Emanuel Swedenborg,

a portrait by Carl Frederik von Breda

(16 August 1759 – 1 December 1818)

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Today’s sharing from the Blue House of Via-HYGEIA is the second part of our little sampler dedicated to Emanuel Swedenborg, (29 January 1688 – 29 March 1772), and his influential writings; here the excerpt is from: ‘De la Divine Sagesse‘, translated from the original Latin by Jacques-Francois Le Boys Des Guays in the early nineteenth century and edited and revised for publication by Louis-Jean Français, pseudonym of Benjamin Allard, for La Haute Science-Le Cercle du Livre in 1953, in two volumes. Our excerpt is taken from volume 2, chapter XI, from page 55 to 59. It is preceded by a ‘summary of the whole treatise‘ by Louis-Jean Français, taken from volume 1, page 41 to 42. A Via-HYGEIA translation from the French into English. More to come soon!

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Summary of the

‘Treatise on Divine Wisdom’

God is Love & Wisdom. Man is connected to the Divinity, but he is formed in the mother’s womb in three degrees of life. The third, or natural degree, in which he is born, is inverted by hereditary evil. Thus, he must be regenerated, with the aid of his free will, so that the higher degrees may be opened. The Will (internal) and the Intellect, residing in the brain, are the receptacles of Divine Life. Their corresponding forms in the body are the heart and the lungs.

Due to his constitution and his three degrees of life, man, after his earthly death, lives in a spiritual body or spirit in human form. Through regeneration, he becomes an inhabitant or member of the Heavenly Kingdom, the purpose of the Creation of the Universe.

The Holy Scripture teaches the path that leads to Heaven: The Ten Commandments-summarized in the Gospels by the Love for God & the Love for our Neighbor-are its essence. But to follow them properly, we must know that Man, being conjoint Will & Intellect, is defined by the life or quality of the Will (internal or ultimate), derived from Love, which determines his spiritual quality and thus his future life.

From this, it is the Love for God and for our Neighbor, embodied in a life of acts useful to the Common Good, that leads to Heaven and constitutes the very life of Heaven. Swedenborg shows that there is only one unique Life. This Life is in the Lord Jesus-Christ. All life depends on it. (From the introduction by Louis-Jean Français).

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Excerpt from Chapter XI

‘Love towards our Lord Jesus-Christ exists through Him,

in the Charity & Wisdom of Faith’

Those who think only ‘naturally’ and not at the same time spiritually about Love for our Lord Jesus-Christ and Charity (Love) toward our Neighbor cannot do otherwise (for it would be impossible for them) than to think that our Lord Jesus-Christ must be loved in His person, and the Neighbor likewise in his person.

But those who think both ‘naturally’ & ‘spiritually’ at the same time perceive and think, based on that perception, that both the wicked  person & the good person can love our Lord Jesus-Christ in His person and, in the same way, our Neighbor. They also think that the love of a wicked person, cannot be reciprocated (since he embodies evil), whereas the love of a good person can be reciprocated, and they can be loved in return.

From this, the person who thinks both ‘naturally & spiritually’ concludes that the love for our Lord Jesus-Christ is to love (also) what comes from Him (namely, spiritual Good & Truth), which in itself is the Divine in which He resides. He also thinks that to express this Love is to do good to our Neighbor. He even concludes that it is impossible otherwise to be loved by our Lord Jesus-Christ or to be conjoined to Him through love.

But the ‘natural’ man cannot think spiritually on this subject unless these things are clearly presented to him. Therefore, in these articles, I will treat them distinctly:

Of Love & Charity

1. The love for the Divine Commandments is Charity in action. (John, XIV, 21).

2. It is through our Lord Jesus-Christ that the embodiment and activation of the Divine Commandments is possible-the love for the Commandments or Charity-and our Neighbor is the key receiver, towards who they are all converging.

3. Love towards our Lord Jesus-Christ exists in Charity because it exists in the fulfilment of the Divine Commandments.

4. The fulfilment of the Divine Commandments is about one’s duty and to do one’s work according to one’s virtue(s) in the desired forms, with loyalty, sincerity and justice.

5. There are some customs that are also Commandments of Charity.

6. These customs only become Commandments of Charity, if we fight the evils from hell here on Earth.

7. Because these evils are the opposite to the love for our Lord Jesus-Christ and to the fulfilment of the Commandments of Charity directed towards our Neighbor.

8.  The actions in fulfilment of the Divine Commandments which first & last end are only the common good are not actions that are true fulfilments of the Divine Commandments or Charity.

(A Via-Hygeia note: ‘usus‘ in Latin, cannot be translated as ‘usage’ or ‘custom’ here in the context Swedenborg oversees it here: ‘The Holy Scripture teaches the path that leads to Heaven. The Ten Commandments, summarized in the Gospels by the Love of God and Love of Neighbor, are its essence. But to follow them properly, we must know that man, being conjoint Will & Intellect, is defined by the life or quality of the Will (internal or ultimate), derived from Love, which determines his spiritual quality and thus his future life‘. So we have chosen to translate ‘usage‘ by ’embodying and activating the Divine Commandments’)

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Of Wisdom & Faith

1. Faith is nothing else but Truth.

2. Truth become Truth only when it is perceived and loved and it is called Faith, only when it is understood and lived.

3. The Truths of Faith are directed into two direction, the love for our Lord Jesus-Christ, and for our Neighbor.

4. These Truths teach us how our Lord Jesus-Christ must be approached to allow a conjunction and how later our Lord Jesus-Christ lives and acts through the activation of the divine Commandments or Charity by us.

5. Both are taught by these Truths which are spiritual, ethical and lawful.

6.  Faith consists into understanding these Truths and Charity consists to desire them and embody them into proper deeds.

7. This is why, when the Divine Love of our Lord Jesus-Christ exists (is alive) in us  through Charity-which consists to desire and practices these Truths-them the Divine Wisdom of our Lord Jesus-Christ exists (is alive) in us through Faith-which consists in understanding these Truths and to embody & fulfil them.

8. The conjunction between Charity & Faith is reciprocal.

(To be continued)

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Source

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We invite you to discover also this great article:

‘Under the sign of the Infinite‘, by Eugène Dupré.

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