3679. And Esau saw that Isaac blessed Jacob. That this signifies the thought of natural good concerning conjunction through the good of truth which is “Jacob,” is evident from the signification of “seeing,” as being to think; for thinking is nothing else than seeing inwardly, or internal sight; and from the representation of Esau, as being the good of the natural (see n. 3300, 3302, 3322, 3494, 3504, 3576, 3599); from the signification of being “blessed,” as being conjunction (n. 3504, 3514, 3530, 3565, 3584); from the representation of Isaac, as being the Lord’s Divine rational as to Divine good (treated of above); and from the representation of Jacob, as being the good of truth (n. 3669, 3677). From all this it is evident that by “Esau saw that Isaac blessed Jacob,” is signified the thought of natural good concerning conjunction through the good of truth.

[2] What is meant by the thought of natural good concerning conjunction through the good of truth cannot be fully explained to the apprehension, but yet must be briefly explained. The thought of natural good is the thought of the rational or internal man within the natural or external man, and indeed from the good of the latter; for it is the rational or internal man which thinks, and not the natural or external man; the former, or internal man, is in the light of heaven, in which light there is intelligence and wisdom from the the Lord, (n. 3195, 3339, 3636, 3643); but the external man is in the light of the world, in which there is no intelligence, and not even life; and therefore unless the internal man were to think within the external, it would not be possible to think at all. And yet thought appears to man to be in his external man, inasmuch as he thinks from those things which have entered in by the senses and are of the world.

[3] The case is the same as with the sight of the eye. The sensuous man supposes that the eye sees of itself, when yet the eye is merely an organ of the body by which the internal man sees those things which are out of the body, or which are in the world. It is also the same as with speech. The sensuous man would suppose that the mouth and tongue speak of themselves; and they who think somewhat more deeply, that the larynx and interior organs speak by breath from the lungs; when yet it is the thought which speaks by means of these organs, for speech is nothing but thought speaking. There are many such fallacies of the senses. The case is the same in regard to all apparent life in the external man in that it is the life of the internal man therein as in its material and corporeal organ.

[4] With respect to thought, the case is this: So long as man lives in the body he thinks from the rational in the natural, but with a difference accordingly as the natural corresponds to the rational, or does not so correspond. When the natural corresponds, the man is rational, and thinks spiritually; but when the natural does not correspond, the man is not rational, nor can he think spiritually; for with the man whose natural corresponds to his rational the communication is opened, so that the light of heaven from the Lord can flow in through the rational into the natural, and enlighten it with intelligence and wisdom; hence the man becomes rational and thinks spiritually. But with the man whose natural does not correspond to the rational the communication is closed, and there only flows in somewhat of light in general round about, and through chinks through the rational into the natural; and the result is that the man is not rational, and does not think spiritually; for a man thinks according to the influx of the light of heaven that he enjoys. This shows that every man thinks according to the state of correspondence in respect to good and truth of the natural with the rational.

[5] But spirits and angels do not think in the same way as man; their thought is indeed also terminated in a natural, for they have with them all the natural memory and its affections, but are not allowed to use this memory (see n. 2475-2479); yet although they are not allowed to use it, it nevertheless serves them as a plane, or as a foundation, in order that the ideas of their thought may be terminated therein. Hence it is that the ideas of their thought are more interior, and their speech is not as with man from forms of words, but from forms of actual things; showing that their thought also is such as is the correspondence of their natural with their rational; and that there are spirits who are rational, who think spiritually, and also those who are not rational, who do not think spiritually; and this exactly in accordance with their affections and consequent thoughts of things in the life of the body; that is, with the state of life they had acquired in the world.

[6] From this it may in some measure appear what the thought of natural good is, namely, that it is thought in the good of the natural. According to the idea of spirits that is called the thought of natural good which according to the idea of men is called thought in the good of the natural. In this latter, that is, in the good of the natural, the rational thinks when it has regard to good as the end. Thus the thought of natural good concerning conjunction through the good of truth, is thought in the natural concerning the end, namely, how truth can be conjoined therewith; and this according to Divine order by the common way; which, as has often been said above, is from such things as are external, and thus which are the ultimate or last in order; for all the regeneration of the natural commences from these. These last or ultimate things are the first knowledges, such as are those of infants and children, concerning which see above (n. 3665).

[7] In the beginning the truth of good, which is “Esau,” is not conjoined in the external form with the good of truth, which is “Jacob;” for the good of truth is inverse in respect to the truth of good (n. 3669); but still they are inmostly conjoined, that is, in respect to ends. For the end of the truth which is from good is that truths may be adjoined to it according to order; and this also is the end of the good which is from truth; and inasmuch as the end conjoins, therefore they are conjoined (n. 3562, 3565). The inverse of order is at first only a means that has respect to the end.

3603. That thou shalt break his yoke from upon thy neck. That this signifies that the conjunction would then be through good, and that truth would be of good, is evident from the signification of “breaking a yoke from upon the neck,” as being liberation (that by the “neck” is signified influx and communication, and the consequent conjunction; and that by a “yoke upon the neck” is signified restraint and interception, see above, n. 3542); thus “breaking the yoke from upon the neck” denotes liberation from restraint, and interception; and therefore it denotes conjunction through good; and also that truth becomes of good; for where there is no longer any restraint and interception, good flows in and conjoins itself with truth.

[2] How the case herein is may be seen from what has been already said and shown; but few comprehend in what consists the apparent priority of truth and in the meanwhile the inferiority of good, and this principally because few reflect on such things, and do not even reflect upon good, in that it is distinct from truth. Moreover all those are ignorant of what good is who live a life of the love of self and of the world, for they do not believe that there can be any good except that which is from this source; and because they are ignorant of what good is, they are also ignorant of what truth is, for truth is of good. They do indeed know from revelation that it is good to love God and the neighbor, and that truth consists of doctrinal things derived from the Word, but inasmuch as they do not live according to these things, they have no perception of such good and truth, but merely have knowledges separated from these. Nay, even those who are being regenerated do not know what good is until they have been regenerated; for before this they supposed that truth was good, and that to do according to truth was good, when yet that which they then do is not good, but truth. When man is in this state, he is in the state which is described by “Jacob” and in the “blessing” given to him; but when he comes into a state of doing good from the affection of good-that is, when he is regenerate-he then comes into the state which is described in the blessing given to Esau.

[3] This may be illustrated by those things which appear with man in his first and second ages, and afterwards in his third and fourth. In his first age man knows only by memory the things contained in the Word, and in like manner what is in the doctrinal matters of faith; and he believes himself to be good when he is acquainted with many things therefrom, and can apply some of them, not to his own life, but to the life of others. In his second age, when he is more grown up, he is not content to know only by memory the things contained in the Word and in doctrine, but begins to reflect upon them from his own thought, and insofar as he adds thereto from his own thought, insofar he is pleased; and thereupon he is in the affection of truth from a kind of worldly love, which love is also the means of his learning many things that without it would be left unlearned. In his third age, if he is one of those who can be regenerated, he begins to think about use, and to reflect on what he reads in the Word and imbibes from doctrinal matters for the sake of use; and when he is in this state the order is inverted, so that truth is no longer so much put in the first place. But in his fourth age, when comes the age of his regeneration, because then the state is full (see n. 2636), he loves the Word and the doctrinal things that are from the Word-that is, truth-for the sake of the good of life, consequently from the good of life. Thus good comes to be in the prior place, which until this time was apparently in the posterior place.

[4] The reason why good was apparently in the posterior place, is that it lay inmostly concealed in all his affection; nor could it manifest itself, inasmuch as outside of it there were such things as it could not agree with, namely, vain and empty things such as are those of self-glory and the glory of the world; but after the man has been regenerated these things recede; and the good, which had lain inmostly concealed, comes forth as it were from its place of confinement, and flows into those things which are outside, and makes truths its own, that is, truths of good, and thus manifests itself.

[5] In the meantime, like that involuntary which is in his voluntary, the good in the man is in everything he thinks, and thence in everything he does. Man knows not that he has this involuntary, because he perceives nothing else in himself except that which is his own; that is, the voluntary. This involuntary is two-fold, the one being his heredity that he has from his father and mother, while the other flows in through heaven from the Lord. As a man grows up, if he is such as not to suffer himself to be regenerated, that which he has hereditarily from his parents manifests itself more and more; for he takes evils from it, and makes them his own, or proper to himself. But with those who are being regenerated the involuntary which is from the Lord through heaven manifests itself in adult age; and in the meantime it has disposed and governed each and all things of their thought and also of their will, although it has not been visible.