6307. INFLUX AND THE INTERACTION OF SOUL AND BODY - continued

Experience extending over many years now has allowed me to know about the existence of influx from the spiritual world by way of angels and spirits into people's affections and thoughts, to know it so plainly that nothing could be plainer. I have been made aware of it as an inflowing not merely into thoughts but also into affections. Whenever evil and falsity have flowed in I have been allowed to know which hells they came from, and whenever goodness and truth have flowed in to know which angels they came from. Experience has made me so familiar with all this that at last I have been able to know where every specific aspect of my thoughts and affections originated. Yet my thoughts have been just like those I had before.

4499. 'Each took his sword' means falsity and evil. This is clear from the meaning of 'a sword' as truth engaged in conflict and consequently the defence of truth, and in the contrary sense falsity engaged in conflict, and consequently the vastation of truth, dealt with in 2799. The reason why 'a sword' at this point also means evil is that Levi was implicated, who represented charity, and so good. When good is turned into evil it uses falsity from evil to fight with, in which case anything it does is evil.