1385. Er zijn geesten, die tot de streek van de huid, vooral van de schubachtige huid behoren, die over alles willen redeneren en geenszins gewaarworden, wat goed en waar is, en die het zelfs hoe meer zij redeneren, des te minder gewaarworden, doordat zij in het redeneren de wijsheid stellen, en ook zo als wijs gezien te worden. Hun werd gezegd, dat de wijsheid van de engelen bestaat in het innerlijk gewaarworden of iets goed en waar is, zonder geredeneer; maar zij begrijpen niet, dat zo’n innerlijke gewaarwording kan bestaan Het zijn diegenen, die in het leven van het lichaam het goede en het ware verward hebben door wetenschappelijke en filosofische dingen, en zich vandaar voor geleerder hielden dan anderen en die van te voren niet enig beginsel van het ware uit het Woord hadden opgenomen; en zij hebben daarom minder gezonde rede.

3528. 'Perhaps my father will feel me' means an inmost degree of perception. This is clear from the meaning of 'feeling' and so perceiving with the senses as the inmost and the all of perception, and from the meaning of 'father' as good, in this case Divine Good, since the Lord is the subject. The reason why 'feeling' means the inmost and the all of perception is that all sensory awareness is related to the sense of touch, and it has its origin in and arises from the power of perception. For sensory awareness is nothing else than the external aspect of the power of perception, and the power of perception is nothing else than the internal aspect of sensory awareness. What perception or the power of perception is, see 104, 371, 495, 503, 521, 536, 1383-1398, 1616, 1919, 2145, 2171, 2831. What is more, all sensory awareness and all power of perception, seemingly so various, are related to one single general and universal sense, namely that of touch. The variants of this - which is what taste, smell, hearing, and sight are - being forms of external sensory awareness are nothing else than different kinds of touch which owe their existence to internal sensory awareness, which is the power of perception. These matters could be corroborated by much experience, but this will be done in the Lord's Divine mercy in its own proper place. From this it is evident that 'feeling' in the internal sense is the inmost and the all of perception. Furthermore all power of perception, which is the internal aspect of sensory awareness, arises out of good, but not out of truth except from good by way of truth. For the Lord's Divine life flows into good and by way of that good into truth, and in this way gives rise to perception. From this it may be seen what 'supposing my father feels me' means, namely the inmost and the all of perception coming from good, and so from the Lord's Divine Good.