1006. The fact that at the hand of every wild animal means by everything inside a violent person can be seen from the symbolism of a wild animal. In the Word, a wild animal symbolizes something living, as §908 showed; but in the opposite sense it symbolizes something that resembles a wild animal and so anything bestial inside us, as was also shown earlier [§908]. Consequently it means a person whose life is bestial, which is to say a violent individual, or one who inflicts violence on charity. That is the person who resembles a wild animal.
It is love and charity that make us human; it is hatred, vengefulness, and cruelty that make us wild animals.
