From
this, too, one can see what it is that separates hell from heaven;
for all that are in hell were, while they were living in the world,
in the mere delights of the body and of the flesh from the love of
self and of the world; while all that are in the heavens were, while
they lived in the world, in the delights of the soul and spirit from
love to the Lord and love to the neighbor; and as these are opposite
loves, so the hells and the heavens are entirely separated, and
indeed so separated that a spirit in hell does not venture even to
put forth a finger from it or raise the crown of his head, for if he
does this in the least he is racked with pain and tormented. This,
too, I have frequently seen.
401. One who is in the love of self and love of the world perceives
while he lives in the body a sense of delight from these loves and
also in the particular pleasures derived from these loves. But one
who is in love to God and in love towards the neighbor does not
perceive while he lives in the body any distinct sense of delight
from these loves or from the good affections derived from them, but
only a blessedness that is hardly perceptible, because it is hidden
away in his interiors and veiled by the exteriors pertaining to the
body and dulled by the cares of the world.
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