There
are three kinds of truths, civil, moral, and spiritual. Civil truths
relate to matters of judgment and of government in kingdoms, and in
general to what is just and equitable in them. Moral truths pertain
to the matters of everyone's life which have regard to companionships
and social relations, in general to what is honest and right, and in
particular to virtues of every kind. But spiritual truths relate to
matters of heaven and of the church, and in general to the good of
love and the truth of faith. [2] In every man there are three degrees
of life (see above, n. 267). The rational faculty is opened to the
first degree by civil truths, to the second degree by moral truths,
and to the third degree by spiritual truths. But it must be
understood that the rational faculty that consists of these truths is
not formed and opened by man's knowing them, but by his living
according to them; and living according to them means loving them
from spiritual affection; and to love truths from spiritual affection
is to love what is just and equitable because it is just and
equitable, what is honest and right because it is honest and right,
and what is good and true because it is good and true; while living
according to them and loving them from the bodily affection is loving
them for the sake of self and for the sake of one's reputation, honor
or gain.
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