seeds, from which new trees, even to whole gardens, may be produced;
but everything and all things in his natural man are like eggs from
which swarms of flying creatures may be produced, and gradually fill a
great part of heaven. In a word, when man shuns and turns away from
evils as sins the works that he does are living works, while those that
he did before were dead works; for what is from the Lord is living but
what is from man is dead. (A.E., n. 974.)

It has been said that so far as a man shuns and turns away from evils as
sins he does goods, and that the goods that he does are such good works
as are described in the Word, for the reason that they are done in the
Lord; also that these works are good so far as man turns away from the
evils opposed to them, because so far they are done by the Lord and not
by man. Nevertheless, works are more or less good according to the
excellence of the use; for works must be uses. The best are those that
are done for the sake of uses to the church. Next in point of goodness
come those that are done as uses to one's country; and so on, the uses
determining the goodness of the works.

The goodness of works increases in man according to the fullness of
truths from affection for which they are done; since the man who turns
away from evils as sins wishes to know truths because truths teach uses
and the quality of their good. This is why good loves truth and truth
loves good, and they wish to be conjoined. So far, therefore, as such a
man learns truths from an affection for them so far he does goods more
wisely and more fully, more wisely because he knows how to distinguish
uses and to do them with judgment and justice, and more fully because
all truths are present in the performance of uses, and form the
spiritual sphere that the affection for them produces. (A.E., n. 975.)