7574. 'And hail' means those destructive falsities. This is clear from the meaning of 'hail' as falsities arising from evils destroying the Church's forms of good and its truths, 7553. 'Hail' means the kinds of falsities that destroy the Church's truths and forms of good, as also does the pestilence in the earlier part of this chapter. For there are very many genera and species of falsities, as there are of the evils from which they spring. The falsities meant by 'hail' belong to the genus that destroy things of the Church and that can exist only with those who have been born within the Church yet have led a life contrary to the truths and the forms of the good of faith there. Proof of the existence of falsities, like evils, in a large number of genera and species is provided by the fact that the hells are divided up according to genera and species of evils and derivative falsities, and by the fact that the hells are countless. From this one may see what the situation is with the meaning of the miracles or plagues in Egypt as falsities and evils. That is to say, one may see that each plague - of blood, frogs, lice, noxious flying insects, pestilence, sores breaking out into pustules, hail, or locusts - means a different kind or genus of falsity and evil.

6466. INFLUX AND THE INTERACTION OF SOUL AND BODY - continued

It was shown at the ends of the previous chapters that both kinds of life residing with a person - the life of his thought and the life of his will - flow in from heaven, and that they do so through the angels and spirits present with him. But when it is said that they flow in from heaven, this should be taken to mean that they flow in from the Lord by way of heaven. For every trace of life residing with the angels is received from the Lord, as they themselves with one accord confess, for they see with perception that it is so. And since every trace of life residing with the angels is received from the Lord, so is every trace of life residing with man received from Him; for man is governed by the Lord through angels and spirits in particular, and through heaven in general.