9154. The lord of the house shall be brought unto God. That this signifies a search from good, is evident from the signification of “being brought unto God,” as being that a search be made (see n. 9160); and from the signification of “the lord of the house,” as being the good from which this is to be done. The reason why “the lord of the house” denotes good, is that the subject treated of is truths and memory-knowledges that have been taken away from the memory, which are signified by “the silver and vessels given to be taken care of, and which have been stolen” (n. 9149, 9150); and as these belong to good, and are in good, therefore “the lord of the house” denotes the good to which they belong, and with which they are. Good is called “a lord,” because truths and memory-knowledges belong to good as their lord; and good is also called “a house,” because truths and memory-knowledges are in good as in their house, see n. 3652, where are unfolded the words of the Lord in Matthew:
Let he that is upon the roof of the house not go down to take anything out of his house (Matthew 24:17).
[2] As to the search about the truths and knowledges taken away from the memory having to be made from good, the case is this. The good with a man is that which receives in itself all truths, for good has its quality from truths; and so far as truths have good in them and also around them, so far they are living. The case is the same as with a fiber or a blood-vessel in a living animal. So far as a fiber has spirit in it, and so far as a vessel has blood in it, so far they live; in like manner does a blood-vessel live insofar as it has around it fibers in which is spirit. It is similar with truth and good, truth without good being like a fiber without spirit, and a vein or an artery without blood, the quality of which everyone can comprehend, namely, that they would be devoid of life, and therefore without any use in a living animal. It is similar in respect to faith without charity. Because, as before said, good has its quality from truths, it has its form also from them; for where there is form there is quality, and where there is no form there is no quality. The case is also like that of spirit and blood in a living animal; spirit receiving its determinations and thus its form through fibers; in like manner the blood through its vessels. From this it is evident that truth without good has no life; and that good without truth has no quality, consequently that faith without charity is not living faith. By faith is here meant the faith of truth, and by charity the life of good.
[3] From all this it can be seen how it is to be understood that a search is to be made from good for the truths and memory-knowledges that have been taken away; namely, that when a man is in good, that is, in the affection of doing good, he then comes into the remembrance of all the truths which have entered into the good; but that when he turns away from good, the truths disappear, for it is the falsity of evil which takes them away as if by theft. But the truths which have disappeared come again into remembrance when the man by his life returns into the affection of good or of truth. That it is so everyone who reflects may know by experience in himself and with others. From this it is evident what is meant by searching from good for the truths and knowledges that have been taken away from the memory or from the mind of a man.
