281. And the fourth animal was like a flying eagle, signifies the appearance in ultimates of the Divine guard and providence in respect to intelligence and as to circumspection on every side. This is evident from the signification of "eagle," as being intelligence; here Divine intelligence which is that of the Lord's guard and providence. "Eagle" means intelligence because intelligence is in the light of heaven, and the eagle flies high that he may be there and may look about on every side; this is why this face of the cherub appeared "like a flying eagle;" for "to fly" signifies presence and clear vision on every side, and in reference to the Divine it signifies omnipresence. "Eagle" signifies intelligence for this reason also, that the "birds of heaven" signify in a good sense things intellectual and rational, and the eagle especially, because it not only flies high but also has keen vision. (That "the birds of heaven" signify things intellectual and rational, in both senses, seeArcana Coelestia 745, 776, 866, 988, 991, 3219, 5149, 7441)

[2] That "eagle" signifies intelligence is evident from the following passages in the Word. In Ezekiel:

A great eagle, great in wings, long in pinions, full of feathers, which had divers colors [embroidery], came upon Lebanon, and took a twig of cedar; he plucked off the head of its shoots, and carried it into a land of traffic; and set it in the city of spice dealers. He took of the seed of the land, and placed it in a field of sowing; he took it to great waters, and placed it carefully; and it sprouted and became a luxuriant vine of low stature, so that its branches looked to it, and the roots thereof were under it; so it became a vine that produced shoots and sent out boughs. And there was another great eagle, great in wings and full of feathers; and behold, this vine did bend its roots toward it and sent forth its branches toward it to water it from the beds of its plantation; it was planted in a good field by many waters, to make the bough and to bear fruit, that it might be a vine of magnificence (Ezekiel 17:1-8).

The establishment of a spiritual church by the Lord is here treated of, and in the internal sense the process of its establishment or of the regeneration of the man of that church from beginning to end is described. By the first eagle the process of regeneration of the natural or external man by means of knowledges [scientifica] and cognitions from the Word is described; and by the other eagle the process of regeneration of the spiritual or internal man by means of truths from good is described; therefore the first eagle signifies the intelligence of the natural man, and the second the intelligence of the spiritual man. Let it be also explained briefly what these particulars signify. The first eagle is said to have been "great in wings, long in pinions, full of feathers," and this signifies an abundance of the knowledges and cognitions [scientiarum et cognitionum] of truth and good, from which comes the first intelligence, which is the intelligence of the natural man; it is therefore said that "it had divers colors" [embroidery], for by "divers colors" is signified what relates to knowledge and cognition [scientificum et cognitivum] (See Arcana Coelestia 9688). "It came upon Lebanon, and took a twig of cedar," signifies the reception of some knowledges of truth from the doctrine of the church which is from the Word; for "Lebanon" signifies that doctrine, and "the twig of cedar" knowledges. "He plucked off the head of its shoots, and carried it into a land of traffic," signifies primary knowledges from that doctrine to which knowledges [scientiae] were applied; "the head of the shoots" signifying primary knowledges, and "the land of traffic" the natural man, to which things known belong. "He set it in the city of spice dealers" signifies among truths from good in the natural man; "spices" signifying truths which are agreeable because from good (See Arcana Coelestia 4748, 5621, 9474, 9475, 10199, 10254). "He took of the seed of the land, and placed it in the field of sowing; he took it to great waters, and placed it carefully," signifies multiplication; "the seed of the land" meaning the truth of the church; "the field of sowing," the good from which it grows; "great waters," the knowledges of truth and good; "to place carefully," separation from falsities; "and it sprouted and became a luxuriant vine, so that its branches looked to it [the eagle] and the roots thereof were under it," signifies the church coming to the birth through the arrangement of the knowledges of truth, and from their application to use. "So it became a vine that produced shoots and sent out boughs," signifies the beginning of the spiritual church, and the continual increase of truths. (That "vine" is the spiritual church, see Arcana Coelestia 1069, 6375, 9277.) Thus far the beginning of the church with man, which takes place in the natural or external man, has been described; its establishment which takes place in the spiritual or internal man is now described by the other eagle; because this signifies spiritual intelligence, it said that "the vine did bend its roots toward it, that is, the eagle, and send forth its branches toward it;" for "roots" signify knowledges [scientiae], and "branches" the cognitions of truth and good, which are all applied to the truths which are in the spiritual or internal man; without their spiritual application man does not become wise at all. The multiplication and fructification of truth from good, thus the increase of intelligence, is described by "the vine was planted in a good field, by many waters, to make the bough and to bear fruit, that it might be a vine of magnificence;" "a good field" is the church in respect to the good of charity; "many waters" are the knowledges of good and truth; "to form the bough" is to multiply truths; "to bear fruit" is to bring forth goods, which are uses; "a vine of magnificence" is the spiritual church, both internal and external. (But these things, since they are arcana of regeneration and of the establishment of the church with man, can be better understood from what is (New Jerusalem and Heavenly Doctrine51) (New Jerusalem and Heavenly Doctrine 183) brought together in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, from the Arcana Coelestia, On Knowledges [scientiis] and Cognitions, n. 51; and On Regeneration, n. 183.)

[3] That "eagle" signifies intelligence can also be seen in Isaiah:

They that wait upon Jehovah shall renew the strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles (Isaiah 40:31).

"To mount up with wings as eagles" is ascent into the light of heaven, thus into intelligence.

[4] In David:

Jehovah, who satisfieth thy mouth, so that thou shalt be renewed like an eagle (Psalms 103:5).

"To be renewed like an eagle" is to be renewed in respect to intelligence.

[5] In Moses:

Ye have seen how I bare you as on eagles' wings, and brought you unto Myself (Exodus 19:4).

"To bear as on eagles' wings, and to bring," also means into intelligence, because into heaven and its light.

[6] In the same:

Jehovah found him in the land of the wilderness. He led him about, He instructed him, He preserved him as the pupil of His eye. As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young; it spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh him, beareth him on her pinions, so Jehovah alone led him (Deuteronomy 32:10-12). This treats of the establishment of the Ancient Church, and the first reformation of those who were of that church; their first state is meant by "the land of the wilderness in which Jehovah found them;" "the land of the wilderness," is where there is no good because there is no truth; their instruction in truths, guarding them from falsities, and the opening of the interiors of their mind, that they may come into the light of heaven, and thus into the understanding of truth and good, which is intelligence, is described by "the eagle," its "nest on high," "it fluttereth over the young, and beareth them on the pinions;" comparison is made with the eagle, because "eagle" signifies intelligence.

[7] In the second book of Samuel:

Saul and Jonathan, swifter than eagles, and stronger than lions (2 Samuel 1:23).

"Saul" as a king, and "Jonathan" as a king's son, signify the truth of the church; and because intelligence is from truth, and also power, it is said that they were "swifter than eagles, and stronger than lions;" "swiftness" in the Word, in reference to intelligence, signifying the affection of truth. For David wrote his lamentation over Saul and Jonathan "to teach the sons of Judah the bow;" and "the sons of Judah" signify the truths of the church, and the "bow" means the doctrine of truth combating against falsities.

[8] In Job:

By thy intelligence doth the hawk fly, and spread her wings toward the south? At thy command doth the eagle mount up and make high her nest? In the rock she dwelleth and lodgeth; thence she searcheth her food; her eyes behold afar off; and where the slain are there is she (Job 39:26-30.)

Here intelligence is treated of, that no one can procure it from himself or from what is his own [ex proprio]; therefore it is said, "By thy intelligence doth the hawk fly, and spread her wings towards the south?" referring to man's leading himself into the light of intelligence (signified by the "south"), and here, that this is not possible. Intelligence itself, which is of the spiritual man, is described by "the eagle doth mount up, make high her nest, dwell and lodge in the rock, thence searching her food, and her eyes behold afar off." That no one has such intelligence from himself is signified by "Doth the eagle do this at thy command?" But that nothing but falsities can come from self-intelligence is signified by "where the slain are there is she;" "the slain" in the Word signify those with whom truths have been extinguished by falsities (See Arcana Coelestia, n. 4503).

[9] From this it can be seen what is signified by the Lord's words when the disciples asked Him where the Last Judgment would be, in Luke:

The disciples said, Where, Lord? He said unto them, Where the body is, there will the eagles be gathered together (Luke 17:37).

The "body" here means the spiritual world, where all men are together, both the evil and the good; and "eagles" signify those who are in truths, and also those who are in falsities, thus those who are in true intelligence and those who are in false intelligence. False intelligence is from what is man's own [ex proprio], but true intelligence is from the Lord through the Word.

[10] The falsities that are from self-intelligence are also described by "eagles" in the following passages in the Word. In Jeremiah:

Behold he ascendeth as the clouds, and his chariot as the storm, his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us, for we are devastated (Jeremiah 4:13).

The desolation of truth in the church is here treated of, and the "cloud" that ascends signifies falsities; "the chariot which is as the storm" signifies the doctrine of falsity; their avidity for reasoning against truths and destroying them, and pleasure in it, is signified by "their horses are swifter than eagles," for "swiftness" and "haste" in the Word signify being stirred by affection and lust (See Arcana Coelestia 7695, 7866); and "horses" signify the understanding of truth, and in a contrary sense, the understanding of falsity or the reasoning from falsities against truth (Arcana Coelestia 2760-2762, 3217, 5321, 6125, 6400, 6534, 7024, 8146, 8148, 8381); and because "horses" signify this, and "eagles" intelligence, here self-intelligence which is reasoning from falsities, therefore it is said, "their horses are swifter than eagles."

[11] In Lamentations:

Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles of the heavens (Lamentations 4:19).

And in Habakkuk:

His horses are nimbler than leopards, and are fiercer than the evening wolves, that his horsemen may spread themselves; whence his horsemen come from far, they fly as an eagle that hasteth to eat. He cometh all for violence (Habakkuk 1:8-9);

here too, "eagle" stands for the reasoning from falsities against truths, which is from self-intelligence.

4748. 'And their camels carrying spices, and resin' and stacte' means interior natural truths. This is clear from the general meaning of 'camels' as things belonging to the natural man which serve the spiritual, and from their specific meaning as general facts within the natural man, dealt with in 3048, 3071, 3114, 3143, 3145, 4156; and from the meaning of 'spices, resin, and stacte' as interior natural truths joined to the good there, which are dealt with below. Among the ancients, sweet smelling and fragrant substances were used in their sacred worship; from these substances they obtained their frankincense and incense, similar substances being mixed with oil for their anointings. But no one today knows why those fragrances were used, for the reason that no knowledge at all exists of the fact that all aspects of the worship of the ancients had their origin in the spiritual and celestial things existing in heaven, or that those aspects of it corresponded to these. Mankind has been removing itself so far from spiritual and celestial things, immersing itself in natural, worldly, and bodily ones, that it lives in obscurity, many people having a negative attitude of mind to the existence of anything spiritual or celestial.

[2] The reason frankincense and incense were used among the ancients in sacred acts of worship is that 'odour' corresponds to perception, and 'a fragrant odour' - like that of the aromas which various kinds of spices have - to a pleasing and acceptable perception, as is the perception of truth derived from good, or of faith from charity. Indeed the correspondence of one to the other is such that, as often as it pleases the Lord, actual perceptions in the next life are converted into odours. Regarding these, see what has already been told from experience in 925, 1514, 1517-1519, 3577, 4624-4634. What specifically is meant here by 'spices, resin, and stacte' may be seen from other places where these three are mentioned. In general they mean interior truths within the natural, but those truths which are derived from the good there; for truths do not on their own constitute the natural, but good does by means of truths. Consequently variations exist, conditioned by what the truth joined to the good is like and therefore by what the good is like, since the particular nature of the good depends on what the truths are like.

[3] 'Gilead' means exterior good like that belonging to the senses, called pleasure, 4117, 4124, while 'Egypt' in the good sense means facts, which are the external truths of the natural man that correspond to, that is, are in accord with, that good, 1462. Therefore the reference to Ishmaelites from Gilead bringing down those aromatic commodities on camels to Egypt means bringing their own interior truths, based on their own facts, to the facts meant by 'Egypt', which matters are dealt with below. Interior truths are conclusions based on exterior truths, that is, on facts; for the facts belonging to the natural man are the means that enable conclusions to be drawn about interior truths and thereby to identify them, just as a person identifies another's state of mind in his facial expressions and in the twinkling of light in his eyes, as well as in his tone of voice and his gestures.

[4] Because such truths are the means by which a person's natural is made more perfect and also receives correction, healing is therefore associated with spices of this kind - with resin, for example, in Jeremiah,

Is there no balsamic resin in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why has not the healing of the daughter of my people arisen? Jeremiah 8:22.

In the same prophet,

Go up to Gilead to take resin, O virgin daughter of Egypt! In vain you have multiplied medicaments; there is no healing for you. Jeremiah 46:11.

In the same prophet,

Suddenly Babel has fallen and been broken; wail over her! Take resin for her pain; perhaps she will be healed. Jeremiah 51:8.

[5] Wares similar to this mean spiritual things, as is quite evident in John,

The merchants of the earth will weep and will mourn over Babel, that nobody buys their wares any longer, wares of gold and silver, and precious stones, and pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and every vessel of ivory, and every vessel made of most precious wood, and bronze, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and incense, and ointment, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and draught-cattle, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and the bodies and souls of people. Revelation 18:11-13.

These wares would never have been listed in this specific manner if each and all had not meant the kinds of things that exist in the Lord's kingdom and in His Church. Otherwise they would have been words that had no real meaning. It is well known that 'Babel' means those who turn all worship of the Lord into worship of themselves, so that profanity exists inwardly while outwardly they are doing what is holy. This being so, 'their wares' means the things which, for the sake of worship of themselves, they themselves have invented enthusiastically and skillfully, as well as doctrinal teachings and ideas of good and truth from the Word which they have twisted to suit themselves. Thus the individual wares mentioned in these verses mean specific features of their invention, 'cinnamon, incense, ointment, and frankincense' meaning truths that are derived from good, but with those people perverted truths and falsities that are the products of evil.

[6] Something similar may be seen in what is recorded in Ezekiel regarding the wares of Tyre,

Judah and the land of Israel, they were your traders. Wheat of minnith and pannag, and honey, and oil, and resin, they exchanged for your trading. Ezekiel 27:17.

Here also 'resin' means truth derived from good. To one who has no belief in the internal sense of the Word all these expressions will be mere words and so vessels with nothing in them, when in fact they hold Divine, celestial, and spiritual things within them.