5937. En Farao zei tot Jozef; dat dit de doorvatting betekent van het natuurlijke vanuit het innerlijk hemelse, staat vast uit de betekenis van zeggen in de historische dingen van het Woord, namelijk het doorvatten, waarover meermalen eerder; uit de uitbeelding van Farao, namelijk het natuurlijke in het algemeen, nrs. 5160, 5799;

en uit de uitbeelding van Jozef, namelijk het innerlijk hemelse, nrs. 5869, 5877; omdat het hemelse dat Jozef uitbeeldt, innerlijk is en het natuurlijke dat Farao uitbeeldt, uiterlijk is, is daarom het doorvatten van het natuurlijke vanuit het innerlijk hemelse; alle doorvatting immers is vanuit het innerlijke; nooit is er enige doorvatting van het innerlijke vanuit het uiterlijke; waarvandaan immers de invloeiing is, daarvandaan is de doorvatting. Wat doorvatten is dat zo vaak wordt genoemd, moet hier in het kort worden gezegd; bij elk mens is het vermogen om te doorvatten of iets zo is ofwel niet zo is; het vermogen om van binnen in zichzelf of in zijn gemoed te concluderen, maakt dat de zaak wordt doorvat; dit vermogen is nooit bestaanbaar tenzij er invloeiing vanuit de geestelijke wereld is; in deze gave munt de ene mens boven de andere uit; zij die minder uitmunten, zijn diegenen die slechts weinig binnen in zich of in hun gemoed concluderen en dan doorvatten, maar die zeggen dat iets zo is omdat anderen in wie zij geloof hebben, dat zo gezegd hebben; maar zij die meer uitmunten, zijn diegenen die niet vanuit anderen maar vanuit zich zien dat iets zo is; toch is de doorvatting die bij elk mens is, er een in wereldse dingen, niet echter heden ten dage bij iemand in geestelijke dingen; de oorzaak hiervan is deze dat het geestelijke dat invloeit en de doorvatting maakt, verduisterd en bijna uitgeblust is door de verkwikkingen van de liefde van de wereld en van zich; daarom bekommeren zij zich ook niet om de geestelijke dingen dan alleen voor zover uit plicht en gewoonte; indien de vrees vanuit de plicht en de verkwikking vanuit gewoonte werd weggenomen, zouden zij die dingen afwijzen, verafschuwen, ja zelfs loochenen; om geestelijke dingen te kunnen doorvatten, moet men in de aandoening van het ware vanuit het goede zijn en aanhoudend verlangen de ware dingen te weten; vandaar wordt iemands verstandelijke verlicht en wanneer het verstandelijke is verlicht, wordt het hem gegeven van binnen in zich te doorvatten; maar degene die niet in de aandoening van het ware is, weet dat, waarvan hij weet dat het zo is, uit de leerstellingen van de Kerk waaraan hij geloof hecht en omdat een priester, een presbyter of een monnik heeft gezegd dat iets zo is. Hieruit kan vaststaan wat doorvatten is en dat dit bestaat in de wereldse, maar niet in geestelijke dingen; wat nog hieruit blijkt dat eenieder blijft in het dogma waarin hij geboren is, ook zij die als joden zijn geboren, en ook diegenen die buiten de Kerk zijn, hoewel zij binnen haar leven; en eveneens zouden degenen die in een ketterij zijn, indien hun de eigenlijke ware dingen zelf werden gezegd en die eveneens werd bevestigd, toch niet in het minst doorvatten dat het ware dingen zijn, zij zouden aan hen als valse dingen verschijnen.

120. FROM THE ARCANA COELESTIA.

They who do not know that all things in the universe have relation to truth and good, and to the conjunction of both, that anything may be produced, do not know that all things of the church have relation to faith and love, and to the conjunction of both, that the church may be with man (n. 7752-7762, 9186, 9224). All things in the universe, which are according to Divine order have relation to good and truth, and to their conjunction (n. 2452, 3166, 4390, 4409, 5232, 7256, 10122, 10555). Truths are of faith and goods are of love (n. 4352, 4997, 7178, 10367). This is the reason that good and truth have been treated of in this doctrine; wherefore from what has been adduced, it may be concluded respecting faith and love; and it may be known what their quality is when they are conjoined, and what it is when they are not conjoined, by putting love in the place of good, and faith in the place of truth, and making applications accordingly.

They who do not know that each and all things in man have relation to the understanding and will, and to the conjunction of both, in order that man may be man, do not know clearly that all things of the church have relation to faith and love, and to the conjunction of both, in order that the church may be with man (n. 2231, 7752-7754, 9224, 9995, 10122). Man has two faculties, one of which is called the understanding and the other the will (n. 641, 803, 3623, 3539). The understanding is designed for receiving truths, thus the things of faith; and the will for receiving goods, thus the things of love (n. 9300, 9930, 10064). This is the reason why the will and the understanding have been also treated of in this doctrine; for from what has been adduced, conclusions may be drawn respecting faith and love, and it may be known what their quality is when they are conjoined, and what it is when they are not conjoined, by thinking of love in the will, and faith in the understanding.

They who do not know that man has an internal and an external, or an internal and an external man, and that all things of heaven have relation to the internal man, and all things of the world to the external, and that their conjunction is like the conjunction of the spiritual world and the natural world, do not know what spiritual faith and spiritual love are (n. 4392, 5132, 8610). There is an internal and an external man, and the internal is the spiritual man, and the external the natural (n. 978, 1015, 4459, 6309, 9701-9709). Faith is so far spiritual, thus so far faith, as it is in the internal man; and love likewise (n. 1594, 3987, 8443). And so far as the truths which are of faith are loved, so far they become spiritual (n. 1594, 3987). This is the reason why the internal and the external man have been treated of, for from what has been adduced, conclusions may be drawn respecting faith and love, what their quality is when they are spiritual, and what when they are not spiritual; consequently how far they are of the church, and how far they are not of the church.

9841. 'And you shall take two shoham stones' means the interior memory formed from the truths of faith that spring from love. This is clear from the meaning of 'stones' as truths, dealt with in 114, 643, 1298, 3720, 6426, 8609, and of 'shoham stones' as the truths of faith springing from love, 9476. The reason why the memory is meant by these stones is that the names of the sons of Israel were engraved on them and an engraving on stones means a memory composed of real things which are to remain there permanently. The engraving or inscription of the Law on tablets of stone for example means those things which have been imprinted on a person's memory and life and which for this reason are to remain there permanently, see 9416 (end). The engraving or inscription on stones has this meaning because the human memory has truths imprinted on it, also ideas that have the appearance of truth, so much so that it is fashioned from them. Stones furthermore mean truths, and when an engraving on them is mentioned a memory where truths reside is meant, as is meant by 'the engraving on the hands' in Isaiah,

Even though they may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you upon [My] hands. Isaiah 49:15-16.

This explains why those stones are called 'stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel' in verse 12 below.

[2] The reason why the interior memory is meant by 'the shoham stones', on account of the engraving on them, is that even as the inscriptions, which were the names of the sons of Israel, mean spiritual truths, regarding which, see what follows below, and also the actual stones mean spiritual truths, so a person's interior memory must consist of such truths. For a person has two memories, exterior and interior; the exterior memory is natural, shaped therefore by such things as occur in the world, whereas the interior memory is spiritual, shaped by such as occur in heaven, see 2469-2494, 5212, 8067.

[3] The meaning of stones with engraving on them as the [interior] memory on which truths have been inscribed has its origin in representatives in heaven. People who enter the next life after death, bringing with them truths of faith that are present solely in the natural or exterior memory, and not in the spiritual or interior memory, seem to themselves when they go out to be wandering about among stony rocks and in forests. But those bringing with them truths of faith present in the spiritual memory as well seem to themselves when they go out to be walking among cultivated hills and also in gardens. The reason for this is that truths present in the exterior or natural memory, where they exist as known facts, are not at all part of life unless they are present at the same time in the interior or spiritual memory, for the truths present in this memory have become part of life, the interior or spiritual memory being the book of a person's life, 2474; and the things that compose life are represented in heaven by gardens, olive groves, and vineyards, and by rose beds and lawns, and those that compose charity by the hills where such places are situated, 6435. Those however which do not compose life are represented by stony places and thickets which are bare and rugged.

[4] What the truths of faith that spring from love are must also be stated briefly. Truths of faith springing from love are ones which love dictates, and so ones which derive their very being from love; in those truths there is life, because whatever springs from love has life in it. Truths of faith springing from love therefore are those which are directly concerned with love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour, these being the truths which love dictates. The whole Word consists of teachings that present such truths, for in its spiritual sense the Word deals solely with such things as have to do with the Lord and such as have to do with the neighbour, thus such things as have to do with love to the Lord and towards the neighbour. For this reason the Word too has life in it. This is what is meant by the statement 'on these two commandments the Law and the Prophets depend', Matthew 22:38, 40, 'the Law and the Prophets' being the Word in its entirety. The truths of faith springing from love however do not consist in a bare knowledge of such truths that resides in a person's memory and consequently in his understanding. Rather they are affections inherently present in the person's life; for what a person loves and therefore does is inherently present in his life. There are also truths of faith which are not directly concerned with love, but merely lend support closely or remotely to those which are directly concerned with it. These truths of faith are called secondary truths. For the truths of faith are like families and their successive generations coming down from one and the same father. The father of those truths is the good of love, received from the Lord and consequently offered to Him. Thus their father is the Lord, for whether you say the Lord or love received from Him and consequently offered to Him, it amounts to the same thing. Love is spiritual togetherness and causes Him to be where that love is; for assuredly love causes the one who is loved to be present within itself.