9916. 'And the hole of a corslet it must have, so that it does not tear' means so that it has been made strong and safe from damage. This is clear from the meaning of 'a corslet' as something strongly woven; and this is why it says 'so that it does not tear', that is, in order that it may be safe from damage. Something strongly woven is meant by the actual word used in the original language. An idea of that kind of weaving may be gained from correspondence. The subject at this point in the internal sense is the flow of celestial good into spiritual good; this inflow is what is meant by 'the robe's hole for the head' and what is described by 'the work of a weaver' and 'of a corslet'. To this flow from one heaven into another the flow of life in the human being corresponds, that is, the flow from the head by way of the neck into the body, 9913, 9914. The network of strong sinews belonging to the neck, and the circle so to speak of interwoven bones below the neck, both of which keep the flow of life safe from any harm, therefore have correspondence with that flow from one heaven to another. From such correspondence, as has been stated, an idea may be gained regarding the details in this verse, that is to say, an idea of what is meant by a hole for the head in the middle, by a border which the hole has round about, by the work of a weaver, and by the hole of a corslet which the robe must have so that it does not tear. It should be remembered that all representative objects on the natural level are related in some way to the human form, and that their meaning is determined by that relationship, 9496. Every garment covering the body takes its meaning from that part of the body it serves to cover, 9827, as applies also to this upper part of the robe which encircles and covers the neck.

9914. 'And its hole shall have a border round about' means that it is bounded and enclosed on every side. This is clear from the meaning of 'a border', or edging, around the hole or opening on the upper part of the robe, as being bounded and enclosed on every side; for that border or edging which went all round served to bound and enclose. The words here and those following immediately after describe the course which the inflow of celestial good into spiritual good takes. What is involved in this inflow is similar to the course taken by the forces flowing from a person's head through the neck into the body, as is clear from what has been stated regarding correspondence in the paragraph immediately above.

[2] The nature of this influx must also be stated briefly. All the chief things that belong to the head, that is to say, to the cerebrum and cerebellum, are assembled into bundles of fibres and tiny nerves there, and so assembled pass down through the neck into the body. Within the body they spread out in every direction and move its parts altogether as the will, which begins in the brain, desires. Similar to all this is the flow of powers and forces down from the celestial kingdom, which is the head in the Grand Man or heaven, into the spiritual kingdom, which is so to speak the body there. This inflowing is also what is meant and described by 'the robe's hole for the head in the middle', and the limits of it by 'a border round about'. This then is why a boundary and enclosure on every side is meant by 'the border' which that hole possessed. The actual boundary is described next.