Heavenly Doctrine (Tafel) n. 86

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86. The distinctions in the neighbour, with which the man of the Church ought to be well acquainted, are according to the good which is with every one. And since all good proceeds from the Lord, the Lord Himself, in the highest sense, and in a super-eminent degree, is the Neighbour from whom originates [this relation]. From this it follows, that a person is a neighbour so far as there is with him anything of the Lord; and since no one receives the Lord, that is, the good that proceeds from Him, in the same manner, therefore, no one is a neighbour in the same manner as another; for all who are in the heavens, and all who are good on earth, differ as to good. Never is there with any two persons the same and identical good; good must be various, so that each may subsist by itself. All these varieties, however, and consequently all the distinctions in the neighbour, which are according to the reception of the Lord, that is, according to the reception of good from Him, can never be known by any man, nor indeed by any angel, except in a general manner, and thus the general kinds [may be known] and the species under them; neither does the Lord require anything more from the man of the Church, except that he live according to what he is acquainted with.


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