Purpose of Proverbs Translation

The writings of Swedenborg can be pithy and difficult to read in our age. They were originally written in Latin. What I have done here is reflect on sentences and attempt to boil their meaning down into easily understandable "proverbs".

Friday, February 4, 2011

11 Citations from Divine Providence book by Emanuel Swedenborg simplified into proverbs

Simple and wise people talk similarly but think differently.  Both talk as though the sun rises and sets; but the wise know that it stands relatively immobile.  D.P. 162

In the spiritual world space and distance is an appearance but reflect differences in feelings and in thoughts.  D.P.  162

The reality of heaven to angels has not to do with themselves per se but with their level of acceptance of divine love and wisdom from the Lord.  D.P.  163

The Lord himself governs heaven the way a soul governs its body.  D.P.  163

How much are we and the angels united with the Lord and vice versa, the Lord united to us?  To the extent that we accept love and wisdom from the Lord.  D.P.  164

In fact, each of us is assignbed a place in the Lord—that is, in heaven—according to the quality of that union or acceptance of him.  D.P.  164

In our uniqueness we are given a specific livelihood, (yes, we work in heaven until noon Swedenborg said), responsibilities and needs.  D.P.  164

We are not deprived of our freedom, so we are led and taught within the limits of our personal acceptance of the Lord, love and wisdom.  D.P.  164 

People who do not accept divine love and wisdom are separated from us rather like feces and urine are excreted.  D.P.  164

We are led b y the Lord through an inflow and taught by being enlightened.  D.P.  165

The reasons we are taught by the Lord by being enlightened is that being enlightened is connected with our wisdom and discernment.  D.P.  165

Our discernment, the sight of our inner self, is enlightened by spiritual light.  Our eyes, the sight of our outer self, is enlightened by physical light.  D.P.  165

Physical light comes from the sun of the physical world and is dead, while spiritual light comes from the spiritual world’s sun and is alive.  D.P.  166

There are three levels of light in the spiritual world:  1.  Heavenly( rich and flame-like in the third heaven), 2. spiritual (Brilliantly clear in the middle heaven), 3.  spiritual-earthly (In the lowest heaven which is like daylight in our world; it like our summer light for good people and like winter light for evil ones).  D.P.  166

The light of the spiritual world has nothing in common with the light of the physical world.  They are as different as life and death.  D.P.  166

There is light in the three levels of hell, too.  1.  In the deepest hell it’s like of glowing coals, 2.  In the middle hell it’s like that of a fireplace, 3.  In the uppermost hell it’s like that of candles or moonlight.  D.P.  167

All the people in the spiritual world see just as clearly in their own light as we do in our own daylight.  D.P. 167

When angels of heaven look into hell, they see nothing but pure darkness there.  When spirit of hell look into heaven, they see nothing but darkness there.  Heavenly wisdom is like darkness to people in hell; and conversely, hellish insanity is like darkness to people in heaven.  D.P. 167

Each one of us will come into our own light after death.  We have no sight in any other.  D.P. 167

In the spiritual world, we are all spiritual even in respect to our bodies.  D.P. 167

There are not many people who know anything ab out the enlightenment that envelops the discernment of people who are being led by the Lord.  D.P. 168

There is inner and outer enlightenment from the Lord.  Likewise, there is inner and outer enlightenment from ourselves.  D.P. 168

The inner enlightenment from the Lord is our sensing on first hearing whether what someone is telling us is true or not.  The outer enlightenment occurs in the thinking we do on that basis.  D.P. 168

The inner enlightenment from ourselves comes strictly from our own convictions.  The outer enlightenment from ourselves comes simply from the information we possess.  D.P.  168

1 comment:

  1. I really think these are brilliant. Swedenborg can be a little hard to understand sometimes, and these simplified his writings really well. Thank you very much for providing these.

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