1155. And horses and carriages.- That these signify worship from truths and goods that are from a rational origin, profaned, is evident from the signification of horses, which denote things intellectual (see above, n. 355, 364, 372, 373, 381, 382, 575, 923), thus also truths which are from a natural origin, for those things, which belong to the understanding, belong to truth and reason; and from the signification of carriages, which denote goods from a rational origin, because they are drawn by horses, which signify truths from that origin. For carriages are a kind of chariot, and chariots signify doctrinals (see above, n. 355), which, when they are drawn by truths, as chariots are by horses, are goods, for doctrines teach truths, and also goods.

[2] The signification of carriages in Isaiah is similar:

"Then shall they bring all your brethren from all nations a gift to Jehovah, upon horses and upon a chariot, and upon arched carriages, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to the mountain of my holiness, Jerusalem" (66:20).

Horses, a chariot, arched carriages, mules, and swift beasts, in the spiritual sense, mean things pertaining to doctrine, and thence to the church; for the subject there treated of is a New Church to be established by the Lord. Horses signify intellectual things, a chariot doctrine, arched carriages doctrinals of good, mules rational things, and swift beasts similarly things rational as to good. The brethren, whom they shall bring, signify all who are in the good of charity, and Jerusalem the mountain of holiness signifies the church, in which charity reigns. The reason why these things profaned are here meant, is, that they are said of Babylon, by which is signified the profanation of truth and good.

[3] Continuation concerning the Athanasian Creed.- The sixth law of the Divine Providence is, That man should not be reformed by external, but by internal means; by external means are meant miracles and visions, fears and punishments; by internal means are meant truths and goods from the Word, and from the doctrine of the church, and also looking to the Lord; for these means enter by an internal way, and cast out the evils and falsities which reside within; but external means enter by an external way, and do not cast out evils and falsities, but shut them in. Nevertheless, man is further reformed by external means, provided he has been before reformed by internal means. This follows from the laws above stated, namely, that man is reformed by means of freedom, but not without it, and further, that to compel himself is to act from freedom, but to be compelled is not so. Man is compelled by miracles and visions, and also by fears and punishments; by miracles and visions the external of his spirit, which consists in thinking and willing, is compelled, and by fears and punishments the external of his body, which consists in speaking and acting, is compelled. The latter may be compelled, because man, nevertheless, thinks and wills freely; but the external of his spirit, which consists in thinking and willing, must not be compelled, for in that case his internal freedom, by means of which he was to be reformed, perishes.

[4] If a man could be reformed by miracles and visions, then all men throughout the whole world would be reformed. It is, therefore, a holy law of the Divine Providence that internal freedom should not, in the least degree, be violated; for by it the Lord enters into man, even into the hell where he is, and by it He there leads him; if man is willing to follow, He brings him out and introduces him into heaven, bringing him there nearer and nearer to Himself. It is in this way only that man is brought out of infernal freedom, which, regarded in itself, is slavery, because from hell, and is introduced into heavenly freedom, which is freedom itself; by degrees this becomes a higher kind, until it attains its highest state, because it proceeds from the Lord, whose will is that man should not be in any way compelled. This is the path along which man's reformation proceeds, but it is a path which miracles and visions would close.

[5] The freedom of man's spirit also is never violated, for this reason, that his evils, both hereditary and actual, may be removed, and this is accomplished when he compels himself, as said above. These evils are removed by the Lord's inspiring him with affection for truth, from which he derives intelligence, and with affection for good, by which he acquires love; for so far as he is in these affections, so far he compels himself to resist evils and falsities. This path of reformation is also closed by miracles and visions, for they persuade and compel belief, and thus cast the thoughts bound, as it were, into a prison. When therefore his freedom is taken away, he has no means from what is interior of removing his evils, for no evil is removed except by such interior means. The evils thus remain shut in, and from their own infernal freedom in which they delight, they continually act in opposition to those truths and those goods which miracles and visions had impressed, and at length dissipate them, calling miracles the interior operations of nature, and visions the insane delusions of a disordered imagination, and truths and goods fallacies and absurdities. Such is the effect which evils shut in produce upon the externals which enclose them. Nevertheless, man, when he thinks only superficially, may possibly believe that miracles and visions, although they persuade, still do not take away freedom of thought; but the fact is that with the unreformed they do take it away, but not with the reformed, for with the former they shut evils in, but not with the latter.

381. (Verse 8) And I looked, and behold a pale horse. That this signifies not any understanding of the Word, from evils of life and then from the falsities thence, [will appear in what follows]. In this and the following chapter, the successive states of the church are treated of, that is, of the men of the church, as to their spiritual life; and their first state is described by the white horse, the second by the red horse, the third by the black horse, and the fourth by the pale horse. That by the white horse is signified the understanding of truth from the Word, may be seen above (n. 355); that by the red horse is signified the understanding of the Word perished as to good (n. 364); that by the black horse is signified the understanding of the Word perished as to truth (n. 372). Hence it is now clear that by the pale horse is signified not any understanding of the Word, from evils of life and falsities thence. For when the understanding of the Word is destroyed as to good and truth, it follows that there is no understanding of the Word; and the reason why there is none, is, because evil of life and the falsity thence bear rule. It is said the evil of life and the falsity thence, because where there is evil of life, there also is falsity, for they make one in man's spirit. It is said in man's spirit, because an evil, as well as a good man, can do good and speak truth; but this is only done by the evil man from the natural man, and thence from the body, whereas inwardly with him, that is, in his spirit, there is not the will of good, and thence neither the understanding of truth, thus, neither good nor truth; this is especially evident from such persons when they become spirits, then because they are in the spirit they will nothing but evil, and speak nothing but falsity. This then is meant by the pale horse. That a horse signifies the understanding, may be seen above (n.355); here the understanding of the Word, because by him that sat upon the horse is signified the Word (n. 373).

[2] That pale signifies evil of life and the falsity thence, thus a pale horse not any understanding of the Word from evils of life and the falsities thence, is, because paleness indicates, and thence signifies, absence of life, or its loss, here the absence and loss of spiritual life, which takes place when instead of the good of life there is evil of life, and instead of the truth of faith there is falsity of faith, for then there is no spiritual life. By spiritual life is meant the life of heaven, which also in the Word is simply called life; but a life not spiritual is such as those in hell have, which in the Word is also called death. That by the pale horse is signified spiritual death, is evident also from the following verses, for it is said, "His name that sat upon the horse was Death, and Hell followed with him."

[3] The same is signified by paleness or by pale in Jeremiah:

"Ask ye, seek and see whether a male doth travail with child? [wherefore] do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as if bringing forth, and all faces are turned into paleness?" (30:6).

No one can know the meaning of these words unless he knows what to bring forth, what male and man [vir], what the hands on the loins, and what faces, signify. These things are said of those who from their own intelligence desire to procure for themselves love and faith. To procure such things for oneself is signified by travailing with child; by male and man is signified intelligence, here man's own intelligence; by the hands on the loins, is signified to bring forth those things; and by faces are signified love and faith. For angels and spirits have faces in agreement with the quality of their love and faith, the affection of good, which is love, and the affection of truth, which is faith, manifesting themselves wholly in their faces. Hence by, "whether a male doth travail with child," is signified, whether any one from his own intelligence can procure to himself the good of love and the truth of faith; by, "I see every man with his hands on his loins, as if bringing forth," is signified that every one is endeavouring to bring forth such things from the proprium; and by, "all faces are turned into paleness," is signified, that hence there is no good and truth, but evil and falsity, thus no [spiritual] life, but spiritual death. This is signified by paleness of the face. (That conceptions, travailings, and births in the Word signify spiritual conceptions, travailings, and births which are those of love and faith, may be seen, n. 3860, 3868, 3915, 3965, 3919, 9325; that the male or masculine signifies truth, and thence intelligence, n. 749, 2046, 4005, 7838; also man [vir], n. 749, 1007, 3134, 3309, 3459, 9007; that the face signifies the interior things of the mind, thus the things of love and faith, n. 1999, 2434, 3527, 4066, 4796, 5102, 9306, 9546; that the faces with the angels are forms of their affections, in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 47, 457, 459, 481, 552, 553.)

[4] The same is signified by waxing pale, in Isaiah:

"Jacob shall not [now] be ashamed, neither shall his faces [now] wax pale" (29:22).

By Jacob are meant those who belong to the church, and by his faces not waxing pale, that they shall not be in evils and falsities, but in goods and truths. That paleness signifies the absence and loss of spiritual life, which takes place when there are no good and truth, but evil and falsity, is because when man is deprived of vital heat, he then waxes pale and becomes an image of death, as is the case in extreme terrors, and similarly when he dies; but when he dies spiritually, then his face either becomes red like a coal fire, or pale like that of a corpse; such is the appearance of infernals in the light of heaven.