10331. 'In wisdom, and in intelligence, and in knowledge, and in all [manner of] work' means in respect of those things which compose the will and those which constitute the understanding within the internal man and within the external man. This is clear from the meaning of 'wisdom' as those things which compose the will within the internal man; from the meaning of 'intelligence' as those things which constitute the understanding, also within the internal man; from the meaning of 'knowledge' as those things which constitute the understanding and consequent speech within the external man; and from the meaning of 'work' as those things which compose the will and consequent practice within the external man. So the words used here mean everything - everything interior and everything exterior residing with a person in whom the good of celestial love exists - that receives the influx of Divine Truth from the Lord and is consequently seen in light. This influx and enlightenment are dealt with immediately above.

[2] But a brief statement needs to be made showing what wisdom, intelligence, knowledge, and work are. People who do not know what the internal man is and what the external man is, nor what understanding and will are, cannot see in what ways wisdom, intelligence, knowledge, and work are distinct and separate each from the others. They cannot do so because they cannot form any clear idea of one or of another. The people therefore who do not know those things call someone wise when he is merely intelligent or has only knowledge. But someone wise is a person who is moved by love to put truths into practice; someone intelligent is a person who is moved by faith to put them into practice; someone with knowledge is a person who applies his knowledge to doing so; and 'work' is that which is actually done by them. Thus 'work' means those three talents when put to use, within which they all combine.

[3] Nobody therefore can be said to have wisdom, intelligence, or knowledge in the true sense of these words if they are not put to use by him; for wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge have to do with the life a person should lead, and not with doctrine without reference to that life. Life is the end for the sake of which they exist. What the end is like therefore determines what kind of wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge they are. If real good, which is the good of love to the Lord and of charity towards the neighbour, constitutes the end, then they are wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge in the proper sense of these three words; for then these three as they exist with a person have their origin in the Lord. But if acting for the sake of some good desired by self-love and love of the world constitutes the end, they are not wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge, because then those three as they exist in a person have their origin in self. For any good which self-love and love of the world have as their end in view is evil, and when evil is the end in view nothing of wisdom and intelligence, nor even of knowledge, can be attributed in any way at all. For what use is knowledge if it does not hold an intelligent understanding of truth and a wise discernment of good within it? Knowledge devoid of these leads a person to think that evil is good and falsity is truth.

[4] In the case of those in whom the good of love to the Lord is present wisdom, intelligence, knowledge, and work follow in order from inmost to last and lowest. Wisdom there is inmost, since it consists in a will, inspired by love, that desires what is right. Intelligence is second, since it consists in an understanding, governed by a will desiring what is right, that perceives what is right. These two belong to the internal man. Knowledge consists in knowing what is right, and work in doing what is right, each governed by the will desiring what is right. These two belong to the external man. From this it is evident that wisdom must exist within intelligence, this within knowledge, and this within work. The work accordingly contains and embraces all the inner virtues, since it is last and lowest and that in which they terminate.

[5] From all this it becomes clear what should be understood by 'works' and 'deeds', mentioned so many times in the Word, as in the following places: In Matthew,

The Son of Man will repay everyone according to his deeds. Matthew 16:27.

In Jeremiah,

I will requite them according to their work and according to the deed of their hands. Jeremiah 25:14.

In the same prophet,

... O Jehovah, whose eyes have been opened upon all the ways of man, giving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his works. Jeremiah 32:19.

In the same prophet,

Turn back each of you from his evil way, and cause your works to be good. Jeremiah 35:15.

In Hosea,

I will punish his ways ¹ , and requite him for his works. Hosea 4:9.

In Zechariah,

Jehovah deals with us according to our ways and according to our works. Zechariah 1:6.

In John,

I will give to you each according to his works. Revelation 2:23.

In the same book,

They were judged every one according to their works. Revelation 20:13, 15.

In the same book,

Behold, I am coming, and My reward with Me, to give to everyone according to his works. Revelation 22:12.

By 'works' in these places all that exists within a person should be understood, because all that constitutes what a person wills and understands is present in his works; for the things in his will and understanding are what causes him to do them. From what is within them the works derive their life; for without it works are like a shell without the nut or a body without the soul. What proceeds from a person does so from the things within him; therefore works are manifestations of those inner things, and they are effects through which those inner things reveal themselves.

[6] It is a general rule that as is a person's character, so is every work he performs. For this reason 'the works' according to which there will be reward or retribution must be taken to mean a person's character so far as his love and faith are concerned. For works are the product of the love and faith residing in a person. Nothing other than his love and his faith constitute the person, or what amounts to the same thing, his good and his truth, see 10076, 10177, 10264, 10284, 10298.

[7] Furthermore the actual desires in a person's will are what constitute a work; for what a person desires in his will he also does, provided that nothing insurmountable stands in the way. Consequently being judged according to one's deeds means being judged according to the desires of one's will. In the Word those who do good because it is their will to do it are called 'the righteous', as is evident in Matthew 25:37, 46. Of them it is said that they will shine forth like the sun in heaven, Matthew 13:43; and in Daniel,

Those who have intelligence will shine like the brightness of the expanse, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars. Daniel 12:3.

'Those who have intelligence' are those who are moved by their intelligence to do what is true; and 'those who turn many to righteousness' are those who are stirred by the desires in their will to do what is good.

Poznámky pod čarou:

6004. 'Do not be afraid of going down to Egypt' means that natural truth and all that accompanies it must be introduced into the facts known to the Church. This is clear from the representation of Jacob, the one who is told that he should 'go down to Egypt', as natural truth, dealt with just above in 6001; from the meaning of 'going down' as being introduced into, for in order that the introduction might be represented Jacob went down into Egypt together with all who were his; and from the meaning of 'Egypt' as the facts known to the Church, dealt with in 1462, 4749, 4964, 4966.

[2] What an introduction of truth into the facts known to the Church implies is this: The Church's factual knowledge at that time consisted of representatives and meaningful signs contained in ritual observances, for all the ritual observances of the Church sprang from those representatives and signs, as also did the factual knowledge which helped members of the Church to understand teachings about charity. From that factual knowledge they knew who were really meant by the poor, the needy, the wretched, the afflicted, the oppressed, widows, orphans, strangers, those bound in prison, the naked, the sick, the hungry, the thirsty, the lame, the blind, the deaf, the maimed, and many others whom they identified as distinct kinds of the neighbour. By making such distinctions they taught how charity should be exercised. This was what their factual knowledge at that time was like. But at the present day that knowledge has been completely wiped out, as is evident from the consideration that where these deprived persons are mentioned in the Word scarcely anyone knows more than that those who are literally so deprived are meant, for example that those who are literally widows are meant when 'widows' are mentioned, those literally strangers when 'strangers' are mentioned, those literally in prison when they are mentioned, and so on. The kind of knowledge spoken of here flourished in Egypt, which is why 'Egypt' means factual knowledge. The need for natural truth, which is 'Jacob', to be introduced into such knowledge is represented by Jacob's going down into Egypt with all that was his.

[3] Truths are said to be introduced into factual knowledge when they are gathered together into it so as to exist within it. This is done to the end that when some fact comes to mind the truths that have been gathered into it may be recollected at the same time. When for example someone thinks of a stranger, then because 'a stranger' means people who are to receive instruction, all the ways of exercising charity towards such people instantly spring to mind, which is to say that truths spring to mind. The same thing happens when he thinks of any of the other kinds of deprived persons. Once known facts have been filled with those truths any thought based on those facts expands and spreads far and wide, reaching indeed into many communities in heaven simultaneously. For since such factual knowledge consists of so many truths contained within itself, it opens out in that way without the person's being aware of it. But they must be truths that are held within it. It is also an essential feature of Divine order that interior things should gather themselves into exterior ones, or what amounts to the same, prior things into posterior ones, so that finally everything prior should be gathered into what is last and lowest and coexist with it. This is what happens in the entire natural creation. If this were not true, no one could be fully regenerated; for such a gathering of truths within known facts enables interior things and exterior ones, which would otherwise be at variance, to exist in agreement and act as one. If they are at variance the person cannot be governed by good because he lacks sincerity. Besides, factual knowledge dwells in virtually the same inferior light as a person's physical sight. This inferior light is such that, unless it is brightened from within by the light received from truths, it leads to falsities, especially those that are a product of the illusions of the senses, and to evils that are a product of falsities. The truth of this will be seen from my experience presented at the ends of chapters under Influx.