Apocalypse Explained#142
142. (Verse 15) So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate. That this signifies those who separate good from truth, or charity from faith, which is contrary to Divine order, is evident from what was said and shown above, n. 107, where similar words occur. To which must be added, that those who separate truth from good, or faith from charity, turn away from themselves all influx of heaven into the good works which they do, in consequence of which their good works are not good; for heaven flows in, that is the Lord, through heaven, into the good of man's love, therefore he who casts out the good of charity from the doctrine of the church, and instead of it receives only those things which are said to belong to faith, is excluded from heaven, the truths pertaining to him not having life. And it is the life of truth, which is good, that conjoins, but not truth without life, or faith without charity. (But more may be seen concerning these things in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, where it treats concerning charity, n. 84-107, and concerning faith, n. 108-122.)
The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Teachings#108
108. Faith
NO one knows what faith is in its essence who does not know what caring is, because where there is no caring there is no faith. This is because caring is just as inseparable from faith as goodness is from truth. What we love or really care about 1 is what we regard as good, and what we believe is what we regard as true. We can therefore see that the oneness of caring and faith is like the oneness of what is good and what is true. The nature of that union was made clear in the earlier material on goodness and truth [§§11-27].
脚注:
1. The Latin phrase here translated "What we . . . care about" is quod . . . charum habet, literally, "what one holds dear. " Swedenborg's use of charum-the alternative spelling of the adjective carum, "dear"-may be intended to connect it with the Latin word charitas, here translated "caring. " See note 19. [GFD]