nd resolves to desist from them. When he desists, a door is opened
and the lusts of evil which have occupied the internal of thought are
cast out by the Lord and affections of good are implanted in their place.
This occurs in the internal of thought. But the enjoyments of evil lust
which occupy the external of thought cannot be cast out at the same time;
conflict arises therefore between the internal and the external of
thought. The internal wants to cast out those enjoyments because they are
enjoyments of evil and do not agree with the affections of good in which
the internal now is, and wants to introduce in their place enjoyments of
good which do agree. These are what are called goods of charity. From the
disagreement comes the conflict which, if it grows severe, is called
temptation.

[3] Now as man is man by virtue of the internal of his thought, for this
is his very spirit, obviously he compels himself when he compels the
external of his thought to comply or to receive the enjoyments of his
affections or the goods of charity. Plainly this is not contrary to
rationality and liberty but in accord with them; rationality starts the
combat and liberty follows it up; liberty itself resides with rationality
in the internal man and from that in the external.

[4] Accordingly, when the internal conquers, which it does when it has
reduced the external to compliance and obedience, man is given liberty
itself and rationality itself by the Lord, for he is delivered by the
Lord then from infernal freedom which in itself is enslavement, is
brought into heavenly freedom which is freedom in itself, and is given
association with angels. The Lord Himself teaches ( John 8:31-36) that
those who are in sins are enslaved and that He delivers those who receive
truth from Him through the Word.

146. Let an example serve for illustration. A man who has taken pleasure
in defrauding and deceiving sees and inwardly acknowledges it to be sin
and resolves to desist from it; with this a battle begins of his internal
with the external. The internal man is in an affection for honesty, but
the external still in the enjoyment of defrauding. This enjoyment,
utterly opposed to enjoyment in honesty, does not give way unless forced
to do so and can be forced to do so only by combat with it. When the
fight is won, the external man comes into the enjoyment of a love of
honesty, which is charity. Then the pleasure of defrauding gradually
turns unpleasant