4988. That his lord’s wife lifted up her eyes to Joseph. That this signifies truth natural not spiritual adjoined to natural good, and its perception, is evident from the signification of a “wife,” as being truth adjoined to good (n. 1468, 2517, 3236, 4510, 4823), here truth natural not spiritual adjoined to natural good, because this truth and this good are treated of, that good to which this truth is conjoined being here the “lord” (n. 4973); and from the signification of “lifting up the eyes,” as being thought, intention, and also perception (n. 2789, 2829, 3198, 3202, 4339).

[2] By the “wife” is here signified truth natural, but not truth spiritual natural; and by the husband, who is here the “lord,” is signified good natural, but not good spiritual natural. It must therefore be explained what is meant by good and truth natural not spiritual, and good and truth spiritual natural. Good in man is from a twofold source-from what is hereditary and hence additional, and also from the doctrine of faith and of charity, or with the Gentiles from their religiosity. Good ¹ from the former origin is good natural not spiritual, while good from the latter origin is good spiritual natural. From a like origin is truth, because all good has its own truth adjoined to it.

[3] Good natural from the former origin, that is, from what is hereditary and hence adventitious, has much that is akin to good natural from the second origin, that is, from the doctrine of faith and charity, or from some religiosity, but only in the external form, being entirely different in the internal form. Good natural from the former origin may be compared to the good that exists with gentle animals; but good natural from the second origin is proper to the man who acts from reason, and consequently knows how to dispense what is good in various ways in accordance with uses. This dispensing of what is good is taught by the doctrine of what is just and fair, and in a higher degree by the doctrine of faith and charity, and with those who are truly rational is also confirmed in many ways by reason.

[4] They who do good from the former origin are borne blindly along as it were by instinct into the exercise of charity; but they who perform what is good from the second origin are borne along by an internal obligation, and as it were with their eyes open. In a word, they who do what is good from the former origin, do it from no conscience of what is just and fair, still less from any conscience of spiritual truth and good; whereas they who do what is good from the second origin, do it from conscience. (See what has been said before on this subject, n. 3040, 3470, 3471, 3518, and wha t follows, n. 4992.) But how the case is with these things can by no means be explained to the apprehension; for everyone who is not spiritual, or who has not been regenerated, sees good from its external form, and this for the reason that he does not know what charity is, or what the neighbor is; and the reason why he does not know these things is that he has no doctrinals of charity. In the light of heaven these things appear most distinctly, and hence they appear distinctly also with the spiritual or regenerate, because these are in the light of heaven.

Poznámky pod čarou: