Page:The Swedenborg Library Vol 3.djvu/49

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WHAT THE SOUL APPROPRIATES.
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every one's life; and what man does from his life's love, he does from freedom. Man acts from freedom according to thought, for the reason that whatever belongs to his life or love, is also the subject of his thought, and is confirmed by his thought; and when confirmed, he does it from freedom according to thought. For whatever man does he does from the will through the understanding; and freedom belongs to the will, and thought to the understanding.

Man can also from freedom act contrary to reason; again, he can act not from freedom according to reason. But such actions are not appropriated to man; they belong only to his lips and body, and not to his spirit or heart; but whatever belongs to his spirit and heart, when it becomes of the lips and body also, is appropriated to him.

By being appropriated to man is meant to enter into and become part of his life, consequently part of his selfhood. Yet man has no selfhood [in reality], though it seems to him as if he had. All the good that he does from freedom according to reason, is appropriated to him as his own, because in thought, will, speech and action, it seems to him to be his own; while nevertheless, the good is not man's, but the Lord's in him.


WHAT IS APPROPRIATED REMAINS.

What a man does from freedom according to his thought is also said to remain; for nothing that man has

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