Heaven and Hell (Harley) n. 298

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298. The spirits who are with man, both those conjoined with heaven and those conjoined with hell, never inflow with man from their own memory and the thought derived therefrom, for if they should inflow from their own thought, man would not know but that whatever belonged to them would be his own (see above n. 256). Nevertheless, there inflows with man through them out of heaven an affection belonging to the love of good and truth, and out of hell an affection belonging to the love of evil and falsity. Therefore as far as man's affection agrees with the affection that inflows, so far is that affection received by him in his thought, since man's interior thought is wholly in accord with his affection or love; but so far as man's affection does not agree with that affection it is not received. Therefore, as thought is not introduced with man through spirits, but only an affection for good and an affection for evil, it is evident that man has choice, because he has freedom, and is thus able with his thought to receive good and reject evil, for he knows from the Word what is good and what is evil. Whatever he receives in thought from affection also is appropriated to him; but whatever he does not receive in thought from affection is not appropriated to him. From these considerations, the nature of the influx with man of good out of heaven, and of evil out of hell, can be confirmed.


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