[2] Neither are they anxious about the future; anxiety
about the future they call care for the morrow, which they define as
grief on account of losing or not receiving things that are not
necessary for the uses of life. With companions they never act from
an evil end but from what is good, just, and sincere. Acting from an
evil end they call cunning, which they shun as the poison of a
serpent, since it is wholly antagonistic to innocence. As they love
nothing so much as to be led of the Lord, attributing all things they
receive to Him, they are kept apart from what is their own
[proprium]; and to the extent that they are kept apart from what is
their own the Lord flows into them; and in consequence of this
whatever they hear from the Lord, whether through the Word or by
means of preaching, they do not store up in the memory, but instantly
obey it, that is, will it and do it, their will being itself their
memory. These for the most part outwardly appear simple, but inwardly
they are wise and prudent. These are meant by the Lord in the words,
Be ye prudent as serpents and simple as doves (Matt.
10:16).
Such is the innocence that is called the innocence of wisdom.
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