2346. 'The men of the city' means those immersed in falsities, and 'the men of Sodom' those who are immersed in evils. This is clear from the meaning of 'a city' and of 'Sodom'. That 'a city' means truths and also falsities, or things that are the reverse of truths, has been shown already in 402, and that 'Sodom' means evils of every kind, in 2220, 2246. Since falsities as well as evils were involved in the investigation or visitation, they are called 'the men of the city, the men of Sodom'. If both had not been meant they would have been called simply 'the men of Sodom'.

2246. 'They went towards Sodom' means concerning the human race which was immersed in such great evil. This is clear from the meaning of 'Sodom' as evil that stems from self-love, dealt with above in 2220, and of 'looking towards the face of Sodom' as towards the state of the human race, 2219. The reason 'Sodom' means the state of the human race which was immersed in such great evil is that Sodom is not used to mean Sodom but all those throughout the world who are governed by self-love; and the description of Sodom represents the state of all who are immersed in that evil, as becomes clear from what follows. The fact that self-love is the source of all evils, and so of evil itself, is clear from what has been stated and shown about it already in 2045, 2057, 2219. This is why it is said here that they were immersed in such great evil.