Page:DivineLoveAndWisdom.djvu/88

 be seen that all who are in the love of rule springing from love of self, turn their backs to the Lord. They thus face in opposite directions, because those who are in love to the Lord love nothing more than to be led by the Lord, and will that the Lord alone shall rule; while those who are in the love of rule springing from love of self, love nothing more than to be led by themselves, and will that themselves alone may rule. This is called a love of rule springing from love of self, because there is a love of rule springing from a love of performing uses, which is a spiritual love, because it makes one with love towards the neighbor. Still this cannot be called a love of rule, but a love of performing duties.

. Every spirit, of whatever quality, turns to his own ruling love, because love is the life of every one (as was shown in Part I., n. 1-3); and life turns its receptacles, called members, organs, and viscera, thus the whole man, to that society which is in a love similar to itself, thus where its own love is.

. Since the love of rule springing from love of self is wholly opposed to love to the Lord, the spirits who are in that love of rule turn the face backwards from the Lord, and therefore look with their eyes to the western quarters of the spiritual world; and being thus bodily in a reversed position, they have the east behind them, the north at their right, and the south at their left. They have the east behind them because they hate the Lord; they have the north at their right, because they love fallacies and falsities therefrom; and they have the south at their left, because they despise the light of wisdom. They may turn themselves round and round, and yet all things which they see about them appear similar to their love. All such are sensual-natural; and some are of such a nature as to imagine that they alone live, looking upon others as images. They believe themselves to be wise above all others, though in truth they are insane.

. In the spiritual world ways are seen, laid out like ways in the natural world; some leading to heaven, and some to hell; but the ways leading to hell are not visible to those