388# 第四则可记之事：
我曾与若干人交谈，他们就是《启示录》中“龙”所指之人。其中一人对我说：“你同我来，我要把我们眼目与心中所悦之事指给你看。”
于是他领我穿过一片幽暗的树林，登上一座小山；从那里，我可以观看龙党之乐。我看见一座圆形剧场，建成马戏场的形状，四围设有长凳，层层斜上而筑，观众坐在其上。那些坐在最低层长凳上的人，从远处在我看来，像萨堤尔与普里阿普斯；其中有些人以遮盖物掩住下体，有些则赤裸而无遮蔽。在他们上方的长凳上，坐着淫乱者与妓女——从他们的姿态动作看，在我看来正是如此。
这时，那龙对我说：“现在你将看见我们的戏乐。”
我便看见，有仿佛牛犊、公羊、绵羊、山羊羔和羔羊被放入圆场之中；待它们被放入之后，一道门便打开了，随即有仿佛幼狮、豹、虎与狼者冲入，狂怒地扑向那群牲畜，将其撕裂并宰杀。此番血腥屠戮之后，那些萨堤尔便把沙土撒在宰杀之处。
【2】于是那龙对我说：“这些就是我们的戏乐，足以使我们的心灵欢悦。”
我回答说：“退去吧，魔鬼！不久之后，你必看见这座圆形剧场变为火与硫磺的湖。”他听了便发笑而去。
此后，我在心中思想：主为何许可此类事发生？我在心中得到回答：只要他们尚在灵界，此类事便被许可；但当他们在那世界中的时期已满，这类戏剧性的景象便转为可怖的地狱景象。
【3】凡所见的这一切，都是龙借幻象所引发的。因此，那里并没有真实的牛犊、公羊、绵羊、山羊羔与羔羊；他们只是使教会真正的善与真——他们所憎恨者——显为这些形象。幼狮、豹、虎与狼，则是那些显为萨堤尔与普里阿普斯者内在私欲的表象。
那些下体无遮蔽者，是指相信邪恶在上帝面前并不显露之人；那些有遮蔽者，是指相信邪恶虽显露，却只要人在信仰中便不被定罪之人。淫乱者与妓女，则是圣言真理的篡改者；因为淫乱表示真理之篡改。在属灵世界中，一切事物从远处看，皆按对应关系显现；当它们显为形态时，便称为属灵事物在相似的属世对象中的表现。
【4】后来，我看见他们从树林中出来；龙在萨堤尔与普里阿普斯中间，仆役与营卒——即那些淫乱者与妓女——跟在他们后面。队伍在路上渐渐增多；这时，我听见他们彼此谈论。他们说，看见草地上有一群绵羊同羔羊；这乃是一个征兆，表明耶路撒冷诸城之一已经临近，而在那里，仁义居于首位。
他们说：“我们去攻取那城，驱逐其中居民，掠夺他们的财物。”
他们便走近；但那城四围有墙，墙上有守护的天使。于是他们说：“我们要用诡计攻取它。派一个善于喃喃巧辩的人去；他能把黑说成白，把白说成黑，并能给任何对象之事物涂上伪饰。”
于是找到一人，精通形上学之术；他能把事物的观念转变为术语的观念，又能把事物本身隐藏在公式之下，并如此像鹰把猎物藏在翅下而飞去。他受了指示，知道该如何同城中人说话，即说他们在宗教上是同伴，故应被接纳入城。
他来到城门前叩门；门开之后，他说，愿与那城中最有智慧者交谈。于是他进入城中，被带到某人那里；他便对那人说：“我的弟兄们在城外，请求被接纳。他们在宗教上是你们的同伴；你们与我们都把信仰和仁义视为宗教的两个本质。差别仅在于：你们说仁义为首位，信仰由此而来；我们则说信仰为首位，仁义由此而来。既然二者都被相信，那么说此者或彼者为首位，又有什么关系呢？”
【5】城中的智者回答说：“此事我们不可单独谈论，而应在多人面前谈论，使他们作仲裁者与审判者；否则不能作出判定。”
不久，他们便被召来；那龙党人便向他们说了与先前相同的话。
于是城中的智者回答说：“你说，无论以仁义为教会之首位，还是以信仰为首位，只要同意二者构成教会及其宗教，便是一样。然而，其间差别正如先与后、原因与结果、主导与工具、本质与形式之间的差别。我这样说，是因为我察觉你精通形上学之术；这种技艺，我们称之为喃喃巧辩，有些人则称之为巫术。不过，姑且撇开这些术语。
“其差别如同上与下之间的差别；甚至，若你愿意相信，其差别如同此界中住在上方者的心智，与住在下方者的心智之间的差别。因为凡为首位者，便构成头与胸；凡由首位而来者，便构成脚与脚掌。
“但我们首先应约定：何为仁义，何为信仰。仁义乃是出于爱而为邻舍行善的情感，为着上帝、救恩与永生；信仰乃是出于信靠而关于上帝、救恩与永生的思想。”
【6】然而，那使者说：“我承认这就是信仰；我也承认仁义是那种为着上帝的情感，因为它是为着祂的命令；但我不承认它是为着救恩与永生。”
在这项同意与分歧之后，城中的智者说：“情感或爱，岂不是首位，而思想由此而来吗？”
但龙所差来的使者说：“我否认此点。”
智者回答说：“你不能否认。人岂不是从某种爱而思想吗？除去爱，他还能思想什么吗？这全然如同从言语中除去声音；若除去声音，你还能说出什么吗？声音也属于某种爱的情感，言语则属于思想；因为爱发声，思想言说。此亦如火焰与光：若除去火焰，光岂不消失吗？仁义亦然，因为仁义属于爱；信仰亦然，因为信仰属于思想。由此你岂不能领会，首位者乃是在第二位者中的一切，正如火焰之于光？
“由此可知，若你不把首位者置于首位，你便不在第二位者之中。因此，若你把本在第二位的信仰置于首位，你在天堂中所显现的，必无异于一个倒置的人：脚朝上，头朝下；或如一个术士，倒转身体，以双手掌行走。
“你们在天堂中既显为如此，那么，你们所谓善行——即实行中的仁义——又是什么样呢？岂不正如那术士用脚所能作之事吗？因为他不能用手作。因此，你们的仁义是属世的，而非属灵的；因为它是倒置的。”
【7】那使者明白了这些话；因为每一个魔鬼听见真理时都能明白，却不能持守。因为邪恶的情感——其本身即肉体的私欲——一旦返回，便驱逐真理的思想。
此后，城中的智者又向众人多方说明：信仰若被接受为首位，究竟是什么样；它只是纯属世的，并且是一种没有任何属灵生命的确信，因而并非信仰。他说：“我几乎可以说，你们的信仰中所含的属灵性，并不比关于莫卧儿王国、那里一座钻石矿，以及那位皇帝的宝库或宫廷的思想更多。”
龙党人听见这些话，便愤怒离去，向城外自己的同伙报告。当他们听见有人说，仁义是出于爱而为邻舍行善的情感，为着上帝、救恩与永生时，众人都喊道：“这是谎言！”龙自己也喊道：“何等罪恶！凡属仁义而为着救恩所行的一切行为，岂不都是邀功之举吗？”
【8】于是他们彼此说：“再召集更多我们的人，围困此城，把这些仁义派赶出去。”
但当他们正图谋此事时，看哪，仿佛有火从天而降，将他们吞灭。然而，那从天而降的火，乃是他们对城中人所怀愤怒与仇恨的显现；因为城中人把信仰从首位降到第二位，甚至降到仁义之下最低的位置，因为他们说那种信仰并非信仰。
他们显得仿佛被火吞灭，是因为地狱在他们脚下开启，将他们吞下。在最后审判之日，许多地方都发生了类似之事；启示录中以下经文所指的，也是此事：“龙要出来，迷惑地上四方的列国……叫他们聚集争战；……他们上来遍满了全地，围住圣徒的营与蒙爱的城；但有火从上帝那里由天降下，吞灭了他们。”（启20:8-9）
388# 记事四：
我曾与启示录中“龙”所指的那些人中的一些人交谈过，其中一个人说：“跟我来，我将向你展示我们眼中和心中的快乐，或说让我们赏心悦目、心旷神怡的东西。”然后他领着我穿过一片幽暗的森林，来到一座小山的山顶，从那里我可以看到龙的快乐或娱乐形式。我看到一座圆形剧场，建得像马戏团，四周是一排排座位，从前排逐渐升高，观众正坐在上面。在我眼里，从远处看，那些坐在最低排座位上的人就像萨蒂尔和普里阿普斯；有些人只略微遮盖了隐私部位，有些人则全身赤裸。在这些人上面的座位上坐着的，是淫乱的男女，或嫖客和妓女，这从他们的行为举止明显看出来。然后，龙对我说：“现在，你将看到我们的娱乐形式。”我似乎看到了牛犊、公羊、绵羊、小山羊和羔羊被赶到马戏团的竞技场；它们进去后，一扇门开了，少壮狮子、豹子、老虎和狼冲进来，它们狂怒地攻击羊群和牛群，把它们撕成碎片，杀死它们。血腥杀戮之后，萨蒂尔把沙子撒在屠宰场上。
然后，龙对我说：“这就是我们的娱乐。”我回答说：“滚开，恶魔！你很快就会看到这个圆形剧场变成一个火与硫磺的湖。”他闻言笑着走了。后来，我思考为什么主会允许这样的事；我心里得到了答案：只要这些灵人在灵人界，它们就被允许；但当他们停留在灵人界的时间结束时，这些戏剧场景就会变成地狱的恐怖。
所看到的这一切，或整个场面都是龙通过幻想引起的，或说由龙投射形像的能力或幻觉能力引起的。因此，牛犊、公羊、绵羊、小山羊和羔羊都不是真的；但龙却使他们所憎恨的教会的真正良善和真理呈现出这些表象。而狮子、豹子、老虎和狼则是在那些像萨蒂尔和普里阿普斯的人里面掌权的欲望的表象。连隐私部位都没有遮盖的人是那些以为邪恶在神眼里不会出现的人；而有遮盖的人是那些以为邪恶会出现，但只要有信仰，就不会受诅咒或被定罪的人。嫖客和妓女则是歪曲圣言真理的人，因为淫行表示对真理的歪曲。在灵界，从远处看，一切事物都照着对应关系出现，当这些对应关系在形式上出现，或说呈现出具体的形式时，它们就被称为在类似属世事物的物体中，或在属世形式中的属灵事物的代表。
此后，我看到他们走出森林。龙在萨蒂尔和普里阿普斯中间，他们后面跟着他们的追随者，即仆人和侍从，就是嫖客和妓女。这群人一路上不断增多，这时我能听到他们彼此在说什么。他们说，他们看到草地上有一群绵羊和羔羊，这表明不远处有一座耶路撒冷城，在那里，仁爱是主要事物，或说占据首位。于是他们说：“让我们去攻取那城，驱逐其中的居民，掠夺他们的财物。”他们就接近那城；但它周围有城墙，城墙上有天使守卫。然后他们说：“让我们用计谋夺城，派一个能言善辩的人，他可以把黑的变成白的，把白的变成黑的，给一切涂上他所选择的任何颜色。”于是，他们找到了一个精通形而上学的人，他可能把现实观念或对事物的观念变成对术语的观念，把现实或事物本身隐藏在公式之下，从而和它们一起飞走，就像老鹰和它翅膀下的猎物一起飞走一样。他被教导向公民说什么话，就说他们具有同样的宗教，或说在宗教上是同伴，他们希望被允许进城。他走到城门前敲门，门开了，他说，他想和这城里最有智慧的人交谈。然后，他就进去了，被带到一个人面前，他对这个人说了下面的话：“我的弟兄们在城外，请求被准许进城。他们和你们在宗教上是同伴，或说信仰同一宗教；你们和我们都视信仰和仁爱为宗教的两个要素。唯一的区别是，你们说，仁爱是首要的，信仰来自仁爱，或是衍生的；而我们说，信仰是首要的，仁爱来自信仰，或是衍生的。只要我们都相信这两者，那么哪一个被称为首要的，哪一个被称为衍生的，又有什么关系呢？”
城里的智者回答说：“我们不要独自谈论这个问题，而是在可以担任裁判和法官的其他人面前谈论；否则，我们无法做出决定。”随即一些裁判和法官被召集起来，龙的灵把之前的话对他们说了。然后，城里的智者回答说：“你说过，只要同意仁爱和信仰这两者构成教会及其宗教，那么是仁爱还是信仰被视为教会的首要原则，或首要要素，都是一样的。然而，这种区别就像在先之物和在后之物，原因和结果，主因和工具因，本质和形式之间的区别。我用这些术语，是因为我注意到，你精通形而上学，一种我们称之为诡辩的艺术，有些人称之为巫术。不过，让我们放下这些术语。这种区别就像在上之物和在下之物之间的区别；或若你愿意相信，它甚至就像在这个世界，那些住在高层区域的人和那些住在低层区域的人之心智之间的区别。因为首要之物构成头和胸，而来自它，或从中衍生之物构成脚和脚底。然而，首先让我们看看，我们在什么是仁爱和信仰上是否达成一致，即：仁爱是为了神、救赎和永生而对向邻舍行善的爱之情感；信仰是源于对神、救赎和永生的信靠的思维。”
这个使者回答说：“我承认这就是信仰，我也承认仁爱是为了神而对行善的爱或情感，因为祂就是如此吩咐的，但不是为了救赎和永生。”在经过这种同意和不同意之后，城里面的智者说：“难道情感或爱不是首要的，思维不是从中衍生出来的吗？”但龙的使者说：“我否认这一点。”智者回答说：“你无法否认。难道人不是出于某种爱来思考吗？拿走爱，他能思考吗？这就像从言语中拿走声音一样。拿走声音，你能说话吗？此外，声音属于某种爱之情感，而言语属于思维，因为是爱在发声，是思维在说话。这也像火焰和光。拿走火焰，光岂不会消失？仁爱和信仰也是如此，因为仁爱属于爱，信仰属于思维。那么，难道你不明白，首要事物是次要事物中的全部，或完全在次要事物中，就像火焰和光一样吗？由此清楚可知，你若不将首要元素视为首要的，也不会有次要元素。因此，如果你将属于第二位的信仰摆在了第一位，那么在天堂，你看起来始终就像一个倒立的人，脚朝上、头朝下，或像一个杂技演员，倒立着身子，用手掌走路。如果这就是你在天堂的形像，那么你的善行，即行为中的仁爱，不就像那杂技演员用脚做事，因为他不能用手吗？因此，你的仁爱是属世的，不是属灵的，因为它是颠倒的。”
使者明白这一点，因为每个魔鬼在听到真理时，都能理解，但他无法记住，因为反复出现的对邪恶的情感，即肉体的欲望，会逐出真理的思维。此后，城里的智者以各种方式说明，当信仰被视为宗教的第一要素时，它的性质，即：它是纯属世的，是一种缺乏属灵生命的说服，因而根本不是信仰。他补充说：“我几乎可以说，你的信仰里面没有灵性，就像关于莫卧儿帝国、那里的钻石矿，以及那个皇帝的宝库和宫殿的思维里面没有灵性一样。”听到这话，龙的灵怒气冲冲地走了，把一切都报告给城外的同伴。当他们听到有人说，仁爱是为了救赎和永生而对向邻舍行善的爱之情感时，他们都大声喊道：“这是个谎言！”龙自己也大喊：“哦，多么离谱邪恶啊！为了救赎所做的一切仁爱的作为或行为，不都是寻求功德的作为或行为吗？”
然后，他们彼此说：“让我们再召集更多的人，围攻这座城，把这些仁爱赶出去。”但当他们试图这样做时，有火似乎从天而降，烧灭了他们。这从天而降的火是他们对这座城的居民的愤怒和仇恨的一种表象或代表，因为他们把信仰从第一位降到了第二位，甚至降到了仁爱之下的最低位置，宣称他们的信仰根本不是信仰。他们似乎被火烧灭了，因为地狱在他们脚下打开了，他们被吞没了。在最后审判的时候，许多地方都发生了类似的事，这就是以下启示录中的经文的意思：
龙要出来迷惑地上四方的列族，叫他们聚集争战。他们上到地的宽阔处，围住圣徒的营与蒙爱的城，就有火由神那里从天降下，烧灭了他们。（启示录20:8，9）
388. The fourth memorable occurrence. I was talking with some of the people meant by "the dragon" in the Book of Revelation. One of them said, "Come with me. I'll show you what entertains our eyes and hearts. " He led me through a dark forest onto a hill from which I could watch the dragon's form of entertainment. I saw an amphitheater built in the round with seating rising at an angle in every direction, on which the spectators were sitting. The spectators sitting in the front row looked to me at a distance like satyrs and priapuses, some with a loincloth covering their genitals and some who were completely naked. Sitting in the seats behind them there were promiscuous men and women. (Their movements suggested to me that that is what they were.)
Then the dragon said to me, "Now you are going to see our form of entertainment. "
I saw what looked like bull calves, rams, sheep, goats, and lambs released into the arena. After they had all come in, a gate opened up and what looked like young lions, panthers, tigers, and wolves came rushing in. These animals attacked the others in a rage, tore them to pieces, and slaughtered them. After the gory slaughter, satyrs went out and sprinkled sand over the area where the kill had taken place.
[2] Then the dragon said to me, "This is our entertainment. It gives our minds great satisfaction. "
I said, "Go away, you demon! It won't be long before you see this amphitheater turned into a lake of fire and sulfur. "
He laughed at what I had said and went away.
Afterward, I was wondering to myself why the Lord allows things like that. In my heart I received an answer. Events like that are allowed as long as those people are in the world of spirits. After their time in that world is finished, theatrical displays like that are turned into dreadful, hellish scenes.
[3] The whole spectacle had been conjured up by the dragon's ability to project images. The bull calves, rams, sheep, goats, and lambs did not in fact exist. The dragon spirits had taken all the genuinely good and true things about the church that they hate and made them look like those animals. The lions, panthers, tigers, and wolves were manifestations of the lusts of the people who looked like satyrs and priapuses. The spirits who wore nothing over their genitals believed that their evil is not apparent before God. The spirits who wore a loincloth believed that their evil is apparent but that they are not damned by it, provided they have faith. The promiscuous men and women were people who falsify the truths of the Word. (Promiscuity stands for falsification of truth.)
Everything in the spiritual world, when seen from a distance, has an external appearance that is based on correspondences. When these correspondences assume particular forms, they are called representations of spiritual things in objects like those in the material world.
[4] Later on I saw the spirits leaving the forest. The dragon left among the satyrs and priapuses. Their servants and lackeys, who were the promiscuous men and women, went along behind them. The crowd became larger as it went along.
At that point I could hear what they were saying to each other - that they had seen a flock of sheep and lambs in a meadow. This was a sign that they were near one of the many Jerusalem cities where goodwill is primary.
They said, "Let's go capture the city, drive out its inhabitants, and loot their possessions. "
They came closer to the city, but there was a wall around it, with angel guards on the wall. So they said, "Let's use deceit to capture it. Let's send in someone who is skilled in double-talk, who can whiten what is black, blacken what is white, and color the reality of any subject. "
They managed to find someone who was an expert in theoretical philosophy. He could turn concepts based on reality into mere terminology, hide realities behind formulas, and then fly away like a hawk with its prey beneath its wings. They taught him how he should address the people in the city. He should say that his companions were the citizens' allies in religion and should be allowed in.
He came to the gate of the city and knocked. When the gate opened, he said that he wanted to speak to the wisest person in the city. He was allowed to enter and was taken to someone in the city.
In speaking to the wise person, he said, "My people are outside the city. They are asking to be let in. They are your allies in religion. Both you and we consider faith and goodwill the two essentials of religion. The only difference between us is that you say goodwill is primary and faith comes from it, while we say faith is primary and goodwill comes from it. What difference does it make if this or that is labeled primary, as long as we all believe in them both?"
[5] The wise person from the city replied, "You and I shouldn't discuss this alone. We should discuss it before a number of people acting as referees and judges. Otherwise we couldn't come to a decision. "
Soon the referees and judges were summoned, and the dragon spirit addressed them using much the same language he had used before. Then the wise man from the city replied, "You have stated that it makes no difference whether goodwill or faith is taken to be primary in the church as long as there is agreement that both constitute the church and its religion.
"But it does make a difference - as much of a difference as there is between what is prior and what is posterior, between cause and effect, between something principal and something instrumental, and between something essential and something merely formal. I frame it in these philosophical terms because I am aware that you are an expert in the theoretical philosophy that we call 'double-talk' and others call 'incantation. '
"But let's leave philosophical terminology aside. There is as much difference between considering faith primary and considering goodwill primary as there is between something superior and something inferior. In fact, if you are willing to believe it, there is as much difference as there is between the minds of spirits who live up high in this world and the minds of spirits who live down low.
"What is primary constitutes the head and the torso, so to speak. What comes from it constitutes the legs down to the soles of the feet.
"First of all, however, we should define goodwill and faith. Goodwill is a loving desire to do what is good for our neighbor on account of God, salvation, and eternal life. Faith is thought that is based on confidence in God, salvation, and eternal life.
[6] "I grant you your definition of faith, the delegate said, and I also grant that goodwill is that loving desire to act on account of God, because it is acting on account of his commandments; but it is not acting on account of salvation and eternal life. "
After this agreement and disagreement, the wise man from the city said, "Surely desire or love is primary, and thought comes from it. "
The dragon's delegate said, "I deny that. "
The wise man replied, "You cannot deny it! People do their thinking based on some love. Take away the love: can they think anything at all? It is exactly the same as taking the sound out of speech. If you take away the sound, can you say anything at all? In fact, sound comes from a desire related to some love, and speech comes from thought, since love makes the sound, and thought speaks.
"Another example is a flame and light. If you take away the flame, the light ceases to exist. It is the same with goodwill and faith, since goodwill relates to love and faith relates to thought. Surely you can understand, then, that the primary thing is the most important ingredient of the secondary thing, as in the case of flame and light.
"It is clear from this that if you don't make the primary element primary, you don't have the secondary element either. If you take faith, which belongs in the second place, and put it in the first place, in heaven you will look just like someone upside down, whose legs are up in the air and whose head is down below, like acrobats that walk on the palms of their hands. And since that is how you appear in heaven, your good actions, your acts of goodwill, are like the kinds of things acrobats do with their feet because their hands are not available. Your goodwill is earthly, not spiritual, because it is upside-down. "
[7] The delegate comprehended this - all devils can understand truth when they hear it. They just cannot retain it, because their desire for evil, which is actually a craving belonging to their flesh, comes back into play and thrusts out any thought of the truth.
Afterward, the wise man of the city used many examples to show what faith is like when it is taken to be the primary thing: "It is merely earthly. It is a conviction without any spiritual life. Therefore it is not faith. I could almost say that there is no more spirituality in your faith than there would be in a faith that consisted of thinking about the country of Mongolia, a diamond mine there, and the royal treasure of the Mongolian emperor. "
Angry at hearing this, the dragon spirit went away. He reported back to his people outside the city. When they heard that someone had defined goodwill as a desire to do good to one's neighbor on account of salvation and eternal life, they all shouted, "That's a lie!"
The dragon himself said, "It is criminal! Surely when people perform acts of goodwill for the sake of their own salvation they are hoping to earn merit. "
[8] Then they said to each other, "We should call together even more of our people, besiege this city, and throw these 'goodwills' out. "
Yet as they were working on this, fire appeared to come down from heaven and devour them! The fire was in fact a manifestation of their own rage and hatred against the people in the city for demoting faith from first place to second, placing it far beneath goodwill, and saying otherwise it would not be faith. It looked like they were devoured by fire, because hell opened under their feet and swallowed them up.
Things like this happened in many places at the time of the Last Judgment. These events were also meant by the following passage in the Book of Revelation:
The dragon will go out to lead astray the nations that are in the four corners of the earth to gather them for war. They climbed up onto the plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. (Revelation 20:8-9)
388. The fourth experience.
I talked with some of those who are meant in Revelation by the dragon, and one of them said: 'Come with me, and I will show you what delights our eyes and hearts.'
So he took me through a dark wood and up a hill, from which I could watch the pleasures of the dragons. I saw an amphitheatre constructed in the shape of a ring surrounded by benches running up in tiers, on which the spectators were sitting. Those sitting on the lowest benches looked to be from a distance like satyrs and priapi 1 ; some had clothing to conceal their private parts, and some without it were totally naked. On the benches above them sat fornicators and prostitutes, as it appeared to me by the gestures they made.
Then the dragon said to me: 'Now you will see our sport.' I saw let into the space in the ring what looked like calves, rams, ewes, kids and lambs; and when they were inside, a gate was opened and in rushed what looked like young lions, panthers, tigers and wolves. These furiously attacked the cattle, tore them in pieces and massacred them. After this bloody slaughter the satyrs sprinkled sand over the place where they had been killed.
[2] Then the dragon said to me: 'These are the sports which delight our minds.' 'Away with you, demon,' I replied, 'in a short while you will see this amphitheatre turned into a lake of fire and brimstone.' He laughed at this and went away. But afterwards I began to reflect why such things are permitted by the Lord. I received a reply in my heart, that they are permitted so long as people are in the world of spirits; but once their time in that world is up, such theatrical scenes are turned into the torments of hell.
[3] Everything which I saw had been the product of the dragon's imagination. So they were not really calves, rams, ewes, kids and lambs, but they made the genuine kinds of good and truth in the church, which they hated, appear in this form. The lions, panthers, tigers and wolves were the forms taken by the desires of the people who looked like satyrs and priapi. The ones with no clothing around their private parts were those who believed that evils were not manifest to God; those who had some clothing were those who believed that evils were manifest, but did not damn a person so long as he had faith. The fornicators and prostitutes were those who falsify the truths of the Word, for fornication means the falsification of truth. In the spiritual world everything at a distance looks like what it corresponds to, and when these take visible form they are called representations of spiritual things in the form of objects resembling those in the natural world.
[4] Later on I saw them emerging from the wood, the dragon in the midst of satyrs and priapi, with servants and camp-followers, who were the fornicators and prostitutes, coming after them. The column they formed grew as they went, and then I heard what they were discussing.
They were saying they had seen in a meadow a flock of sheep with lambs, and this was a sign that close by was one of the Jerusalem cities, where charity is the leading characteristic. 'Let us go,' they said, 'and capture that city, expel the inhabitants and plunder their property.' So they approached, but there was a wall around it, and angels on the wall to guard it. So then they said: 'Let us capture it by a trick. Let us send them someone skilled in sophistry, who can make black appear white and white black, and put a colourable gloss on anything.'
So they found someone who was an expert in metaphysics, able to turn real ideas into terminological ones, conceal the facts under forms of words, and so fly off like a hawk with its prey beneath its wings. He was told what to say to the people in the city, that they were co-religionists and should be let in. He went up to the gate and knocked, and when it was opened he said that he wished to speak with the wisest person in the city. He went in and was taken to someone, whom he addressed in these words: 'My brethren are outside the city, begging to be admitted. They-are your co-religionists, for you and we both make faith and charity the two essentials of religion. The only difference is, that you put charity first and derive faith from it, and we put faith first and derive charity from it. What does it matter which is put first, when we believe in both?'
[5] The wise citizen replied: 'Let us not discuss this subject by ourselves, but in the presence of a larger audience who can act as umpires and judges. Otherwise we shall not reach a decision.' So more people were soon summoned, and they were addressed by the dragon's ambassador in similar words to those he had previously used.
Then the wise citizen made his reply: 'You have said that it is much the same whether charity or faith is regarded as the leading matter in the church, so long as there is agreement that either of them constitutes the church and its religion. Yet the difference is like that between prior and posterior, cause and effect, principal and instrumental, and essential and formal. I use these terms because I notice that you are an expert on metaphysics, a subject we call mere sophistry, and some people call magic formulas. But let us drop these terms. The difference is like that between what is above and what is beneath. Or rather, if you will believe me, it is the difference between the minds of those in this world who live on the upper level and the minds of those on the lower level. For the leading point constitutes the head and chest, and what is derived from it the feet and the soles of the feet. But first of all let us agree on the definition of charity and faith. Charity is the affection of the love of doing good to the neighbour for the sake of God, salvation and everlasting life; and faith is thinking from a trust in God, salvation and everlasting life.
[6] But the ambassador said: 'I agree that this is the definition of faith, and I also agree that charity is that affection for the sake of God, because it is for the sake of His commandment, but not for the sake of salvation and eternal life.' After this partial agreement and partial disagreement, the wise citizen said: 'Is not affection or liking the leading point, and thought derived from it?' The dragon's ambassador said: 'This I deny.'
But he was answered: 'You cannot deny it. Surely anyone thinks as the result of some liking. Take away the liking, and can he think at all? It is exactly as if you removed the sound from speech; if you took away the sound, could you say anything? Sound too is the product of the affection of some love or other, and speech is the product of thought, for love makes a sound and thought puts it into words. It is also like a flame and light; if you take away the flame, is not the light extinguished? It is much the same with charity, because this is the product of love, and with faith, because this is the product of thought. Can you not thus grasp that the leading point is all-important for the secondary, exactly as the flame is for the light? It is obvious from this that if you do not put the leading point first, you cannot have the second either. Therefore, if you put faith, which is in the second place, in first place, you cannot fail to appear in heaven as upside down, with your feet uppermost and your head down, or like a clown who walks upside down on the palms of his hands. When you look like this in heaven, what then will your good deeds look like, which are charity in action? They can only be the sort of things the clown does with his feet, since he cannot do them with his hands. That is why your charity is natural rather than spiritual, since it is upside down.'
[7] The ambassador understood this, since every devil can understand truth when he hears it; but he is unable to keep it in his memory, because the affection for evil, which is essentially the longing of the flesh, on its return expels thought of the truth. Afterwards the wise citizen showed at some length what is the nature of faith when. it is taken as the leading point, namely, that it is purely natural, a conviction devoid of any spiritual life, and in consequence no faith at all. 'And I can almost say that there is no more spirituality in your faith, than there is in thinking about the Mogul empire, the diamond mine in it, and the treasury or court of that emperor.' On hearing this the dragon's man went off in anger and reported to his companions outside the city. When they heard it had been said that charity is the affection of the love of doing good to the neighbour for the sake of [God,] 2 salvation and everlasting life, they all shouted: 'This is a lie!', and the dragon himself cried: 'Ah, what a crime! Surely all charitable deeds if they are done for the sake of salvation, are merit-seeking?'
[8] Then they said to one another: 'Let us summon still more of our people, and lay siege to this city, and let us expel these paragons of charity.' But when they attempted this, a sudden flash of fire from heaven consumed them. But the fire from heaven was a manifestation of their anger and hatred directed against the people in the city, since they had cast down faith from first to second place, or rather to the lowest place beneath charity, since they claimed that it was no faith. The reason they appeared to be consumed by fire was that hell opened up beneath their feet, and they were swallowed up. Similar events to this occurred in many places on the day of the Last Judgment; this too is the meaning of the following passage in Revelation:
The dragon will come forth to lead astray the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, to assemble them for war; and they went up on the surface of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints, and the beloved city. But fire came down from God out of heaven and consumed them, Revelation 20:8-9.
Footnotes:
388. Fourth Memorable Relation:
I have spoken with some of those who are meant in the Apocalypse by the "dragon," and one of them said, "Come with me, and I will show you the delights of our eyes and hearts."
And he led me through a gloomy forest and to the top of a hill, from which I could witness the delights of the dragonists, and I saw an amphitheater built in the form of a circus, with seats round about gradually rising from the front, on which the spectators were sitting. Those sitting upon the lowest seats appeared to me at a distance like satyrs and priapi, some having a slight covering over the parts that ought to be concealed, and others wholly naked. On the seats above these sat whoremongers and harlots; such they appeared to me from their gestures.
The dragonist then said to me, "Now you shall see our sport." And I saw, as it were, calves, rams, sheep, kids and lambs let into the arena of the circus; and when these had been let in, a door was opened, and in rushed, as it were, young lions, panthers, tigers, and wolves, which attacked the other animals with fury, tearing them and slaughtering them. After this bloody slaughter, the satyrs sprinkled sand over the place of the slaughter.
[2] Then the dragonist said to me, "These are our sports, which delight our minds."
I answered, "Begone, demon! after a while you will see this amphitheater turned into a lake of fire and brimstone."
At this he laughed and went away. Afterward I was thinking to myself why such things are permitted by the Lord; and I received in my heart the answer that they are permitted so long as these spirits are in the world of spirits, but when their stay in that world is ended such theatrical scenes are turned into infernal horrors.
[3] All this that had been seen was induced by the dragonist by means of fantasies; thus there had been no calves, rams, sheep, kids, or lambs, but they caused the genuine goods and truths of the church, which they hated, to so appear. The lions, panthers, tigers, and wolves were appearances of the cupidities of those who seemed like satyrs and priapi. Those without a covering about the parts that ought to be concealed, were such as believed that evils do not appear in the sight of God; while those with a covering were such as believed that evils appear but do not damn provided they have faith. The whoremongers and harlots were falsifiers of the truths of the Word, for whoredom signifies the falsification of the truth. In the spiritual world all things appear at a distance in accordance with correspondence, and when they appear in forms they are called representations of spiritual things in objects resembling natural things.
[4] After this I saw them going out of the forest, the dragonist in the midst of the satyrs and priapi, and behind them their camp-followers, who were the whoremongers and harlots. The crowd increased on the way, and then I heard what they were saying to one another.
They said that they saw a flock of sheep with lambs in a meadow, and that this was a sign that one of the Jerusalemite cities, where charity is the chief thing, was not faraway. And they said, "Let us go and capture that city, and cast out its inhabitants, and plunder their goods."
They approached the city; but there was a wall around it, with angel guards upon the wall.
They then said, "Let us take it by stratagem. Let us send someone skilful in wily speaking, who can make black white and white black, and give to everything whatever color he chooses."
And they found one versed in the art of metaphysics, who was able to change ideas of things into ideas of terms, concerning the things themselves under formulas, and thus flying away with them like a hawk with its prey under its wings. He was instructed what to say to the citizens, that they were companions in religion, and that they wished to be admitted.
He went to the gate and knocked, and when it was opened he said that he wished to speak with the wisest man of the city. He entered and was conducted to a certain person, whom he addressed as follows: "My brethren are outside the city and beg to be admitted; they are companions with you in religion; with you we make faith and charity the two essentials of religion; the sole difference is that you say that charity is primary and from it comes faith, while we say that faith is primary and from it comes charity. What matters it which is called primary, so long as both are believed in?"
[5] The wise man of the city answered, "Let us not talk of this matter alone, but in the presence of others who may be arbiters and judges; otherwise we arrive at no decision." And at once some were summoned to whom the dragonist said the same things as before.
Then the wise citizen answered, "You have said that it is the same whether charity is assumed to be the first principle of the church, or faith, provided it is agreed that the two constitute the church and its religion. But there is a difference like that between the prior and the posterior, between cause and effect, the principal and the instrumental, the essential and the formal. I use these terms, because I notice that you are skilled in the art of metaphysics, an art that we call wily speaking [mussitatio] and some call sorcery. But let us drop the terms. The difference is like that between what is above and what is below; or, if you will believe it, it is even like the difference between the minds of those who dwell in the higher and those who dwell in the lower parts of this world. For what is primary constitutes the head and breast, and what is from that constitutes the feet and their soles. But let us see first whether we agree as to what charity is and what faith is, namely, that charity is an affection of the love of doing good to the neighbor for the sake of God, salvation and eternal life, and that faith is thought derived from trust respecting God, salvation and eternal life."
[6] The emissary replied, "I grant that this is faith, and I also grant that charity is an affection for doing this for God's sake, because He has commanded it, but not for the sake of salvation and eternal life."
After this agreement and disagreement the wise citizen said, "Is not the affection or the love primary, and is not thought derived therefrom?"
But the messenger of the Dragon said, "That I deny."
The other answered, "You cannot deny it. Does not man think from some love? Take away love, and can he think at all? It is precisely the same as taking away sound from speech. If you do that can you speak at all? The sound, moreover, belongs to some affection of the love, while speech belongs to thought, for it is the love that sounds and the thought that speaks. It is also like flame and light. If you take away the flame does not the light perish? It is the same with charity, because charity belongs to love, and with faith, because faith belongs to thought. Can you not thus comprehend that the primary is the all in the secondary, precisely like flame and light? From all this it is clear that if you do not make primary that which is primary, you are not in the other. Consequently, if you put faith, which belongs to the second place, in the first place, you will always appear in heaven like an inverted man with his feet upward and his head downward, or like a gymnast with inverted body walking on the palms of his hands. If such is your appearance in heaven, what kind of works are your good works, which are charity in act, except such as that gymnast might do with his feet, because he can not use his hands? Therefore your charity, being an inverted charity, is natural and not spiritual."
[7] This the emissary understood, for every devil can understand truth when he hears it, but he cannot retain it because affection for evil, which in itself is the lust of the flesh, banishes, when it returns, the thought of truth.
Then the wise citizen showed in various ways that faith when accepted as the primary is merely natural, a persuasion destitute of spiritual life, and consequently is not faith. And he added, "I might almost say that in your faith there is no more spirituality than in thought about the kingdom of the Great Mogul, about the diamond-mine there, and the treasury or court of that emperor."
When the dragonist heard this he went away angry and reported to his companions outside of the city; and when they heard that it had been said that charity is an affection of the love of doing good to the neighbor for the sake of salvation and eternal life, they all exclaimed, "It is a lie!" And the dragonist himself said, "Oh how outrageous! Are not all works that pertain to charity, and that are done for the sake of salvation, made worthy of merit?"
[8] Then they said to one another, "Let us call together still more of our people, and besiege this city and expel these charities."
But when they tried to do that, lo, there was an appearance of a fire out of heaven which consumed them. But the fire out of heaven was an appearance of their anger and hatred against those who were in the city, because they had cast faith down from the first place to the second, and even to the lowest place, beneath charity, since they had said that such faith is no faith.
They appeared to be consumed with fire, because a hell was opened under their feet, and they were swallowed up.
Similar things happened in many places at the time of the last judgment, which is also meant by the following in the Apocalypse:
The dragon shall go forth to lead astray the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, to gather them together to war. And they went up on the plain of the earth, and encompassed the camp of the saints, and the beloved city but fire came down from God out of heaven and consumed them (Revelation 20:8, 9).
388. The fourth experience. I was once in conversation with certain of those meant by the dragon in the Revelation; and one of them said, "Come with me and I will show you some of the things that please our eyes and delight our hearts." He then led me through a gloomy wood to the top of a hill, from which I could witness the spectacles in which they delighted. I saw an amphitheater built like a circus, with rows of benches one above another, on which the spectators were seated. Those on the lowest seats appeared to me at a distance like satyrs and Priapi, 1 some wearing such clothing as decency required and some wearing none. On the seats above them were fornicators and courtesans, as was evident from their behavior. Then the draconian spirit said to me, "Now you shall see our pastime." I seemed to see bullocks, rams, sheep, kids and lambs driven into the arena; and when they were inside, a door was opened, and there rushed in young lions, panthers, tigers and wolves, which with great fury attacked the flocks and herds, and tearing them to pieces destroyed them. Thereupon satyrs scattered sand over the place of slaughter.
[2] The spirit then said to me, "These are our sports in which we delight." I replied, "Begone, demon; soon you will see this amphitheater turned into a lake of fire and brimstone." At this he laughed and went away. Afterwards I pondered why such things are permitted by the Lord; and I received in my heart the answer, that they are permitted so long as there are such dragons in the world of spirits; but when their time in that world comes to an end, such displays are turned into infernal horrors.
[3] Everything that was seen was an appearance induced by the dragon's power of illusion. Thus the bullocks, rams, sheep, kids and lambs were not real; but the dragons caused the genuine goods and truths of the Church, which are objects of hatred to them, to assume these appearances; while the lions, panthers, tigers and wolves were appearances of the lusts ruling in those who resembled satyrs and Priapi. 1 Those whose secret parts were unclothed were such as believed that evils do not appear in the sight of God; while those who were clothed believed that evils are indeed seen by Him, but do not condemn those who have faith. The fornicators and courtesans were falsifiers of the truths of the Word; for fornication signifies the falsification of truth. In the spiritual world all things, at a distance, appear according to correspondences; and such appearances are called representations of spiritual things in natural forms.
[4] After this I saw them going out of the wood. The draconian spirit was surrounded by the satyrs and lewd spirits, followed by the fornicators and courtesans as their servants and attendants. Their company increased as they went along, and I overheard their conversation. Some were saying they could see in a meadow a flock of sheep with lambs, and that this indicated that they were near one of the cities of the Jerusalemites, where charity is held in the first place. Hereupon they said: "Let us go and take that city, cast out its inhabitants and spoil them of their goods." They accordingly drew near, but the city was surrounded by a wall, guarded by angels. Then they said: "Let us take it by stratagem; let us send some one skilled in sophistry, who can make black appear white, and white black, and who can give to any object whatever color he pleases." So they found one versed in metaphysics who could turn ideas of realities into ideas of terms, concealing realities under the cloak of formulas, and thus fly away with them, like a hawk with its prey under its wings.
He was instructed how to treat with the citizens, to say that they were of the same religion, and wished to be admitted within the walls. Approaching the gate, he knocked; and when it was opened, he said he wished to speak with the wisest man in the city. He then entered, and was conducted to one of the citizens whom he thus addressed: "My brethren are outside the city, and wish to be admitted. They are of the same religion as yourselves; both you and we regard faith and charity as the two essentials of religion. The only difference is that you call charity the primary, and faith the derivative, whereas we say that faith is the primary and charity the derivative; but what does it matter which is called the primary or which the derivative, provided there is belief in both?"
[5] The wise man of the city replied: "Let us not talk alone on this matter, but in the presence of others, who shall act as arbiters and judges; otherwise we shall come to no decision." Forthwith others were summoned, and to these the draconian spirit addressed the same words as before. Then the wise man of the city replied: "You have stated that it is the same thing, whether charity or faith is regarded as the first essential of the Church, provided it is agreed that both constitute the Church and its religion; and yet the difference is the same as between prior and posterior, between cause and effect, between principal and instrumental, and between the essential and the formal. I use this language because I have perceived that you are versed in metaphysics, an art which we call sophistry, and which some call sorcery. Let us drop these terms. The difference is like that between what is above and what is below; in fact, if you are disposed to believe it, the difference is like that between the minds of those who dwell in the higher and lower regions of this world; for what is primary constitutes the head and the breast; and what is derived from it, the feet and the soles of the feet. However, let us first come to an agreement on what charity and faith are, namely, that charity is the affection of the love of doing good to the neighbor, for the sake of God, salvation and eternal life; and faith is thought, grounded in confidence, respecting God, salvation and eternal life."
[6] Thereupon, the emissary said: "I grant that this is faith, and I grant also that charity is the love of doing good for the sake of God, because He has commanded this, but not for the sake of salvation and eternal life." In reply to his agreement, qualified by this difference, the wise man of the city said: "Is not love or desire primary, and thought derived from it?" But the dragon's emissary said, "I deny that." The other replied: "You cannot deny it. Does not a man think from some desire? Take away desire, could he think at all? It would be like taking away sound from speech; could you then speak at all? Sound has relation to love, and speech to thought; for love expresses itself in sound, but thought in words. It is the same with flame and light; if the flame is taken away, the light also is extinguished. So it is with charity and faith, because charity has relation to love, and faith to thought. Can you not then understand that the primary is wholly in the secondary, just as the flame is in light? From these considerations it is clear that if you do not regard as primary that which is primary, you are not principled in the other. Therefore, if you put faith in the first place, when in reality it is in the second, you will appear in heaven like a man inverted, with feet up and head down, exactly like a mountebank, upside down, walking on his hands. That being so, then your good works, or charity in act, will resemble what the mountebank performs with his feet, because he cannot use his hands. Your charity, therefore, is natural and not spiritual, because it is inverted."
[7] The emissary understood this, for every devil can understand the truth when he hears it, but he cannot retain it; for the recurring affection of evil, which is the lust of the flesh, casts out the thought of truth. After this, the wise man of the city explained at some length the nature of faith when it is regarded as the first essential of religion, showing that it is merely natural, a persuasion devoid of spiritual life, and consequently not faith at all; and he added "I might almost say that in your faith there is no more spirituality than in thought concerning the Mogul's empire, with its diamond mines and the treasure of the emperor and his palace." On hearing this the draconic spirit went away in a rage, and reported everything to his companions outside the city. When they heard it stated that charity is the love of doing good to the neighbor for the sake of salvation and eternal life, they all exclaimed, "It is a lie;" and the dragon himself cried out, "What wickedness! Are not all the works of charity done for the sake of salvation, merit-seeking works?"
[8] Then they said to one another: "Let us summon more of our men, and lay siege to this city, and cast out these impersonations of charity." When, however, they proceeded to do so, there appeared as it were fire from heaven, which consumed them. This fire was a representation of their anger and hatred against the inhabitants of the city, who had relegated faith from the first to the second place, in fact to the lowest place beneath charity, declaring their faith to be no faith at all. They appeared to be consumed by fire, because hell opened under their feet, and they were swallowed up. Incidents similar to these happened in many places at the time of the Last Judgment, and this is what is meant by the following passage in the Revelation: The dragon "shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth... to gather them together to battle... and they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them" Revelation 20:8-9.
Footnotes:
1. Priapus, god of procreation, lewd spirit or god.
388. QUARTUM MEMORABILE, Loquutus sum cum quibusdam, qui in Apocalypsi intelliguntur per draconem; et unus ex illis dixit, veni mecum, et jucunditates oculorum et cordium nostrorum 1 ostendam; et duxit me per sylvam opacam, et super collem, e quo potui spectare draconum jucunda, et vidi Amphitheatrum in Circi formam erectum cum scamnis circum circa oblique sursum structis, super quibus spectatores sedebant; illi, qui sedebant super scamnis infimis, apparebant mihi e longinquo sicut Satyri et Priapi, quidam cum velamine tegente pudenda, et quidem nudi absque illo; in scamnis supra illos sedebant scortatores et meretrices, tales mihi ex gesticulationibus illorum apparebant: et tunc dixit Draco ad me, nunc videbis Ludum nostrum, 2 et vidi in Aream Circi tanquam juvencos, arietes, oves, haedos, et agnos immissos, et postquam illi immissi sunt, aperiebatur porta, et irruebant tanquam leones juvenes, pantherae, tigrides, et lupi, et cum furore invadebant gregem, ac dilaniabant et mactabant illos: et 3 Satyri post cruentam illam caedem spargebant arenam super locum mactationis.
[2] Tunc dixit mihi Draco, hi sunt nostri Ludi, qui jucundant animos nostros: et respondi, abi Daemon; post aliquod tempus videbis Amphitheatrum hoc conversum in stagnum ignis et sulphuris: ad haec ille risit et abivit: et postea mecum cogitabam, cur talia a Domino permittuntur, et tuli responsum in corde meo, quod permittantur quamdiu in Mundo spirituum sunt, sed postquam tempus illorum in illo Mundo peractum est, vertuntur tales Scenae theatrales in diras infernales.
[3] Omnia illa quae visa sunt, inducta fuerunt a Dracone per phantasias: quare non erant juvenci, arietes, oves, haedi et agni, sed fecerunt ut ita apparerent genuina bona et vera Ecclesiae, quae odio habebant; leones, pantherae, tigrides et lupi, erant apparentiae cupiditatum apud illos, qui visi sunt sicut satyri et priapi; hi absque velamine circum pudenda erant, qui crediderunt quod mala non apparerent coram Deo, et qui cum velamine, erant qui crediderunt quod appareant, sed non damnent, modo sint in fide; scortatores et meretrices erant falsificatores veritatum Verbi, scortatio enim significat falsificationem veri: in Mundo spirituali omnia apparent secundum correspondentias e longinquo, quae cum apparent in formis, vocantur repraesentationes spiritualium, in objectis naturalium similibus.
[4] Postea videbam illos exeuntes e sylva; Draconem in medio satyrorum et priaporum, et calones et lixae, quae erant scortatores et meretrices, post illos; augebatur agmen in via, et tunc audivi quid inter se loquebantur; dicebant, quod viderent in prato gregem ovium cum agnis, et quod hoc signum sit, quod una Urbs ex urbibus Hierosolymitanis, ubi charitas primarium est, prope adesset; et dixerunt, eamus et capiamus illam urbem, et ejiciamus habitatores, et depraedemur bona illorum; accesserunt, sed erat murus circum illam, et angeli custodes super muro; et tunc dixerunt, capiamus illam per dolum; mittamus quendam peritum mussitationis, qui potest dealbare nigrum et denigrare album, et infucare rem cujusvis objecti; et inventus est unus gnarus artis methaphysicae, qui potuit vertere ideas rerum in ideas terminorum, ac ipsas res occultare sub formulis, et sic avolare sicut accipiter cum praeda sub alis. Ille instructus quomodo cum Urbanis loqueretur, quod essent consocii in Religione, et immitterentur. Ille accedens ad portam pulsavit, qua aperta dixit, quod cum sapientissimo illius urbis vellet loqui; ac intravit, [et] 4 deductus est ad quendam; et tunc ad illum loquebatur, dicens, 5 sunt mei fratres extra urbem, et petunt ut recipiantur; sunt consocii in Religione; vos et nos facimus Fidem et Charitatem duo essentialia Religionis; discrimen solum est, quod vos dicatis Charitatem esse primariam et inde Fidem, et nos dicimus Fidem esse primariam et inde charitatem; quid refert si unum aut alterum dicatur primarium, cum utrumque creditur.
[5] Sapiens urbis respondit, non loquamur de hac re soli, sed in praesentia plurium, qui sint arbitri et judices; alioquin non fit decisio; et mox arcessiti sunt, ad quos Draconicus similia verba, quae prius, loquebatur; et tunc respondit Vir sapiens urbis, dixisti, quod simile sit, sive Charitas sumatur primarium Ecclesiae sive Fides, modo consensus sit, quod utraque faciat Ecclesiam et ejus Religionem, et tamen discrimen est, quale inter prius et posterius, inter causam et effectum, inter principale et instrumentale, et inter essentiale et formale; talia dico, quia animadverti quod sis artis Metaphysicae gnarus, quam artem nos vocamus mussitationem, et aliqui incantationem; sed relinquamus illos terminos; est discrimen sicut inter id quod supra est, et id quod infra est, imo, si vis credere, est discrimen sicut inter Mentes illorum qui habitant in superis, et Mentes illorum qui in inferis in hoc Mundo; nam quod Primarium est, hoc facit Caput et Pectus, et quod inde est, hoc facit Pedes et horum plantas: sed conveniamus primum, quid Charitas et quid Fides, quod Charitas sit affectio amoris faciendi bonum proximo propter Deum, salutem et vitam aeternam, et quod Fides sit cogitatio ex fiducia de Deo, salute et vita aeterna:
[6] sed dixit Emissarius, concedo quod hoc sit Fides, et quoque concedo, quod Charitas sit illa affectio propter Deum, quia propter mandatum Ipsius, non autem propter salutem et vitam aeternam; post hanc conventionem et dissensionem, dixit Sapiens urbis, annon affectio seu dilectio est primarium, et cogitatio inde; at missus a Dracone dixit, hoc nego; sed responsum tulit, non potes id negare; annon homo cogitat ex quadam dilectione; aufer dilectionem, Numeri cogitare potest quicquam; est prorsus sicut auferres sonum de loquela; si auferres sonum, num poteris loqui quicquam; 6 sonus etiam est affectionis cujusdam amoris, et loquela est cogitationis, nam amor sonat et cogitatio loquitur: et quoque est, sicut flamma et lux, si aufers flammam annon perit lux; simile est cum Charitate, quia haec est amoris, et cum Fide, quia haec 7 est cogitationis; numne 8 sic potes capere, quod primarium sit omne in secundario, prorsus sicut flamma et lux; ex quibus patet, quod si non facis primarium id quod primarium est, non sis in altero; quare si Fidem, quae est in secundo loco, ponis in primo, non appariturus es aliter in Coelo, quam sicut inversus homo, cujus pedes stant sursum, et caput deorsum, aut sicut hariolus qui inverso corpore ambulat super palmis manuum; quum tales apparetis in Coelo, qualia tunc sunt vestra bona Opera, quae sunt Charitas actu, nisi qualia facturus esset hariolus ille suis pedibus, quia non potest manibus; inde est, quod Charitas vestra sit naturalis, et non spiritualis, quia est inversa.
[7] Emissarius intellexit hoc, nam omnis diabolus potest intelligere verum, cum illud audit, sed non potest retinere, quia affectio mali, quae in se est concupiscentia carnis, cum redit, ejicit cogitationem veri: et postea sapiens urbis ostendit multis, qualis est Fides, quando acceptata est pro primario, quod sit mere naturalis, et quod sit persuasio absque ulla vita spirituali, consequenter quod non sit fides: ac paene dicere possum, quod in Fide vestra non plus spirituale sit, quam in cogitatione de Regno Mogolis, de Fodina adamantina ibi, deque Imperatoris illius Thesauro aut Aula. His auditis Draconicus iratus abivit, et renuntiavit suis extra Urbem, et cum audiverunt quod dictum sit, quod Charitas sit affectio amoris faciendi bonum proximo propter [Deum,] 9 salutem, et vitam aeternam, clamaverunt omnes, hoc mendacium est, et ipse Draco, heu facinus; nonne omnia Opera, quae sunt Charitatis, propter salutem, sunt meritoria.
[8] Tunc inter se dixerunt, convocemus adhuc plures ex nostris, et obsideamus hanc Urbem, [faciamus scalas, ascendamus murum, ac irruamus noctu,] 10 et ejiciamus Charitates illos: at cum hoc moliti sunt, ecce apparuit sicut ignis e Coelo qui consumsit illos; sed ignis e Coelo fuit apparentia irae et odii contra illos qui in Urbe erant, quoniam Fidem e primo loco in secundum, imo in infimum sub Charitate, quia dixerunt quod non esset fides, dejecerunt; quod apparerent sicut igne consumi, erat quod sub pedibus eorum aperiretur infernum, et deglutirentur. His similia contigerunt in pluribus locis die ultimi Judicii, quod etiam 11 per hoc intelligitur in Apocalypsi, Exibit Draco ad seducendum Gentes, quae in quatuor angulis terrae, ut congreget eos in bellum; et ascenderunt super planitiem terrae, et circumdederunt castra sanctorum, et Urbem dilectam; sed descendit ignis a Deo e Coelo, et consumsit illos, Cap. 20:8-9.
Footnotes:
1. Prima editio: nestrorum.
2. Prima editio: mostrum.
3. Prima editio: at.
4. Sic in margine exemplaris scriptoris et Apocalypsis Revelata 655.
5. Prima editio: dieens.
6. Prima editio: quiequam.
7. Prima editio: haet.
8. Prima editio: numme.
9. Sic in margine exemplaris scriptoris, Apocalypsis Revelata 655 et supra 388[5].
10. Sic Apocalypsis Revelata 655.
11. Prima editio: ctiam.