1144. And of silk and of scarlet, signifies truths and goods from a spiritual origin that have been profaned. This is evident from the signification of "silk," as being truth from a spiritual origin (of which presently); also from the signification of "scarlet," as being good from a spiritual origin (See above, n.1142). This good coincides with truth from a celestial origin, and therefore that, too, is signified by "scarlet" in the Word. But "silk and scarlet" here signify such truths and goods profaned by Babylon, which are profaned when spiritual love, which is love towards the neighbor, has been perverted; for those who are in such love of self as the Babylonians are in, can have no love to the neighbor; if they love others it is for the sake of self, so that the end is the man himself and love to the neighbor the means, and the end loves the means so far as the means are serviceable to it; and casts them away when they cease to serve it. This can be seen in all the particulars of their works. Love towards the neighbor in the spiritual sense is the love of uses; and when uses are for the sake of self, it is not a love of uses but a love of self. That "silk" signifies truth from a spiritual origin, can be seen from the passage in Ezekiel (Ezekiel 16:10, 13) which has been explained just above (n. 1143). "Silk" signifies truth from a spiritual origin because of its gloss, for silk is glossy from light, and "light" signifies the Divine truth, which is also called the spiritual Divine.

(Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith)

[2] It has been said that the love of self and the love of the world are hell, but the source of those loves shall now be explained. Man was created to love self and the world, to love the neighbor and heaven, and to love the Lord. For this reason when a man is born he first loves himself and the world, and afterwards, so far as he becomes wise, he loves the neighbor and heaven, and as he becomes still wiser he loves the Lord. Such a man is in the Divine order, and is actually led by the Lord, although apparently by himself. But so far as he is not wise he stops in the first degree, which is to love himself and the world; and if he loves the neighbor, heaven, and the Lord, it is for the sake of self before the world. But if he is wholly unwise he loves himself alone, and the world and also the neighbor for the sake of self; while heaven and the Lord he either despises or denies or hates in heart, if not in words. These are the origins of the love of self and of the love of the world, and as these loves are hell, it is evident whence hell is.

[3] When a man has become a hell, he is like a tree cut off or like a tree whose fruits are malignant; or he is like sandy soil in which no seed will take root, or like soil, out of which springs nothing but the thorn that pricks or the nettle that stings. When a man becomes a hell the inner or higher parts of his mind are closed up and the outer and lower are opened. And as the love of self determines all things of the thought and will to itself and immerses them in the body, it inverts and twists back the outer parts of the mind, which, as has been said, are open, and as a consequence these incline and bend and are borne downwards, that is, towards hell.

[4] But since man has still an ability to think, to will, to speak and to do, and this ability is in no case taken away from him, because he was born a man, so having become inverted and no longer receiving any good or any truth from heaven, but only evil and falsity from hell, he acquires a kind of light by confirmations of evil from falsity, and of falsity from evil in order that he may be eminent above others. This he believes to be a rational light, when yet it is an infernal light, and in itself fatuous, producing vision like that of a dream in the night, or a delirious fantasy, by reason of which things that are appear as if they were not, and things that are not appear as if they were. But this will be seen more clearly from a comparison between an angel-man and a devil-man.

1142. Of precious stone and of pearl, signifies the knowledges of truth and good from the Word that have been profaned. This is evident from the signification of "precious stone," as being the knowledges of truth from the Word (See n.717; also from the signification of "pearl," as being the knowledges of good (See n. 1044); and as such knowledges are scientific truths [vera scientifica] or truths of the natural man, so "precious stones" signify the truths through which goods come, and "pearls" the goods through which truths come, for everywhere in the Word there is a marriage of truth and good, and for the reason that truth is not truth unless it looks to good or proceeds from good, and good is not good unless it looks to truths or exists through truths. Thus truths and goods are joined as in a marriage, and truths and goods exist as from a marriage. This is why here and elsewhere in the Word things are mentioned in pairs, one of which signifies good and the other truth, as "gold and silver," "precious stone and pearl," "fine linen and purple," "silk and scarlet," "vessel of ivory and vessel of precious wood," "brass, iron, and marble," where "gold, pearl, purple, scarlet, precious wood, and brass," signify goods of various kinds, and "silver, precious stone, fine linen, silk, ivory, iron, and marble," signify truths of various kinds. So elsewhere. But here these all signify goods and truths profaned, thus evils and falsities, as has been said just above of the signification of gold and silver.

(Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith and respecting the Lord)

[2] First it shall be told of whom hell consists. Hell consists of spirits who when they were men in the world denied God, acknowledged nature, lived contrary to Divine order, loved evils and falsities, although not before the world for appearance's sake; consequently they were either insane as to truths, or despised truths, or denied them in heart if not with the lips. Of all such from the creation of the world hell consists. All these are called either devils or satans; those in whom the love of self has predominated are called devils, and those in whom the love of the world has predominated are called satans. The hell where devils are is meant in the Word by the "Devil," and the hell where satans are is meant by "Satan." Moreover, the Lord has so joined the devils together that they are as one, and also the satans; and this is why the hells are called the Devil and Satan in the singular. Hell does not consist of spirits immediately created, neither does heaven consist of angels immediately created; but hell consists of men born in the world, who were made devils or satans by themselves, and in like manner heaven consists of men born in the world, who were there made angels by the Lord. All men as to the interiors which belong to their minds are spirits, clothed in the world with a material body which is under the direction of the thought of the spirit and under the control of its affection; for the mind which is spirit acts, and the body which is matter is acted upon; and every spirit after the material body has been cast off, is a man similar in form as a man in the world (See above, n. 1127). All this makes clear of whom hell consists.