2429. 'It is small' means from the small amount of it which he had. This becomes clear from the meaning of 'a city' as truth, dealt with immediately above. The reference to its being 'small' means a small amount of truth, here acting from the small amount he had, as is clear from what comes before and after. As regards this matter, namely that those with the affection for truth possess little truth in comparison with those with the affection for good, this becomes clear from the consideration that they see truth from a poor and obscure good residing with them.

[2] The truth present with someone is altogether as is the good with him. Where there is little good there is little truth. They are present in the same ratio and are of the same degree, or as people say, they march in step with each other. This may indeed seem a paradox but it is nevertheless the truth. Good is the actual essence of truth, and truth without its essence is not truth. Although it looks as though it were, it is no more than something that merely resounds, and is like an empty vessel.

[3] For anyone to have the truth within him he must not only know it, but also acknowledge it and have faith in it. When he does he possesses truth for the first time, for in that case it has an influence on him and remains. It is different when he merely knows the truth but does not acknowledge it and have faith in it. In that case he does not have the truth within him, as applies to many who are governed by evil. They can know of truths, sometimes better than anybody else, but they nevertheless do not possess it. Indeed their possession of it is so much the less because at heart they deny it.

[4] It is provided by the Lord that no one should possess - that is, acknowledge and believe - a greater amount of truth than of the good which he receives. This is why here it is said of the city, which means truth, that 'it is small', and again in this same verse 'is it not small?' and also in verse 22 that 'he called the name of the city Zoar', which means small in the original language. The reason for this is that the subject here is people with the affection for truth, and not so much with the affection for good.