577. And the heads of the horses as the heads of lions.- That this signifies knowledge (scientia), and thought therefrom, destructive of truth, is evident from the signification of the heads of the horses, as denoting knowledge (scientia) and thought therefrom, as will be seen presently; and from the signification of the heads of lions, as denoting thence the destruction of truth. The heads of lions here signify the destruction of truth, because a lion, in the highest sense, signifies the Divine Truth as to power, and, in the opposite sense, falsity destroying truth, consequently, the destruction of truth; and the head of a lion signifies the powers of the mind by means of which it destroys, and which are reasonings from falsities. That a lion signifies the Divine Truth as to power, and, in the opposite sense, falsity destroying it, may be seen above (n.278). The reason why the heads of the horses signify knowledge (scientia) and thought therefrom, is, that head signifies intelligence, and horse, the understanding. But as the subjects here treated of are the sensual man and his reasonings from falsities, and as the sensual man who reasons from falsities has no intelligence, but only knowledge (scientia) and thought therefrom, therefore these are here signified by the heads of the horses. That those who are in falsities have no intelligence, but instead of intelligence, only knowledge (scientia), may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 33). The head signifies intelligence, because the understanding and will of man reside in the interior parts of his head, and therefore the senses of sight, hearing, smell, and taste, into which the understanding and will flow from the interior, vivifying them, and also causing them to enjoy their sensations, are in the front part of the head which is the face.

[2] For this reason head, in the Word, signifies intelligence. But because those who receive influx from heaven are alone intelligent, for all intelligence and wisdom flow in out of heaven from the Lord, it follows, that those who are in falsities of evil have no intelligence. For with such the higher and spiritual mind is closed, and only the lower mind, called the natural mind, is open; and this mind, when the higher is closed, receives nothing of truth and good, consequently no intelligence from heaven, but only from the world, therefore such persons, instead of intelligence, have merely knowledge (scientia), and from this thought, from which proceeds reasoning, and by means of this confirmation of falsity and evil against truth and good.

[3] That the head, in the Word, signifies intelligence and wisdom, and, in the opposite sense, knowledge (scientia), and thence illusory thought, is evident from the following passages in the Word.

Thus in Ezekiel:

"I put a jewel on thy nose, and earrings in thine ears, and a crown of ornament upon thy head" (16:12).

These things are said concerning Jerusalem, which signifies the church, here its quality at the beginning. The jewel put on the nose signifies the perception of truth from good, earrings in the ears signify hearing and obedience, and a crown upon the head signifies wisdom, for intelligence which is from Divine Truth becomes wisdom from the good of love, signified by a crown of gold.

[4] So in the Apocalypse:

"A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars" (12:1).

That the head upon which was a crown of twelve stars, signifies intelligence, will be seen in the explanation in the following pages. The Jews placing a crown of thorns upon the head of the Lord, and smiting His head (Matthew 27:29, 30; Mark 15:17, 19; John 19:2), signified that with such ignominy did they treat the Divine Truth itself, and the Divine Wisdom. For they falsified the Word, which is Divine Truth, and contains Divine Wisdom, and adulterated it by their traditions, and by applying it to themselves, thus wishing for a king who should place them above all [the nations] in the whole world. And because the kingdom of the Lord was not earthly but heavenly, therefore they perverted all those things in the Word which referred to Him, and ridiculed the prophecies relating to Him. This was represented by their placing a crown of thorns upon His head, and by their smiting Him on the head.

[5] It is also said in Daniel, where the subject is the statue of Nebuchadnezzar seen in a dream, that its head was of pure gold, its breast and arms of silver, and its thighs of brass, its legs of iron, its feet part of iron and part of clay (2:32, 33). That statue represented the successive states of the church. The head of gold represented and signified the Most Ancient Church, which was in celestial wisdom, and thence in intelligence above [all the churches] that followed; its wisdom and intelligence are meant by the head of gold. That the other parts of the statue signify the states of the churches which followed, may be seen above (n. 176, 411:5).

And in David:

"Thou broughtest us into the net; thou hast laid affliction upon [our] loins. Thou hast caused a man to ride over our head" (Psalm 66:11 12).

Causing men to ride over our head signifies that there was no intelligence, as may be seen above (355:35), where those things are more fully explained.

[6] And in Moses:

These blessings "shall come on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the Nazarite of his brethren" (Genesis 49:26; Deuteronomy 33:13-16).

By blessings coming on the head of Joseph, is signified, that all those things previously mentioned, and which are the blessings of heaven, should be experienced in the interiors of his mind, which are the lives of the understanding and will, for these are the interiors of the mind. By their coming on the crown of the Nazarite of his brethren, is signified, that they should also be experienced in the exteriors of his natural mind, for the Nazariteship signifies the exteriors of the natural mind, since it signifies hairs, or the hair of the head. But these words are more fully explained above (n. 448:7); and in the Arcana Coelestia 6437, 6438).

Again:

"Give you wise men, and intelligent, and I will appoint them for your heads" (Deuteronomy 1:13).

It is said, "for heads," because wisdom and intelligence are meant, in which they excel the rest, hence it is said, "Give you wise men and intelligent."

[7] So in Isaiah:

"Jehovah hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes, the prophets; and your heads, the seers, hath he covered" (29:10).

Prophets signify those who teach truths, and are intelligent, and in an abstract sense, the doctrine of truth, and intelligence; therefore it is said, "Jehovah hath closed your eyes, the prophets; and your heads, the seers," where the prophets are called eyes, and the seers, heads, because the eyes signify the understanding of truth as to doctrine, and by seers, as by the head are signified, intelligence.

[8] Again:

"[Jehovah] will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush. The old man and honourable, will make the head, but the prophet that teacheth lies, the tail" (9:14, 15).

And again:

"Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which will make the head and tail, branch and rush" (19:15).

That He would cut off from Israel head and tail, and that there should not be for Egypt head and tail, signifies that all their intelligence and knowledge of truth would perish, as may be seen above (n. 559:4), where those subjects are more fully explained.

Again, in the same:

"In that day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, in the passages of the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet; and shall also consume the beard" (7:20).

These words signify that reasonings from falsities would deprive the men of the church of all wisdom and spiritual intelligence, as may be seen above (n. 569:17), where they are explained in detail. It is said, in the passages of the river, because the river Euphrates signifies reasonings from falsities; here therefore invasion thence into the truths of the church, which are destroyed by reasonings from falsities, is signified.

[9] And in Ezekiel:

"Thou son of man take thee a sharp sword, take thee a barber's razor, and cause it to pass upon thy head and upon thy beard. Thou shalt burn with fire a third part, and thou shalt smite a third part with the sword, and a third part thou shalt scatter to the wind" (5:1, 2).

Here also by causing a razor to pass over the head, is signified, to deprive of all intelligence of truth. The reason is, that intelligence perishes unless the ultimates of intelligence exist, signified by the hair of the head, which he was to shave with a razor, by causing it to pass over the head. For to take away the ultimates is like removing the base from a column, or the foundation from a house. Hence it is that in the Jewish church, which was a representative church, it was unlawful to shave the hair of the head, and cause baldness, and similarly with regard to the beard. Therefore also those who are without intelligence appear bald in the spiritual world.

[10] From these things the signification of a bald head, or baldness, in the following passages is evident.

Thus in Isaiah:

"On all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off"

(15:2).

These words denote that there was no intelligence. And in Ezekiel:

"Shame upon all faces, and baldness upon all heads" (7:18).

And again, in the same:

"Every head shall be made bald, and every shoulder deprived of hair" (29:18).

These words have a similar meaning. Hence also Aaron and his sons were forbidden to shave their heads and the corner of the beard, concerning which it is said in Moses that Aaron and his sons should not shave their heads, nor rend their garments, lest they should die, and the wrath of Jehovah fall upon the whole congregation (Leviticus 10:6).

And again:

"The sons of Aaron "shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of the beard" (21:5).

The beard signifies the ultimate of the rational man, and not shaving the beard, signifies not to deprive themselves of what is rational, by taking away its ultimate; for, as said above, when the ultimate is taken away, the interior also perishes. What is meant by the woman taken captive from the enemy, shaving her head and paring her nails, if she should be desired for a wife, is explained above (n. 555:16).

[11] Because shame was represented by the hands upon the head, it is therefore said in Jeremiah:

"Thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria. Yea, thou shalt go forth from her, and thy hands upon thy head" (2:36, 37).

Again, in the same prophet:

"They were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads" (14:3).

Because [covering the head with the hands] was representative of shame, therefore Tamar, after she had been disgraced by her brother Ammon, "laid her hand on her head, and went her way crying" (2 Sam. 13:19); by putting her hand on her head was signified that there remained no longer any intelligence. Grief also for sin in having acted insanely and foolishly, was represented by sprinkling dust upon the head; and bowing down the head even to the earth also signified cursing; as in Ezekiel:

"They shall cast up dust upon thine head, they shall roll thee in ashes" (27:30).

And in Lamentations:

"The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground, and keep silence; they have cast up dust upon their heads; they have girded themselves with sackcloth; the virgins of Jerusalem have hung down their heads to the ground" (2:10).

[12] But by the head, in the opposite sense, is signified the craftiness pertaining to those who are in the love of ruling; this is meant by the head in Moses, by the seed of the woman bruising the serpent's head, and the serpent bruising his heel (Genesis 3:15).

And in David:

"The Lord at thy right hand hath smitten through kings in the day of his wrath. He hath judged among the nations, he hath filled the earth with their dead bodies; he hath smitten the head over much country. He shall drink of the stream in the way; therefore shall he lift up the head" (Psalm 110:5-7).

This passage is explained above (n. 518:24).

And again:

"God shall bruise the head of his enemies, the crown of the hair to them that walk in guiltiness" (Psalm 68:21).

That the craftiness by which they intend and contrive evil for others returns upon themselves, is signified by, "recompensing their way upon their own head" (Ezekiel 9:10; 11:21; 16:43; 17:19; 22:31; Joel 3:4, 7). But the signification of the seven heads, in the Apocalypse, upon which were seven diadems (12:3; 13:1, 3; 17:3, 7, 9), will be seen in the following pages. Moreover, the head, being the highest and chief part in man, also signifies various other things, as the summit of a mountain, the top of any thing, what is primary, the beginning of a way, of a street, of a month, and similar things.

4677. 'And he made him a tunic of various colours' means the resulting appearances of truth by which the spiritual of the natural is recognized and distinguished. This is clear from the meaning of 'a tunic' as the truth of the natural, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'various colours' as appearances of truth by which the spiritual of the natural is recognized and distinguished. No one can know that these things are meant by 'various colours' unless he knows that colours may be seen in the next life no less than in the world - colours which are far more beautiful and various - and unless he knows the origins of those colours. Colours seen in the next life are produced by the variegation of light there and are so to speak modifications of intelligence and wisdom, for the light which is seen there is a manifestation of Divine Truth received from the Lord, that is, it is the Divine Spiritual from Him, or what amounts to the same, is Divine Intelligence and Wisdom. These two are seen as light before the eyes of angels and spirits. From this one may see what is meant by the colours being products of that light, namely different kinds and so appearances of truth that are due to varying affections for good and truth. Regarding colours in the next life, see 1042, 1043, 1053, 1624, 3993, 4530.

[2] It has been stated already in 3301 that 'a tunic' means the truth of the natural, but as this meaning was not substantiated there from other places in the Word, let these be mentioned here. Because kings in the Jewish Church represented the Lord as regards the Divine Spiritual or Divine Truth, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, their daughters therefore wore tunics of various colours, for 'daughters' meant affections for good and truth, and so meant Churches, 2362, 3963. The following is said of them in the second Book of Samuel,

On Tamar, David's daughter, there was a tunic of various colours, for virgin daughters of the king wore such clothes. 2 Samuel 13:18.

[3] And because high priests represented the Lord as regards the Divine

Celestial or Divine Good, Aaron therefore wore vestments which represented Divine Truth that was derived from the Lord's Divine Good; for Divine Good exists within the Lord, whereas Divine Truth proceeds from Him. This was what those vestments represented. Something similar was represented when the Lord was transfigured before Peter, James, and John, in that Divine Good was seen as the sun, and Divine Truth was manifested by means of His garments which had the appearance of light, Matthew 17:2.

[4] Regarding the vestments worn by Aaron and his sons, the following is said in Moses,

You shall make for Aaron a tunic of fine linen, and a turban of fine linen; and you shall make a girdle, the work of an embroiderer. And you shall make tunics for Aaron's sons, and you shall make girdles for them, and you shall make head-coverings for them, for glory and adornment. Exodus 28:39-40.

Each article of clothing here meant something connected with Divine Truth derived from the Lord's Divine Good, 'a tunic of fine linen' meaning specifically the Divine Spiritual. The same applies elsewhere in the same author,

You shall take the vestments, and put the tunic on Aaron, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and you shall clothe him with the girdle of the ephod. Then you shall cause his sons to come near, and you shall put them in tunics. Exodus 29:5, 8; 40:14.

What each article of clothing means here will in the Lord's Divine mercy be stated when those verses come up for consideration. 'Garments' in general are truths, see 297, 1073, 2576, 4545.

[5] Prophets too wore tunics, though theirs were made of hair. This was because prophets represented the Lord as regards truths of doctrine, and since truths belong to the natural or external man, their tunics were made of hair - 'hair' meaning the natural, see 3301.

[6] The fact that 'a tunic' means Divine Truth received from the Lord is evident further still from those places where a tunic is mentioned in the New Testament, as in John,

The soldiers took His garments and made four parts, a part for each soldier, and His tunic. But the tunic was without seam, woven from the top throughout. Therefore they said to one another, Let us not divide it - so that the Scripture might be fulfilled, saying They divided My garments for themselves, and for My tunic they cast lots. John 19:23-24.

Anyone reading this description supposes that it does not hold anything deeper within it than the facts that the garments were divided among the soldiers and that lots were cast for the tunic. But each detail described here represented and meant spiritually something Divine - that is to say, those two details about the garments being divided into four and about the tunic not being divided but having lots cast for it, and above all the detail about the tunic being without seam and woven from the top throughout. 'The tunic' meant the Lord's Divine Truth, which being singular - derived from Good - was represented by the tunic's being without seam and woven from the top throughout.

[7] Much the same was meant by Aaron's tunic which, as is evident in Moses, was woven or the work of a weaver,

They made tunics of fine linen, the work of a weaver, for Aaron and his sons Exodus 39:27.

Also represented by the tunic without seam was the fact that the Lord did not allow Divine Truth to be torn apart, as was done by the Jews to the lower truths of the Church.

[8] Because Divine Truth is singular - that is to say, it is derived solely from Divine Good - the twelve disciples were commanded, when they were being sent out to preach the gospel of the kingdom, not to have two tunics. This is recorded in Luke as follows,

Jesus sent the twelve disciples to preach the kingdom of God. And He said to them, Take nothing for the way, neither staves, nor bag, nor bread, nor silver, nor have two tunics each. Luke 9:2-3.

In Mark,

He charged them to take nothing for the way except a staff; not a bag, nor bread, nor bronze in the belt, but to wear sandals; and do not put on two tunics. Mark 6:8-9.

And in Matthew,

Do not possess gold, nor silver, nor bronze in your belts, nor bag for the way, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staves. Matthew 10:9-10.

[9] All the individual instructions given in these places are representative of the celestial and spiritual things of the Lord's kingdom which the disciples were sent to preach. The reason they were not to take gold, silver, bronze, bag, or bread with them was that those things meant different kinds of good and truth received from the Lord alone. 'Gold' means good, 113, 1551, 1552, while 'silver' means truth derived from that good, 1551, 2954; 'bronze' means natural good, 425, 1551, and 'bread' the good of love, which is heavenly good, 276, 680, 2165, 2177, 3478, 3735, 4211, 4217. 'Tunic' however and 'sandal' meant the truths with which they were to be endued, and 'staff the power of truth derived from good. For 'staff' means that power, see 4013, 4015; 'sandal' the lowest natural, 1748, here its truth; and 'tunic' interior natural truth. Now because these things had to be not twofold but singular, they were forbidden to have two staves, two pairs of sandals, or two tunics. These are the arcana contained in what the Lord commanded, but no one can possibly know about them except from the internal sense.

[10] All the detailed instructions spoken by the Lord were representative of Divine things, and consequently of the celestial and spiritual things of His kingdom. They were accordingly suited to the mental grasp of men and at the same time to the understanding of spirits and angels. Therefore the things spoken by the Lord pervaded the whole of heaven and continue to do so. From this it is also evident how valuable and important it is to know the internal sense of the Word. Without it anyone can use the Word to support whatever dogma he likes; and because this is seen to be so by those who are subject to evil, they therefore deride the Word and think it is anything but Divine.