III
ABOUT THE SEVEN SINS OF DEATH, ABOUT THE SEVEN DEVILS OR ABOUT THE SEVEN CHIEF PASSIONS
904. The seven numbers which are often mentioned in the Old Testament, without doubt have their meaning-picture in the spiritual world. Against those seven angels who stand before the throne of God are seven devils, which by the omnipotency of the Saviour were driven off from Mary Magdalena. We have mentioned these seven devils with their names in paragraph 250. They are seven passions which are loose in the world. By that help of knowledge what we now have in the psychology or in the soul-science, we can determine better the position of these seven devils and their influence and nature. We can determine with full reliability as how it happened to Judas Iskariot, of whom the evangelists says, that the satan went into him. The Jews' doctrine about spirits is not known to me. The evangelists apparently have followed that common supposition of the common people which was ruling at that time, and we cannot think that the Saviour would have allowed His disciples to live in false belief and superstition, if the supposition of common people would have been caused by imagination. But the most chaste knowledge-wise man supposedly has nothing to do with the devil; and he cannot believe that there exists any such devilish spirit, except that own spirit of man (Martensen).
905. The first devil what creeped into Judas Iskariot was covetousness, which was his chief passion. Judas had same kind idea about the kingdom of Messiah as the Jews and other disciples had. He certainly believed that Jesus was Christ or the Messiah who was promised by prophets, who would form again the kingdom of Israel and would be the King of Israel to establish a common monarchy upon the world. But to him according to his mind, the humiliation-condition of Christ became too lonesome and too lengthy. Therefore he wanted to hasten that decisive happening. He had seen so many times examples of the godhood power of the Saviour, and now he imagined in his mind that the Saviour would have to subdue His enemies if they would come upon Him with great force. The intention of Judas Iskariot was this kind, and those 30 silver pennies were only an excuse by which he wanted to convince the chief pastors that he indeed wanted to betray Jesus without murmur and humming.
906. Judas hoped to come soon into the office of a financial minister in the kingdom of Messiah. But when one chief passion has got hold of a human being, so other passions follow soon. At the supper table Judas had to deny his malicious intention. By great hypocrisy he had to eliminate of himself the suspicion of other disciples. Just the passion of honor influenced in him pretension, hypocrisy and lying. He wanted to show that he was just as good Christian as the other disciples. But after the dipped sop the third satan went into him, and it was anger. Judas got angry because he supposed that he was discovered by the dipped sop. This action of the thought is so natural that no one can deny the truth what now is told about Judas. When Judas saw that all his intentions were crushed, then only he became regretful. Then he threw himself to the power of perdition; and the fourth devil, the selfrighteousness, then got power over him.
907. By this first knowledge concerning the doctrine about spirits, we can continue our investigation about Mary Magdalena in whom there was seven devils. In this woman the devil of whoredom was chief passion; although the modern explainers of Bible argue that Mary Magdalena was not that sinner woman who wept at the feet of Jesus, but that this sinner woman was some one else whose name was not mentioned by the evangelists. We do not understand, why Mary Magdalena would be another than that famous sinner woman, especially when also the older explainers of Bible have had that kind idea of it. Gerlach—Wensjoe says, that the evangelists did not mention the name of that sinner woman because they were sensitive, and as if they would have wanted to save her honor. Also it is not mentioned, when those seven devils were driven from Mary Magdalena. But in all event even if that sinner woman was not Mary Magdalena, we can nevertheless on account of the seven numbers, investigate what these seven devils were; for undoubtedly these seven devils are in all natural people.
908. A woman whose chief passion is the devil of whoredom, must lie, so that she would not be supposed to be that kind of what she is. She also must dress herself gaudily to please. All this, the devil of whoredom and the devil of honor influences together. Anger also is not far from that kind woman. Here we have already four devils mentioned by their names. Greediness or self-interest appears in this, that this kind women can be gotten by money or by some fancy goods. There we have the fifth satan. Envy or jealousy cannot be far from that kind woman. There we have the sixth devil. And at last there is the self-righteousness, which influences more powerfully when the conscience is awake. Although an open harlot cannot have the persuasion of herself that she is chaste, but she nevertheless thinks that her immorality is less than what it is. Therefore we have here seven devils or seven passions which appear differently in different persons. In one person the selfrighteousness and honor can be his chief passion, in another one can be greediness, in the third can be the passion of whoredom, in the fourth can be the envy and in the fifth the anger. But whichever of these seven is the chief passion of some one, so those other passions follow the others.
909. The seven sins of death or the seven chief passions are the following: 1. The egoism, 2. The lust of glory, 3. The Self-interest, 4. The devil of whoredom, 6. The hatred, 6. The envy, 7. The spirit of lie. Of these the egoism, the lust of honor and the greediness are first class devils, of that reason that they control the natural man of its beginning of life even to the end of life. Anger, envy and lie are second class, devils, because these are servant spirits of those which are mentioned first. The devil of whoredom is a passion which is alone, but it will lessen when it becomes old. We must beseach now concerning the organs and influences of passions, that the reader will look over the preceding part of this writing, especially some parts in which, we have shown by physiological causes that the liver is an organ of egoism, or stubborness, and the spleen is the organ of the passion of honor, and the belly is the organ of greediness, etc.
910. To make it more comprehensible how the passions influence to the organs, we must show one example what every one can feel and believe because he can feel. When one takes a sip of wine before eating, so it will cause heat in the belly and it makes the heart warm. This is what can be felt directly or can be observed sensually. But the liquor-steam influences into all organs in the organ life and also in the nerve life. The liquor steam makes that influence to the heart that the man will be open hearted. Many reveals those secrets when they are drunken, what they would not tell when they are sober. Therefore they say that "the wine is honest." When wine warms the heart, so the old adam will be merciful. When the saloon keeper wants to buy deers from the Laplander, so the Laplander does not want to get rid of his deers willingly when he is sober. But when the Laplander becomes charmed by the influence of liquors, then he will sell his deers to low price. If some one wants to borrow money from a miser, so he must first treat him or call him into the saloon.
911. What influence the alcohol has to the intelligence? The drunkard himself thinks that the intelligence becomes sharper and that he becomes intelligent when he drinks alcohol. But according to the thought of a sober one, the drunkard is a fool. But the wine influences also to the gall. Many have secret anger against their neighbor, but becomes discovered when they are intoxicated. Most of the fights and murders in sudden anger happens when the persons are drunken. Worst is, that the alcohol kills the conscience, it drives off that sorrow which is according to the mind of God. The alcohol nevertheless has other kind influence to different kind forms of body. One is good and another one is bad when he is intoxicated. One is soft-hearted and religious when he is intoxicated, and another one is godless when he is intoxicated. One is temperate, pious and good when he is intoxicated, but an other one is wild-headed and altogether uncontrollable when, he is intoxicated. A young one falls in love and is courageous and instrusive. And the poor is rich, and the weak is strong. The fool is instantly a great thinker and a philosopher. This kind different influence the alcohol causes in different kind forms of body.
912. Without doubt, different kind actions in the condition of intoxication comes of different kind bodies, perhaps also of those different kind passions what are governing each time. But the influence of alcohol-steam to the intelligence, imagination and to the other powers of soul, testifies that strange element parts are mingled into the blood and they affect to the nerves and to nerve life, so that the philosophical soul of the reason becomes confused by the alcohol-steam. This testifies that the soul of the reason is not lifted up so high over the matter or that it is not so independent and free, that the alcohol-steam and other stinks which rises of the organs of passions would not reach to it. The physicologists can evidently testify, that the passions causes a change in the matter parts of blood by those different kind elements which will be strained apart from the organs of passions; so that, that one who is violent matured has much gall in the blood and that one who is in love has much seed-fluid in the blood. And so we can comprehend, how the alcohol-steam can affect to the heart and intelligence with another manner than the blood mixed with gall, and this again, with different manner than the blood that contains seed-fluid. The black blood must also have different kind influence to the brain than the red blood, etc. We are compelled to admit straight, that tine anatomical and physiological truths can "twist the neck asunder from the reason and can pierce the eyes of this beast," if the spiritualistic philosopher does not want to observe at all the opinion of an investigating physician.
913. Now as much as the passions are real dominions and powers, appearing in the organic life, which can cause diseases and can cause death (Descuret); so it is not meet for us to despise that dominion of the devil which is in the man, but we should rather fear it as a dominion which causes calamity and which can cause so great changes, in the world. That hellish passion which dwells in the flesh and blood of a human being, seems to be by first look as a blind power which is under the names of impulse, instinct, nature and passion, which cannot be joined together with the idea about personal devil — with the idea about such a devil who has a will and intelligence. But far of that, that we would be with Martensen in that supposition that "the spirit is the organ of the will," we must suppose that the will of the man is the organ of the devilish spirit by which the passion will become a personal will, and the devil which dwells in the flesh and blood of the human being will become a personal devil. The blindly influencing power, impulse, instinct, nature or passion will become a personality by the human will.
914. If we now call these dominions and powers as beings, who spoke through the mouth of that who was possessed by the devil and who went off of him and went into the pigs, and who (in another event) cast one person sometimes into the fire and sometimes into the water, and who troubled the daughter of the Canaanite woman, and who also went off of Mary Magdalena; so we again come into the profession of metaphysics and ontology, which is so complicated that the modern-time thinkers must go around the metaphysics with same manner as a cat goes around hot porridge. Even our purpose is not that we would want to determine the essentiality of these spirits, but we only suppose that they exist, likewise as the vital force or the cause of life is "existentia sine essentia et sine substantia." And as we with this manner suppose the existence of these spirits commonly as real truth, so we have certain foundation to the actual utterance concerning these powers. We can investigate with that manner, by the testimony of feeling, that influence of passions to the human being.
*We believe and we even know that the devil, sin and sinful dispositions exist, as they testify their existence by evil deeds. Also see paragraph 998. (Translator's remark)
IV.
ABOUT THE EGOISM OR BEELZEBUB, ABOUT
OF THIS WORLD
915. This passion appears in the human being as an instinct to keep up itself, and it is born with self-consciousness in the mother's womb before there is nourishment impulse and it will stay in full force to the end of life. The egoism is greatest in oxen and is together with the liver, which in the wild-deers swells before the rutting season. The liver also is the first visible organ in the human being. The egoism is greatest in the manhood age (Bichat). As a sensation it will affect always and ceaselessly to the will, in which it appears as self-will. And it influences to the understanding and then it is called stubborness. In the heart it causes selfishness and pride, and in the conscience it causes selfrighteousness, and in the imagination-power it influences self-fondness. In the reason the egoism causes wrong ideas about right and wrong and about good and bad.
916. The lust to dominate in those who dominate, has its original cause in the egoism; and the desire of freedom which appears in the nation, has its original cause in the egoism. The carnal freedom wants to shake off from itself all bonds; it hates all compulsion, it hates also compulsion to chastity and religion. The egoism causes in the reason of the knowledge-wise man an idea about the freedom of the will and the desire of independence and freedom of the will. When the created spirit whose existence is dependent of a higher authority, wants to be independent (or loose) of this higher authority, then comes between the factor and otoject, between the consequence and foundation a condition which will overthrow that relationship what was the original ruling condition between them. The object then wants to be without factor and the consequence without foundation. That which cannot be of own power, wants to be of own power. That which cannot be loose of higher power, wants to be loose of the: higher power. That kind is egoism, whose beginning is incomprehensible for us. We cannot think, that that one which is contrast 'to egoism, is the original cause of egoism. We cannot think that the moral inevitableness should be the cause of immoral inevitableness.
917. The egoism appears in the children as a willingness to be independent. But that egoism which, appears in the children, do not have to be connected to the nerve life or to the self-consciousness. For instance: "Ida wants to have food," instead that the child would say: "I want food." The egoism appears in stubbornness, in self-will, in disobediency, in trusting to itself and in reliance to own power. For instance: A child wants to eat by own hands, although he does not know yet the difference of the right and the left hand; he wants to climb on the tables and chairs and he does not want to allow that some one would take him down from there; he wants to handle fire, he wants to handle sharp knives, he wants to play in the water, but he does not want that the parents would guard him from these things which are dangerous to life. This reliance to own power without own power, is that same egoism which appears in the strong mind of the knowledge-wise man and in his willingness to be independent of all higher authority, as he so willingly wants to be that higher power himself. Although his physical existence is entirely suspending of the higher power, so nevertheless he does not want to let his metaphysical and moral existence to he suspending of the higher power; in the region of nerve-life he wants to be entirely free of the metaphysical necessity. And in the moral proportion, he wants to be entirely free of the moral necessity. He wants to realize his freedom by self-righteousness.
918. As the egoism appears in the human being first self-consciousness and as an instinct to keep itself living, so it is possible that the Creator has given this instinct or impulse entirely for other purposes than to that into which this impulse together with the sin, now leads the human being. The self-preservation instinct now induces the man to keep up his natural life by the expense of spiritual life. Satan knew this very well as he said: skin of skin and all what there is in the man, he will give for his life. But he did not know, that the believer Job could sacrifice his life because of his spiritual life. Who loves his life he loses it.
(continues)