In the two preceding chapters it has been shown that heaven in its
whole complex, and likewise each society in heaven, reflects a single
man. From the sequence of reasons there set forth it follows that
this is equally true of each angel. As heaven is a man in largest
form, and a society of heaven in a less form, so is an angel in
least. For in the most perfect form, such as the form of heaven is,
there is a likeness of the whole in the part and of the part in the
whole. This is so for the reason that heaven is a common sharing, for
it shares all it has with each one, and each one receives all he has
from that sharing. Because an angel is thus a recipient he is a
heaven in least form, as shown above in its chapter; and a man also,
so far as he receives heaven, is a recipient, a heaven, and an angel
(see above, n. 57). This is thus described in the Apocalypse:
He measured the wall of the holy Jerusalem, a hundred and
forty and four cubits, the measure of a man, which is that
of an angel (21:17).
"Jerusalem" means here the Lord's church, and in a more eminent
sense, heaven;{1} the "wall" means truth, which is a defence against
the assault of falsities and evils;{2} "a hundred and forty and four"
means all goods and truths in the complex;{3} "measure" means what a
thing is,{4} a "man" means one in whom are goods and truths in
general and in particular, thus in whom is heaven. And as it is from
this that an angel is a man, it is said "the measure of a man, which
is that of an angel." This is the spiritual meaning of these words.
Without that meaning how could it be seen that "the wall of the Holy
Jerusalem" is "the measure of a man, which is that of an angel?"{5}
{Footnote 1} "Jerusalem" means the church (n. 402, 3654, 9166).
{Footnote 2} The "wall" means truth defending against the
assault of falsities and evils (n. 6419).
{Footnote 3} "Twelve" means all truths and goods in the complex
(n. 577, 2089, 2129, 2130, 3272, 3858, 3913). Likewise
"seventy-two," and "a hundred and forty-four," since this comes
from twelve multiplied into itself (n. 7973). All numbers in
the Word signify things (n. 482, 487, 647, 648, 755, 813, 1963,
1988, 2075, 2252, 3252, 4264, 4495, 5265). Multiplied numbers
have a like signification as the simple numbers from which they
arise by multiplication (n. 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973).
{Footnote 4} "Measure" in the Word signifies the quality of a
thing in respect to truth and good (n. 3104, 9603).
{Footnote 5} In regard to the spiritual or internal sense of
the Word see the explanation of The White Horse in the
Apocalypse, and the Appendix to The Heavenly Doctrine.
74. Let us now turn to experience. That angels are human forms, or
men, has been seen by me a thousand times. I have talked with them as
man with man, sometimes with one, sometimes with many together; and I
have seen nothing whatever in their form different from the human
form; and have occasionally been surprised to find them such. And
that this might not be said to be a delusion or a vision of fancy, I
have been permitted to see angels when fully awake or in possession
of all my bodily senses, and in a state of clear perception. And I
have often told them that men in the Christian world are in such
blind ignorance in regard to angels and spirits as to believe them to
be minds without form, even pure thoughts, of which they have no idea
except as something ethereal in which there is some vitality. And as
they thus ascribe to angels nothing human except a thinking faculty,
they believe that having no eyes they do not see, having no ears they
do not hear, and having no mouth or tongue they do not speak. [2] To
this the angels replied that they are aware that such a belief is
held by many in the world, and is prevalent among the learned, and to
their surprise, even among the clergy. The reason, they said, is that
the learned, who were the leaders and who first concocted such an
idea of angels and spirits, conceived of them from the
sense-conceptions of the external man; and those who think from
these, and not from interior light and from the general idea
implanted in everyone, must needs fabricate such notions, since the
sense-conceptions of the external man take in only what belongs to
nature, and nothing above nature, thus nothing whatever of the
spiritual world.{1} From these leaders as guides this falsity of
thought about angels extended to others who did not think from
themselves but adopted the thoughts of their leaders; and those who
first take their thoughts from others and make that thought their
belief, and then view it with their own understanding, cannot easily
recede from it, and are therefore in most cases satisfied with
confirming it. [3] The angels said, furthermore, that the simple in
faith and heart have no such idea about angels, but think of them as
the men of heaven, and for the reason that they have not extinguished
by learning what is implanted in them from heaven, and have no
conception of anything apart from form. This is why angels in
churches, whether sculptured or painted, are always depicted as men.
In respect to this insight from heaven they said that it is the
Divine flowing into such as are in the good of faith and life.
{Footnote 1} Unless man is raised above the sense-conceptions
of the external man he has very little wisdom (n. 5089). The
wise man thinks above these sense-conceptions (n. 5089, 5094).
When man is raised above these, he comes into clearer light,
and finally into heavenly light (n. 6183, 6313, 6315, 9407,
9730, 9922). Elevation and withdrawal from these was known to
the ancients (n. 6313).
75. From all my experience, which is now of many years, I am able to
say and affirm that angels are wholly men in form, having faces,
eyes, ears, bodies, arms, hands, and feet; that they see and hear one
another, and talk together, and in a word lack nothing whatever that
belongs to men except that they are not clothed in material bodies. I
have seen them in their own light, which exceeds by many degrees the
noonday light of the world, and in that light all their features
could be seen more distinctly and clearly than the faces of men are
seen on the earth. It has also been granted me to see an angel of the
inmost heaven. He had a more radiant and resplendent face than the
angels of the lower heavens. I observed him attentively, and he had a
human form in all completeness.
76. But it must be remembered that a man cannot see angels with his
bodily eyes, but only with the eyes of the spirit within him,{1}
because his spirit is in the spiritual world, and all things of the
body are in the natural world. Like sees like from being like.
Moreover, as the bodily organ of sight, which is the eye, is too
gross, as everyone knows, to see even the smaller things of nature
except through magnifying glasses, still less can it see what is
above the sphere of nature, as all things in the spiritual world are.
Nevertheless these things can be seen by man when he has been
withdrawn from the sight of the body, and the sight of his spirit has
been opened; and this can be effected instantly whenever it is the
pleasure of the Lord that man should see these things; and in that
case man does not know but what he is seeing them with his bodily
eyes. Thus were angels seen by Abraham, Lot, Manoah, and the
prophets; and thus, too, the Lord was seen by the disciples after the
resurrection; and in the same way angels have been seen by me.
Because the prophets saw in this way they were called "seers," and
were said "to have their eyes opened" (1 Sam. 9:8; Num. 24:3); and
enabling them to see thus was called "opening their eyes," as with
Elisha's servant, of whom we read:
Elisha prayed and said, Jehovah, I pray Thee open his eyes
that he may see; and Jehovah opened the eyes of the young
man and he saw, and behold the mountain was full of horses
and chariots of fire round about Elisha (2 Kings 6:17).
{Footnote 1} In respect to his interiors man is a spirit (n.
1594). And that spirit is the man himself, and it is from that
spirit that the body lived (n. 447, 4622, 6054).
77. Good spirits, with whom I have spoken about this matter, have
been deeply grieved at such ignorance in the church about the
condition of heaven and of spirits and angels; and in their
displeasure they charged me to declare positively that they are not
formless minds nor ethereal breaths, but are men in very form, and
see, hear, and feel equally with those who are in this world.{1}
{Footnote 1} Inasmuch as each angel is a recipient of Divine
order from the Lord, he is in a human form, perfect and
beautiful in the measure of his reception (n. 322, 1880, 1881,
3633, 3804, 4622, 4735, 4797, 4985, 5199, 5530, 6054, 9879,
10177, 10594). It is by means of Divine truth that order
exists; and Divine good is the essential of order (n. 2451,
3166, 4390, 4409, 5232, 7256, 10122, 10555).
78. XI. IT IS FROM THE LORD'S DIVINE HUMAN THAT HEAVEN AS A WHOLE AND
IN PART REFLECTS MAN.
That it is from the Lord's Divine Human that heaven as a whole and in
part reflects man, follows as a conclusion from all that has been
stated and shown in the preceding chapters, namely: (i) That the God
of heaven is the Lord. (ii) It is the Divine of the Lord that makes
heaven. (iii) Heaven consists of innumerable societies; and each
society is a heaven in a smaller form, and each angel in the smallest
form. (iv) All heaven in the aggregate reflects a single man. (v)
Each society in the heavens reflects a single man. (vi) Therefore
every angel is in a complete human form. All this leads to the
conclusion that as it is the Divine that makes heaven, heaven must be
human in form. That this Divine is the Lord's Divine Human can be
seen still more clearly, because in a compendium, in what has been
collected, brought together and collated from the Arcana Coelestia
and placed as a supplement at the end of this chapter. That the
Lord's Human is Divine, and that it is not true that His Human is not
Divine, as those with in the church believe, may also be seen in the
same extracts, also in the chapter on The Lord, in The New Jerusalem
and its Heavenly Doctrine, at the end.
79. That this is true has been proved to me by much experience, about
which something shall now be said. No angel in the heavens ever
perceives the Divine as being in any other than a human form; and
what is remarkable, those in the higher heavens are unable to think
of the Divine in any other way. The necessity of thinking in this way
comes from the Divine itself that flows in, and also from the form of
heaven in harmony with which their thoughts spread forth. For every
thought of an angel spreads forth into heaven; and the angels have
intelligence and wisdom in the measure of that extension. It is in
consequence of this that all in heaven acknowledge the Lord, because
only in Him does the Divine Human exist. Not only have I been told
all this by angels, but when elevated into the inner sphere of heaven
I have been able to perceive it. From this it is evident that the
wiser the angels are the more clearly they perceive this truth; and
it is from this that the Lord is seen by them; for the Lord is seen
in a Divine angelic form, which is the human form, by those who
acknowledge and believe in a visible Divine Being, but not by those
who believe in an invisible Divine. For the former can see their
Divine Being, but the latter cannot.
80. Because the angels have no perception of an invisible Divine,
which they call a Divine devoid of form, but perceive only a visible
Divine in human form, they are accustomed to say that the Lord alone
is man, and that it is from Him that they are men, and that each one
is a man in the measure of his reception of the Lord. By receiving
the Lord they understand receiving good and truth which are from Him,
since the Lord is in His good and in His truth, and this they call
wisdom and intelligence. Everyone knows, they say, that intelligence
and wisdom make man, and not a face without these. The truth of this
is made evident from the appearance of the angels of the interior
heavens, for these, being in good and truth from the Lord and in
consequent wisdom and intelligence, are in a most beautiful and most
perfect human form; while the angels of the lower heavens are in
human form of less perfection and beauty. On the other hand, those
who are in hell appear in the light of heaven hardly as men, but
rather as monsters, since they are not in good and truth but in evil
and falsity, and consequently in the opposites of wisdom and
intelligence. For this reason their life is not called life, but
spiritual death.
81. Because heaven as a whole and in part, from the Lord's Divine
Human, reflects a man, the angels say that they are in the Lord; and
some say that they are in His body, meaning that they are in the good
of His love. And this the Lord Himself teaches, saying,
Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit
of itself except it abide in the vine, so neither can ye,
except ye abide in Me. For apart from Me ye can do
nothing. Abide in My love. If ye keep My commandments ye
shall abide in My love (John 15:4-10).
82. Because such a perception of the Divine exists in the heavens, to
think of God as in a human form is implanted in every man who
receives any influx from heaven. Thus did the ancients think of Him;
and thus do the moderns think of Him both outside of the church and
within it. The simple see Him in thought as the Ancient One in
shining light. But this insight has been extinguished in all those
that by self-intelligence and by a life of evil have rejected influx
from heaven. Those that have extinguished it by self-intelligence
prefer an invisible God; while those that have extinguished it by a
life of evil prefer no God. Neither of these are aware that such an
insight exists, because they do not have it; and yet it is the Divine
heavenly itself that primarily flows into man out of heaven, because
man is born for heaven, and no one without a conception of a Divine
can enter heaven.
83. For this reason he that has no conception of heaven, that is, no
conception of the Divine from which heaven is, cannot be raised up to
the first threshold of heaven. As soon as such a one draws near to
heaven a resistance and a strong repulsion are perceived; and for the
reason that his interiors, which should be receptive of heaven, are
closed up from their not being in the form of heaven, and the nearer
he comes to heaven the more tightly are they closed up. Such is the
lot of those within the church who deny the Lord, and of those who,
like the Socinians, deny His Divinity. But the lot of those who are
born out of the church, and who are ignorant of the Lord because they
do not have the Word, will be described hereafter.
84. That the men of old time had an idea of the Divine as human is
evident from the manifestation of the Divine to Abraham, Lot, Joshua,
Gideon, Manoah and his wife, and others. These saw God as a man, but
nevertheless adored Him as the God of the universe, calling Him the
God of heaven and earth, and Jehovah. That it was the Lord who was
seen by Abraham He Himself teaches in John (8:56); and that it was He
who was seen by the rest is evident from His words:
No one hath seen the Father, nor heard His voice, nor seen
His form (John 1:18; 5:37).
85. But that God is man can scarcely be comprehended by those who
judge all things from the sense-conceptions of the external man, for
the sensual man must needs think of the Divine from the world and
what is therein, and thus of a Divine and spiritual man in the same
way as of a corporeal and natural man. From this he concludes that if
God were a man He would be as large as the universe; and if He ruled
heaven and earth it would be done through many others, after the
manner of kings in the world. If told that in heaven there is no
extension of space as in the world, he would not in the least
comprehend it. For he that thinks only from nature and its light must
needs think in accord with such extension as appears before his eyes.
But it is the greatest mistake to think in this way about heaven.
Extension there is not like extension in the world. In the world
extension is determinate, and thus measurable; but in heaven it is
not determinate, and thus not measurable. But extension in heaven
will be further treated of hereafter in connection with space and
time in the spiritual world. Furthermore, everyone knows how far the
sight of the eye extends, namely, to the sun and to the stars, which
are so remote; and whoever thinks deeply knows that the internal
sight, which is of thought, has a still wider extension, and that a
yet more interior sight must extend more widely still. What then must
be said of Divine sight, which is the inmost and highest of all?
Because thoughts have such extension, all things of heaven are shared
with everyone there, so, too, are all things of the Divine which
makes heaven and fills it, as has been shown in the preceding
chapters.
86. Those in heaven wonder that men can believe themselves to be
intelligent who, in thinking of God, think about something invisible,
that is, inconceivable under any form; and that they can call those
who think differently unintelligent and simple, when the reverse is
the truth. They add, "Let those who thus believe themselves to be
intelligent examine themselves, whether they do not look upon nature
as God, some the nature that is before their eyes, others the
invisible side of nature; and whether they are not so blind as not to
know what God is, what an angel is, what a spirit is, what their soul
is which is to live after death, what the life of heaven in man is,
and many other things that constitute intelligence; when yet those
whom they call simple know all these things in their way, having an
idea of their God that He is the Divine in a human form, of an angel
that he is a heavenly man, of their soul that is to live after death
that it is like an angel, and of the life of heaven in man that it is
living in accord with the Divine commandments." Such the angels call
intelligent and fitted for heaven; but the others, on the other hand,
they call not intelligent.
EXTRACTS FROM THE ARCANA COELESTIA RELATING TO THE LORD AND HIS
DIVINE HUMAN.
[2] The Divine was in the Lord from very conception (n.
4641, 4963, 5041, 5157, 6716, 10125).
The Lord alone had a Divine seed (n. 1438).
His soul was Jehovah (n. 1999, 2004, 2005, 2018, 2025).
Thus the Lord's inmost was the Divine Itself, while the
clothing was from the mother (n. 5041).
The Divine Itself was the Being [Esse] of the Lord's life,
and from this the Human afterwards went forth and became
the outgo [existere] from that Being [Esse] (n. 3194,
3210, 10269, 10738).
[3] Within the church where the Word is and by it the Lord
is known, the Lord's Divine ought not to be denied, nor
the Holy that goes forth from Him (n. 2359).
Those within the church who do not acknowledge the Lord
have no conjunction with the Divine; but it is otherwise
with those outside of the church (n. 10205).
The essential of the church is to acknowledge the Lord's
Divine and His union with the Father (n. 10083, 10112,
10370, 10730, 10738, 10816-10820).
[4] The glorification of the Lord is treated of in the
Word in many passages (n. 10828).
And in the internal sense of the Word everywhere (n. 2249,
2523, 3245).
The Lord glorified His Human, but not the Divine, since
this was glorified in itself (n. 10057).
The Lord came into the world to glorify His Human (n.
3637, 4287, 9315).
The Lord glorified His Human by means of the Divine love
that was in Him from conception (n. 4727).
The Lord's life in the world was His love towards the
whole human race (n. 2253).
The Lord's love transcends all human understanding (n.
2077).
The Lord saved the human race by glorifying His Human (n.
4180, 10019; 10152, 10655, 10659 10828).
Otherwise the whole human race would have perished in
eternal death (n. 1676).
The state of the Lord's glorification and humiliation (n.
1785, 1999, 2159, 6866).
Glorification in respect to the Lord is the uniting of His
Human with the Divine; and to glorify is to make Divine
(n. 1603, 10053, 10828).
When the Lord glorified His Human He put off everything
human that was from the mother, until at last He was not
her son (n. 2159, 2574, 2649, 3036, 10830).
[5] The Son of God from eternity was the Divine truth in
heaven (n. 2628, 2798, 2803, 3195, 3704).
When the Lord was in the world He made His Human Divine
truth from the Divine good that was in Him (n. 2803, 3194,
3195, 3210, 6716, 6864, 7014, 7499, 8127, 8724, 9199).
The Lord then arranged all things in Himself into a
heavenly form, which is in accord with Divine truth (n.
1928, 3633).
For this reason the Lord was called the Word, which is
Divine truth (n. 2533, 2813, 2859, 2894, 3393, 3712).
The Lord alone had perception and thought from Himself,
and this was above all angelic perception and thought (n.
1904, 1914, 1919).
The Divine truth which was Himself, the Lord united with
Divine good which was in Himself (n. 10047, 10052, 10076).
The union was reciprocal (n. 2004, 10067).
[6] In passing out of the world the Lord also made His
Human Divine good (n. 3194, 3210, 6864, 7499, 8724, 9199,
10076).
This is what is meant by His coming forth from the Father
and returning to the Father (n. 3194, 3210). Thus He
became one with the Father (n. 2751, 3704, 4766).
Since that union Divine truth goes forth from the Lord (n.
3704, 3712, 3969, 4577, 5704, 7499, 8127, 8241, 9199,
9398). How Divine truth goes forth, illustrated (n. 7270,
9407).
It was from His own power that the Lord united the Human
with the Divine (n. 1616, 1749, 1752, 1813, 1921, 2025,
2026, 2523, 3141, 5005, 5045, 6716).
From this it is clear that the Lord's Human was not like
the human of any other man, in that it was conceived from
the Divine Itself (n. 10125, 10825, 10826).
His union with the Father, from whom was His soul, was not
as between two persons, but as between soul and body (n.
3737, 10824).
[7] The most ancient people could not worship the Divine
being [esse], but could worship only the Divine Outgo
[existere], which is the Divine Human; therefore the Lord
came into the world in order to become the Divine Existere
from the Divine Esse (n. 4687, 5321).
The ancients acknowledged the Divine because He appeared
to them in a human form, and this was the Divine Human (n.
5110, 5663, 6845, 10737).
The Infinite Being [Esse] could flow into heaven with the
angels and with men only by means of the Divine Human (n.
1676, 1990, 2016, 2034).
In heaven no other Divine than the Divine Human is
perceived (n. 6475, 9303, 10067, 10267).
The Divine Human from eternity was the Divine truth in
heaven and the Divine passing through heaven; thus it was
the Divine Outgo [existere] which afterwards in the Lord
became the Divine Being [Esse] per se, from which is the
Divine Existere in heaven (n. 3061, 6280, 6880, 10579).
What the state of heaven was before the Lord's coming (n.
6371-6373).
The Divine was not perceptible except when it passed
through heaven (n. 6982, 6996, 7004).
[8] The inhabitants of all the earth worship the Divine
under a human form, that is, the Lord (n. 6700, 8541-8547,
10736-10738).
They rejoice when they hear that God actually became Man
(n. 9361).
All who are in good and who worship the Divine under the
human form, are received by the Lord (n. 9359).
God cannot be thought of except in human form; and what is
incomprehensible does not fall into any idea, so neither
into belief (n. 9359, 9972).
Man is able to worship that of which he has some idea, but
not that of which he has no idea (n. 4733, 5110, 5663,
7211, 9356, 10067, 10267).
Therefore the Divine is worshiped under a human form by
most of the inhabitants of the entire globe, and this is
the effect of influx from heaven (n. 10159).
All who are in good in regard to their life, when they
think of the Lord, think of the Divine Human, and not of
the Human separate from the Divine; it is otherwise with
those who are not in good in regard to their life (n.
2326, 4724, 4731, 4766, 8878, 9193, 9198).
In the church at this day those that are in evil in regard
to their life, and those that are in faith separate from
charity, think of the Human of the Lord apart from the
Divine, and do not even comprehend what the Divine Human
is,-why they do not (n. 3212, 3241, 4689, 4692, 4724, 4731,
5321, 6872, 8878, 9193, 9198).
The Lord's Human is Divine because it is from the Being
[Esse] of the Father, and this was His soul,--illustrated
by a father's likeness in children (n. 10269, 10372,
10823).
Also because it was from the Divine love, which was the
very Being [Esse] of His life from conception (n. 6872).
Every man is such as his love is, and is his love (n.
6872, 10177, 10284). The Lord made all His Human, both
internal and external, Divine (n. 1603, 1815, 1902, 1926,
2083, 2093).
Therefore, differently from any man, He rose again as to
His whole body (n. 1729, 2083, 5078, 10825).
[9] That the Lord's Human is Divine is acknowledged from
His omnipresence in the Holy Supper (n. 2343, 2359).
Also from His transfiguration before His three disciples
(n. 3212).
Also from the Word of the Old Testament, in that He is
called God (n. 10154); and is called Jehovah (n. 1603,
1736, 1815, 1902, 2921, 3035, 5110, 6281, 6303, 8864,
9194, 9315).
In the sense of the letter a distinction is made between
the Father and the Son, that is, between Jehovah and the
Lord, but not in the internal sense of the Word, in which
the angels of heaven are (n. 3035).
In the Christian world the Lord's Human has been declared
not to be Divine; this was done in a council for the
pope's sake, that he might be acknowledged as the Lord's
vicar (n. 4738).
[10] Christians were examined in the other life in regard
to their idea of one God, and it was found they held an
idea of three gods (n. 2329, 5256, 10736-10738, 10821).
A Divine trinity or trine in one person, constituting one
God, is conceivable, but not in three persons (n. 10738,
10821, 10824).
A Divine trine in the Lord is acknowledged in heaven (n.
14, 15, 1729, 2004, 5256, 9303).
The trine in the Lord is the Divine Itself, called the
Father, the Divine Human, called the Son, and the Divine
going forth, called the Holy Spirit and this Divine trine
is a One (n. 2149, 2156, 2288, 2319, 2329, 2447, 3704,
6993, 7182, 10738, 10822, 10823).
The Lord Himself teaches that the Father and He are One
(n. 1729, 2004, 2005, 2018, 2025, 2751, 3704, 3736, 4766);
also that the Holy Divine goes forth from Him and is His
(n. 3969, 4673, 6788, 6993, 7499, 8127, 8302, 9199, 9228,
9229, 9264, 9407, 9818, 9820, 10330).
[11] The Divine Human flows into heaven and makes heaven
(n. 3038). The Lord is the all in heaven and is the life
of heaven (n. 7211, 9128). In the angels the Lord dwells
in what is His own (n. 9338, 10125, 10151, 10157).
Consequently those who are in heaven are in the Lord (n.
3637, 3638).
The Lord's conjunction with angels is measured by their
reception of the good of love and charity from Him (n.
904, 4198, 4205, 4211, 4220, 6280, 6832, 7042, 8819, 9680,
9682, 9683, 10106, 10810).
The entire heaven has reference to the Lord (n. 551, 552).
The Lord is the common center of heaven (n. 3633, 3641).
All in heaven turn themselves to the Lord, who is above
the heavens (n. 9828, 10130, 10189).
Nevertheless angels do not turn themselves to the Lord,
but the Lord turns them to Himself (n. 10189).
It is not a presence of angels with the Lord, but the
Lord's presence with angels (n. 9415).
In heaven there is no conjunction with the Divine Itself,
but conjunction with the Divine Human (n. 4211, 4724,
5663).
[12] Heaven corresponds to the Divine Human of the Lord;
consequently heaven in general is as a single man, and for
this reason heaven is called the Greatest Man (n. 2996,
2998, 3624-3649, 3741-3745, 4625).
The Lord is the Only Man, and those only are men who
receive the Divine from Him (n. 1894).
So far as they receive are they men and images of Him (n.
8547).
Therefore angels are forms of love and charity in human
form, and this from the Lord (n. 3804, 4735, 4797, 4985,
5199, 5530, 9879, 10177).
[13] The whole heaven is the Lord's (n. 2751, 7086).
He has all power in the heavens and on earth (n. 1607,
10089, 10827).
As the Lord rules the whole heaven He also rules all
things depending thereon, thus all things in the world (n.
2025, 2026, 4523, 4524).
The Lord alone has the power to remove the hells, to
withhold from evils, and to hold in good, thus to save (n.
10019).
87. XII. THERE IS A CORRESPONDENCE OF ALL THINGS OF HEAVEN WITH ALL
THINGS OF MAN.
What correspondence is is not known at the present day, for several
reasons, the chief of which is that man has withdrawn himself from
heaven by the love of self and love of the world. For he that loves
self and the world above all things gives heed only to worldly
things, since these appeal to the external senses and gratify the
natural longings; and he does not give heed to spiritual things,
since these appeal to the internal senses and gratify the mind,
therefore he casts them aside, saying that they are too high for his
comprehension. This was not so with the ancient people. To them the
knowledge of correspondences was the chief of knowledges. By means of
it they acquired intelligence and wisdom; and by means of it those
who were of the church had communication with heaven; for the
knowledge of correspondences is angelic knowledge. The most ancient
people, who were celestial men, thought from correspondence itself,
as the angels do. And therefore they talked with angels, and the Lord
frequently appeared to them, and they were taught by Him. But at this
day that knowledge has been so completely lost that no one knows what
correspondence is.{1}
{Footnote 1} How far the knowledge of correspondences excels
other knowledges (n. 4280). The knowledge of correspondences
was the chief knowledge of the ancient people; but at the
present day it is wholly forgotten (n. 3021, 3419, 4280, 4749,
4844, 4964, 4966, 6004, 7729, 10252). The knowledge of
correspondences flourished among the Eastern nations and in
Egypt (5702, 6692, 7097, 7779, 9391, 10407).
88. Since, then, without a perception of what correspondence is there
can be no clear knowledge of the spiritual world or of its inflow
into the natural world, neither of what the spiritual is in its
relation to the natural, nor any clear knowledge of the spirit of
man, which is called the soul, and its operation into the body,
neither of man's state after death, it is necessary to explain what
correspondence is and the nature of it. This will prepare the way for
what is to follow.
89. First, what correspondence is. The whole natural world
corresponds to the spiritual world, and not merely the natural world
in general, but also every particular of it; and as a consequence
everything in the natural world that springs from the spiritual world
is called a correspondent. It must be understood that the natural
world springs from and has permanent existence from the spiritual
world, precisely like an effect from its effecting cause. All that is
spread out under the sun and that receives heat and light from the
sun is what is called the natural world; and all things that derive
their subsistence therefrom belong to that world. But the spiritual
world is heaven; and all things in the heavens belong to that world.
90. Since man is both a heaven and a world in least form after the
image of the greatest (see above, n. 57), there is in him both a
spiritual and a natural world. The interior things that belong to his
mind, and that have relation to understanding and will, constitute
his spiritual world; while the exterior things that belong to his
body, and that have relation to its senses and activities, constitute
his natural world. Consequently, everything in his natural world
(that is, in his body and its senses and activities), that has its
existence from his spiritual world (that is, from his mind and its
understanding and will) is called a correspondent.
91. From the human face it can be seen what correspondence is. In a
face that has not been taught to dissemble, all the affections of the
mind present themselves to view in a natural form, as in their type.
This is why the face is called the index of the mind; that is, it is
man's spiritual world presented in his natural world. So, too, what
pertains to the understanding is presented in speech, and what
pertains to the will is presented in the movements of the body. So
whatever effects are produced in the body, whether in the face, in
speech, or in bodily movements, are called correspondences.
92. All this shows also what the internal man is and what the
external, namely, that the internal is what is called the spiritual
man, and the external what is called the natural man; also that the
one is distinct from the other as heaven is from the world; also that
all things that take place and come forth in the external or natural
man take place and come forth from the internal or spiritual man.
93. This much has been said about the correspondence of man's
internal or spiritual with his external or natural; now the
correspondence of the whole heaven with everything pertaining to man
shall be treated of.
94. It has been shown that the entire heaven reflects a single man,
and that it is in image a man and is therefore called the Greatest
Man. It has also been shown that the angelic societies, of which
heaven consists, are therefore arranged as the members, organs, and
viscera are in man, that is, some are in the head, some in the
breast, some in the arms, and some in each of their particulars (see
above, n. 59-72); consequently the societies in any member there
correspond to the like member in man; those in the head corresponding
to the head in man, those in the breast to the breast in man, those
in the arms to the arms in man; and so with all the rest. It is from
this correspondence that man has permanent existence, for from heaven
alone does man have permanent existence.
95. That heaven is divided into two kingdoms, one called the
celestial kingdom and the other the spiritual kingdom, may be seen
above in its own chapter. The celestial kingdom corresponds in
general to the heart and all things of the heart in the whole body,
and the spiritual kingdom to the lungs and to all things of the lungs
in the whole body. Likewise in man heart and lungs form two kingdoms,
the heart ruling there through the arteries and veins, and the lungs
through the tendinous and motor fibers, both together in every
exertion and movement. So in every man, in his spiritual world, which
is called his spiritual man, there are two kingdoms, one of the will
and the other of the understanding, the will ruling through
affections for good, and the understanding through affections for
truth; and these kingdoms correspond to the kingdoms of the heart and
of the lungs in the body. It is the same in the heavens; the
celestial kingdom is the voluntary part of heaven, and in it good of
love reigns; the spiritual kingdom is the intellectual part of
heaven, and in it truth reigns. These are what correspond to the
functions of the heart and lungs in man. It is on account of this
correspondence that in the Word the "heart" signifies the will and
also good of love, and the "breath" of the lungs signifies the
understanding and the truth of faith. For the same reason affections
are ascribed to the heart, although they are neither in it nor from
it.{1}
{Footnote 1} The correspondence of the heart and lungs with the
Greatest Man, which is heaven, from experience (n. 3883-3896),
The heart corresponds to those in the celestial kingdom, and
the lungs to those in the spiritual kingdom (n. 3885-3887).
There is in heaven a pulse like that of the heart, and a
respiration like that of the lungs but interior (n. 3884, 3885,
3887). There the pulse of the heart varies in conformity to
states of love, and the respiration in conformity to states of
charity and faith (n. 3886, 3887, 3889). In the Word the
"heart" means the will, and "from the heart" means from the
will (n. 2930, 7542, 8910, 9113, 10336). In the Word the
"heart" also signifies love, and "from the heart" means from
love (7542, 9050, 10336).
96. The correspondence of the two kingdoms of heaven with the heart
and lungs is the general correspondence of heaven with man. There is
a less general correspondence with each one of his members, organs,
and viscera; and what this is shall also be explained. In the
Greatest Man, which is heaven, those that are in the head excel all
others in every good, being in love, peace, innocence, wisdom,
intelligence, and consequent joy and happiness. These flow into the
head of man and the things belonging to the head and corresponding
thereto. In the Greatest Man, or heaven, those that are in the breast
are in the good of charity and of faith, and these flow into the
breast of man and correspond to it. In the Greatest Man, or heaven,
those that are in the loins and the organs devoted to generation are
in marriage love. Those in the feet are in the lowest good of heaven,
which is called spiritual natural good. Those in the arms and hands
are in the power of truth from good. Those that are in the eyes are
in understanding; those in the ears are in attention and obedience;
those in the nostrils are in perception; those in the mouth and
tongue are in the ability to converse from understanding and
perception; those in the kidneys are in truths searching, separating,
and correcting; those in the liver, pancreas, and spleen are in
various purifications of good and truth; and so with the rest. All
these flow into the like things of man and correspond to them. This
inflow of heaven is into the functions and uses of the bodily
members; and the uses, since they are from the spiritual world, take
on a form by means of such things as are in the natural world, and
thus present themselves in effect. From this is the correspondence.
97. For the same reason these same members, organs, and viscera have
a like significance in the Word; for everything there has a meaning
in accordance with correspondence. Thus the "head" signifies
intelligence and wisdom; the "breast" charity; the "loins" marriage
love; the "arms and hands" power of truth; the "feet" what is
natural; the "eyes" understanding; the "nostrils" perception; the
"ears" obedience, the "kidneys" the scrutiny of truth, and so on.{1}
So, too, in the common speech of man it is said of one who is
intelligent and wise that he has a good head; of one who is
charitable that he is a bosom friend; of one who has clear perception
that he is keen scented; of one who is intelligent that he is sharp
sighted; of one who is powerful that he is long handed; of one who
exercises his will from love that it is done from the heart. These
and many other expressions in the speech of men are from
correspondence, for they are from the spiritual world, although man
is ignorant of it.
{Footnote 1} In the Word the "breast" signifies charity (n.
3934, 10081, 10087). The "loins" and organs of generation
signify marriage love (n. 3021, 4280, 4462, 5050-5052). The
"arms" and "hands" signify the power of truth (n. 878, 3091,
4931-4937, 6947, 7205, 10019). The "feet" signify the natural
(n. 2162, 3147, 3761, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952). The "eye"
signifies understanding (n. 2701, 4403-4421, 4523-4534, 6923,
9051, 10569). The "nostrils" signify perception (n. 3577, 4624,
4625, 4748, 5621, 8286, 10054, 10292). The "ears" signify
obedience (n. 2542, 3869, 4523, 4653, 5017, 7216, 8361, 8990,
9311, 9397, 10061). The "kidneys" signify the scrutiny and
correction of truth (n. 5380-5386, 10032).
98. That there is such a correspondence of all things of heaven with
all things of man has been made clear to me by much experience, by so
much that I am as convinced of it as of any evident fact that admits
of no doubt. But it is not necessary to describe all this experience
here; nor would it be permissible on account of its abundance. It may
be seen set forth in the Arcana Coelestia, where correspondences,
representations, the influx of the spiritual world into the natural
world, and the interaction between soul and body, are treated of.{1}
{Footnote 1} The correspondence of all the members of the body
with the Greatest Man, or heaven, in general and in particular,
from experience (n. 3021, 3624-3649, 3741-3750, 3883-3895,
4039-4054, 4218-4228, 4318-4331, 4403-4421, 4523-4533,
4622-4633, 4652-4660, 4791-4805, 4931-4953, 5050-5061,
5171-5189, 5377-5396, 5552-5573, 5711-5727, 10030). The influx
of the spiritual world into the natural world or of heaven into
the world, and the influx of the soul into all things of the
body, from experience (n. 6053-6058, 6189-6215, 6307-6326,
6466-6495, 6598-6626). The interaction between soul and body,
from experience (n. 6053-6058, 6189-6215, 6307-6327, 6466-6495,
6598-6626).
99. But notwithstanding that all things of man's body correspond to
all things of heaven, it is not in respect to his external form that
man is an image of heaven, but in respect to his internal form; for
man's interiors are what receive heaven, while his exteriors receive
the world. So far, therefore, as his interiors receive heaven man is
in respect to them a heaven in least form, after the image of the
greatest. But so far as his interiors do not receive heaven he is not
a heaven and an image of the greatest, although his exteriors, which
receive the world, may be in a form in accordance with the order of
the world, and thus variously beautiful. For the source of outward
beauty which pertains to the body is in parents and formation in the
womb, and it is preserved afterwards by general influx from the
world. For this reason the form of one's natural man differs greatly
from the form of his spiritual man. What the form of a man's spirit
is I have been shown occasionally; and in some who were beautiful and
charming in appearance the spirit was seen to be so deformed, black
and monstrous that it might be called an image of hell, not of
heaven; while in others not beautiful there was a spirit beautifully
formed, pure, and angelic. Moreover, the spirit of man appears after
death such as it has been in the body while it lived therein in the
world.
100. But correspondence applies far more widely than to man; for
there is a correspondence of the heavens with one another. To the
third or inmost heaven the second or middle heaven corresponds, and
to the second or middle heaven the first or outmost heaven
corresponds, and this corresponds to the bodily forms in man called
his members, organs, and viscera. Thus it is the bodily part of man
in which heaven finally terminates, and upon which it stands as upon
its base. But this arcanum will be more fully unfolded elsewhere.
101. Especially it must be understood that all correspondence with
heaven is with the Lord's Divine Human, because heaven is from Him,
and He is heaven, as has been shown in previous chapters. For if the
Divine Human did not flow into all things of heaven, and in
accordance with correspondences into all things of the world, no
angel or man could exist. From this again it is evident why the Lord
became Man and clothed His Divine from first to last with a Human. It
was because the Divine Human, from which heaven existed before the
Lord's coming, was no longer sufficient to sustain all things, for
the reason that man, who is the foundation of the heavens, had
subverted and destroyed order. What the Divine Human was before the
Lord's coming, and what the condition of heaven was at that time may
be seen in the extracts appended to the preceding chapter.
102. Angels are amazed when they hear that there are men who
attribute all things to nature and nothing to the Divine, and who
also believe that their body, into which so many wonders of heaven
are gathered, is a product of nature. Still more are they amazed that
the rational part of man is believed to be from nature, when, if men
will but lift their minds a little, they can see that such effects
are not from nature but from the Divine; and that nature has been
created simply for clothing the spiritual and for presenting it in a
correspondent form in the outmost of order. Such men they liken to
owls, which see in darkness, but in light see nothing.
103. XIII. THERE IS A CORRESPONDENCE OF HEAVEN WITH ALL THINGS OF THE
EARTH.
What correspondence is has been told in the preceding chapter, and it
has there been shown that each thing and all things of the animal
body are correspondences. The next step is to show that all things of
the earth, and in general all things of the universe, are
correspondences.
104. All things of the earth are distinguished into three kinds,
called kingdoms, namely, the animal kingdom, the vegetable kingdom,
and the mineral kingdom. The things of the animal kingdom are
correspondences in the first degree, because they live; the things of
the vegetable kingdom are correspondences in the second degree,
because they merely grow; the things of the mineral kingdom are
correspondences in the third degree, because they neither live nor
grow. Correspondences in the animal kingdom are living creatures of
various kinds, both those that walk and creep on the ground and those
that fly in the air; these need not be specially named, as they are
well known. Correspondences in the vegetable kingdom are all things
that grow and abound in gardens, forests, fields, and meadows; these,
too, need not be named, because they are well known. Correspondences
in the mineral kingdom are metals more and less noble, stones
precious and not precious, earths of various kinds, and also the
waters. Besides these the things prepared from them by human activity
for use are correspondences, as foods of every kind, clothing,
dwellings and other buildings, with many other things.
105. Also the things above the earth, as the sun, moon, and stars,
and those in the atmosphere, as clouds, mists, rain, lightning and
thunder, are likewise correspondences. Things resulting from the
presence and absence of the sun, as light and shade, heat and cold,
are also correspondences, as well as those that follow in succession
therefrom, as the seasons of the year, spring, summer, autumn, and
winter; and the times of day, morning, noon, evening, and night.
106. In a word, all things that have existence in nature, from the
least to the greatest thereof, are correspondences.{1} They are
correspondences because the natural world with all things in it
springs forth and subsists from the spiritual world, and both worlds
from the Divine. They are said to subsist also, because everything
subsists from that from which it springs forth, subsistence being a
permanent springing forth; also because nothing can subsist from
itself, but only from that which is prior to itself, thus from a
First, and if separated from that it would utterly perish and vanish.
{Footnote 1} All things that are in the world and its three
kingdoms correspond to the heavenly things that are in heaven,
that is, the things in the natural world correspond to the
things in the spiritual world (n. 1632, 1881, 2758, 2760-2763,
2987-3003, 3213-3227, 3483, 3624-3649, 4044, 4053, 4116, 4366,
4939, 5116, 5377, 5428, 5477, 9280). By correspondences the
natural world is conjoined to the spiritual world (n. 8615).
For this reason all nature is a theatre representative of the
Lord's kingdom (n. 2758, 2999, 3000, 3483, 4938, 4939, 8848,
9280).
107. Everything in nature that springs forth and subsists in
accordance with Divine order is a correspondence. Divine order is
caused by the Divine good that flows forth from the Lord. It begins
in Him, goes forth from Him through the heavens in succession into
the world, and is terminated there in outmosts; and everything there
that is in accordance with order is a correspondence. Everything
there is in accordance with order that is good and perfect for use,
because everything good is good in the measure of its use; while its
form has relation to truth, truth being the form of good. And for
this reason everything in the whole world and of the nature thereof
that is in Divine order has reference to good and truth.{1}
{Footnote 1} Everything in the universe, both in heaven and in
the world, that is in accordance with order, has reference to
good and truth (n. 2451, 3166, 4390, 4409, 5232, 7256, 10122);
and to the conjunction of these, in order to be anything (n.
10555).
108. That all things in the world spring from the Divine, and are
clothed with such things in nature as enable them to exist there and
perform use, and thus to correspond, is clearly evident from the
various things seen in both the animal and vegetable kingdoms. In
both there are things that any one who thinks interiorly can see to
be from heaven. For illustration a few things out of a countless
number may be mentioned; and first some things from the animal
kingdom. Many are aware what knowledge there is engrafted as it were
in every animal. Bees know how to gather honey from flowers, to build
cells out of wax in which to store their honey, and thus provide food
for themselves and their families, even for a coming winter. That a
new generation may be born their queen lays eggs, and the rest take
care of them and cover them. They live under a sort of government
which all know by instinct. They preserve the working bees and cast
out the drones, depriving them of their wings; besides other
wonderful things implanted in them from heaven for the sake of their
use, their wax everywhere serving the human race for candles, their
honey for adding sweetness to food. [2] Again, what wonders do we see
in worms, the meanest creatures in the animal kingdom! They know how
to get food from the juice of the leaves suited to them, and
afterward at the appointed time to invest themselves with a covering
and enter as it were into a womb, and thus hatch offspring of their
own kind. Some are first turned into nymphs and chrysalides, spinning
threads about themselves; and this travail being over they come forth
clad with a different body, furnished with wings with which they fly
in the air as in their heaven, and celebrate marriages and lay eggs
and provide posterity for themselves. [3] Besides these special
instances all creatures in general that fly in the air know the
proper food for their nourishment, not only what it is but where to
find it; they know how to build nests for themselves, one kind in one
way and another kind in another way; how to lay their eggs in the
nests, how to sit upon them, how to hatch their young and feed them,
and to turn them out of their home when they are able to shift for
themselves. They know, too, their enemies that they must avoid and
their friends with whom they may associate, and this from early
infancy; not to mention the wonders in the eggs themselves, in which
all things lie ready in their order for the formation and nourishment
of the chicks; besides numberless other things. [4] Who that thinks
from any wisdom of reason will ever say that these instincts are from
any other source than the spiritual world, which the natural serves
in clothing what is from it with a body, or in presenting in effect
what is spiritual in the cause? The beasts of the earth and the birds
of the air are born into all this knowledge, while man, who is far
superior to them, is not; for the reason that animals are in the
order of their life, and have not been able to destroy what is in
them from the spiritual world, because they have no rational faculty.
Man, on the other hand, whose thought is from the spiritual world,
having perverted what is in him from that world by a life contrary to
order, which his rational faculty has favored, must needs be born
into mere ignorance and afterwards be led back by Divine means into
the order of heaven.
109. How the things in the vegetable kingdom correspond can be seen
from many instances, as that little seeds grow into trees, put forth
leaves, produce flowers, and then fruit, in which again they deposit
seed, these things taking place in succession and existing together
in an order so wonderful as to be indescribable in a few words.
Volumes might be filled, and yet there would be still deeper arcana,
relating more closely to their uses, which science would be unable to
exhaust. Since these things, too, are from the spiritual world, that
is, from heaven, which is in the human form (as has been shown above
in its own chapter), so all the particulars in this kingdom have a
certain relation to such things as are in man, as some in the learned
world know. That all things in this kingdom also are correspondences
has been made clear to me by much experience. Often when I have been
in gardens and have been looking at the trees, fruits, flowers, and
plants there, I have recognized their correspondences in heaven, and
have spoken with those with whom these were, and have been taught
whence and what they were.
110. But at the present day no one can know the spiritual things in
heaven to which the natural things in the world correspond except
from heaven, since the knowledge of correspondences is now wholly
lost. But the nature of the correspondence of spiritual things with
natural I shall be glad to illustrate by some examples. The animals
of the earth correspond in general to affection, mild and useful
animals to good affections, fierce and useless ones to evil
affections. In particular, cattle and their young correspond to the
affections of the natural mind, sheep and lambs to the affections of
the spiritual mind; while birds correspond, according to their
species, to the intellectual things of the natural or the spiritual
mind.{1} For this reason various animals, as cattle and their young,
rams, sheep, he-goats, and she-goats, he-lambs and she-lambs, also
pigeons and turtledoves, were devoted to a sacred use in the
Israelitish Church, which was a representative church, and sacrifices
and burnt offerings were made of them. For they correspond in that
use to spiritual things, and in heaven these were understood in
accordance with the correspondences. Moreover, animals according to
their kinds and species, because they have life, are affections; and
the life of each one is solely from affection and in accordance with
affection; consequently every animal has an innate knowledge that is
in accord with its life's affection. Man is like an animal so far as
his natural man is concerned, and is therefore likened to animals in
common speech; for example, if he is gentle he is called a sheep or
lamb, if fierce a bear or wolf, if cunning a fox or serpent, and so
on.
{Footnote 1} From correspondence animals signify affections;
mild and useful animals good affections, fierce and useless
ones evil affections (n. 41, 45, 46, 142, 143, 246, 714, 716,
719, 2179, 2180, 3519, 9280); illustrated by experience from
the spiritual world (n. 3218, 5198, 9090). Influx of the
spiritual world into the lives of animals (n. 1633, 3646).
Cattle and their young from correspondence signify affections
of the natural mind (n. 2180, 2566, 9391, 10132, 10407). What
sheep signify (n. 4169, 4809); and lambs (n. 3994, 10132).
Flying creatures signify intellectual things (n. 40, 745, 776,
778, 866, 988, 991, 5149, 7441); with a difference according to
their genera and species, from experience in the spiritual
world (n. 3219).
111. There is a like correspondence with things in the vegetable
kingdom. In general, a garden corresponds to the intelligence and
wisdom of heaven; and for this reason heaven is called the Garden of
God, and Paradise;{1} and men call it the heavenly paradise. Trees,
according to their species, correspond to the perceptions and
knowledges of good and truth which are the source of intelligence and
wisdom. For this reason the ancient people, who were acquainted with
correspondences, held their sacred worship in groves;{2} and for the
same reason trees are so often mentioned in the Word, and heaven, the
church, and man are compared to them; as the vine, the olive, the
cedar, and others, and the good works done by men are compared to
fruits. Also the food derived from trees, and more especially from
the grain harvests of the field, corresponds to affections for good
and truth, because these affections feed the spiritual life, as the
food of the earth does the natural life;{3} and bread from grain, in
a general sense, because it is the food that specially sustains life,
and because it stands for all food, corresponds to an affection for
all good. It is on account of this correspondence that the Lord calls
Himself the bread of life; and that loaves of bread had a holy use in
the Israelitish Church, being placed on the table in the tabernacle
and called "the bread of faces;" also the Divine worship that was
performed by sacrifices and burnt offerings was called "bread."
Moreover, because of this correspondence the most holy act of worship
in the Christian Church is the Holy Supper, in which bread is given,
and wine.{4} From these few examples the nature of correspondence can
be seen.
{Footnote 1} From correspondence a garden and a paradise
signify intelligence and wisdom (n. 100, 108); from experience
(n. 3220). All things that have a correspondence have in the
Word the same significance (n. 2896, 2987, 2989, 2990, 2991,
3002, 3225).
{Footnote 2} Trees signify perceptions and knowledges (n. 103,
2163, 2682, 2722, 2972, 7692). For this reason the ancient
people held Divine worship in groves under trees according to
their correspondence (n. 2722, 4552). Influx of heaven into
subjects of the vegetable kingdom, as into trees and plants (n.
3648).
{Footnote 3} From correspondence foods signify such things as
nourish the spiritual life (n. 3114, 4459, 4792, 4976, 5147,
5293, 5340, 5342, 5410, 5426, 5576, 5582, 5588, 5655, 5915,
6277, 8562, 9003).
{Footnote 4} Bread signifies every good that nourishes the
spiritual life of man (n. 2165, 2177, 3478, 3735, 3813, 4211,
4217, 4735, 4976, 9323, 9545, 10686). Such was the
signification of the loaves that were on the table in the
tabernacle (n. 3478, 9545). Sacrifices in general were called
bread (n. 2165). Bread includes all food (n. 2165). Thus it
signifies all heavenly and spiritual food (n. 276, 680, 2165,
2177, 3478, 6118, 8410).
112. How conjunction of heaven with the world is effected by means of
correspondences shall also be told in a few words. The Lord's kingdom
is a kingdom of ends, which are uses; or what is the same thing, a
kingdom of uses which are ends. For this reason the universe has been
so created and formed by the Divine that uses may be every where
clothed in such a way as to be presented in act, or in effect, first
in heaven and afterwards in the world, thus by degrees and
successively, down to the outmost things of nature. Evidently, then,
the correspondence of natural things with spiritual things, or of the
world with heaven, is through uses, and uses are what conjoin; and
the form in which uses are clothed are correspondences and are
conjunctions just to the extent that they are forms of uses. In the
nature of the world in its threefold kingdom, all things that exist
in accordance with order are forms of uses, or effects formed from
use for use, and this is why the things in nature are
correspondences. But in the case of man, so far as he is in
accordance with Divine order, that is, so far as he is in love to the
Lord and in charity towards the neighbor, are his acts uses in form,
and correspondences, and through these he is conjoined to heaven. To
love the Lord and the neighbor means in general to perform uses.{1}
Furthermore, it must be understood that man is the means by which the
natural world and the spiritual world are conjoined, that is, man is
the medium of conjunction, because in him there is a natural world
and there is a spiritual world (see above, n. 57); consequently to
the extent that man is spiritual he is the medium of conjunction; but
to the extent that a man is natural, and not spiritual, he is not a
medium of conjunction. Nevertheless, apart from this mediumship of
man, a Divine influx into the world and into the things pertaining to
man that are of the world goes on, but not into man's rational
faculty.
{Footnote 1} Every good has its delight as well as its quality
from use and in accordance with use; therefore such as the use
is, such is the good (n. 3049, 4984, 7038). Angelic life
consists in the goods of love and charity, that is, in
performing uses (n. 454). The Lord, and consequently the
angels, look only, in regard to man, to ends, which are uses
(n. 1317, 1645, 5854). The Lord's kingdom is a kingdom of uses
that is, of ends (n. 454, 696, 1103, 3645, 4054, 7038). Serving
the Lord is performing uses (n. 7038). Each thing and all
things in man have been formed for use (n. 3626, 4104, 5189
9297; also from use, that is, the use is prior to the organic
forms in man through which the use is performed, because use is
from the inflowing of the Lord through heaven (n. 4223, 4926).
Moreover man's interiors, which constitute his mind, when he
grows to maturity are formed from use and for use (n. 1964,
6815, 9297). Consequently man is such as are the uses with him
(n. 1568, 3570, 4054, 6571, 6935, 6938, 10284). Uses are the
ends for the sake of which (n. 3565, 4054, 4104, 6815). Use is
the first and the last, thus the all of man (n. 1964).
113. As all things that are in accord with Divine order correspond to
heaven, so all things contrary to Divine order correspond to hell.
All things that correspond to heaven have relation to good and truth;
but those that correspond to hell have relation to evil and falsity.
114. Something shall now be said about the knowledge of
correspondences and its use. It has been said above that the
spiritual world, which is heaven, is conjoined with the natural world
by means of correspondences; therefore by means of correspondences
communication with heaven is granted to man. For the angels of heaven
do not think from natural things, as man does; but when man has
acquired a knowledge of correspondences he is able, in respect to the
thoughts of his mind, to be associated with the angels, and thus in
respect to his spiritual or internal man to be conjoined with them.
That there might be such a conjunction of heaven with man the Word
was written wholly by correspondences, each thing and all things in
it being correspondent.{1} If man, therefore, had a knowledge of
correspondences he would understand the spiritual sense of the Word,
and from that it would be given him to know arcana of which he sees
nothing in the sense of the letter. For there is a literal sense and
there is a spiritual sense in the Word, the literal sense made up of
such things as are in the world, and the spiritual sense of such
things as are in heaven. And such a Word, in which everything down to
the least jot is a correspondence, was given to men because the
conjunction of heaven with the world is effected by means of
correspondences.{2}
{Footnote 1} The Word was written wholly by correspondences (n.
8615). By means, of the Word man has conjunction with heaven
(n. 2899, 6943, 9396, 9400, 9401, 10375, 10452).
{Footnote 2} Concerning the spiritual sense of the Word see the
little work on The White Horse referred to in the Apocalypse.
115. I have been taught from heaven that the most ancient men on our
earth, who were celestial men, thought from correspondences
themselves, the natural things of the world before their eyes serving
them as means of thinking in this way; and that they could be in
fellowship with angels and talk with them because they so thought,
and that thus through them heaven was conjoined to the world. For
this reason that period was called the Golden Age, of which it is
said by ancient writers that the inhabitants of heaven dwelt with men
and associated with them as friends with friends. But after this
there followed a period when men thought, not from correspondences
themselves, but from a knowledge of correspondences, and there was
then also a conjunction of heaven with man, but less intimate. This
period was called the Silver Age. After this there followed men who
had a knowledge of correspondences but did not think from that
knowledge, because they were in natural good, and not, like those
before them in spiritual good. This period was called the Copper Age.
After this man gradually became external, and finally corporeal, and
then the knowledge of correspondences was wholly lost, and with it a
knowledge of heaven and of the many things pertaining to heaven. It
was from correspondence that these ages were named from gold, silver,
and copper,{1} and for the reason that from correspondence gold
signifies celestial good in which were the most ancient people,
silver spiritual good in which were the ancient people that followed,
and copper natural good in which were the next posterity; while iron,
from which the last age takes its name, signifies hard truth apart
from good.
{Footnote 1} Gold from correspondence signifies celestial good
(n. 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 9510, 9874, 9881).
Silver signifies spiritual good, that is, truth from a
celestial origin (n. 1551, 1552, 2954, 5658). Copper signifies
natural good (n. 425, 1551). Iron signifies truth in the
outmost of order (n. 425, 426).