As You Have Done To Another

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

The law of order
Thou shalt do to thy neighbor as thou wouldest have another do to thee, consequently that what thou doest to another shall be done to thee, is evident from the fact that "to give soul for soul, eye for eye, tooth for tooth," and so forth, denotes that as thou hast done to another so shall it be done to thee.

The reason why this law was given to the sons of Israel, is that such is the law in the spiritual world. He who there does good to another from the heart, receives the like good. Consequently, he who does evil to another from the heart, receives the like evil. For -

good that is from the heart is conjoined with its reward, and evil that is from the heart is conjoined with its punishment

Consequently, there is heaven for the good, and hell for the evil. That this is so, it has been given me to know from much experience. The case herein is this:

With him who does good from the heart, there inflows from heaven on every side, good into the heart and soul of him who does it, and by inspiring inspires it; and then at the same time the affection of love for the neighbor to whom he does good is increased, and with this affection a delight which is heavenly and unutterable.

The cause of this is that in heaven the good of love from the Lord reigns universally, and constantly flows in according to the degree in which it is practiced toward another. The case is similar in respect to evil:

With him who from the heart does evil to another, there inflows from hell on every side evil into the heart of him who does it, and by exciting excites it; and then at the same time the affection of the love of self is increased, and with it the delight of hatred and revenge against those who do not submit themselves.

The cause of this is that in hell the evil of the love of self reigns universally, and constantly flows in according to the degree in which it is practiced toward another. When this occurs, the punishers are at once present, who ill-treat the offender; and thereby the evil with its delight is restrained.

These things are so for the reason that the laws of order in the other life are not learned from books, and stored up therefrom in the memory, as with men in the world, but are written on hearts, the laws of evil on the heart of the evil, and the laws of good on the heart of the good. For every man carries with him into the other life that which by his life in the world he had set in his heart; namely, evil with the evil; and good with the good.

The law of order from which these things flow is that which the Lord taught in Matthew:

All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them; this is the law and the prophets (Matt. 7:12; Luke 6:31).

Order is from the Divine truth which proceeds from the Lord. The laws of order in heaven are truths from good, and in hell are truths separated from good. They are said to be separated, not by reason of the Lord, but by reason of man. Good is separated by the non-reception of it.

The law which is called "the law of retaliation," is thus described in Leviticus:

He that smiteth the soul of a beast shall restore it, soul for soul; if a man shall cause a blemish in his neighbor; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him; breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he shall cause a blemish in a man, so shall it be rendered unto him. He that smiteth a beast shall restore it; and he that smiteth a man shall be killed (Lev. 24:18-21).

As evil carries with it its penalty, it is therefore said by the Lord that "evil must not be resisted," and at the same time in the following words in Matthew it is explained how the case is with this law in the spiritual world, with those who are in good, relatively to those who are in evil:

Ye have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth; but I say unto you, Resist not evil; but whosoever shall strike thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man would drag thee to law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go one mile, go with him twain. Give to everyone that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away (Matt. 5:38-42).

Who cannot see that these words are not to be understood according to the sense of the letter? For who will turn the left cheek to him who deals a blow on the right cheek? And who will give his cloak to him who would take away his coat? And who will give his property to all who ask? And who will not resist evil? But no one can understand these words who does not know what is signified by "the right cheek" and "the left cheek," what by "a coat" and "a cloak," also what by "a mile," and likewise by "borrowing," and so on.

The subject there treated of is spiritual life, or the life of faith; not natural life, which is the life of the world. The Lord there opens, and also in this chapter, and the following, the interior things that belong to heaven, but by means of such things as are in the world. The reason why He did so by such things, was that not worldly men, but only heavenly men, should understand. The reason why worldly men were not to understand, was lest they should profane the interior things of the Word, for by so doing they would cast themselves into the most frightful hell of all, which is the hell of the profaners of the Word. Therefore it is said by the Lord in Luke:

Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God; but to the rest in parables; that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not hear (Luke 8:10).

And in John:

Isaiah said, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they may not see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and should convert themselves, and I should heal them (John 12:39, 40).

It is said "lest I should heal them," because they who are healed and return again to falsities and evils, commit profanation. These are they who are meant in Matthew 12:43-45.

But it shall now be told what is meant in the internal sense by the words of the Lord above quoted.

In this sense it there treats of those who wish to destroy by means of falsities the truths of faith, thus the spiritual life with a man when he is in temptations, and in persecutions; and in good spirits when they are in infestations by evil spirits. By "the cheek" is signified the affection of interior truth, by "the right cheek" the affection of truth from good; by "dealing a blow" is signified the act of injuring this affection; by "coat" and "cloak" is signified truth in the external form; by "dragging to law" is signified the endeavor to destroy; by "a mile" is signified that which leads to truth, for the like is signified by "a mile" as by "a way" (that "a way" denotes that which leads to truth; by "lending" is signified to instruct. From this it is plain what is signified by "giving to all who ask," namely, to confess all things of one's faith in the Lord. The reason therefore why evil ought not to be resisted, is that evil does no harm to those who are in truth and good, for they are protected by the Lord.

These are the things which have been hidden under the above words of the Lord; and this being the case, the Lord only says, "Ye have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," but says no more; because by "an eye" is signified the interior truth of faith; and by "a tooth," the exterior truth of faith, as will be seen in what follows. From all this it is evident in what manner the Lord spoke when He was in the world, namely, that He spoke, as everywhere in the Word of the Old Testament, at the same time for the angels in heaven, and for men in the world; for His speech was in itself Divine and heavenly, because it was from the Divine, and through heaven. But the things which He spoke were presented by means of such things as corresponded in the world. What they correspond to, the internal sense teaches.

That "to deal a blow" or "to smite the cheek" denotes to destroy truths, is plain from passages in the Word where mention is made of "smiting the cheek." And because in the genuine sense this signifies the destruction of truth, therefore in the opposite sense it signifies the destruction of falsity, in which sense it occurs in these passages:

Thou wilt smite all mine enemies on the cheek; Thou wilt break the teeth of the wicked (Ps. 3:7).

They shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek (Mic. 5:1).

The bridle of him that leadeth astray shall be on the cheeks of the peoples (Isa. 30:28).

For "the face" signifies the affections, consequently those things which belong to the face signify such things as belong to the affections, and correspond to their functions and uses; as the "eye" signifies the understanding of truth, the "nostrils" the perception of truth, those things which belong to the mouth, as the "jaws," the "lips," the "tongue," signify such things as relate to the utterance of truth.

(Arcana Coelestia 9049)

When There is No Conscience

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

A church is said to be corrupted when it acknowledges the Word and has a certain worship like that of a true church, but yet separates faith from charity, thus from its essential and from its life — whereby faith becomes a kind of dead affair — the result of which necessarily is that the church is corrupted. What the men of the church then become, is evident from the consideration that they can have no conscience;

for conscience that is really conscience cannot possibly exist except from charity. Charity is what makes conscience, that is, the Lord through charity.

What else is conscience than not to do evil to anyone in any way; that is, to do well to all in every way? Thus conscience belongs to charity, and never to faith separated from charity. If such persons have any conscience, it is a false conscience; and because they are without conscience, they rush into all wickedness, so far as outward bonds are relaxed. They do not even know what charity is, except that it is a word significant of something. And as they are without charity, they do not know what faith is. When questioned, they can only answer that it is a kind of thinking; some, that it is confidence; others, that it is the knowledges of faith; a few, that it is life according to these knowledges, and scarcely any that it is a life of charity or of mutual love. And if this is said to them, and opportunity is given them for reflection, they answer only that all love begins from self, and that he is worse than a heathen who does not take care of himself and his own family. They therefore study nothing but themselves and the world. Hence it comes to pass that they live in their Own...

... those who separate faith from charity and hence make worship consist in externals alone, cannot know what and whence is conscience, needs to be briefly shown.

Conscience is formed by means of the truths of faith, for that which a man has heard, acknowledged, and believed makes the conscience in him;

and afterwards to act contrary to this is to him to act contrary to conscience, as may be sufficiently evident to everyone; so that unless it is the truths of faith that a man hears, acknowledges, and believes, he cannot possibly have a true conscience. For it is through the truths of faith (the Lord working in charity) that man is regenerated, and therefore it is through the truths of faith that he receives conscience, conscience being the new man himself. From this it is evident that the truths of faith are the means by which this may take place, that is, that the man may live according to what faith teaches, the principal of which is to love the Lord above all things, and the neighbor as himself.

If he does not so live, what is his faith but an empty affair, and a mere high-sounding word, or a thing that is separated from heavenly life, and in which when thus separated there is no possible salvation?

For to believe that no matter how a man lives, he may yet be saved provided he has faith, is to say that he may be saved if he has no charity, and no conscience (that is, if he passes his life in hatred, revenge, robbery, adultery, in a word, in all things contrary to charity and conscience) provided only that he has faith, even if it be but at the hour of death.

Let such persons consider, when they are in such a false principle, what truth of faith there is that can form their conscience, and whether it be not what is false.

If they suppose that they have anything of conscience, it must be only outward bonds - such as fear of the law, of loss of honor, of gain, or of reputation for the sake of these - that make, with them, what they call conscience, and which lead them not to injure the neighbor, but to do him good. But as this is not conscience, because not charity, therefore when these restraints are loosened or taken away, such persons rush into most wicked and obscene things.

Very different is the case with those who, although they have declared that faith alone saves, have still lived a life of charity; for in their faith there has been charity from the Lord.

... the internal man is charity, never faith without charity; so that he who is destitute of charity can have no other worship than external worship without internal. ...

... those who are in faith separated from charity [see] his errors and perversions; for they who are of this character see nothing else in a man; whereas - very differently - those who are in the faith of charity observe what is good, and if they see anything evil and false, they excuse it, and if they can, try to amend it in him. ... Where there is no charity, there is the love of self, and therefore hatred against all who do not favor self. Consequently such persons see in the neighbor only what is evil, and if they see anything good, they either perceive it as nothing, or put a bad interpretation upon it. It is just the other way with those who are in charity. By this difference these two kinds of men are distinguished from one another, especially when they come into the other life; for then with those who are in no charity, the feeling of hatred shines forth from every single thing; they desire to examine everyone, and even to judge him; nor do they desire anything more than to find out what is evil, constantly cherishing the disposition to condemn, punish, and torment. But they who are in charity scarcely see the evil of another, but observe all his goods and truths, and put a good interpretation on what is evil and false. Such are all the angels, which they have from the Lord, who bends all evil into good.

(from Arcana Coelestia 1076-1079)

The Signs of Charity

Selection from The Doctrine of Charity ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

The signs of charity are all things that pertain to worship.

All things of charity have regard to looking to the Lord and shunning evils as sins, and doing the goods of use that pertain to one's calling. But all things of worship are externals, of the body and of the mind. The externals of the body are performed by acts and by words; and the externals of the mind are those that are performed by the will and the thought, which cohere with the externals of the body.

The externals of the body which pertain to worship are:
(1) Frequenting temples.
(2) Listening to sermons.
(3) Devoutly singing, and praying on the knees.
(4) Partaking the Sacrament of the Supper.

And at home:
(1) Prayer morning and evening, and at dinners and suppers.
(2) Conversing with others about charity and faith, and about God, heaven, eternal life, and salvation.
(3) And in the case of priests, preaching, and also private instruction.
(4) And with everyone, the instruction of children and servants in such matters.
(5) Reading the Word, and books of instruction and of piety.

The externals of the mind which pertain to worship are:
(1) Thought and meditation concerning God, and concerning heaven, eternal life, and salvation.
(2) Reflection upon one's thoughts and intentions, as to whether they are evil or good, and that the evil are from the devil, and the good from God.
(3) Aversion of one's mind from impious, obscene, and filthy language.
(4) Besides thoughts, there are also affections which come to the sight and sense of a man.

These are called externals because they cohere and make one with the externals of the body. That such things are externals of worship, and that the externals of worship are signs of charity.

Charity itself is in the internal man, and its sign is in the external.

That there is an internal and an external man is known; and that the internal man is called the spirit, and the external the flesh, is also known. For it is said and it is known by some that there is a conflict between the spirit and the flesh. The spirit which contends against the flesh is the internal man, who is charity.

The quality of the internal man cannot manifest itself to a man except by the external. It manifests itself when there is a conflict with the external; especially it manifests itself when a man examines himself, sees his evils, and from knowledge confesses them and thinks about repentance, and then resists his evils and sets about living a new life.

If a man does not do these things his internal man is evil; but if he does them his internal man is good. For through the internal man the Lord operates into the external; and as evil is then residing in the external, a conflict arises. For into the external man, which is called the flesh, spirits from hell are admitted, who are called the devil; and the Lord in man fights against him. And if, as of himself, the man also fights, he conquers; and as far as the devil is conquered, so far there is place for goods from the internal man to enter. Thus he gradually becomes a new man and is regenerated.

Whatever the internal man produces and presents to sight and sense in the external is called a sign. If charity is in the internal it leads a man to reflect upon the evils within him, and actually to take cognizance of and know them, and so on. If he does not do this his external is not a sign of charity; and if yet his external is in worship and piety, it is not a sign of charity, but is external charity without internal charity, which is not charity.

By a sign is meant an indication and evidence that it exists; for it expresses and signifies and indicates and bears witness of it.

There is no internal without its sign and indication. If charity is in the internal man, or in the spirit, and this does not fight against the external man and his flesh, then charity perishes. It is as a fountain of pure water; if there is no outlet it stagnates and then it either ceases its flow or by stagnation the water becomes putrid. In another place there will be many confirmations of these things from the Word.

(from Doctrine of Charity 173-183)