7017. 'And I will see whether they are still alive' means a perception of that life. This is clear from the meaning of 'seeing' as understanding and perceiving, dealt with in 2325, 2807, 3764, 3863, 4403-4421, 4567, 4723, 5400; and from the meaning of 'being alive' or 'living' as spiritual life, dealt with in 5407. A perception of that life means a perceiving before-hand, for when anyone proposes something to himself he envisages it as if it were a present reality. He must project his mind into the situation involving that thing, and from this come desires, and from it a feeling of delight such as would belong to that thing if it were a present reality. In this way intermediate ends link themselves to the last and lowest end and make so to speak a single end. ¹

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