Angelic Wisdom about Divine Providence | Page 8

him was
shown, moreover, in
Part V of the treatise
Divine Love and Wisdom, where the creation of man, and especially the
correspondence of will and understanding with heart and lungs, were
treated of (nn. 358-432).

9. How good and truth, however, make one in what is below or outside
man, in both the animal and the vegetable kingdom, shall be told from
time to time in what follows. Three points are premised. First, in the
universe and in each and all things of it as created by the Lord, there
was a marriage of good and truth. Second, after creation this marriage
was severed in man. Third, it is the work of divine providence to unite
what was severed, and so to restore the marriage of good and truth. As
all three points were established by many things in the work Divine
Love and Wisdom, there is no need to substantiate them further.
Anyone can see from reason, moreover, that if there was a marriage of
good and truth in each created thing and later it was severed, the Lord
must be working constantly to restore it, and that the restoration of it,
and hence the conjunction of the created world with the Lord through
man, are of divine providence.
10. (v) Good of love is good only so far as it is united to truth of
wisdom, and truth of wisdom is truth only so far as it is united to good
of love. Good and truth have this from their origin, the one and the
other originating in the Lord, who is good itself and truth itself and in
whom the two are one. Hence in angels in heaven and men on earth,
good is not good basically except so far as it is joined to truth, and truth
is not truth basically except so far as it is joined to good. Granted that
all good and truth are from the Lord, then inasmuch as good makes one
with truth and truth with good in Him, good to be good in itself and
truth to be truth in itself must make one in the recipient, that is, the
angel in heaven or the man on earth.
11. It is indeed known that all things in the world are referable to good
and truth. For by good is meant what universally embraces and
involves all things of love; and by truth what universally embraces and
involves all things of wisdom. Still it is not known that good is nothing
except when it is joined to truth, and truth nothing unless it is joined to
good. Good apart from truth and truth apart from good still seem to be
something; yet they are not. For love (to which all that is called good
pertains) is the esse of a thing, and wisdom (to which all things called
truths pertain) is a thing's existere from that esse (as was shown in the
treatise Divine Love and Wisdom, nn. 14-16). Therefore, as esse is

nothing apart from existere, or existere apart from esse, good is nothing
apart from truth or truth from good. What, again, is good which has no
relation to anything? Can it be called good if it is without affection and
perception?
[2] That which is associated with good, permitting it to affect and to be
perceived and felt, is referable to truth, since it has relation to what is in
the understanding. Tell someone, not that a given thing is good, but
simply say "good"--is good anything? It becomes something from what
is perceived along with it. This is united with good only in the
understanding, and all understanding has relation to truth. It is the same
with willing. Apart from knowing, perceiving and thinking what one
wills, to will is nothing actual; together with them it becomes
something. All volition is of love and is referable to good; and all
knowing, perceiving and thinking is of the understanding, and is
referable to truth. It is clear, then, that to will is nothing actual, but to
will this or that means something.
[3] So also with a use, inasmuch as a use is a good. Unless a use is
addressed to something which makes one with it, it is not a use, and
thus not anything. A use derives its something from the understanding,
and what is thence conjoined or adjoined to it, has relation to truth. So a
use gets its character.
[4] From these few things it is plain that good is nothing apart from
truth, nor truth anything apart from good. But if good together with
truth and truth together with good are something, evil with falsity and
falsity with evil are not, for the latter are opposite to the former and the
opposition destroys--that is,