195. Now since the life's love has its own delight, and the wisdom proper to it its own pleasure, and likewise every affection, which in its essence is a subordinate love derived from the life's love, as a stream from its fountain or a branch from its tree or an artery from its heart, therefore every affection has its own delight and every consequent perception and thought has its own pleasure. Hence it follows that those delights and pleasures constitute man's life. What is life without delight and pleasure? It is not something living but lifeless. If you reduce delight and pleasure you will grow cold and torpid; and if you take them away you will certainly die. Vital heat is derived from the delights of the affections and from the pleasures of the perceptions and thoughts. [2] Since every affection has its own delight and every thought thence derived has its own pleasure, it may be evident what is the source of good and truth, and also what good and truth are in their essence. Everyone's good is that which is the delight of his affection, and his truth that which is pleasant to the thought derived from the affection. For everyone calls that good which from the love of his will he feels to be delightful, and he calls that truth which from the wisdom of his understanding thence derived he perceives to be pleasant. Both of these flow forth from the life's love as water flows from a fountain, or as blood from the heart; and both taken together are like an ocean or an atmosphere in which dwells the whole human mind.
[3] These two, delight and pleasure, are spiritual in the mind but natural in the body, and in both planes they constitute man's life. From this it is clear what it is in man that is called good, and what it is that is called truth; also what it is in man that is called evil and what it is that is called falsity; namely, that is evil to him which destroys the delight of his affection and that false which destroys the pleasure of his thought derived from it. Moreover, it is clear, that evil from its own delight and falsity from its own pleasure may be called good and truth and may be believed to be good and truth. Indeed, goods and truths are changes and variations of state in the forms of the mind; but these are perceived and have existence solely through their delights and pleasures. These things have been set forth that it may be known what affection and thought are in their life.
