This is the way, moreover, in which men are
regarded when they are regarded from spiritual truth, for one man is
then seen to be like another, whether he be in great or in little
dignity, the only perceptible difference being a difference in
wisdom; and wisdom is loving use, that is, loving the good of a
fellow citizen, of society, of one's country, and of the church. It
is this that constitutes love to the Lord, because every good that is
a good of use is from the Lord; and it constitutes also love towards
the neighbor, because the neighbor means the good that is to be loved
in a fellow citizen, in society, in one's country, and in the church,
and that is to be done in their behalf.{1}
{Footnote 1} Loving the neighbor is not loving the person, but
loving that which is in him and which constitutes him (n. 5025,
10336). Those who love the person, and not that which is in
him, and which constitutes him, love equally an evil man and a
good man (n. 3820); and do good alike to the evil and to the
good; and yet to do good to the evil is to do evil to the good
and that is not loving the neighbor (n. 3820, 6703, 8120). The
judge who punishes the evil that they may be reformed, and may
not contaminate or injure the good, loves his neighbor (n.
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