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Arcana Coelestia #8911

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8911. The things that have been stated so far show what the situation is with a person and his life. That is to say, they show that a person is such as his will is, and that he remains such after death since death is not the end to life but the continuation of it. Since therefore a person is such as his will is - because, as has been stated above, the will is the real person - being judged according to one's deeds means being judged according to one's will, since there is no disparity between will and deed. Though external restraints exist - fear of the law, and fear of the loss of position, gain, reputation, or life - to inhibit the deed, the deed is all along in the will, and the will all along in the deed. It is like endeavour and motion. Motion is nothing other than an extension of the endeavour; for as endeavour comes to an end, so does motion. Therefore there is nothing essential within motion apart from endeavour. Learned people know this, for it is a recognized and well-established idea. In the human being endeavour is the will and motion is action; and they are called such in the human being because in him endeavour and motion are living. Being judged according to one's will is the same as being judged according to one's love; it is also the same as being judged according to the ends one has in view in life, as well as being judged according to the way one lives. For a person's will is his love, it is the end he has in view in life, and it is the very life itself within him. The truth of this is clear from the Lord's words which have already been quoted - One who looks at a woman 1 in such a way that he lusts after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Matthew 5:27-28. It is clear also from His saying that killing someone is not only performing that deed but also the desire to perform it, which is meant by being angry and reviling him with insults, Matthew 5:21-22. Furthermore a person is indeed judged according to his deeds; yet no further questions are asked than these - How far did those deeds spring from his will? and What nature did his will give them?

Notes de bas de page:

1. Following the version of Sebastian Schmidt Swedenborg adds a word which implies that the woman is another man's wife.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.

Le texte de la Bible

 

Matthew 15:11

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11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

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Arcana Coelestia #3872

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3872. 'And she called his name Simeon' means the essential nature of it. This is clear from the meaning of 'name' or 'calling the name' as the essential nature, dealt with in 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3006, 3421. That nature is contained in the internal sense of the words spoken by Leah, 'Jehovah has heard that I was hated, and has given me this one also', and is that which is meant by 'Simeon' and also by the tribe named after him. It is the second universal attribute of the Church, or the second with the person who is being regenerated and becoming the Church. That is to say, it is an obedience or a will to put into practice truth that is the truth of faith; and into that obedience and within that will charity - which follows next and is meant by 'Levi' - is implanted.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.