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Arcana Coelestia, by Emanuel Swedenborg, [1749-56], tr. by John F. Potts [1905-10], at sacred-texts.com

Arcana Coelestia

Those who in the life of the body have thought themselves holy, are in the lower earth before the left foot. At times they there appear to themselves to have a shining face, which flows from their idea of their own holiness. But the outcome with them is that they are kept in the most intense desire to ascend into heaven, which they suppose to be on high. This desire is increased and is turned more and more into anxiety, which grows immensely until they acknowledge that they are not holy; and when they are taken out of that place, they are enabled to perceive their own stench, which is very offensive.

A certain spirit supposed that he had lived holily in the world because he was esteemed as holy by men and so merited heaven. He said that he had led a pious life, and had spent much time in prayer, supposing it to be sufficient for each person to look out for his own interests. He also said that he was a sinner, and was willing to suffer even to being trodden under foot by others, which he called Christian patience; and that he was willing to be the least, in order that he might become the greatest in heaven. When examined in order to see whether he had performed or had been willing to perform anything of good, that is, any works of charity, he said that he did not know what these were; but only that he had lived a holy life. But because he had as his end his own preeminence over others, whom he accounted vile in comparison with himself, at first, because he supposed himself to be holy, he appeared in a human form shining white down to the loins, but was turned first to a dull blue, and then to black; and as he desired to rule over others, and despised them in comparison with himself, he became blacker than others. (Concerning those who desire to be greatest in heaven, see above, n. 450, 452.)

I was led through some abodes of the first heaven, from which I was permitted to see afar off a great sea swelling with mighty waves, the boundaries of which stretched beyond the range of vision, and I was told that those have such phantasies, and see such a sea, with fear of being sunk in it, who have desired to be great in the world, caring nothing whether by right or by wrong, provided they could secure their own glory and renown.

The phantasies which have been indulged in the life of the body are turned in the next life into others, which, however, correspond to the first. For example, with those who have been violent and merciless on earth, their violence and unmercifulness are turned into incredible cruelty; and they seem to themselves to kill whatever companions they meet, and to torture them in various ways, wherein they take what is to them the greatest possible delight. Those who have been bloodthirsty take delight in torturing other spirits, even to bloodshed, for they suppose spirits to be men, not knowing otherwise. At the sight of blood-for such is their phantasy that they as it were see blood-they are greatly delighted. From avarice there break forth phantasies as if they were infested with mice, and the like, according to the species of avarice. Those who have been delighted with mere pleasures, having these as their ultimate end, as their highest good, and as it were their heaven, find their highest delight in staying in privies, perceiving there what is most enjoyable. Some take delight in urinous and noisome pools, some in miry places, and so on.

Moreover there are penalties of various kinds with which in the other life the evil are most grievously punished, and into which they run when they return to their foul cupidities, and by which they contract shame, terror, and horror for such things, until at last they desist from them. The penalties are various, being in general those of laceration, of discerption or pulling to pieces, of sufferings under veils, and many others.

Those who are tenacious of revenge and who think themselves greater than all others, regarding them as of no account in comparison with themselves, suffer the punishment of laceration in the following manner: They are mangled in face and body until there is scarcely anything human left; the face becomes like a broad round cake, the arms look like rags, and these being stretched out, the man is whirled around on high and all the time toward heaven, while his character is proclaimed in the presence of all until shame penetrates him to the inmost. Thus, a suppliant, he is compelled to beg for pardon in terms that are dictated to him. Afterwards he is carried to a miry lake, which is near the filthy Jerusalem, and is plunged and rolled in it till he becomes a figure of mud; and this is done repeatedly, until such cupidity is taken away. In this miry lake there are malicious women belonging to the province of the bladder.

Those who in the life of the body have contracted a habit of saying one thing and thinking another, especially those who under the appearance of friendship have longed for the possessions of others, wander about, and wherever they come ask whether they may stay there, saying that they are poor; and when they are received they from innate desire long for all they see. As soon as their character is detected they are driven out and fined; and sometimes they are miserably racked in various ways in accordance with the nature of the deceitful simulation which they have contracted, some being racked in the whole body, some in the feet, some in the loins, some in the breast, some in the head, and some only in the region of the mouth. They are knocked backward and forward in a way that is indescribable; there are violent collisions of the parts, thus pullings asunder, so that they believe themselves to be torn into small bits; and resistance is induced, to increase the pain. Such punishments of discerption take place with great variety, and at intervals are repeated again and again, until the sufferers are penetrated with fear and horror at false statements made with an intention to deceive. Each punishing takes away something. The discerptors said that they are so delighted to punish that they are not willing to desist, even should it go on to eternity.

There are troops of spirits who wander about and whom other spirits greatly dread. They apply themselves to the lower part of the back, and inflict torture by rapid movements to and fro which no one can prevent, and which are attended with sound, and they direct the constrictive and expansive movement upward in the form of a cone with its point at the top; and whoever is introduced within this cone, especially toward the top of it, is miserably racked in every particle of his limbs. It is deceitful pretenders who are introduced into it and so punished.

I awoke in the night from my sleep, and heard spirits about me who desired to ambush me in my sleep, yet presently dozing I had a sad dream. But having awaked, punishing spirits were suddenly present-at which I wondered-and miserably punished the spirits who had ambushed me in my sleep. They induced on them as it were bodies-visible ones-and bodily senses, and thus tortured them by violent collisions of the parts to and fro, with pains induced by resistance. The punishers would have killed them if they could, so that they used the most extreme violence. Those guilty were for the most part sirens (concerning whom see n. 831). The punishment lasted a long time, and extended around me to many troops, and to my astonishment all those who had ambushed me were found, though they wanted to hide themselves. Being sirens, they tried with many arts to elude the penalty, but could not. Now they sought to withdraw into interior nature, now to induce the belief that they were others, now to transfer the punishment to others by a transference of ideas, now they counterfeited infants who would thus be tortured, now good spirits, now angels, besides making use of many other artifices, but all in vain. I was surprised that they should be so grievously punished, but perceived that the crime is enormous from the necessity of man's being able to sleep in safety, without which the human race would perish; so that it is of necessity that there should be so great a penalty. I perceived that the same takes place around other men whom they attempt to assail insidiously in their sleep, although the men know nothing about it. For one to whom it is not given to speak with spirits and to be with them by inner sense, can hear nothing of the kind, still less see it, when yet the same things happen with all. The Lord guards man with most especial care during his sleep.

There are certain deceitful spirits who while they lived in the body practiced their wiles in secret, and some of them in order to deceive have by pernicious arts feigned being as it were angels. In the other life these learn to withdraw themselves into a finer or more interior realm of nature [in subtiliorem naturam], and to snatch themselves away from the eyes of others, and in this way they suppose themselves to be safe from every penalty. But these, just like others, undergo the penalty of discerption in accordance with the nature and the wickedness of their deceit, and in addition to this they are glued together, and when this happens the more they desire to loose themselves-that is, to tear themselves away from one another-the more tightly they are fastened. This penalty is attended with a more intense torture because it answers to their more hidden deceptions.

Some persons from habit, and some from contempt, make use in familiar conversation of the things contained in Holy Scripture as an aid or formula for joking and ridicule, thinking thus to give point thereto. But such things of Scripture when thus thought and spoken add themselves to their corporeal and filthy ideas, and in the other life bring upon them much harm; for they return together with the profane things. These persons also undergo the punishment of discerption, until they become disused to such things.

There is also a penalty of discerption in respect to the thoughts, so that the interior thoughts fight with the exterior, which is attended with interior torment.

Among punishments a frequent one consists in the throwing over the sufferers of a veil, and is as follows. By means of phantasies that are impressed on them the sufferers seem to themselves to be under a veil that is stretched out to a great distance. It is like a closely clinging cloud that increases in density in proportion to the phantasy, and under which, incited by the desire to burst out of it, they run hither and thither at various rates of speed, until they are wearied out. This usually lasts for the space of an hour, more or less, and is attended with different degrees of torment in proportion to the degree of the desire for extrication. The veil is for those who although they see the truth, yet under the influence of the love of self are unwilling to acknowledge it, and feel constant indignation that the truth should be so. When under the veil some feel such anxiety and terror that they despair of the possibility of their deliverance, as I was informed by one who had himself been delivered from it.

There is an additional kind of veil in which the sufferers are wrapped up as it were in a cloth, so that they seem to themselves to be bound in hand, in foot, and in body, and there is injected into them a burning desire to unwrap themselves. As the sufferer has been wrapped round only once, he supposes that he will easily be unwrapped, but when he begins to unwrap himself the veil increases in length, and the unwrapping goes on without end, until he despairs.

These things relate to the hells and to penalties. Infernal torments are not the stings of conscience, as some suppose, for those who are in hell have had no conscience, and therefore cannot suffer torment of conscience. Those who have had conscience are among the happy.

It is to be observed that in the other life no one undergoes any punishment and torture on account of his hereditary evil, but only on account of the actual evils which he himself has committed.

When the evil are being punished, angels are always present who moderate the punishment and alleviate the pains of the sufferers, but cannot take them away. For there is such an equilibrium of all things in the other life that evil punishes itself, and unless it could be taken away by means of punishment, those in whom it exists could not but be kept in some hell to eternity, for they would otherwise infest the societies of the good, and offer violence to the order instituted by the Lord, wherein lies the safety of the universe.

Certain spirits had brought with them from the world the idea that they must not speak with the devil, but flee from him. But they were instructed that it would do no harm at all to those whom the Lord protects, even if they should be encompassed by all hell, both within and without. This it has been given me to know by much and by marvelous experience, so that at length I came to have no fear of even the worst of the infernal crew, to hinder my speaking with them; and this was granted in order that I might become acquainted with their character. To those who have wondered that I spoke with them, I have been permitted to say not only that this would do me no harm, but also that the devils in the other life are such as have been men, and who when they lived in the world passed their life in hatred, revenge, and adultery, some of them being then preeminently esteemed; nay, that among them are some I had known in the bodily life; and that the devil means nothing else than such a crew of hell. And furthermore, that men, while they live in the body, have with them at least two spirits from hell, as well as two angels from heaven; and that these infernal spirits rule with the evil, but with the good have been subjugated and are compelled to serve. Thus it is false to suppose that there has been a devil from the beginning of creation, other than such as were once men. When they heard these things they were amazed, and confessed that they had held a totally different opinion in regard to the devil and the diabolical crew.

In so great a kingdom, where all the souls of men from the first creation flock together, from this earth alone nearly a million coming every week, and each person among them all having his own individual genius and nature; and where there is a communication of all the ideas of everyone; and where notwithstanding all this, all things both in general and in particular must be reduced into order, and this continually; it cannot be but that numberless things exist there which have never entered into the idea of man. And as in relation to hell, as well as in relation to heaven, scarcely anyone has conceived more than one single obscure idea, it cannot be but that these things will appear strange and wonderful, especially from the fact that men suppose spirits to have no sense of feeling, although the truth is that they feel more exquisitely than do men, and what is more have induced on them by evil spirits, by artifices unknown in this world, a sense of feeling almost like that of the body, but much more gross.

The subject of Vastations will follow on at the end of this chapter. CHAPTER 9. 1. And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. 2. And let the fear of you and the terror of you be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every bird of heaven; even to everything that the ground maketh to creep forth, and to all the fishes of the sea, into your hands let them be given. 3. Every creeping thing that liveth shall be food for you; as the esculent herb [olus herbae] have I given it all to you. 4. Only the flesh with the soul thereof, the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. 5. And surely your blood with your souls will I require; at the hand of every wild beast will I require it; and at the hand of man [homo], even at the hand of the man [vir] his brother, will I require the soul of man [homo]. 6. Whoso sheddeth man's blood in man, his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God made He man. 7. And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and be ye multiplied therein. 8. And God said unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, 9. And I, behold, I establish My covenant with you, and with your seed after you; 10. And with every living soul that is with you, the fowl, the beast, and the wild animal of the earth with you; of all that go out of the ark, even every wild animal of the earth. 11. And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off anymore by the waters of the flood; neither shall there anymore be a flood to destroy the earth. 12. And God said, This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you and every living soul that is with you, for the generations of an age: 13. I have set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. 14. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud, 15. And I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living soul of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will see it, that I may remember the eternal covenant between God and every living soul of all flesh that is upon the earth. 17. And God said unto Noah, This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is upon the earth. 18. And the sons of Noah, that went forth from the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth; and Ham is the father of Canaan. 19. These three were the sons of Noah; and from these was the whole earth overspread. 20. And Noah began to be a man of the ground, and he planted a vineyard: 21. And he drank of the wine and was drunken; and he was uncovered in the midst of his tent. 22. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. 23. And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon their shoulders, both of them, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness. 24. And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. 25. And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brethren. 26. And he said, Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. 27. May God enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. 28. And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. 29. And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died.

THE CONTENTS The subject that now follows on is the state of the regenerate man; first, concerning the dominion of the internal man, and the submission of the external.

Namely, that all things of the external man have been made subject to and serviceable to the internal (verses 1 to 3), but that especial care must be taken lest the man should immerse the goods and truths of faith in cupidities, or by the goods and truths which are of the internal man should confirm evils and falsities, which must of necessity condemn him to death, and punish him (verses 4 and 5); and thus destroy the spiritual man, or the image of God, with him (verse 6). That if these things are avoided, all will go well (verse 7).

It next treats of the state of man after the flood, whom the Lord had so formed that He might be present with him by means of charity, and thus prevent his perishing, like the last posterity of the Most Ancient Church (verses 8 to 11).

Afterwards the state of man subsequent to the flood, who is in the capacity to receive charity, is described by the "bow in the cloud" which he resembles (verses 12 to 17). This "bow" has regard to the man of the church, or the regenerate man (verses 12, 13); to every man in general (verses 14, 15); specifically, to the man who is in the capacity of being regenerated (verse 16); and consequently not only to man within but also to man without the church (verse 17).

It treats lastly of the Ancient Church in general; by "Shem" is meant internal worship; by "Japheth" corresponding external worship; by "Ham" faith separated from charity; and by "Canaan" external worship separated from internal (from verse 19 to the end). This church, through the desire to investigate from itself the truths of faith, and by reasonings, first lapsed into errors and perversions (verses 19 to 21). Those who are in external worship separated from internal, deride the doctrine of faith itself, in consequence of such errors and perversions (verse 22); but those who are in internal worship, and in the external worship thence derived, put a good interpretation on such things, and excuse them (verse 23). Those who are in external worship separated from internal, are most vile (verses 24, 25); and yet they are able to perform vile services in the church (verses 26, 27).

Lastly, the duration and state of the first Ancient Church are described by the years of Noah's age (verses 28, 29).

THE INTERNAL SENSE As the subject here treated of is the regenerate man, a few words shall be said about what he is relatively to the unregenerate man, for in this way both will be apprehended. With the regenerate man there is a conscience of what is good and true, and he does good and thinks truth from conscience; the good which he does being the good of charity, and the truth which he thinks being the truth of faith. The unregenerate man has no conscience, or if any, it is not a conscience of doing good from charity, and of thinking truth from faith, but is based on some love that regards himself or the world, wherefore it is a spurious or false conscience. With the regenerate man there is joy when he acts according to conscience, and anxiety when he is forced to do or think contrary to it; but it is not so with the unregenerate, for very many such men do not know what conscience is, much less what it is to do anything either according or contrary to it, but only what it is to do the things that favor their loves. This is what gives them joy, and when they do what is contrary to their loves, this is what gives them anxiety. With the regenerate man there is a new will and a new understanding, and this new will and new understanding are his conscience, that is, they are in his conscience, and through this the Lord works the good of charity and the truth of faith. With an unregenerate man there is not will, but instead of will there is cupidity, and a consequent proneness to every evil; neither is there understanding, but mere reasoning and a consequent falling away to every falsity. With the regenerate man there is celestial and spiritual life; but with the unregenerate man there is only corporeal and worldly life, and his ability to think and understand what is good and true is from the Lord's life through the remains before spoken of, and it is from this that he has the faculty of reflecting. With the regenerate the internal man has the dominion, the external being obedient and submissive; but with the unregenerate the external man rules, the internal being quiescent, as if it had no existence. The regenerate man knows, or has a capacity of knowing on reflection, what the internal man is, and what the external; but of these the unregenerate man is altogether ignorant, nor can he know them even if he reflects, since he is unacquainted with the good and truth of faith originating in charity. Hence may be seen what is the quality of the regenerate, and what of the unregenerate man, and that they differ from each other like summer and winter, and light and darkness; wherefore the regenerate is a living, but the unregenerate a dead man.

What the internal man is, and what the external, is at this day known to few, if any. It is generally supposed that they are one and the same, and this chiefly because men believe that they do good, and think truth from what is their own, for it is the nature of man's Own to believe this; whereas the internal man is as distinct from the external as heaven is from earth. Both the learned and the unlearned, when reflecting on the subject, have no other conception respecting the internal man than its being thought, because it is within; and of the external man that it is the body, with its life of sense and pleasure, because this is without. Thought, however, which is thus ascribed to the internal man, does not belong thereto; for in the internal man there are nothing but goods and truths which are the Lord's, and in the interior man conscience has been implanted by the Lord; and yet the evil, and even the worst of men, have thought, and so have those who are devoid of conscience, which shows that man's thought does not belong to the internal, but to the external man. That the body, with its life of sense and pleasure, is not the external man, is evident from the fact that spirits equally possess an external man, although they have no such body as they had during their life in this world. But what the internal man is, and what the external, no one can possibly know unless he knows that there is in every man a celestial and a spiritual that correspond to the angelic heaven, a rational that corresponds to the heaven of angelic spirits, and an interior sensuous that corresponds to the heaven of spirits. For there are three heavens, and as many in man, which are most perfectly distinct from each other; and hence it is that after death the man who has conscience is first in the heaven of spirits, afterwards is elevated by the Lord into the heaven of angelic spirits, and lastly into the angelic heaven, which could not possibly take place unless there were in him as many heavens, with which and with the state of which he has the capacity of corresponding. From this I have learned what constitutes the internal, and what the external man. The internal man is formed of what is celestial and spiritual; the interior or intermediate man, of what is rational; and the external man of what is sensuous, not belonging to the body, but derived from bodily things; and this is the case not only with man, but also with spirits. To speak in the language of the learned, these three, the internal, the interior, and the external man, are like end, cause, and effect; and it is well known that there can be no effect without a cause, and no cause without an end. Effect, cause, and end, are as distinct from each other as are what is exterior, what is interior, and what is inmost. Strictly speaking, the sensuous man-or he whose thought is grounded in sensuous things-is the external man, and the spiritual and celestial man is the internal man, and the rational man is intermediate between the two, being that by which the communication of the internal and the external man is effected. I am aware that few will apprehend these statements, because men live in external things, and think from them. Hence it is that some regard themselves as being like the brutes, and believe that on the death of the body they will die altogether, although they then first begin to live. After death, those who are good, at first live a sensuous life in the world or heaven of spirits, afterwards an interior sensuous life in the heaven of angelic spirits, and lastly an inmost sensuous life in the angelic heaven, this angelic life being the life of the internal man, and concerning which scarcely anything can be said that is comprehensible by man. The regenerate may know that there is such a life by reflecting on the nature of the good and the true, and of spiritual warfare, for it is the life of the Lord in man, since the Lord-through the internal man-works the good of charity and the truth of faith in his external man. What is thence perceived in his thought and affection is a certain general which contains innumerable things that come from the internal man, and which the man cannot possibly perceive until he enters the angelic heaven. (Concerning this general and its nature, see above, n. 545, from experience.) The things here said about the internal man, being above the apprehension of very many, are not necessary to salvation. It is sufficient to know that there is an internal and an external man, and to acknowledge and believe that all good and truth are from the Lord.

These observations on the state of the regenerate man, and on the influx of the internal man into the external, have been premised, because this chapter treats of the regenerate man, of the dominion of the internal man over the external, and of the submission of the external man.

Verse 1. And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. "God blessed" signifies the presence and grace of the Lord; "Noah and his sons" signifies the Ancient Church; "be fruitful" signifies the goods of charity; "and multiply" signifies the truths of faith, which were now to be increased; "replenish the earth" signifies in the external man.

That "God blessed" signifies the presence and grace of the Lord, is evident from the signification of "to bless." "To bless" in the Word, in the external sense signifies to enrich with every earthly and corporeal good, according to the explanation of the Word given by those who abide in the external sense-as the ancient and modern Jews, and also Christians, especially at the present day-wherefore they have made the Divine blessing to consist in riches, in an abundance of all things, and in self-glory. But in the internal sense, "to bless" is to enrich with all spiritual and celestial good, which blessing is and never can be given except by the Lord, and on this account it signifies His presence and grace, which necessarily bring with them such spiritual and celestial good. It is said presence, because the Lord is present solely in charity, and the subject treated of here is the regenerate spiritual man, who acts from charity. The Lord is indeed present with every man, but in proportion as a man is distant from charity, in the same proportion the presence of the Lord is-so to speak-more absent, that is, the Lord is more remote. The reason why grace is mentioned, and not mercy, is for the reason-which as I conjecture, has been hitherto unknown-that celestial men do not speak of grace, but of mercy, while spiritual men do not speak of mercy, but of grace. This mode of speaking is grounded in the circumstance that those who are celestial acknowledge the human race to be nothing but filthiness, and as being in itself excrementitious and infernal; wherefore they implore the mercy of the Lord, for mercy is predicated of such a condition. Those, however, who are spiritual, although they know the human race to be of such a nature, yet they do not acknowledge it, because they remain in their Own, which they love, and therefore they speak with difficulty of mercy, but easily of grace. This difference in language results from the difference in the humiliation. In proportion as anyone loves himself, and thinks that he can do good of himself, and thus merit salvation, the less capable is he of imploring the Lord's mercy. The reason why some can implore grace is that it has become a customary form of speaking, in which there is but little of the Lord and much of self, as anyone may discover in himself while he names the grace of the Lord.

That by "Noah and his sons" is signified the Ancient Church, has been said and shown above, and is evident also from what follows.

That "be fruitful" signifies the good of charity, and "multiply" the truths of faith, which were now about to be increased, is evident from the signification of these two expressions in the Word, where "to be fruitful" or to produce fruit, is constantly predicated of charity, and "to multiply" of faith, as was shown above, n. 43, 55, and in further confirmation of which we may adduce the following passages from the Word: Turn, O backsliding sons; I will give you shepherds according to Mine heart, and they shall feed you with knowledge and intelligence and it shall be that ye shall be multiplied and made fruitful in the earth (Jer. 3:14-16), where "to be multiplied" manifestly denotes growth in knowledge and intelligence, that is, in faith, and "to be made fruitful" denotes the goods of charity; for it there treats of the implantation of the church, in which faith or "multiplication" comes first. Again: I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all lands whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds, and they shall be fruitful and multiplied (Jer. 23:3), speaking of a church already planted, consequently to be "made fruitful" as to the goods of charity and to be "multiplied" as to the truths of faith. So in Moses: Moreover I will look to you, and make you to be fruitful, and I will make you to be multiplied, and establish My covenant with you (Lev. 26:9), speaking in the internal sense of the celestial church, wherefore "to be fruitful" is predicated of the goods of love and charity, and "to be multiplied" of the goods and truths of faith. In Zechariah: I will redeem them, and they shall be multiplied as they have been multiplied (Zech. 10:8); that "to be multiplied" is here predicated of the truths of faith, is evident from their being to "be redeemed." In Jeremiah: The city shall be builded upon her own heap, and out of them shall proceed confession, and the voice of them that make merry, and I will cause them to be multiplied, and they shall not be diminished; their sons also shall be as aforetime (Jer. 30:18-20),speaking of the affections of truth, and of the truths of faith; the former being denoted by "confession, and the voice of them that make merry" and the latter by "being multiplied;" "sons" also here denote truths.

That to "replenish the earth" signifies in the external man, is evident from the signification of the "earth" as being the external man, which has been already shown several times. In reference to the goods of charity and the truths of faith in the regenerate man, it may be observed that they are implanted in his conscience; and as they are implanted by means of faith, or by the hearing of the Word, they are at first in his memory, which belongs to the external man. When the man has been regenerated, and the internal man acts, the same takes place with respect to fructification and multiplication, the goods of charity putting themselves forth in the affections of the external man, and the truths of faith in his memory, increasing and multiplying in each case. The nature of this multiplication may be known to every regenerate person, for things that confirm constantly accrue, from the Word, from the rational man, and from knowledges [scientifica], by which he becomes more and more confirmed, this being an effect of charity, the Lord alone doing the work through charity.

Verse 2. And let the fear of you and the terror of you be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every bird of heaven even to everything which the ground causeth to creep forth, and to all the fishes of the sea; into your hands let them be given. "The fear of you and the terror of you" signifies the dominion of the internal man; "fear" having reference to evils; and "terror" to falsities; "upon every beast of the earth" signifies upon the cupidities which are of the mind [animus] "and upon every bird of heaven" signifies upon the falsities which belong to reasoning; "to everything which the ground causeth to creep forth" signifies affections of good; "to all the fishes of the sea" signifies memory-knowledges [scientifica] "let ahem be given into your hands" signifies the possession of the internal man in the external.

The fear of you and the terror of you. That this signifies the dominion of the internal man, "fear" having reference to evils, and "terror" to falsities, is evident from the state of the regenerate man. The state of man before regeneration is such that cupidities and falsities, which are of the external man, continually predominate, and hence arises a combat; but after regeneration the internal man has dominion over the external, that is, over its cupidities and falsities, and then the man is in fear of evils and in terror of falsities, both of which are contrary to conscience, and to act in opposition to this affects him with horror. Howbeit, it is not the internal but the external man that fears evils and dreads falsities, wherefore it is here said "let the fear of you and the terror of you be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every bird of the heaven" that is, upon all cupidities, here signified by "beasts" and upon all falsities, here meant by the "bird of heaven." This "fear" and this "terror" appear as if they were the man's own, but they arise from the following cause. As has been previously stated, there are with every man at least two angels, through whom he has communication with heaven, and two evil spirits, through whom he has communication with hell. When the angels rule-as is the case with the regenerate man-then the attendant evil spirits dare not attempt to do anything contrary to what is good and true, because they are in bonds; for, on their attempting to do anything evil, or to speak what is false-that is, to excite it-they are instantly seized with a kind of infernal fear and terror. This fear and terror are what are perceived in the man as a fear and terror for what is contrary to conscience; and therefore as soon as he does or speaks anything contrary to conscience, he comes into temptation, and into the pangs of conscience, that is, into a kind of infernal torment. As to "fear" being predicated of evils, and "terror" of falsities, the case is this: the spirits with a man do not so much fear to do evils as they do to speak falsities, because man is born again and receives conscience through the truths of faith, and therefore the spirits are not allowed to excite false things. With everyone of them there is nothing but evil, so that they are in evil; their very nature, and all their effort therefrom is evil; and since they are in evil, and their proper life consists in evil, they are pardoned for doing evil when they are serving any use. But it is not permitted them to speak anything false, and this in order that they may learn what is true, and thus so far as possible be amended, so that they may serve some low use; but concerning this subject, of the Lord's Divine mercy, more hereafter. Similar is the case with the regenerate man, for his conscience is formed of the truths of faith, and therefore his conscience is a conscience of what is right, what is false being to him the very evil of life, because it is contrary to the truth of faith. It was otherwise with the man of the Most Ancient Church, who had perception. He perceived evil of life as evil, and falsity of faith as falsity.

Upon every beast of the earth. That this signifies over the cupidities of the lower mind, is evident from the signification of "beasts" in the Word, where they signify either affections or cupidities, affections of good being signified by gentle, useful, and clean beasts; and affections of evil, or cupidities, by those that are fierce, useless, and unclean (concerning which see above, n. 45, 46, 142, 143, 246, 776). Here, as cupidities are signified, they are called "beasts of the earth" not beasts of the field. With regard to the rule of the regenerate man over cupidities, it is to be known that those are in the greatest error, and are by no means the regenerate, who believe that they can of themselves rule over evils. For man is nothing but evil; he is a mass of evils; all his will being merely evil; which is what is said in the preceding chapter (8:21): that "the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth." It has been shown me by living experience that a man and a spirit, even an angel, in himself regarded, that is, as to all that is his own, is but vilest excrement; and that left to himself he breathes nothing but hatred, revenge, cruelty, and most foul adultery. [2] These things are his own; these are his will; as must also be evident to everyone if he reflects, merely from this, that man when born is, among all wild animals and beasts, the vilest creature living. And when he grows up and becomes his own master, if not hindered by outward bonds of the law, and bonds which he imposes on himself for the purpose of gaining great honor and wealth, he would rush into every crime, and not rest until he had subjugated all in the universe, and raked together the wealth of all in the universe; nor would he spare any but those who submitted to be his humble servants. Such is the nature of every man, although those are unaware of it who are powerless and to whom such attempts are impossible, and also those who are in the bonds above mentioned. But let the possibility and power be given, and the bonds be relaxed, and they would rush on to the extent of their ability. Wild animals never show such a nature. They are born into a certain order of their nature. Those which are fierce and rapacious inflict injury on other creatures, but only in self-defense; and their devouring other animals is to allay their hunger, and when this is allayed they do harm to none. But it is altogether different with man. From all this it is evident what is the nature of man's Own and will. [3] Since man is such mere evil and excrement, it is evident that he can never of himself rule over evil. It is an utter contradiction for evil to be able to rule over evil, and not only over evil, but also over hell; for every man is in communication through evil spirits with hell, and thereby the evil in him is excited. From all this everyone may know, and he who has a sound mind may conclude, that the Lord alone rules over evil in man and over hell with him. In order that the evil in man may be subjugated, that is, hell, which strives every moment to rush in upon him and destroy him forever, man is regenerated by the Lord and endowed with a new will, which is conscience, through which the Lord alone performs all good. These are points of faith: that man is nothing but evil; and that all good is from the Lord. They are therefore not only known by man, but also acknowledged and believed; and if he does not so acknowledge and believe in the life of the body, it is shown him to the life in the life to come.

And upon every bird of heaven. That this signifies upon falsities of reasoning, is evident from the signification of "bird." In the Word "birds" signify intellectual things: those which are gentle, useful, and beautiful, signifying intellectual truths; and those which are fierce, useless, and ugly, signifying intellectual falsities, or falsities of reasoning. (That they signify intellectual things may be seen above, n. 40, 776, 870.) From this it is also evident that "birds" signify reasonings and their falsities. That there may be no doubt let the following passages (in addition to those cited about the raven, n. 866) serve for confirmation. In Jeremiah: I will visit upon them in four kinds, saith Jehovah; the sword to slay, and the dogs to drag, and the fowl of heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and to destroy (Jer. 15:3). In Ezekiel: Upon his ruin all the fowls of the heaven shall dwell, and all the wild animals of the field shall be upon his branches (Ezek. 31:13). In Daniel: At last upon the bird of abominations shall be desolation (Dan. 9:27). In John: Babylon is become a hold of every unclean and hateful bird (Rev. 18:2).Many times it is said in the Prophets that carcasses should be given for meat to the fowl of the air and to the beast of the field (Jer. 7:33; 19:7; 34:20; Ezek. 29:5; 39:4; Ps. 79:2; Isa. 18:6). By this was signified that they should be destroyed by falsities, which are "birds of heaven" and by evils, or cupidities, which are the "beasts of the earth."

As regards dominion over falsities, it is the same as with dominion over evils: man cannot of himself have the least dominion over them. Since the subject here is the dominion of the regenerated man over cupidities, or the "beast of the earth" and over falsities, or the "bird of heaven" it is to be known that no one can ever say that he is regenerate unless he acknowledges and believes that charity is the primary thing of his faith, and unless he is affected with love toward the neighbor, and has mercy on him. Of charity his new will is formed. Through charity the Lord brings about good, and thereby truth, but not through faith without charity. There are some who perform works of charity from obedience alone, that is, because it is so commanded by the Lord, and yet are not regenerate. These if they do not place righteousness in their works are regenerated in the other life.

Even to everything that the ground maketh to creep forth. That this signifies affections of good is evident both from what precedes and from the signification of the "ground" from which they are produced or creep forth; from what precedes, since there evils and falsities are treated of, over which the regenerate man rules, and therefore here affections of good, which are given into his hands; and from the signification of the "ground" from which they are produced or creep forth, since the "ground" is in general the man of the church and whatever is of the church, and thus here whatever is produced by the Lord through the internal man in the external. The ground itself is in the external man, in his affections and memory. It appears as if man produced what is good, and therefore it is said "everything that the ground maketh to creep forth;" but this is only the appearance; good is produced through the internal man by the Lord, since, as has been said, there is nothing of good and truth except from the Lord.

And to all the fishes of the sea. That this signifies memory-knowledges [scientifica], is evident from the signification of a fish. "Fishes" in the Word signify memory-knowledges, which spring from things of sense. For memory-knowledges [scientifica] are of three kinds: intellectual, rational, and sensuous. All these are planted in the memory, or rather memories, and in the regenerate man are called forth thence by the Lord, through the internal man. These memory-knowledges which are from things of sense come to man's sensation or perception when he lives in the body, for he thinks from them. The rest, which are interior, do not come so much to perception until man puts off the body and enters the other life. That "fishes" or the creeping things which the waters produce, signify memory-knowledges, may be seen above (n. 40); and that a "whale" or "sea monster" signifies the generals of these knowledges (n. 42). Moreover the same is evident from the following passages in the Word. In Zephaniah: I will make man and beast to fail; I will make the fowls of the heavens and the fishes of the sea to fail (Zeph. 1:3), where the "fowls of the heavens" denote things of reason, and the "fishes of the sea" lower rational things, that is, man's thought from sensuous memory-knowledges. [2] In Habakkuk: Thou makest man as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping thing that has no ruler over them (Hab. 1:14), where "making man as the fishes of the sea" means that he is altogether sensuous. In Hosea: Therefore shall the land mourn, and everyone that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the wild animal of the field and the fowl of the heavens; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be gathered (Hos. 4:3), where the "fishes of the sea" denote memory-knowledges from things of sense. In David: Thou hast put all things under his feet; all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field, the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas (Ps. 8:6-8), speaking of the dominion of the Lord in man, the "fish of the sea" denote memory-knowledges. That "seas" signify the gathering together of knowledges [scientificorum seu cognitionum], may be seen above (n. 28). In Isaiah: The fishers shall lament, and all they that cast a hook into the river shall mourn, and they that spread a net upon the faces of the waters shall languish (Isa. 19:8); "fishers" denoting those who trust only in things of sense, and out of these hatch falsities; the subject being Egypt, or the realm of memory-knowledge.

Into your hands let them be given. That this signifies the possession of the internal man in the external, is evident from what has been already said, and from the signification of "hand" (as above, n. 878). It is said "into your hands let them be given" because such is the appearance.

Verse 3. Every creeping thing that liveth shall be food for you; as the esculent herb have I given it all to you. "Every creeping thing that liveth" signifies all pleasures in which there is good which is living; "shall be food for you" signifies their delight, which they enjoy; "as the esculent herb" signifies what is vile of delights; "have I given it all to you" signifies enjoyment on account of use.

Every creeping thing that liveth. That this signifies all pleasures in which there is good which is living, is evident from the signification of a "creeping thing" as shown before. That creeping things here mean all clean beasts and birds, is evident to everyone, for it is said that they are given for food. Creeping things in their proper sense are such as are vilest of all (as named in Lev. 11:23, 29, 30), and were unclean. But in a broad sense, as here, animals are meant which are given for food; yet here they are called "creeping things" because they signify pleasures. Man's affections are signified in the Word by clean beasts, as already said; but since his affections are perceived only in his pleasures, so that he calls them pleasures, they are here called "creeping things." [2] Pleasures are of two kinds, those of the will, and those of the understanding. In general there are the pleasures of possession of land and wealth, the pleasures of honor and office in the state, the pleasures of conjugial love and of love for infants and children, the pleasures of friendship and of converse with companions, the pleasures of reading, of writing, of knowing, of being wise; and many others. There are also the pleasures of the senses: as the pleasure of hearing, which is in general that from the sweetness of music and song; and that of seeing, which is in general that of various and manifold beauties; and of smelling, which is from the sweetness of odors; and of tasting, which is from the agreeableness and wholesomeness of foods and drinks; and of touch, from many pleasing sensations. These kinds of pleasures, being felt in the body, are called pleasures of the body. But no pleasure ever exists in the body unless it exists and subsists from an interior affection, and no interior affection exists except from one more interior, in which is the use and the end. [3] These things which, in regular order, are interior, commencing from those which are inmost, are not perceived by man while he lives in the body, and most men hardly know that they exist, still less that they are the source of pleasures; when yet nothing can ever exist in externals except from things interior in order. Pleasures are only ultimate effects. The interior things do not lie open to view so long as men live in the body, except to those who reflect upon them. In the other life they for the first time come forth to view, and indeed in the order in which they are elevated by the Lord toward heaven. Interior affections with their delights manifest themselves in the world of spirits, the more interior with their delights in the heaven of angelic spirits, and the still more interior with their happiness in the heaven of angels; for there are three heavens, one more interior, more perfect, and more happy than another (see n. 459, 684). These interiors unfold and present themselves to perception in the other life; but so long as man lives in the body, since he is all the time in the idea and thought of corporeal things, these interior things are as it were asleep, being immersed in the corporeal things. But yet it may be evident to anyone who reflects, that all pleasures are such as are the affections that are more and more interior in order, and that they receive from these all their essence and quality. [4] Since the affections that are more and more interior in order are felt in the extremes or outermost things, that is, in the body, as pleasures, they are called "creeping things" but they are only corporeal things affected by internal ones, as must be evident to everyone merely from sight and its pleasures. Except there be interior sight, no eye can ever see. The sight of the eye exists from interior sight, and for this reason after the death of the body man sees equally as well and even better than when he lived in the body-not indeed worldly and corporeal things, but those of the other life. Those who were blind in the life of the body, see in the other life as well as those who had keen vision. So too when man sleeps, he sees in his dreams as clearly as when awake. It has been given me to see by internal sight the things in the other life more clearly than I see the things in the world. From all this it is evident that external sight comes forth from interior sight, and this from sight still more interior, and so on. It is similar with every other sense and with every pleasure. [5] Pleasures are likewise in other parts of the Word called "creeping things" with a distinction between the clean and the unclean, that is, between pleasures the delights of which are living, or heavenly, and pleasures the delights of which are dead or infernal. As in Hosea: In that day will I make a covenant for them with the wild animal of the field, and with the fowl of the heavens, and with the creeping thing of the ground (Hos. 2:18). That here the wild animal of the field, the fowl of the heavens, and the creeping thing, signify such things in man as have been said, is evident from the subject being a new church. In David: Let the heavens and the earth praise Jehovah, the seas, and everything that creepeth therein (Ps. 69:34). The seas and the things that creep therein cannot praise Jehovah, but the things in man that are signified by them and are living, thus from what is living within them. Again: Praise Jehovah ye wild animal and every beast, creeping thing and winged fowl (Ps. 148:10), with a similar meaning. [6] That here by "creeping thing" nothing else is meant than good affections from which are pleasures, is evident also from creeping things being with this people unclean, as will be plain from what follows. Again: O Jehovah the earth is full of Thy riches; this sea, great and wide, wherein are things creeping without number; these wait all upon Thee, that Thou mayest give them their food in due season; Thou givest them, they gather; Thou openest Thy hand, they are satiated with good (Ps. 104:24-28). Here in the internal sense by "seas" are signified spiritual things, by "things creeping" all things that live therefrom; the enjoyment is signified by giving them food in due season, and by their being satiated with good. In Ezekiel: And it shall come to pass that every living soul that creepeth, in every place whither the rivers come, shall live; and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters are come thither, and they shall be healed, and everything shall live whithersoever the river cometh (Ezek. 47:9). Here are meant the waters of the New Jerusalem; these waters denote spiritual things from a celestial origin; "the living soul that creepeth" the affections of good, and the pleasures therefrom, both of the body and of the senses; that these live from the "waters" or from spiritual things from a celestial origin, is very evident. [7] That filthy pleasures too, which have their origin in what is man's own, thus in the foul cupidities thereof, are also called "creeping things" is evident in Ezekiel: So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping thing and of beast, the abomination, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about (Ezek. 8:10). Here the "form of creeping thing" signifies unclean pleasures whose interiors are cupidities, and the interiors of these, hatreds, revenges, cruelties, and adulteries; such are the "creeping things" or delights of pleasures from the love of self and of the world, or from man's Own, which are their "idols" because they regard them as delightful, love them, have them for gods, and thus adore them. In the representative church, these creeping things, because they had such a vile signification, were likewise so unclean that it was not permitted even to touch them; and he who but touched them was unclean (as may be seen in Lev. 5:2; 11:31-33; 22:5-6).

Shall be food for you. That this signifies its delight which they should enjoy, is evident from this, that any pleasure not only affects man, but also sustains him, like food. Pleasure without delight is not pleasure, but is something without life, and only from delight is and is called pleasure. Such also as is the delight, such is the pleasure. Corporeal and sensuous things are in themselves only material, lifeless, and dead; but from delights which come in order from the interiors, they have life. From this it is evident that such as is the life of the interiors, such is the delight in the pleasures, for in the delight there is life. The delight in which there is good from the Lord is alone living, for it is then from the very life of good; for which reason it is here said, "every creeping thing that liveth shall be food for you" that is, for enjoyment. [2] Some think that no one ought ever to live in the pleasures of the body and its senses who wishes to be happy in the other life, but that all these should be renounced on the ground that they are corporeal and worldly, withdrawing man and keeping him away from spiritual and heavenly life. But those who think so and therefore reduce themselves to voluntary misery while they live in the world, are not well-informed as to what the real case is. No one is forbidden to enjoy the pleasures of the body and its senses, that is, the pleasures of possession of lands and wealth; the pleasures of honor and office in the state; the pleasures of conjugial love and of love for infants and children; the pleasures of friendship and of interaction with companions; the pleasures of hearing, or of the sweetness of singing and music; the pleasures of sight, or of beauties, which are manifold, as those of becoming dress, of elegant dwellings with their furniture, beautiful gardens, and the like, which are delightful from harmony of form and color; the pleasures of smell, or of fragrant odors; the pleasures of taste, or of the flavors and benefits of food and drink; the pleasures of touch. For these are most external or bodily affections arising from interior affections, as already said. [3] Interior affections, which are living, all derive their delight from good and truth; and good and truth derive their delight from charity and faith, and in this case do so from the Lord, thus from life itself; wherefore the affections and pleasures therefrom are living. And since genuine pleasures have this origin, they are denied to no one. Indeed, when they are from this origin their delight indefinitely surpasses delight not from this source, which is in comparison unclean. For example, the pleasure of conjugial love, when it has its origin from true conjugial love, surpasses immeasurably pleasure that has not this origin, so much so that those who are in true conjugial love are in heavenly delight and happiness, since it comes down from heaven. This was acknowledged by the men of the Most Ancient Church. The delight from adulteries felt by adulterers was to those men so abominable that when they thought of it they shuddered. From all this it is evident what is the nature of the delight that does not flow from the true fountain of life, or from the Lord. [4] That the pleasures above mentioned are never denied to man, and that so far from being denied they are then first really pleasures when they come from their true origin, may also be seen from the fact that very many who have lived in power, dignity, and opulence in the world, and who had all pleasures in abundance, both of the body and of the senses, are among the blessed and happy in heaven, and with them now the interior delights and happinesses are living, because they have had their origin in the goods of charity and the truths that are of faith in the Lord. And since they had regarded all their pleasures as coming from charity and faith in the Lord, they regarded them from use, which was their end. Use itself was the most delightful thing to them, and from this came the delight of their pleasures. (See what has been related from experience, n. 945.)

That the "esculent herb" signifies the vile things of delights is evident from what has been said. They are called the esculent herb because they are only worldly and corporeal, or external. For, as already said, the pleasures that are in the bodily or outermost things of man have their origin in delights that are successively more and more interior. The delights that are perceived in those outermost or bodily things are relatively vile, for it is the nature of all delight to become more vile in proportion as it progresses toward the externals, and more happy in proportion as it advances toward the internals. For this reason, as before said, in proportion as the externals are stripped off, or rolled away, the delights become more pleasant and happy, as may be evident enough from man's delight in pleasures being vile while he lives in the body, in comparison with his delight after the life of the body, when he comes into the world of spirits; so vile indeed that good spirits utterly spurn the delights of the body, nor would they return to them if all in the whole world should be given them. [2] The delight of these spirits in like manner becomes vile when they are taken up by the Lord into the heaven of angelic spirits; for they then throw off these interior delights and enter into those that are still more interior. So again to angelic spirits the delight which they have had in their heaven becomes vile when they are taken up by the Lord into the angelic or third heaven, in which heaven, since internal things are there living, and there is nothing but mutual love, the happiness is unspeakable. (See what is said of interior delight or happiness above, n. 545.) From these things it is evident what is signified by "as the esculent herb have I given it all to you." Inasmuch as creeping things signify both pleasures of the body and pleasures of the senses, of which the esculent herb is predicated, the word in the original language is one which signifies both "esculent" and "green"-"esculent" in reference to pleasures of the will, or of celestial affections, and "green" in reference to pleasures of the understanding, or of spiritual affections. [3] That the "esculent herb" and "green herb" signify what is vile, is evident in the Word, as in Isaiah: The waters of Nimrim shall be desolate; for the grass is dried up, the herbage is consumed, there is no green thing (Isa. 15:6). Their inhabitants were short of hand, they were dismayed, and put to shame; they became the herb of the field, and the green herbage, the grass on the house tops (Isa. 37:27), the "green herbage" denoting what is most vile. In Moses: The land whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs (Deut. 11:10), where a "garden of herbs" denotes what is vile. In David: The evil are as grass, suddenly are they cut down, and will be consumed as the green herbage (Ps. 37:2), where "grass" and the "green herbage" denote what is most vile.

Have I given it all to you. That this signifies enjoyment on account of use, is because it is "for food"; for whatever is given for food is for use. With regard to use: those who are in charity, that is, in love to the neighbor (from which is the delight in pleasures that is alive), pay no regard to the enjoyment of pleasures except on account of the use. For there is no charity apart from works of charity; it is in its practice or use that charity consists. He who loves the neighbor as himself perceives no delight in charity except in its exercise, or in use; and therefore a life of charity is a life of uses. Such is the life of the whole heaven; for the kingdom of the Lord, because it is a kingdom of mutual love, is a kingdom of uses. Every pleasure therefore which is from charity, has its delight from use. The more noble the use, the greater the delight. Consequently the angels have happiness from the Lord according to the essence and quality of their use. [2] And so it is with every pleasure-the more noble its use, the greater its delight. For example, the delight of conjugial love: because this love is the seminary of human society, and thereby of the Lord's kingdom in the heavens, which is the greatest of all uses, it has in it so much delight that it is the very happiness of heaven. It is the same with all other pleasures, but with a difference according to the excellence of the uses, which are so manifold that they can scarcely be classed in genera and species, some having regard more nearly and directly, and some more remotely and indirectly, to the kingdom of the Lord, or to the Lord. From these things it is further evident that all pleasures are granted to man, but only for the sake of use; and that they thus, with a difference from the use in which they are, partake of heavenly happiness and live from it.

Verse 4. Only the flesh with the soul thereof, the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. "Flesh" signifies the will part of man; the "soul" signifies the new life; the "blood" signifies charity; "not to eat" signifies not to mingle together; wherefore by "not eating flesh with the soul thereof, the blood thereof" is meant not mingling profane things with holy.

That "flesh" signifies the will part of man, is evident from the signification of "flesh" in its proper sense in reference to man when corrupt. "Flesh" in general, signifies the whole man, and specifically the corporeal man, as may be seen above (n. 574); and since it signifies the whole man, and specifically the corporeal man, it signifies what is proper to man, consequently his will part. Man's will part, or will, is nothing but evil; and therefore "flesh" predicated of man, because he is such, signifies all cupidity, or all concupiscence, for man's will is nothing but cupidity, as occasionally shown before. And because "flesh" has this signification, such was also the representation of the flesh which the people lusted after in the desert-as in Moses: The mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting whence they wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? (Num. 11:4). Here flesh is plainly called lust, for it is said that they fell a lusting, saying, Who shall give us flesh? The same is likewise evident from what follows: While the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the anger of Jehovah was kindled against the people, and Jehovah smote the people with a very great plague; and the name of that place was called the Graves of Lust, because there they buried the people that lusted (Num. 11:33-34). [2] It must be evident to everyone that such a plague would never have been sent among the people on account of their lusting after flesh, thus not on account of a lust for flesh, since this is natural when a man has been kept from eating it for a long time, as the people then had in the wilderness. But a deeper reason lies hidden, which is spiritual, namely, that the people were of such a nature as to loathe what was signified and represented by the manna-as is evident also from the sixth verse-and to desire only such things as were signified and represented by "flesh" the things of their own will, which are of those of cupidities, and in themselves are excrementitious and profane. It was because that church was representative, from the representation of such things, that the people were afflicted with so great a plague; for what was done among the people was represented spiritually in heaven. The manna represented in heaven what is heavenly, and the flesh which they lusted after, the unclean things of their own will. For this reason, because they were of such a nature, they were punished. From these and other passages in the Word, it is evident that by "flesh" is signified what is of the will, and here of the will of man, the uncleanness of which may be seen under the second verse of this chapter, where the beast of the earth is treated of.

That the "soul" signifies life, is evident from the signification of "soul" in the Word, in many places. "Soul" in the Word signifies in general all life, as well internal, or that of the internal man, as external, or that of the external man. And because it signifies all life, it signifies such life as is that of the man of whom the soul is predicated. Here it is predicated of the life of the regenerate man, which is separate from man's will; for, as already said, the new life which the regenerate spiritual man receives from the Lord is entirely separate from the will or Own of the man, that is, from the life that is his own, which is not life, though so called, but is death, because it is infernal life. Here therefore "flesh with the soul thereof" which they should not eat, signifies flesh together with its soul; that is, they should not mingle this new life, which is of the Lord, with the evil or excrementitious life which is of man, that is, with his will or Own.