7424. 'And there were lice on man and on beast' means that evils rose up from those things - interior and exterior evils attached to wicked desires. This is clear from the meaning of 'lice' as evils, dealt with in 7419; from the meaning of 'man' as good, dealt with in 4287, 5302, and so in the contrary sense as evil; and from the meaning of 'beast' as the affection for good, and in the contrary sense as the affection for evil, which is evil or wicked desire, dealt with in 45, 46, 142, 143, 246, 714, 715, 719, 776, 2179, 2180, 3218, 3519, 5198. But when the expression 'man and beast' is used, man' means interior good, and in the contrary sense interior evil, while 'beast' means exterior good, and in the contrary sense exterior evil. The reason why 'man' means interior good or interior evil is that a person is truly human by virtue of his internal man and the nature of this, not by virtue of his external man; for without the internal the external man is not truly human. If the external man too is to be truly human it must be completely subject to the internal, so completely that it does not act by itself, only from the internal. The reason why 'beast' means exterior good and in the contrary sense exterior evil is that beasts do not have an internal side to them like that present in a human being. With them the internal side is merged into the external, so completely that it makes one with it, and at the same looks downwards or towards the ground without any uplifting towards more internal things. The expression 'evils attached to wicked desires' is used because all evils are objects of wicked desires; for wicked desires are the longings of a person's loves. What makes interior evils different from exterior evils is this: Interior evils belong to thought and will, whereas exterior evils belong to actions. The fact that evils may be interior without being exterior is evident from the consideration that a person can be evil and yet to outward appearance look like an upright man, indeed like a man possessing faith and conscience. Some even know how to pretend to be angels when in fact inwardly they are devils. This is how great the difference can be between the inward appearance, which is that presented by the spirit, and the outward appearance, which is that presented by the body.

7419. 'And it will then be lice' means that evils will rise up from them. This is clear from the meaning of 'lice' as evils. But what evils these are and where they originate becomes clear from the correspondence of evils with such parasites. They are primarily evils on the level of the senses or utterly external level of a person's mind. This correspondence arises from the fact that lice live on the outside of the skin, among the dirt there and under scaly skin. The sensory level in those who have come to possess a knowledge of matters of belief yet lead a life of evil is also like this. When that knowledge is taken away from them, as happens to such persons in the next life, they are then mentally thick and stupid. They have appeared before me on several occasions; they are foul and repulsive. Molestations by evils are meant by the bitings of those parasites. This meaning of 'lice' cannot be substantiated from other places in the Word, for they are mentioned again only in David, where he refers to what took place in Egypt, Psalms 105:31.