the alloy. Less good still is gold that is alloyed with copper.

But a gold made by art, and resembling gold only from its color, is not good at all, for there is no substance of gold in it. There is also what is gilded, such as gilded silver, copper, iron, tin, lead, and also gilded wood and gilded stone, which on the surface may appear like gold; but not being such, they are valued either according to the workmanship, the value of the gilded material, or that of the gold which can be scraped off.

In goodness these differ from real gold as a garment differs from a man. Moreover rotten wood, dross, or even ordure, may be overlaid with gold; and such is the gold to which pharisaic good may be likened.

(LIFE 10)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 9)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE

for the

NEW JERUSALEM

FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

Emanuel Swedenborg

— Doctrinal Series —

(pt. 9)

NO ONE CAN FROM HIMSELF DO WHAT IS GOOD THAT IS REALLY GOOD.

. . . That hitherto scarcely anyone knows whether the good done by him is from self or from God, is because the church has sundered faith from charity, and good is of charity. A man gives to the poor; relieves the needy; endows places of worship and hospitals; has regard for the church, his country, and his fellow citizen; is diligent in his attendance at a place of worship, where he listens and prays devoutly; reads the Word and books of piety; and thinks about salvation; and yet is not aware whether he is doing these things from himself, or from God. He may be doing the very same things from God, or he may be doing them from self. If he does them from God they are good, if from self they are not good. In fact there are goods of this kind done from self which are eminently evil, such as hypocritical goods, the purpose of which is deception and fraud.

(LIFE 9)