DLW 396
As for the love of self and love of the world
being hellish loves,
and why people could come into them
and so destroy in themselves the will and intellect,
the reason is that the love of self and love of the world
are from creation heavenly loves,
being loves of the natural self serving spiritual loves,
as foundations serve for the building of houses.
For it is owing to his love of self and the world
that a person is concerned for his physical well-being
and that he endeavors to be properly nourished,
clothed and housed, to take care of his household,
to seek employments in order to be useful,
indeed to be held in honor
in accordance with the status of the business
that he administers for the sake of being obeyed,
and also to be entertained and recreated
by delights of the world -
yet all of these for the sake of an end,
which ought to be useful service.
For through these endeavors
he is in a state to serve the Lord
and to serve the neighbor.
However, when he has no love
of serving the Lord and serving the neighbor,
and only a love of serving himself for the sake of the world,
then that love
from being heavenly becomes hellish;
for it causes the person to immerse his mind and his heart
in his own native self,
which in itself is completely evil.
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