10258. “桂皮” 表源于良善的更内层的真理. 这从 “桂皮” 的含义清楚可知, “桂皮” 是指内在人的内层真理. “桂皮” 具有这种含义, 从前面的说明清楚看出来; 因为天上的事实按从最外层到最内层的次序接踵而来. 因此, “桂皮” 所表示的, 是至内层的真理, 因为至内在的真理在次序上是第四个. “桂皮” 之所以表示源于良善的真理, 是因为至内在的真理直接从良善发出, 并在低层与良善联合行动, 如理解力与意愿完全作为一体行动, 以至于无法分辨一个行为是源于意愿还是源于理解力时的情形. 此外, 天上的事物更越内在, 就越完美; 因为一切完美都朝更内在的部分增长, 一切完美皆源于良善, 也就是从主经由良善而来.

在以西结书, 桂皮作为那些表示天上事物的货物之一被提及:

但人和雅完人拿纺成的线, 亮铁, 桂皮, 菖蒲兑换你的货物. (以西结书 27:19)

此处论述的主题是推罗, 推罗表示教会中关于真理和良善的认知或知识 (参看1201节), “但人和雅完人” 表示那些拥有关于天上事物的认知或知识之人; “亮铁” 是指最末和最低的天上真理; “桂皮” 是指至内在的真理.

在圣言的其它经文中, 经上没有提到这种桂皮, 但在诗篇, 经上提到了一种肉桂 (kessia), 这也是一种桂皮:

神, 就是你的神用喜乐油, 没药, 沉香, 肉桂膏你, 膏你所有的衣服. (诗篇 45:7, 8)

这一整章诗篇论述的主题是主, 尤其是祂人性的荣耀. 人若缺乏内义的知识, 绝无可能知道当论述的主题是主时, “用没药, 沉香, 肉桂膏祂所有的衣服” 表示什么.

显然, 所指的并不是衣服, 也不是膏抹衣服的没药, 沉香和肉桂, 而是源于神性良善的神性真理, 主以神性真理为衣披在祂的人身上; 因为膏抹无非是主的神性人身里面的神性良善的一个代表. 因此, “没药, 沉香和肉桂” 表示从在祂里面的神性良善发出的, 在自己适当次序中的神性真理; 故 “衣服” 表示祂的神性人身. 无论你说主的神性人身还是说神性真理, 意思都一样, 因为当主在世时, 祂就是神性真理本身; 当祂离开这个世界时, 将自己变成神性良善, 神性真理便从这神性良善流出 (参看9199末尾, 9315末尾节提到的地方). 此外, 在圣言中, 凡披在其它某种事物上为衣的东西, 无论这种东西是什么, 都被称为 “衣服”. 在以赛亚书 (63:2, 3), 以及其它地方, 主的衣服就具有这种含义. 因为 “衣服” 表示披在良善上为衣的真理 (参看2576, 4545, 4763, 5248, 5319, 5954, 9093, 9212, 9216, 9952节). 由此明显可知, 在诗篇中, 作为一种桂皮的肉桂 (kessia) 表示直接从神性良善发出的神性真理, 这真理是至内在的真理.

997. Its being 'given all to you' means enjoyment on account of use, which is 'for food', for whatever is given for food is for use. As regards use, the situation is this: People who are governed by charity, that is, who dwell in love towards the neighbour - from which love the living delight contained in pleasures derives - have no regard for the enjoyment of pleasures except on account of the use that is served; for charity does not exist if there are no works of charity. It is in the exercise of it, that is, in use, that charity consists. Someone who loves the neighbour as himself never experiences the delight of charity except in the exercise of it, or in use. Consequently the life of charity is a life of uses. Such life pervades the whole of heaven, for the Lord's kingdom, being a kingdom of mutual love, is a kingdom of uses. Every pleasure therefore that springs from charity finds its delight in use, and the more pre-eminent the use the greater the delight. For this reason it is the very being and nature of a use which determines the happiness that angels have from the Lord.

[2] The situation with every pleasure is that the more pre-eminent its use is, the greater is its delight. Take one example, the delight of conjugial love: since the seed-bed of human society derives from it, and from that seed-bed the Lord's kingdom in heaven, which constitutes the greatest use of all, it therefore contains, as has been stated, so much delight within itself as to constitute heavenly happiness. The same applies to all other pleasures, their differences depending on the excellence of their respective uses. Those uses are so many and various that they can scarcely be divided into genera and species. One use will relate more closely and directly to the Lord's kingdom, or the Lord, another more remotely and indirectly. From these considerations it is also clear that all pleasures are available to man, yet only for the sake of the use they serve; and thus though they vary according to the use they serve, they share in and receive their life from heavenly happiness.