Page:The Doctrines of the New Church Briefly Explained.djvu/186

180 same teaching is many times repeated in his writings:

"All that is called freedom, which pertains to the will or love Hence it is that freedom manifests itself by the delight of willing and thinking, and thence of doing and speaking; for all delight is of love, and all love is of the will. To do evil from the delight of love appears like freedom, but it is slavery because it is from hell. To do good from the delight of love appears like freedom, and also is freedom because it is from the Lord. Slavery, therefore, consists in being led of hell, and freedom in being led of the Lord." (A. C. n. 9586.)

"The freedom of self-love and the love of the world and of the lusts thereof, is quite another thing than freedom, being altogether slavery; but still it is called freedom, just as love, affection and delight are called by these names, whether used in a good or bad sense. Nevertheless self-love and the love of the world are totally different from love, being in reality hatred." (A. C. n. 2884.)

"There is heavenly freedom and infernal freedom. Heavenly freedom consists in being led of the Lord; and this freedom is the love of what is good and true. But infernal freedom consists in being led of the devil; and this freedom is the love of evil and falsity. They who are in infernal freedom think there is slavery and compulsion in not being allowed to do evil and think falsity at pleasure; but they who are in heavenly freedom dread to do evil and to think what is false, and are tormented if they are compelled to." (A. C. n. 9589, '90.)