237. And knowest not that thou art wretched. That this signifies that they do not know that their falsities have no coherence with truths is evident from the signification of wretchedness, as denoting the breaking down of truth by falsities, and also no coherence; it is therefore plain what is meant by wretched. The reason why they are thus wretched is that their doctrine is founded upon two false principles, which are faith alone, and justification thereby; therefore falsities flow thence in a continuous series, and the truths which they adduce to confirm them from the letter of the Word are broken down and falsified; and falsified truths are essentially falsities. This is described in many passages in the Word, and is meant by the vanities which the prophets are said to see, and the lies which they are said to speak. The same is also described by the breaches made in walls and in houses, so that they fall; similarly, by the idols and graven images which the artificer is said to make and connect by chains that they may cohere; for by idols and graven images are signified falsities of doctrine. The same is also meant by breaches made in walls and in houses, and by the prophets seeing vanities and speaking lies; for by prophets are meant doctrines; by vanities, such things as are of no account; and by lies, falsities.

But as these things are mentioned in too many passages in the Word to be here adduced in full, we shall only quote some wherein mention is made of wretchedness, and of a wall, in order that it may be known that they signify the breaking down of truths by falsities, and thus no coherence.

[2] In Isaiah:

"Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath seduced thee; when thou saidst in thine heart, I, and none else beside me. Therefore shall wretchedness fall upon thee, and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly" (47:10, 11).

Here also are described those who believe that they know all things, and suppose themselves to be intelligent above all others, when yet they neither know nor understand anything of truth; therefore it follows that the understanding of truth is taken away from them. Their belief that they are more intelligent than all others is meant by Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath seduced thee; when thou saidst in thine heart, I, and none else beside me; and the loss of all understanding of truth is meant by wretchedness shall fall upon thee, desolation shall come upon thee suddenly.

[3] In Ezekiel:

"Wretchedness shall come upon wretchedness; therefore shall they seek a vision from the prophets; but the law hath perished from the priest, and counsel from the elders; the king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with amazement" (7:26, 27).

The vastation of the church is here treated of, which takes place when there is none but falsified truth; falsity from falsity is meant by wretchedness upon wretchedness; a vision from the prophet denotes doctrine, and here, doctrine of falsity; the law hath perished from the priest, denotes that the Word is not understood; for the law signifies the Word, and the priest him that teaches it: counsel hath perished from the elders, denotes that what is right shall perish from the intelligent; counsel denoting what is right, and elders signifying the intelligent: the king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with amazement, denotes that there is no longer any truth; king signifying truth, and the prince truths primarily subservient.

[4] In David:

"What is right is not in their mouth; wretchedness is in the midst of them" (Psalms 5:9);

where wretchedness also signifies falsities not cohering with any truth. Similarly in Jeremiah:

"Howl! and wander among the walls; for their king goeth away into captivity, his priests and princes together" (49:3).

Here by wandering among the walls is meant amongst truths destroyed by falsities; by the king who goeth away into captivity is signified truth; and by his priests and princes together are denoted the goods and truths of life and doctrine, as above.

[5] In Ezekiel:

"When they build a wall [maceries], lo, they daub it with untempered [mortar]. Say unto them that daub with untempered [mortar] that the wall [paries] shall fall. Shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed?" (13:10-12).

The wall which they daubed with untempered [mortar] signifies the falsity which is assumed as a principle, and which, by application of the Word from the sense of the letter, they make to appear as truth. Daubing denotes application, and thence apparent confirmation; untempered [mortar] denotes what is falsified; and because the truth of the Word is thus destroyed, and confirmatory things become truths falsified, which in themselves are falsities, and these perish together with the false principle, therefore it is said, "Behold the wall shall fall; shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing with which ye have daubed?"

[6] In Hosea:

"Behold I hedge up thy way with thorns, and I will encompass wall with wall, that she shall not find thy paths" (2:6).

To hedge up the way with thorns is to obstruct all thoughts by falsities of evil, lest they should see truths; falsities of evil are signified by thorns. To encompass wall with wall is to heap falsities upon falsities; that she shall not find thy paths, denotes that nothing of truth can be seen. This comes to pass because truths can no more co-exist with falsities of evil than heaven can with hell, for truths are from heaven and falsities of evil from hell; therefore, when the latter have rule, communication with heaven is taken away, in which case the former cannot be seen, and if others utter them they are rejected. Hence it is, that those who are in false principles, as, for example, those who are in the principles of faith alone and justification thereby, cannot be in any truths, as may be seen above (n. 235, 236).

[7] But we shall now illustrate this subject by examples. When those who embrace faith alone and justification thereby as a principle of religion, read the Word, and see that the Lord teaches that man shall be rewarded according to his deeds and works, and that he who has done good shall enter heaven, and that he who has done evil shall be cast into hell, they then call the good which they do the fruit of faith, not knowing, or not being willing to know, that the goods which they call fruits of faith are all from charity, and none of them from faith separated from charity, which is called faith alone; for all good belongs to charity, and truth to faith therefrom. From this it is clear that they pervert the Word. But they do this because they cannot otherwise apply the truth to their principle, still believing that they may thus agree together; but truth perishes in consequence, and becomes falsity, and not only becomes falsity but also evil.

[8] That falsities thence follow in a continuous series is also clear; for they teach that the good works which man performs are merit-seeking, not being willing to understand that as faith and its truths are from the Lord, and thus not merit-seeking, so also are charity and its goods. They also teach that as soon as a man receives faith he is reconciled to God the Father by the Son, and that the evils which he afterwards does are not imputed, nor yet the evils which he had done before; for they say that all are saved, however they have lived, if they only receive faith, even in the hours before death. But these and many other things, which are derivations from a false principle, do not agree with truths from the Word, but destroy them, and truths destroyed are falsities, and such falsities as have a bad odour; a grievous smell is perceived from them in the other life, which is such that it cannot be sustained by any good spirit; it is like a stench from diseased lungs. Many other examples might be adduced, of which there is an abundance; for whatsoever is concluded from a false principle derives falsity therefrom, because therein is beheld the principle to which it adheres, because it flows therefrom, and is applied to it.

[9] The true quality of the religion of faith alone, and of justification thereby, may be concluded from this fact alone, that all those who have confirmed those tenets in themselves by doctrine and life, in the other life diffuse from themselves a sphere of abominable adultery, which is that of a mother, or a mother-in-law, with a son; this abominable adultery corresponds to them, and is also perceived from them wherever they go; I have a thousand times known their presence from that sphere. The reason why such a sphere flows forth from them is that they adulterate the goods of charity and of the Word; and adulteries correspond to the adulterations of good, and whoredoms to the falsifications of truth (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 2466, 2729, 3399, 4865, 6348, 8904, 10648).

[10] The same is meant by Reuben's lying with Bilhah, of whom his father begat Dan and Naphthali (Genesis 35:22), therefore also he was accursed (Genesis 49:4); and because he polluted the couch of his father, the primogeniture was taken away from him and given to Joseph (1 Chron. 5:1); for by Reuben, in the Word, is meant faith, and in this case faith alone (see Arcana Coelestia 3325, 3861, 3866, 3870, 4601, 4605, 4731, 4734, 4761, 6342, 6350), and by Joseph is meant the good of that faith (see Arcana Coelestia 3969, 3971, 4669, 6417).

[11] That such things would take place at the end of the church is predicted in Daniel, where the statue which Nebuchadnezzar saw in a dream is treated of, in these words:

"Whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves by the seed of man; but they shall not cohere one with the other, even as iron is not mingled with clay" (2:43).

By iron is meant truth without good; by miry clay, the falsity which is from man's own intelligence; by the seed of man, the Word of the Lord (see Matthew 13:24, 37). Their not cleaving one to another is meant by its being said, they shall not cohere, even as iron is not mingled with clay.

9960. 'To cover their naked flesh' means to prevent inner desires of that love from appearing when they are foul and hellish. This is clear from the meaning of 'covering' as preventing them from appearing; and from the meaning of the genital organs and loins, which 'naked flesh' is used to mean here, as inner desires of conjugial love. For when 'undergarment' means things composing the external level of that love, 9959, 'flesh' which they cover means those on its internal levels. Conjugial love is meant by 'the loins', see 3021, 4280, 4575, also by 'the genital organs', 4462, 5050-5062, and the good of love by 'flesh', 3813, 7850, 9127; but since most things in the Word can also have a contrary meaning, so can the loins, genital organs, and flesh. In that contrary sense they mean evil, foul, and hellish desires of that love, 3813, 5059. The fact that here they mean evil, foul, and hellish desires is evident from the consideration that the words 'to cover their naked flesh' are used, 'naked flesh' here being that which is the opposite of the good of conjugial love, namely delight that is adulterous and for that reason hellish, which will be spoken of below.

[2] As regards 'nakedness', it derives its meaning from the parts of the body that appear naked, just as garments derive theirs from the parts of the body they clothe, 9827. 'Nakedness' has one meaning therefore when it applies to the head, which is baldness; another meaning when it applies to the whole body; and yet another when it applies to the loins and genital organs. When nakedness applies to the head, which is baldness, it means the deprivation of an intelligent understanding of truth and of a wise discernment of good; when it applies to the whole body it means the deprivation of truths that belong to faith; but when it applies to the loins and genital organs it means the deprivation of the good of love.

[3] 1. When nakedness applies to the head, which is baldness, it means the deprivation of an intelligent understanding of truth and of a wise discernment of good This is clear in Isaiah,

On that day the Lord by means of the king of Asshur will shave the head and the hair of the feet, and will consume the beard. Isaiah 7:20.

'Shaving the head' stands for depriving of the internal truths of the Church, 'shaving the hair of the feet and consuming the beard' for depriving of its external truths, and 'by means of the king of Asshur' for by means of reasonings based on falsities. It is evident to anyone that no head, hairs of the feet, or beard was going to be shaved by means of the king of Asshur, and that those words must have some other meaning. 'The head' means more internal things that belong to wisdom and intelligence, see 6292, 6436, 9166, 9656; 'the king of Asshur' means reasoning, 119, 1186; 'hair' means the external truth of the Church, 3301, 5247, 5569-5573; 'the feet' too means external or natural things, 2162, 3147, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952, 9406; and 'the beard' means items of knowledge on sensory levels, that is, truths on last and lowest levels, as is clear from places in the Word mentioning 'the beard'.

[4] In the same prophet,

On all heads there is baldness; every beard is shaved off. Isaiah 15:2.

Here the meaning is similar. In Jeremiah,

Baldness will come upon Gaza. How long will you cut yourself? Jeremiah 47:5.

In Ezekiel,

On all faces there will be shame, and on all heads baldness. They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will become an abomination. Ezekiel 7:18-19.

'On all heads baldness' stands for the deprivation of an intelligent understanding of truth and of a wise discernment of good. Since this is meant it also says 'they will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will become an abomination'; for 'silver' means truth that belongs to intelligence, and 'gold' good that belongs to wisdom, 1551, 5658, 6914, 6917, 8932. The fact that baldness on all heads should not be understood literally, that they would not literally throw silver into the streets, and that gold would not literally become an abomination, is self-evident.

[5] In Moses,

Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar his sons, You shall not shave your heads and you shall not rip apart the seams of your garments, lest you die and He is angry with the whole congregation. Leviticus 10:6.

And in Ezekiel,

The priests, the Levites, shall not shave their head and shall not let their hair grow long. Ezekiel 44:20.

Since Aaron and his sons represented the Lord in respect of Divine Good and in respect of Divine Truth, 9806, 9807, and since 'a shaved head' and 'garments ripped apart at the seams' meant the deprivation of that Good and Truth, they were forbidden to shave their heads or so rip apart their garments. It also says 'lest you die and He is angry with the whole congregation', meaning that as a consequence what was representative of the Lord in respect of Divine Good and in respect of Divine Truth, and so what was representative of the Church, would be destroyed.

[6] Since mourning represented spiritual mourning, which is mourning because of the deprivation of the Church's truth and good, those in mourning made themselves bald, as in Jeremiah,

They will not lament for them, nor will they make themselves bald ¹ because of them. Jeremiah 16:6.

In Amos,

I will turn your feasts into mourning, and cause baldness to come up over every head; and I will make it as the mourning for an only-begotten son. Amos 8:10.

And in Micah,

Make yourself bald, ² and shave your head for the sons of your delight; extend your baldness like an eagle, for they have departed from you. Micah 1:16.

'The sons of delight' are God's truths, and their 'departure' is the deprivation of them, 'sons' meaning truths, see 9807.

[7] 2. When nakedness applies to the whole body it means the deprivation of the truths of faith

This is clear in John,

To the angel of the Church of the Laodiceans write, Because you say, I am rich and in need of nothing - when you do not know that you are wretched and miserable, and needy, and blind, and naked - I counsel you to buy from Me gold purified in fire, and white garments that you may put on, that the shame of your nakedness may not be manifested. Revelation 3:14, 17-18.

'The angel of the Church' is God's truth there. 'Saying it is rich' means that it is in possession of cognitions or knowledge of truth and good. 'Wretched, needy, blind, and naked' means being nevertheless devoid of truths implanted in life, thus being devoid of good. 'Buying gold purified in fire' means acquiring good to itself, 'white garments' authentic truths of faith springing from good. From this it is evident what 'that the shame of nakedness may not be manifested' means.

[8] In the same book,

Behold, I am coming like a thief; blessed is he who is awake and keeps his garments, so that he may not walk naked and they see his shame. Revelation 16:15.

Here the meaning is similar. In the same book,

They will hate the prostitute, and make her devastated and naked. Revelation 17:16.

'The prostitute' stands for those who falsify God's truths. 'Making her naked' plainly stands for depriving of those truths; for the words 'devastated' and 'naked' are used, and 'devastating' means depriving of truths.

[9] Nakedness also means having no knowledge of truth and putting on clothes being taught it, in Isaiah,

When you see the naked and cover him, your light will break forth like the dawn. Isaiah 58:7-8.

And in Matthew,

The King will say to those who are on the right, I was naked and you clothed Me. And He said to those on the left, I was naked and you did not clothe Me. Matthew 25:36, 38, 43-44.

'Naked' here stands for those who have no truths and still desire truths, also those who acknowledge that no good or truth at all exists within them, see 4956, 4958.

[10] 3. When nakedness applies to the loins and genital organs it means the deprivation of the good of love

This is clear in Isaiah,

O virgin daughter of Babel, take a mill and grind flour, uncover your hair, bare your feet, uncover your thigh, pass through the rivers. Let your nakedness be uncovered, also let your reproach be seen. Isaiah 47:1-3.

'Daughter of Babel' means the Church or semblance of the Church, where holiness resides outwardly but profanity inwardly. The profanity residing inwardly is such that people have themselves and the world in mind, thus domination and abundant riches as their end in view, holy things being regarded as means to that end. 'Taking a mill and grinding flour' means producing teachings out of such matters as will serve as means to the end, 7780. 'Uncovering the hair, baring the feet, and uncovering the thigh' means prostituting without any shame or fear things that are outwardly and inwardly holy, so that 'uncovering nakedness' means causing foul and hellish things, which are the ends, to appear.

[11] In Jeremiah,

Jerusalem sinned grievously; those who honoured her despise her, because they see her nakedness, her uncleanness in her skirts. Lamentations 1:8-9.

'Jerusalem' stands for the Church, in this instance for a Church that is steeped in falsities arising from evil. 'Seeing her nakedness' stands for beholding foul and hellish loves; 'uncleanness in her skirts' stands for such loves on most external levels, 'skirts' or 'hem' meaning most external levels, see 9917. In Nahum,

I will uncover your skirts upon your face, ³ and I will show the nations your nakedness and the kingdoms your shame. Nahum 3:5.

'Uncovering skirts' stands for taking away outward things in order that more internal ones may appear. 'Nakedness' which will be shown to the nations and 'shame' to the kingdoms mean hellish kinds of love, which are self-love and love of the world, which defile the more internal things.

[12] In Ezekiel,

You reached full beauty, your breasts were formed and your hair had grown; [but] you were naked and bare. With all your abominations and your acts of whoredom you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, and were downtrodden in your blood. Your nakedness has been uncovered through your whoredoms with your lovers. Ezekiel 16:7, 22, 36.

In the same prophet,

I will give you into the hand [of those] whom you hate, that they may deal with you out of hatred; and let them leave you naked and bare, and let the nakedness of your whoredoms be uncovered. Ezekiel 23:28-29.

In Hosea,

Contend with your mother, that she may remove her whoredoms from her sight, ⁴ and her adulteries from between her breasts, lest perhaps I strip her naked, and present her as on the day she was born, and make her like a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst. I will return and take back My grain, My new wine, My wool, and My flax, which [I gave her] to cover her nakedness; and I will uncover her foulness in the eyes of her lovers. Hosea 2:2-3, 9-10.

[13] The words in the preceding as well as in this present quotation refer to Jerusalem, which is also called 'mother'; and by it the Church is meant. Its perversity is described by 'the whoredoms', 'the adulteries', and 'the uncovering of nakedness', which are nothing other than the foul and hellish kinds of love - that is, self-love and love of the world, when they are ends in view - from which all evils and derivative falsities gush out. Falsifications of truth therefore and adulterations of good are described in the Word by acts of whoredom and adultery, and are also actually called whoredoms and adulteries there, see 8904. And from this it is evident what 'nakedness' and 'uncovering of nakedness' are used to mean. Since reference is being made to the Church's truths when falsified and to its forms of good when adulterated, the verses quoted declare 'I will make her like a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst'. 'A wilderness' is that which is devoid of forms of good, 'a dry land' that which is devoid of truths, and 'thirst' the deprivation of all matters of faith.

[14] It also declares that [the Lord] would take back His grain, His new wine, His wool, and His flax, with which He had covered her nakedness, because 'grain' means the spiritual Church's more internal good, 'new wine' its more internal truth, 'wool' its more external good, and 'flax' its more external truth. All who read these things with a power of reason that is to some degree enlightened, who believe that no expression used in the Word is meaningless, and that the Word is altogether holy in every part because it is Divine, can see that flax, wool, new wine, and grain are not meant literally.

[15] In Jeremiah,

O daughter of Edom, to you also the cup will pass, you will be made drunk and naked. Lamentations 4:21.

In Habakkuk,

Woe to him who gives drink to his companion, ⁵ making him drunk, and looking on their nakedness! You will be sated with shame rather than glory. Drink, you also - that your foreskin may be revealed. Habakkuk 2:15-16.

And in Ezekiel,

They have shed blood in you; they have uncovered their father's nakedness in you. Ezekiel 22:9-10.

What these statements mean no one can know unless he knows what the meaning is of 'the cup', 'drinking', 'being made drunk', 'being made naked', 'looking on their nakedness, and uncovering them', and also 'foreskin'. All these, it is self-evident, should be understood spiritually. 'Drinking' understood spiritually is receiving instruction in truths, or in the contrary sense in falsities, that is, absorbing them, 3069, 3168, 3772, 8562, 9412; and from this it is clear what 'the cup' that is drunk from means, 5120. 'Being made drunk' means becoming insane as a result, and 'being made naked' becoming completely destitute of them. 'Uncovering nakedness' means uncovering the evils of self-love and love of the world, which are hellish evils. 'Uncovering their father's nakedness' means uncovering those evils when they have a hereditary origin and are present in the will. 'Revealing the foreskin' means defiling them, 'the foreskin' meaning the defilement of heavenly forms of good by those two kinds of love, see 2056, 3412, 4462, 7045. 'Circumcision' therefore means purification from them, 2039, 2632.

[16] All this makes clear what the meaning is of Noah's drunkenness and the consequent uncovering of his nakedness, described as follows in Genesis,

Noah drank of the wine, and was drunk, and was uncovered in the middle of his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness and pointed it out to his two brothers. And Shem and Japheth took a garment and both of them put it on a shoulder, and went backwards and covered their father's nakedness; and their faces were backwards, and they did not see their father's nakedness. Genesis 9:21-23.

This describes members of the Ancient Church, whom Noah represents. 'The wine' which he drank and which made him drunk is the falsity which that Church was at the start imbued with. His lying as a result 'uncovered in the middle of the tent' means evils owing to the lack of truth in worship. 'The garment' with which Shem and Japheth covered his nakedness is the truth of faith, by means of which those evils were covered and corrected. An implanting of the truth and good of faith in the understanding part of the mind is described by their putting a garment on a shoulder, going backwards, and turning their faces away backwards; for this is exactly how it is with the truths and forms of the good of faith present with a member of the spiritual Church. 'Shem and Japheth' means those belonging to the spiritual Church, who received the truths of faith within good, which is charity; but 'Canaan' means those who did not receive the truths of faith in good or charity.

[17] Noah represents members of the Ancient Church at the start, who were such as has been described, see 736, 773, 788, 1126.

Shem is those belonging to the internal spiritual Church, and Japheth those belonging to the external, 1062, 1127, 1140, 1141, 1150.

Canaan represented those whose faith was separated from charity, or what amounts to the same thing, whose worship was external separated from anything internal, so that in particular he represented the Jewish nation, 1093, 1140, 1141, 1167.

With members of the spiritual Church the truth and good of faith are implanted in the understanding part of the mind, 9596.

'The wine' that made Noah drunk means falsity, 6377.

'The tent' in which he lay uncovered means the holiness of worship, 2145, 2152, 3312, 4128, 4391.

'The garment' with which they covered their father's nakedness means the truth of faith, 5954, 9212, 9216.

His actual nakedness means the evil occupying the will part of his mind. That evil is covered by means of the truths of faith, and when it is being covered truths look away backwards.

The presence of such arcana, embodied in these details of the story, is evident from the internal sense. And the fact that these arcana are arcana which have to do with the Church may be seen from the consideration that Shem and Japheth simply because they covered their father's nakedness were blessed, and all their descendants too, and that Canaan was cursed and all his descendants simply because their father had pointed it out to his brothers.

[18] Because the interiors of the Jewish and Israelite nation were foul, for they were steeped in self-love and love of the world more than all the other nations, and since conjugial love is meant by 'the genital organs and loins' and this love is fundamental to and so embraces all celestial and spiritual forms of love, precautions had to be taken to prevent the nakedness of those parts of Aaron's or his sons' bodies from being in any way visible when they were engaged in holy worship. This is the reason for its being said that linen undergarments should be made for them to cover their naked flesh, from the loins even to the thighs; and in another place for the declaration that they were not to go up by steps to the altar, in order that their nakedness should not be revealed on it, Exodus 20:26.

The interiors of the Jewish and Israelite nation were foul, and when they were engaged in worship those interiors were closed off, see the places referred to in 9320 (end), 9380.

Conjugial love is meant by 'the genital organs and loins', 3021, 4280, 4462, 4575, 5050-5062.

Conjugial love is fundamental to all celestial and spiritual forms of love, and therefore these forms of love are understood as well by it, 686, 2739, 3021, 4280, 5054.

From all this it is now clear what 'nakedness' means, in particular nakedness of the bodily parts devoted to procreation, when people's interiors are foul.

[19] But when the interiors are chaste 'nakedness' means innocence. It does so because conjugial love is meant, and innocence is the indispensable element of truly conjugial love.

Truly conjugial love belongs to innocence, see 2736.

Therefore 'nakedness' in that sense means innocence, 165, 8375.

For the same reason angels of the inmost heaven, who are called celestial angels, appear naked, 165, 2306, 2736.

Since the Most Ancient Church, described in the opening chapters of Genesis and meant in the internal sense by Man or Adam and his wife, was a celestial Church, it says in Genesis 2:25 that both were naked, and they were not ashamed. But when that Church fell, which came about through eating from the tree of knowledge, by which reasoning about Divine matters that was based on factual knowledge was meant, it says that they knew that they were naked, and sewed fig leaves together for themselves and made themselves girdles, thus that they covered their nakedness. It also says that when Jehovah called to him the man said that he was afraid because he was naked, and further on that Jehovah God made for them tunics of skin and clothed them, Genesis 3:6-11, 21.

[20] By 'fig leaves' from which they made themselves girdles, and also by 'tunics of skin' truths and forms of good belonging to the external man should be understood. The reason why their state after the fall is so described is that from being internal people they became external. Their internal is meant by 'paradise', for paradise is the intelligence and wisdom of the internal man, and the closing of their internal by being cast out of paradise.

'Leaf' means natural truth, which is factual knowledge, see 885. 'Fig' means natural good or the external man's good, 217, 4231, 5113. 'Tunic of skin' too means the external man's truth and good, 294-296. 'Skin' means what is external, 3540.