8912. A brief explanation must also be given as to what those things mentioned here which must not be coveted are used to mean in the internal sense - 'house', 'wife', 'male slave', 'female slave', 'ox', and 'ass'. They are all the forms of the good of faith and all the truths of faith in their entirety which must not be taken away from anyone and must not be made to suffer harm. They are the same things as are meant in the internal sense by keeping the sabbath day holy, honouring father and mother, not killing, not committing adultery, not stealing, and not bearing false witness. All these, as has been shown in previous paragraphs, are in the internal sense such things as belong to love and faith. 'House' is used to mean all good in general, 'wife' all truth in general, 'male slave' the affection for spiritual truth, 'female slave' the affection for spiritual good, 'ox' the affection for natural good, and 'ass' the affection for natural truth. These are the things that must not be coveted, that is, must not be taken away from anyone or made to suffer harm. The reason why these things are meant in the internal sense is that this sense of the Word is for those in heaven; for those there do not understand the Word in a natural but in a spiritual way. That is, they do not understand it to mean a house, wife, male slave, female slave, ox, or ass, but the spiritual entities to which they correspond, which are forms of the good of love and truths of faith. In short the external or literal sense is for those who are in the world; but the internal sense is for those who are in heaven, and also for those who are in the world, yet only so far as they are at the same time in heaven, that is, so far as charity and faith reside with them.
