[2] All who confirm falsities even to the destruction of the Divine truth in which the angels of heaven are, are proud of their own intelligence; for those who regard themselves only, that is, their own fame, in their writings and preachings, have this pride; for they are in the love of self. And every one who is in the love of self, when he writes and preaches, is in this state of pride; and pride derives everything from man's proprium. This is why it is called the pride of man's own intelligence. The love of self resides in the will, and the pride of man's own intelligence in the thought therefrom. Such persons, therefore, when they think any thing from themselves cannot but think falsities, for the proprium of the will, consequently of the love, rules, and this, strictly considered, is nothing but evil. The case is different with those who are in the love of uses, and thence in the love of truth for the sake of truth.

[3] Since those who are proud of their own intelligence remove works from faith, and on that account do not know what works are, nor indeed what is meant by charity and what by neighbour; after they have confirmed themselves [in their own belief], they have no desire to know; therefore it shall be stated here what good works are. Good works are everything that a man does, writes, or preaches, indeed everything that he utters, not from himself but from the Lord. And he acts, writes, preaches, and speaks from the Lord when he lives according to the laws of his religion. The laws of our religion are, that one God is to be worshipped; that adulteries, thefts, murders, and false witness are to be shunned; consequently also fraud, unlawful gains, hatred, revenge, lies, blasphemies, and various other things which are not only mentioned in the Decalogue but also in many other parts of the Word, and are called sins against God, and also abominations. When a man shuns these things, because they are contrary to the Word, and therefore against God, and from hell, then he lives according to the laws of his religion. And so far as he lives according to his religion, so far he is led of the Lord; and so far as he is led of the Lord, his works are good. For he is then led to do good and to speak truth for the sake of good and for the sake of truth, and not for the sake of self and the world. Uses are his enjoyments, and truths are his delight. Every day also he is taught of the Lord what to do and to speak, also what to preach or what to write; for evils being removed he is continually under the Lord's auspices, and in enlightenment. He is led and taught, however, not directly by any dictate, or by any perceptible inspiration, but by influx into the spiritual delight in which he is, whence he obtains a faculty of perception according to the truths from which is his understanding. And when he acts from this influx, he appears to act from himself, but nevertheless he acknowledges in heart that it is from the Lord. All the angels are in such a state; and all infants in heaven are led by that way to heaven.

[4] But the case is different with man when he abstains from evils, and shuns them on account of the civil laws, and of the injury he would suffer in his reputation. In this case he does not shun them from any spiritual origin, but from a natural one. This is why he does indeed perform works which appear outwardly to be good, but they are nevertheless inwardly evil. They are like pictures composed of filthy mire but coloured over so as to appear beautiful to the sight; or like harlots who appear comely in form, arrayed in white raiment, with crowns around their foreheads and jewels in their ears, whilst within they are full of all uncleanness.

Now consider what the character of the Christian world is at this day; how few there are who shun adulteries, frauds, unlawful gains, hatred, revenge, lies, and blasphemies, because they are contrary to the Word, and therefore against God, although many may shun them because they are contrary to the civil laws, and for the sake of reputation, and through fear of the loss of honour and gain in the world; then search interiorly into the cause of this, and you will become conscious that it is because they do not believe in the existence of heaven and hell, and in a life after death. From this it is evident that whatever a man does, be it small or great - provided it proceeds from religion, and, in the case of those who are in the church, from the Word - after he turns away from evils because they are sins, and in themselves infernal, is a good work; but, on the other hand, that whatever a man does, be it small or great, which at the same time is not done from religion, and with us from the Word, is an evil work.

[5] More upon this subject may be seen above (n. 803). It must be observed, however, that he who shuns evils because they are contrary to the Divine laws in the Word, also shuns them because they are contrary to civil and moral laws in the world. For man thinks from the latter when he is in a natural state, but from the former when he is in a spiritual state. From this it follows, that to shun evils and do goods for the sake of reputation and one's own honour is not hurtful, provided the Word and religion therefrom keep the higher place and constitute the head; and also that self and the world hold the lower place, and constitute the feet. Otherwise religion is trampled under foot, and the world worshipped as the head.