CL 18 - Angelic Wisdom Lies in Useful Service

CL 18 [1-2]

. . . wisdom in the case of angels
never comes to an end and stops,
but grows and increases to eternity.

. . . it lies in useful service.

Useful services are the bonds of society,
there being as many bonds
as there are good and useful services,
and useful services are unlimited in number.

"Useful services are spiritual
when they have to do with
love toward God and love for the neighbor.
They are moral and civic services
when they have to do with
love for the society or civil state
in which a person resides,
and with love of the companions and fellow citizens
with whom he is associated.
Useful services are natural when they have to do
with love of the world and its necessities.
And they are corporeal
when they have to do
with the love of self-preservation
for the sake of higher uses.

"All these capacities for being useful
are engraved on the human spirit,
and they follow in sequence,
one after another,
and when they are combined,
one exists within another."