EVERY MAN IS AN AFFECTION; AND THERE ARE AS MANY VARIOUS AFFECTIONS AS THERE ARE MEN THAT HAVE BEEN BORN, AND WILL BE BORN TO ETERNITY.

This can be seen especially from the angels of heaven and from the spirits of hell, all of whom are affections; the spirits of hell evil affections, which are lusts, and the angels of heaven good affections. Every man is an affection, for the reason that his life is love, and the continuations and derivations of love are what are called affections; consequently affections in themselves are loves, but subordinate to the general love as their lord or head. Since, therefore, life itself is love, it follows that each and all things of life are affections, and consequently that man himself is an affection.

[2] Most persons in the world will wonder that this is so, as it has been granted me to know from the testimony of all who pass from the natural world into the spiritual world. Thus far I have not found one who had known that he was an affection; few even knew what affection is; and when I said that affection is love in its continuation and derivation, they inquired what love is; saying that, they know what thought is, because they perceive it; but not what affection is, because no one perceives this. That in the nature of things there is love, they said that they knew from the love of a bride before marriage, and from a mother's love towards infants, and in some small measure from a father's love when he kisses a betrothed wife or his infant; and some in place of these said harlot. [3] When I said to them that thought is nothing whatever by itself, but is something by affection, which is of man's life's love, because thought is from affection, as a thing is formed by that which forms it; also that thought is perceived, and not affection, because the thing formed is perceived and not what forms it, just as the body is perceived by the bodily senses and the soul is not,-inasmuch as they were amazed at what was said to them, they were instructed in the subject by many experiments; as for example, that all things of thought are from affection and according to it; again that they could neither think without affection nor contrary to it, also that every one is such as his affection is, and therefore every one is explored from his affection, and no one from his speech; for speech proceeds from the thought belonging to external affection, which is a desire to be courteous, to please, to be praised, to be regarded as good citizens, and men of morality and wisdom, and all these things for the sake of ends belonging to internal affection, of which ends such things are means. And yet from the sound of his speech, unless a man be a consummate hypocrite, the affection itself is heard; for vocal speech belongs to thought, but its sound belongs to affection. Wherefore they were told that as there is no speech without sound, neither can there be thought without affection; and that it is plain therefore that affection is the all of thought, as sound is the all of speech,* for speech is only the articulation of sound. By all this they were instructed that man is nothing but affection; and further, as a consequence, that all heaven is divided, and all hell, as a kingdom is, into provinces and societies, according to generic and specific differences of affections, and not at all in accordance with any differences of thoughts; also that the Lord alone has knowledge of these differences. From this it follows that there are infinite varieties and differences of affections, as many as there are men that have been born and will be born to eternity. * "Sound is the all of speech." In original it reads reversely, "speech is the all of sound." See also AR 875, and TCR 386.