Seriatim Remarks on the Doctrine of Charity (Pt. 7)

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Things of Charity —

Inasmuch as good makes heaven with man, and evil makes hell, it is of the utmost importance to know what good is, and what evil is. It has already been said that good is that which belongs to love to the Lord, and to charity toward the neighbor; and that evil is that which belongs to the love of self and the love of the world. Hence it follows that it is from the loves, and from these alone, that it can be known what good is, and what evil is.

All things in the universe which are according to Divine order have relation to good and truth; and all things in the universe which are contrary to Divine order have relation to evil and falsity. The reason is that the good and truth which proceed from the Divine make order, insomuch that they are order.

The good which is of love to the Lord is called "celestial good," and the good which is of charity toward the neighbor is called "spiritual good." What the difference is, and how great, between the celestial good which belongs to love to the Lord, and the spiritual good which belongs to charity toward the neighbor, will be told in what follows.

The doctrine of celestial good, which is that of love to the Lord, is the most ample and at the same time the most secret; but the doctrine of spiritual good, which is that of charity toward the neighbor, is also ample and secret, but less so than the doctrine of celestial good, which is the doctrine of love to the Lord. That the doctrine of charity is ample can be seen from the fact that charity is not the same with one as with another, and that one is not the neighbor the same as another.

As the doctrine of charity was so ample, the ancients, with whom the doctrine of charity was the very doctrine of the church, distinguished charity toward the neighbor into many classes, which they also subdivided, and gave a name to each class, and taught how charity was to be exercised toward those who are in one class, and how toward those in another; and in this way they reduced the doctrine of charity into order, and also the exercises of charity, that these might fall distinctly under the view of the understanding.

The names which they gave to those toward whom they were to exercise charity, were many; some they called blind, some lame, some maimed, some poor, also miserable and afflicted, some orphans, some widows; but in general they called those hungry to whom they were to give to eat, those thirsty to whom they were to give to drink, sojourners whom they were to gather in, naked whom they were to clothe, sick whom they were to visit, and in prison to whom they were to come

Then shall the king say to them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry, and ye gave Me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and ye gathered Me; naked, and ye clothed Me; I was sick, and ye visited Me; I was in prison, and ye came unto Me (Matt. 25:34-36).

What these words involve in the internal sense will appear from what follows. Be it known in the first place that the works here enumerated are the very works of charity in their order. This no one can see who is not acquainted with the internal sense of the Word, that is, who does not know what is meant by giving the hungry to eat, giving the thirsty to drink, gathering the stranger, clothing the naked, visiting the sick, and coming unto those who are in prison. He who thinks of these acts from the sense of the letter only, infers that they mean good works in the external form, and that there is nothing secret in them beyond this; and yet there is something secret in each of them, which is Divine, because from the Lord. But the secret is not at this day understood, because at this day there are no doctrinals of charity; for ever since men have separated charity from faith, these doctrinals have perished, and in place of them the doctrinals of faith have been invented and received, which do not at all teach what charity is and what the neighbor. The doctrinals existing among the ancients taught all the genera and all the species of charity, and also who the neighbor is toward whom charity is to be exercised, and how one is the neighbor in a different degree and in a different respect from another, and consequently how the exercise of charity varies in its application toward different persons. They also grouped the neighbor together into classes, and assigned them names, calling some the poor, needy, miserable, afflicted; some the blind, lame, halt, and also fatherless and widows; and others the hungry, thirsty, strangers, naked, sick, bound, and so on; thus knowing what duty they owed toward one and toward another. But as before said these doctrinals perished, and with them the understanding of the Word, insomuch that no one at this day knows otherwise than that by the "poor," the "widows," and the "fatherless," in the Word, none other are meant than they who are so called; in like manner here by the "hungry," the "thirsty," the "strangers," the "naked," the "sick," and those who are "in prison;" when yet by these charity is described such as it is in its essence, and the exercise of it such as it must be in its life.

The essence of charity toward the neighbor is the affection of good and truth, and the acknowledgment of self as being evil and false; yea, the neighbor is good and truth itself, and to be affected by these is to have charity. The opposite to the neighbor is evil and falsity, which are held in aversion by one who has charity. He therefore who has charity toward the neighbor is affected by good and truth, because they are from the Lord, and holds in aversion what is evil and what is false because these are from self; and when he does this, he is in humiliation from self-acknowledgment, and when he is in humiliation, he is in a state of reception of good and truth from the Lord. These are the characteristics of charity which in the internal sense are involved in these words of the Lord: "I was hungry, and ye gave Me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and ye gathered Me; naked, and ye clothed Me; I was sick, and ye visited Me; I was in prison, and ye came unto Me." That these words involve such things, no one can know except from the internal sense. The ancients, who had the doctrinals of charity, knew these things; but at this day they appear so remote that everyone will wonder at its being said that these things are within. Moreover, the angels who are with man perceive these words no otherwise, for by the "hungry" they perceive those who from affection desire good; by the "thirsty," those who from affection desire truth; by a "stranger," those who are willing to be instructed; by the "naked," those who acknowledge that there is nothing of good and of truth in themselves; by the "sick," those who acknowledge that in themselves there is nothing but evil; and by the "bound," or those who are "in prison," those who acknowledge that in themselves there is nothing but falsity. If these things are reduced into one meaning, they signify what has been stated just above.

From all this it is evident that there were Divine things within everything the Lord said, although to those who are in merely worldly things, and especially to those who are in bodily things, His words appear to be such as any man might say. Nay, they who are in bodily things will say of these and all other words of the Lord, that they have not so much grace, and therefore not so much weight, as the discourse and preaching of those of the present age who speak with eloquence and learning; when yet their discourse and preaching are like the husk and chaff in comparison with the kernel and grain.That "to hunger" is from affection to desire good, is because "bread" in the internal sense is the good of love and of charity, and "food" in general is good. That "to thirst" is from affection to desire truth, is because "wine" and also "water" denote the truth of faith. That a "stranger" is one who is willing to be instructed. That the "naked" means one who acknowledges that there is nothing of good or truth in himself, the "sick" one who acknowledges that he is in evil, and the "bound," or he that is "in prison," one who acknowledges that he is in falsity, is plain from the many passages in the Word in which they are mentioned.

The reason why the Lord says these things of Himself is that He is in those who are such, and therefore He also says:

Verily I say unto you, Insofar as ye have done it to one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it to Me (Matt. 25:40).

(from Arcana Coelestia 4954-4959)

These names were given from heaven to the ancients who were of the church, and by those who were so named they understood those who were spiritually such. Their doctrine of charity taught who these were, and what kind of charity there was to be toward each.

Hence it is that these same names are in the Word, and signify those who are such in the spiritual sense. In itself the Word is nothing but the doctrine of love to the Lord and of charity toward the neighbor, as the Lord also teaches:

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God from all thy heart, and in all thy soul, and in all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. The second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. In these two commandments hang the law and the prophets (Matt. 22:37-40);

"the law and the prophets" denote the whole Word.

The reason why these same names are in the Word, is that they who were in external worship were to exercise charity toward such as were so named; and they who were in internal worship, toward such spiritually understood; thus that the simple might understand and do the Word simply, and the wise wisely; also in order that the simple might be initiated by means of the externals of charity into its internals.

(Arcana Coelestia 7255-7263)
(series to be continued)

Seriatim Remarks on the Doctrine of Charity (Pt. 6)

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Things of Charity —

No one can know what good is, as understood in the spiritual sense, unless he knows what love toward the neighbor and love to God are; and no one can know what evil is, unless he knows what the love of self and the love of the world are. Nor can anyone know from inward acknowledgment what the truth is which is of faith, unless he knows what good is, and unless he is in good; nor can anyone know what falsity is, unless he knows what evil is. Consequently, no one can examine himself unless he knows what good from its two loves is, and what truth from good is; and unless he knows what evil from its two loves is, and what falsity from evil is.

There are two faculties in man, one is called the understanding, and the other the will; the will has been given man for the sake of the good which is of love, and the understanding for the sake of the truth which is of faith; for the good which is of love has relation to the will, and the truth which is of faith has relation to the understanding; the one faculty communicates in a wonderful way with the other. They join themselves together in those who are in good and thence in truth; and they also join themselves together in those who are in evil and thence in falsity; with both classes these two faculties make one mind. But it is otherwise with those who are in truth as to faith, and in evil as to life; and also with those who are in falsity as to faith, and in apparent good as to life.

Man is not allowed to divide his mind, and to sunder these two faculties from each other; that is, to understand and speak truth, and to will and do evil; for then one faculty would look upward or toward heaven, and the other downward or toward hell, and thus the man would hang between the two. But let him know that the will carries him away, and the understanding favors. From all this it is evident how the case is with faith and with love, and how with the state of man if they are separated.

Nothing is more necessary to man than to know whether heaven be in him, or hell; for in one or the other he must live to eternity. In order that he may know this, it is necessary that he should know what good is, and what evil, for good makes heaven, and evil makes hell; the doctrine of charity teaches about both.

Love to God is said, and by this is meant love to the Lord, for there is no other God; the Father is in Him:

Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake. (John 14:9-11)

and the Holy of the Spirit is from Him:

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you. (John 16:13-15)

(from Arcana Coelestia 7178-7182)
(series to be continued)

Seriatim Remarks on the Doctrine of Charity (Pt. 5)

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Things of Charity —

In what precedes it has been told what the neighbor is: it is now to be told what the charity or love is which there must be toward the neighbor.

The very life of man is his love; and such as his love is, such is his life; nay, such is the whole man. But it is the ruling or reigning love, that is, the love of that which he has as the end, which makes the man. This love has subordinate to itself many particular and singular loves, which are derivations, and appear under a different shape; but still the ruling love is in each one of them, and directs them, and through them, as through mediate ends, looks to and aims at its end, which is the first and last of them all; and this both directly and indirectly.

There are two things in the natural world which make the life there, namely, heat and light; and there are two things in the spiritual world which make the life there, namely, love and faith. Heat in the natural world corresponds to love in the spiritual world, and light in the natural world corresponds to faith in the spiritual world. Hence it is that when spiritual heat or fire is mentioned, love is meant; and when spiritual light is mentioned, faith is meant. Moreover, love is actually the vital heat of man, for it is known that man grows warm from love; and faith is actually the light of man, for it can be known that man is illumined from faith.

The heat and light in the natural world arise from the sun of the world; but spiritual heat and light, or love and faith, arise from the sun of heaven. The sun of heaven is the Lord; the heat which comes from Him as a sun is love, and the light which comes from Him as a sun is faith. That the Lord is light is evident from these words in John:

Jesus said, I am the light of the world, he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life (John 8:12)

and that the Lord is a sun is evident in Matthew:

When Jesus was transfigured, His face shone as the sun, and His garments became white as the light (Matt. 17:2).

From this correspondence it can also be known how the case is with faith and with love. Faith without love is like light without heat, as is the light of winter; and faith with love is like light with heat, as is the light of spring. That in the light of spring each and all things grow and flower, is known; and also that in the light of winter all things become torpid and die. It is similar with faith and love.

Now as love is the source of man's life, and as the whole man is such as is his love, and also as love is spiritual conjunction, it follows that all in the other life are consociated according to the loves; for everyone's life, that is, his love, follows him. They who are in love toward the neighbor, and in love to God, are consociate in heaven; but they who are in the love of self and the love of the world are consociate in hell; for the love of self is opposite to love to God, and the love of the world is opposite to love toward the neighbor.

It is said "love to God," and there is meant love to the Lord, because in Him is the Trinity, and He is the Lord of heaven, for He has "all power in heaven and on earth" (Matt. 28:18).

(from Arcana Coelestia 7080-7086)
(series to be continued)

Seriatim Remarks on the Doctrine of Charity (Pt. 4)

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Things of Charity —

It is a common saying that everyone is neighbor to himself, that is, that one should take care of himself first of all. The doctrine of charity teaches how the case herein is. Everyone is neighbor to himself, not in the first, but in the last place. In a prior place are others who are in good; in a still prior place is a society of many; in a place still prior is our country; in a place still prior is the church; in a place still prior is the Lord's kingdom; and above all men and all things is the Lord.

The saying that everyone is neighbor to himself, and that he must take care of himself first of all, is to be understood in this way. Everyone must make provision for himself so as to have the necessities of life, as food, clothing, a place to dwell in, and other things which are necessarily required in the civil life where he is; and this not only for himself, but also for his family; and not only for the present time, but also for the future. Unless each person procures for himself the necessities of life, he cannot be in a state to exercise charity toward the neighbor, for he is in need of all things.

The end in view declares in what way each person must be neighbor to himself, and must first of all take care of himself. If the end is that he may become richer than others merely for the sake of riches, pleasure, eminence, and the like, the end is evil; and therefore he who from such an end believes he is neighbor to himself, injures himself to eternity. But if the end is that he may acquire wealth for the sake of the necessities of life, for himself and for his family, so as to be in a state to do what is good according to the commandments of the doctrine of charity, he takes care of himself for eternity. The end itself makes the man, for the end is his love, because everyone has as the end that which he loves.

How the case herein is can be further seen from this similar example. Everyone ought to take care of his body in respect to its food and clothing. This must come first, but to the end that there may be a sound mind in a sound body. And everyone ought to take care of his mind in respect to its food, namely, in respect to such things as belong to intelligence and wisdom, to the end that his mind may thus be in a state to serve the Lord; he who does this, takes good care of himself for eternity. But he who takes care of his body merely for the sake of the body, and does not think of soundness of mind, and who does not take care of his mind in respect to such things as are of intelligence and wisdom, but in respect to such things as are contrary thereto, takes bad care of himself for eternity. From all this it is evident in what way everyone ought to be neighbor to himself, namely, not in the first place but in the last; for the end must not be for himself, but for others; and where the end is, there is the first.

Moreover, the case herein is like that of a man who is building a house. He must first lay the foundation; but the foundation must be for the house, and the house for a place to dwell in. And so everyone must first take care of himself, yet not for himself, but in order that he may be in a state to be of service to the neighbor, thus to his country, to the church, and above all to the Lord. He who believes that he is neighbor to himself in the first place, is like one who regards the foundation as the end, and not the house and dwelling in it; when yet the dwelling is the very first and last end, and the house together with its foundation is only a means to the end.

As is the case with possessions, so also is it with honors in the world; everyone is at liberty to provide himself with these also, yet not for the sake of himself, but for the sake of the neighbor; he who provides them for the sake of himself, provides ill for himself; but he who provides them for the sake of the neighbor, provides well for himself. For he who turns his ends to himself turns himself toward hell; but he who turns his ends from himself to the neighbor, turns himself toward heaven.

(from Arcana Coelestia 6933-6938)
(series to be continued)

Seriatim Remarks on the Doctrine of Charity (Pt. 3)

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Things of Charity —

With respect to the Neighbor, more must be said, because without knowing who the neighbor is, no one can know in what way charity must be practiced.

It was said that every man is the neighbor, but not one in like manner as another; and that he who is in good is more the neighbor than others, thus that it is the good in a man which is to be loved; for when good is loved, the Lord is loved, because it is the Lord from whom is good, who is in good, and who is good itself.

But not only is man in the singular the neighbor, but also man in the plural. For a society, smaller or greater, is the neighbor; our country is the neighbor; the church is the neighbor; the Lord's kingdom is the neighbor; and so above all is the Lord. All these are the neighbor who is to be benefited from charity. These also are ascending degrees of the neighbor; for a society of many is the neighbor in a higher degree than is an individual man; our country in a higher degree than a society; in a still higher degree the church; and in a still higher degree the Lord's kingdom; but in the highest degree the Lord is the neighbor. These ascending degrees are like the steps of a ladder, at the top of which is the Lord.

A society is more a neighbor than an individual man, because it consists of many. Charity is to be practiced toward it in like manner as toward an individual man, namely, according to the quality of good in it; thus quite differently toward a society of the upright, from the way in which it is to be practiced toward a society of those who are not upright.

Our country is more the neighbor than a society, because it is like a parent; for there the man has been born; it nourishes him, and protects him from harm. Our country is to be benefited from love, according to its necessities, which chiefly regard its sustenance, its civil life, and its spiritual life. He who loves his country, and from good will benefits it, in the other life loves the Lord's kingdom; for there the Lord's kingdom is his country. And he who loves the Lord's kingdom, loves the Lord, because the Lord is the all in all of His kingdom; for what is properly called "the Lord's kingdom" is the good and truth from the Lord in those who are in it.

The church is more the neighbor than our country, because he who has regard for the church, has regard also for the souls and eternal life of the men who are in the country. And the church is cared for when man is led to good, and he who does this from charity, loves the neighbor, for he desires and wills for another, heaven and happiness of life to eternity. Good can be instilled into another by anyone in his country, but not truth, except by those who are teaching ministers; if others do this, heresies arise, and the church is disturbed and rent asunder. Charity is practiced, if through the truth which is of the church, the neighbor is led to good. If in the church anything is called truth which leads away from good, this is not worthy of mention, for it is not truth. Everyone must first obtain for himself truth from the doctrine of the church, and afterward from the Word of the Lord; this must be the truth of his faith.

The Lord's kingdom is the neighbor in a higher degree than the church in which one is born; for the Lord's kingdom consists of all who are in good, both on earth and in the heavens; thus the Lord's kingdom is good with every quality of it in the complex; and when this good is loved, everyone who is in good is loved. Thus the whole, which is all good in the complex, is the neighbor in the first degree, and is that Grand Man which has been treated of at the end of many chapters, which Man is a representative image of the Lord Himself. This Man, that is, the Lord's kingdom, is loved, when from inmost affection those are benefited who are men through that man from the Lord, thus with whom is the Lord's kingdom.

These are the degrees of the neighbor, and according to these degrees charity ascends; but these are degrees in successive order, in which a prior or higher degree is always preferred to a posterior or lower one; and as the Lord is in the highest, and He is to be regarded in every degree as the end to which each tends, therefore He is above all, and is to be loved above all things.

(from Arcana Coelestia 6818-6824)
(series to be continued)

Seriatim Remarks on the Doctrine of Charity (Pt. 2)

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Things of Charity —
It must first be told what the neighbor is
because it is he toward whom charity is to be exercised

Unless it is known who the neighbor is, charity may be exercised in the same manner and without distinction equally toward the evil as toward the good, whereby charity becomes no charity; for by virtue of its benefactions the evil do ill to the neighbor; but the good do well.

The general opinion at the present day is that every man is equally the neighbor, and that everyone who is in need of help must be benefited. But it is the part of Christian prudence to search well the quality of a man's life, and to exercise charity in accordance therewith. The man of the internal church does this with discrimination, thus with intelligence; but as the man of the external church cannot thus discriminate, he does it indiscriminately.

The ancients reduced the neighbor into classes, and named each class according to the names of those who in the world appear to be especially in need; and they taught how charity was to be exercised toward those who were in one class, and how toward those in another; and in this way they reduced the doctrine, and the life according to it, into order. Hence the doctrine of their church contained the laws of life, and hence they saw of what quality was this or that man of the church whom they called "brother," but with a distinction in the internal sense in accordance with his exercise of charity from the genuine doctrine of the church, or from the doctrine as changed by himself; for as everyone desires to appear blameless, he defends his own life, and therefore either explains or changes the laws of doctrine in his own favor.

The distinguishing differences of the neighbor, which the man of the church ought to wholly know, in order that he may know the quality of charity, vary in accordance with the good which is with everyone; and as all good proceeds from the Lord, the Lord is the neighbor in the highest sense, and in a surpassing degree; and from Him the neighbor originates. From this it follows that -

in proportion as anyone has of the Lord in him, in the same proportion he is the neighbor

and as no two persons receive the Lord (that is, receive the good which proceeds from Him) in the same way, therefore no two persons are the neighbor in the same way; for without exception all persons in the heavens and on earth differ in good. Precisely one and the same good never exists in two persons; it must vary in order for each person to subsist by himself. But all these varieties, thus all the distinguishing differences of the neighbor, which are according to the reception of the Lord, that is, of the good proceeding from Him, can never be known to any man, nor even to any angel, except in general, thus as to their genera and some species of these. Nor does the Lord require more of the man of the church than to live according to what he knows.

From all this it is now clear that -

the quality of Christian good determines in what degree each one is the neighbor

for the Lord is present in good, because it is His, and He is present according to the quality of it. And as the origin of the neighbor must be drawn from the Lord, therefore the distinguishing differences of the neighbor are according to the Lord's presence in good, thus according to the quality of the good.

That the neighbor is according to the quality of the good, is plain from the Lord's parable of the man who fell among thieves, whom, while half dead, the priest passed by, and also the Levite; but the Samaritan, when he had bound up his wounds and poured in oil and wine, set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn and took care of him; and he, because he exercised the good of charity, is called the "neighbor" (Luke 10:29-37). Hence it may be known that they are the neighbor who are in good; whereas they who are in evil are indeed the neighbor, but in quite a different respect; and for this reason they are to be benefited in a different way. But on this subject, of the Lord's Divine mercy more will be said hereafter.

As it is the quality of the good which determines how everyone is the neighbor, it is the love which does this; for there is not any good which is not of love; from this comes forth all good, and from this also comes forth the quality of the good.

That it is the love which makes a man to be the neighbor, and that each person is the neighbor according to the quality of his love, is very manifest from those who are in the love of self. These acknowledge as the neighbor those who love them the most; that is, insofar as they are theirs; thus are in themselves. These they embrace, these they kiss, these they benefit, and these they call brethren; nay, because they are evil, they say that these are the neighbor more than others. All the rest they hold to be the neighbor according as these love them, thus according to the quality and the amount of the love. Much derive the origin of the neighbor from themselves, for it is the love that is the determinant.

But they who do not love themselves more than others, as is the case with all who are of the Lord's kingdom, will derive the origin of the neighbor from Him whom they ought to love above all things, that is, from the Lord; and will regard everyone as the neighbor according to the quality of his love to Him. They therefore who love others as themselves, and especially those who - like the angels - love others more than themselves, all derive the origin of the neighbor from the Lord; for the Lord Himself is in good, because it proceeds from Him. Hence also it can be seen that the quality of the love determines who is the neighbor. That the Lord is in good, He Himself teaches in Matthew; for He says to those who had been in good, that they "had given Him to eat," that they "had given Him to drink, had gathered Him, clothed Him, visited Him, and had come to Him in prison;" and afterward, that "insofar as they had done it to one of the least of His brethren, they had done it to Him" (Matt. 25:34-40).

From all this it is now evident whence the origin of neighbor is to be drawn by the man of the church; and that everyone is the neighbor in the degree in which he is near the Lord; and because the Lord is in the good of charity, that the neighbor is according to the quality of the good, thus according to the quality of the charity.

(from Arcana Coelestia 6703-6712)
(series to be continued)

Seriatim Remarks on the Doctrine of Charity (Pt. 1)

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Things of Charity —
Such as is and ought to be the Doctrine of the Church
that it may agree with the good and truth in heaven

The Doctrine of Charity was the doctrine in the Ancient Churches, and that this doctrine conjoined all the churches, and so made one out of many; for they acknowledged as men of the church all who lived in the good of charity, and called them brethren, however greatly they might be at variance in the truths which at this day are called the truths of faith. In these one instructed another, and this was among their works of charity; nor were they indignant if one did not accede to the opinion of another, knowing that everyone receives truth in proportion as he is in good.

Such being the character of the Ancient Churches, they were more interior men, and being more interior they were more wise; for those who are in the good of love and of charity are as to the internal man in heaven, and in an angelic society there which is in like good. From this they have an elevation of mind to interior things, and consequently to the things of wisdom; for wisdom can come from no other source than heaven, that is, through heaven from the Lord; and in heaven there is wisdom, because there they are in good.

But in course of time this ancient wisdom decreased; for insofar as the human race removed itself from the good of love to the Lord and of charity toward the neighbor, so far it also removed itself from wisdom, because so far it removed itself from heaven. From this it is that man from internal became external, and this successively.

And when man became external, he also became worldly and corporeal; and when he is of this character he no longer cares for the things of heaven; for they have been so far removed as not to be believed to exist; because the delights of earthly loves, and with these all evils which from these loves are delightful to him, then take complete possession of the whole man; and then all that he hears about the life after death, about heaven, and about hell, is like chaff in the wind, which flies away as fast as it is seen.

From this also it is that the Doctrine of Charity, which was so precious among the ancients, is at this day one of the lost things; for who at this day knows what in the genuine sense charity is, and what in the genuine sense the neighbor is? when yet this doctrine abounds in arcana so many and so great that it cannot be described as to a thousandth part.

The whole Sacred Scripture is nothing else than the doctrine of love and of charity, as the Lord also teaches, saying, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God from all thy heart, and in all thy soul, and in all thy mind; this is the first and great commandment: the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself; on these two commandments hang the law and the prophets  (Matt. 22:37-40).

"The law and the prophets" are the Word in all and each of its parts.

As the doctrine of charity is at this day one of the lost things, and as the doctrine of faith is consequently much alienated from the truth, this doctrine may of the Lord's Divine mercy be delivered, and thus be restored to the church.

(from Arcana Coelestia 6627-6633 )
(series to be continued)