781. And his feet were as those of a bear. This signifies reasonings from natural things which are fallacies, is evident from the signification of feet, as denoting things natural (concerning which see above; (n. 69, 600, 632, 666). Also from the signification of a bear, as denoting those who are in power from the natural sense of the Word, both the good and the evil, concerning which we shall speak presently. The reason why by the feet of the beast which, as to the body, was like a leopard, and as to the feet like a bear, are signified fallacies is, because by the leopard are signified reasonings which are discordant, and yet appear to be coherent (concerning which see just above, n. 780). And those reasonings, so far as they are from the ultimate Natural, which is the Sensual, are fallacies, these being signified by the feet of the bear.

[2] Beasts, both clean and unclean, are frequently mentioned in the Word, and signify various things pertaining either to heaven or hell, the clean and useful beasts signifying such things as pertain to heaven, and the unclean and useless, such as pertain to hell. But what those signify that pertain to heaven and hell cannot be better known than from representatives in the spiritual world, where also beasts appear; all of which are appearances representing the thoughts of angels and spirits arising from their affections, inclinations, appetites, pleasures, and desires. For in the spiritual world these things are set forth before the eyes in various forms, in the form of gardens, forests, fields, plains, and also fountains; also palaces and houses, and chambers therein, in which are various decorations and articles. Tables upon which are various kinds of food there are seen also. Moreover, these things are shown in the forms of animals of the earth, fowls of the heaven, and reptiles, in an infinite variety; and not only forms like those on our earth, but in various composite forms, such as exist nowhere on earth, several of which it has been granted me to see. And when such things appear, it is known immediately from what spiritual origin they are, and thus what they signify. But those animals and fowls immediately disappear, as soon as the spirit or angel ceases from his thought and meditation.

[3] That such things do appear in the spiritual world, is evident from similar things seen by the prophets; as, for example, the Lord appeared like a lamb; cherubs were seen with faces like a lion, an ox, and an eagle, in Ezekiel; horses were seen going forth out of the book of life, when the Lamb opened its seals; also a white horse, and several white horses, upon which they rode in heaven, in the Apocalypse; and also white, bay, red, black, and grisled horses, in Zechariah; also a red dragon which had several heads and horns was seen; and now here was seen a beast like a leopard, with the feet of a bear, the mouth of a lion, as also another beast which had two horns like a lamb; and afterwards a scarlet beast upon which sat a woman. There also appeared to Daniel four beasts coming up out of the sea, the first of which was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle, the other like a bear, the third like a leopard, which had four wings, and the fourth terrible. It is evident, therefore, not only that such beasts appear in the spiritual world, but also that they are significative. It can therefore be seen that all the beasts, and also all the birds, mentioned in the Word, are significative of such things as are represented by beasts in the spiritual world. The signification of the bear will be shown in what follows.

[4] But before demonstrating from the Word, we will illustrate by some examples what is meant by the fallacies that are here signified by the feet as those of a bear. Several things are called fallacies which man reasons and forms conclusions about from the natural man without spiritual light, that is, without the light of the understanding enlightened by the Lord. For the natural man takes the ideas of his thought from earthly, corporeal, and worldly objects, which in themselves are material; and when the thought of a man is not raised above these, he thinks materially about things spiritual. And material thought without spiritual light derives all its quality from the loves of the natural man and from their delights, these being contrary to heavenly loves and to their delights. For this reason, conclusions and reasonings from the natural man alone, and his foolish light (lumen), are fallacies. But this shall be illustrated by examples. It is a fallacy that faith which is merely a matter of the thought saves, when, notwithstanding, a man is such as the quality of his life.

[5] It is a fallacy that faith which is merely a matter of the thought is spiritual, when, notwithstanding, to love the Lord above all things, and the neighbour as oneself, is what is really spiritual; and to love is to will and do. It is a fallacy that faith is also given instantaneously, when, notwithstanding, a man must be purified from evils and from the falsities therefrom, and be regenerated by the Lord, which is a process of long continuance; and in proportion only as he is purified and regenerated does he receive spiritual faith. It is a fallacy that man can receive faith and be saved at the hour of death, whatever his life has been, when, notwithstanding, the life of a man remains, and he is judged according to his deeds and works. It is a fallacy that faith is communicated to children by baptism, when, notwithstanding, faith must be procured by the knowledges of truth and good, and by a life according to them. It is a fallacy that by faith alone the church exists in man, when, notwithstanding, it is by the faith of charity that the church exists in him; and charity pertains to the life, and not to faith separate from the life.

[6] It is a fallacy that man is justified by faith alone, and that, when he is justified, the Lord's merit is thereby imputed to him, and that afterwards nothing can condemn him, when, notwithstanding, faith without the life of faith, which is charity, is sometimes said to be living without a soul, but which, in itself, is dead; for charity is the soul of faith, because it is the life thereof. Therefore a man is not justified by a dead faith, much less is the Lord's merit thereby imputed and salvation effected; and where there is no salvation, there is condemnation. It is a fallacy that love and charity are implanted in faith alone, when, notwithstanding, love and charity are to will and do; for what a man loves, this he not only thinks, but also wills and does. It is a fallacy that where doing is spoken of in the Word, and where deeds and works are mentioned, is meant thereby to have faith, because these are implanted in faith, when, notwithstanding, they are distinct like thought and will; for a man can think many things which he does not will, whereas what he wills this he thinks when left to himself; and to will is to do. The will also and thought therefrom is the real man, and not the thought separate from the will; and deeds and works belong to the will and thence to the thought but faith alone belongs to the thought, separate from deeds and works, which belong to the will.

[7] It is a fallacy that faith must be separated from good works because a man cannot do good of himself, and if he does good that he places merit therein, when, notwithstanding, man does not do good from himself, but from the Lord, when he does it from the Word, because the Lord is in the Word, and also is the Word; and a man does not do good of himself when he does it as of himself, and yet believes that it is from the Lord because from the Word. Also because he believes that the good which he does is from the Lord, he cannot place merit in acts.

[8] It is a fallacy that the understanding must be held captive under obedience to faith, and that faith seen in the understanding is not spiritual faith, when, nevertheless, it is the understanding which is enlightened in the things of faith when the Word is read; and the understanding shut out from enlightenment does not know whether a thing be true or false; consequently faith in such a case does not become a man's own, but the faith of another in him; and this is a mere historical faith, which can see falsities as truths and truths as falsities. Hence comes the faith characterising heresies of all kinds.

[9] It is a fallacy that the confidence which is called saving faith, conceived without understanding, is spiritual confidence, when, nevertheless, confidence without understanding is the result of persuasion by another, or of confirmation by passages scattered here and there in the Word, which are collected together, and by reasonings from the natural man applied to a false principle. Such confidence is a blind faith, which, because it does not consider whether what it conceives be true or false, is merely natural. Moreover, all truth desires to be seen, because it is of the light of heaven; but the truth which is not seen may be falsified by various means; and truth falsified is falsity.

[10] Such are the fallacies connected merely with faith separate from good works. There are still various others, which have reference not only to faith, but also to good works, to charity, and to the neighbour; and especially to their conjunctions with faith, which are artfully devised by the learned.

The reason why such fallacies are signified by the feet of a bear is, that by a bear are signified those who are in power from the natural sense of the Word, as well the upright as the wicked. And because by feet are signified natural things, therefore by the feet of the bear are signified the fallacies from which, by reasonings, they falsify the sense of the letter of the Word, and into which they turn the appearance of truth pertaining to that sense.

[11] That a bear signifies power from the natural sense of the Word, both with the upright and the wicked, is evident from the following passages. In 2 Kings:

"When Elisha went up to Bethel, as he was going in the way, there came boys out of the city and mocked him, and said to him, Go up thou bald head, go up thou bald head; and he looked back behind him, and saw them, and cursed them in the name of Jehovah; and there came two bears out of the forest, and tore in pieces forty-two children of them" (2:23, 24).

Why the boys were cursed by Elisha and therefore torn in pieces by two bears, because they called him bald head, cannot be known, unless it be known what Elisha represented, and what a bald head signifies, and also what is signified by the bears. That this was not done by Elisha from immoderate anger and an unjust reason, is evident from this, that he could not be so cruel because the little boys merely said, "Go up thou bald head." It was indeed an insult to the prophet, but not a sufficient reason for them to be torn in pieces by bears. But this occurred because Elisha represented the Lord as to the Word, thus the Word, which is from the Lord. By bald head was signified the Word deprived of the natural sense, which is the sense of the letter; and by the bears out of the wood is signified the power from the natural or literal sense of the Word, as was said above; and by the boys were signified those who blaspheme the Word because its natural sense is such as it is. By forty-two is signified blasphemy. It is now evident, therefore, that by those things was represented, and thence signified, punishment for blaspheming the Word.

For all the power and sanctity of the Word is contained in the sense of the letter; for if this sense did not exist, there would be no Word; since without it the Word would be like a house without a foundation, which would tremble, fall to pieces, and be destroyed. It would be also like a man without a skin, which covers and keeps the enclosed viscera in their place and order. And because baldness has this signification, and Elisha represented the Word, therefore the children were torn in pieces by bears, by which was signified the power from the natural sense of the Word, which is the sense of the letter, both with the upright and the wicked. From these things also it is evident, that the historical parts of the Word, equally with its prophetical parts, contain a spiritual sense.

[12] The signification of the bear which David smote is similar, concerning which it is written as follows in 1 Samuel:

"David said unto Saul, Thy servant was feeding his father's flock, and there came a lion and a bear, and took away a sheep of the flock; I went out after him, and smote him, and when he arose against me, I took hold of his beard and smote him, and slew him; thy servant smote both the lion and the bear; therefore this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, because he hath opprobriously defied the forces of the living God" (17:34-37).

The reason why power was given to David to smite the lion and the bear which took away the sheep from the flock, was, that David represented the Lord as to Divine truth, by which those who belong to His church are instructed; and by the lion is signified the power of spiritual Divine truth, and in the opposite sense, as in this case, the power of infernal falsity against Divine truth; and by the bear is signified the power of natural Divine truth, and in the opposite sense, the power of falsity against that truth; but by the sheep from the flock are signified those who belong to the Lord's church. And because these things are represented, therefore power was given to David to smite the bear and the lion, in order that by this might be represented and signified the Lord's power of defending His own in the church by means of His Divine truth, from the falsities of evil which are from hell. That David took hold of the beard of the bear, involves a mystery, which may indeed be opened up, but can scarcely be comprehended. The beard signifies Divine truth in the ultimates, in which its very power consists. This truth even the evil, who are in falsities, do indeed confess with their mouth, but they misuse it in order to destroy it; when, however, it is taken away they have no longer any power; hence he slew the bear, and smote the lion. But this will be further explained elsewhere.

By Goliath, who was a Philistine, and thence uncircumcised, are signified those who are in truths without good; and truths without good are truths falsified, which in themselves are falsities. "Uncircumcised" signifies those who are in unclean corporeal loves; for the foreskin corresponds to those loves. It is evident, therefore, what the victory of David over Goliath represented.

[13] From these considerations it is evident why David is compared by Hushai to a bear bereaved in the field (2 Sam. 17:8).

In Daniel:

"Another beast ascending out of the sea, like to a bear, and it raised up itself upon its side, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and they said unto it, Arise, devour much flesh" (7:5).

By the four beasts ascending out of the sea, is described the successive states of the church, even to the devastation which is its end; and by this other beast, which was like a bear, is signified the falsification of the truth of the Word, the power thereof still remaining in the sense of the letter. The desire to falsify its goods is signified by its raising itself up on one side. By the three ribs in the mouth between the teeth, are signified the knowledges of truth from the Word in abundance, which are perverted by reasonings from fallacies; and by eating much flesh, is signified the destruction of good by falsities; also the appropriation of evil.

[14] In Hosea:

"I am become to them as a lion, as a leopard will I watch by the way: I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved, and there will I devour as a fierce lion; the wild beast of the field shall rend them" (13:7, 8).

The signification of "I am become to them as a lion, as a leopard will I watch by the way," was explained in the preceding article. By meeting them as a bear that is bereaved, is signified the falsification of the sense of the letter of the Word. By devouring as a fierce lion, is signified the destruction and devastation of every truth of the Word, and consequently of the church. The wild beast of the field shall rend them, signifies that they will perish by falsities from evil.

[15] In Lamentations:

"Although I cry and shout, he obstructeth my prayers, he hath fenced the ways with hewn stone, he hath overturned my paths; a bear lying in wait for me, a lion in secret places, he hath turned aside my ways, he hath made me desolate" (3:8-11).

This is a lamentation from God concerning the desolation of truth in the church. And that they cannot be heard because of falsities is signified by, although I cry and shout, he obstructeth my prayers. That falsities from man's own intelligence turn aside and reject the influx of truth is signified by, he hath fenced about the ways with hewn stone, he hath overturned my paths. By the ways and paths of God are signified truths leading to good, and by hewn stone are signified those things that are from man's own intelligence. Because these things are signified by hewn stone it was forbidden to construct an altar of hewn stones, and similarly with regard to the temple of Jerusalem. A bear lying in wait for me, signifies the natural man perverting the sense of the letter of the Word. A lion in secret places, signifies that the interior natural man, from the evils in him, perverts the entire meaning of the truth of the Word, and consequently of the church; whence come falsities. He hath turned aside my ways, he has made me desolate, signifies the devastation of the truth of the church.

[16] Again, in Amos:

"Woe to them that desire the day of Jehovah! What is the day of Jehovah to you? A day of darkness and not of light; as he who fleeth from a lion meeteth a bear, or who cometh to a house and leaneth his hand upon the wall, and a serpent biteth him" (5:18, 19).

By the day of Jehovah is meant the Coming of the Lord, who is the Messiah whom they expected. And because they believed that He would deliver them from earthly enemies, and exalt them in glory above all nations, therefore they desired Him. But as the Lord did not come for the sake of any kingdom on earth, but for the sake of a kingdom in heaven; and because the Jewish nation was in the falsities of evil, which were then made manifest, therefore it is said, "Woe to them that desire the day of Jehovah; What is the day of Jehovah to you? A day of darkness, not of light." Darkness and not light denotes the falsities in which they were. As he who fleeth from a lion meeteth a bear, signifies fear on account of the dominion of falsity, in seeking truths from the sense of the letter of the Word, which they cannot but falsify. For he is said to flee from a lion and to meet with a bear, who is interiorly in falsity from evil, and is led to the knowledge of truths from the sense of the letter of the Word, which, because of the interior dominion of falsity from evil, he, in that case, cannot but pervert. He who cometh to a house, and leaneth his hand upon a wall, and a serpent biteth him, signifies that while, being of such a nature, he consults the Word in the sense of the letter, seeking what is good, he does not see that evils pervert it; the bite of the serpent here signifying the falsification which arises from the interior dominion of falsity from evil.

[17] Again, in Isaiah:

"The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard with the kid; the calf shall lie down, and the young lion and fatling together, and a little boy shall lead them; and the heifer and the bear shall feed, and their young shall lie down together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox" (11:6, 7).

What is signified by the wolf dwelling with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling lying down together, and a little boy leading them, was explained in the preceding article. By the heifer and the bear feeding, and their young lying down together, is signified that the power and desire of the natural man to falsify the truths of the Word, shall not hurt the good of the natural man and the affection thereof; the heifer denoting the affection of good and truth pertaining to the natural man; and the bear, the power and desire of the natural man to falsify the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word. The lion shall eat straw like an ox, signifies that infernal falsity, which burns to destroy the truths of the church, shall not hurt the affection of good pertaining to the natural man, either in the case of man in himself or of men among each other; and that neither shall it hurt the Word. Straw signifies the Word in the letter, which is perverted by infernal falsity, but cannot be perverted by those who are in truths from good.

[18] Again in the same prophet:

"We feel for the wall as the blind, we grope as they that have no eyes; we stumble at noon-day as in the twilight; among the living as dead. We roar as bears, and moaning we moan as doves; we look for judgment but there is none, salvation is far from us; for our prevarications are multiplied before thee, and our sins answer against us" (59:10, 11, 12).

We feel for the wall as the blind, and we grope as they that have no eyes, signifies that there is not any understanding of truth. We stumble at noon-day as in the twilight, signifies a falling into errors, although they are in the church where is the Word, by means of which they might come into the light of truth. Among the living as dead, signifies that they might be in spiritual life by the Word, and yet are not, because they are in falsities. We roar as bears, and moaning we moan as doves, signifies the grief of the natural man, and thence of the spiritual man. We look for judgment but there is none, salvation is far from us, signifies the hope of the enlightenment of the understanding, and thence of salvation, but in vain. Our prevarications before thee, are multiplied, and our sins answer against us, signifies, by reason of falsities from evil.

[19] From these considerations it is now evident, that by a bear is signified the natural man as to power from the sense of the letter of the Word, in both senses; also as to the desire of falsifying that sense. That such things are signified by a bear, has been made evident to me from bears seen in the spiritual world, in whose forms were represented the thoughts of those who were natural, and who studied the Word, while by knowledge therefrom they desired to prevail. There were also seen bears which had ribs between their teeth, like that described in Daniel; and it was permitted to be understood that by the ribs were represented the knowledges which, while in the world, they drew from the Word. White bears were seen also, which represented the power of the spiritual-natural man through the Word. Moreover, in that world there are seen animals compounded from bears, panthers, wolves, oxen, and also the same furnished with wings, which all are significative of such persons, whilst they pass along in meditation.

543. And out of the smoke came forth locusts upon the earth. That this signifies that from infernal falsities they became corporeal sensual in the church, is plain from the signification of smoke, which denotes infernal falsity, concerning which see above (n. 539), where it is shewn, that by the well of the abyss, out of which the smoke ascended, is signified the hell where and whence are the falsities of evil which falsify the truths of the Word; consequently, smoke here signifies infernal falsity; and from the signification of locusts, which denote the ultimate Sensual of man which is in the falsity of evil, concerning which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of coming forth upon the earth, as denoting upon the church, for the earth signifies the church. The things also, which are contained in the Apocalypse are predicted concerning the church and its state.

[2] That the locust signifies the ultimate Sensual of man, which is in the falsity of evil, is evident from all the details in this chapter as far as verse 12; and it is evident from the explanation of these that nothing else is meant by locusts. But here it shall first be explained what is meant by the ultimate Sensual of man. It is not the Sensual of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch, that is here meant, for these things are proper to the body, but it is the ultimate of thought and affection, which is first opened with infants, and which is of such a nature that they think of nothing else, and are influenced by no other objects than those which make one with the senses above mentioned. For infants learn to think by means of the senses, and to be affected by objects according to the things which have pleased the senses; wherefore, the first Internal that is opened in them is the Sensual, which is called the ultimate Sensual of man, and also the corporeal Sensual. But afterwards, as the infant grows older and reaches boyhood, the more interior Sensual is opened, from which he thinks naturally, and is also affected naturally. At length, when he becomes a youth and young man, the Sensual still more interior is opened, from which he thinks rationally, and, if he is in the good of charity and faith, spiritually; and also he is rationally and spiritually affected. This thought and affection is called the rational and spiritual man, while the former is called the natural man, and the first the sensual man.

[3] With every man, the interiors of his thought and affection, are successively opened, and this by continual influx out of heaven from the Lord; by this influx the Sensual is first formed which is nearest to the body, whence man becomes sensual; afterwards the Natural whence he becomes natural; and after this the Rational and with that the Spiritual, whence he becomes a rational and spiritual man. But this is formed and perfected only in proportion as man thinks concerning God, and Divine things from God, and in proportion as he is affected with them, that is, in proportion as he wills and lives according to them. For if this does not take place, then the spiritual man is opened in a general way, but is not formed, much less perfected. By the opening of the spiritual man in a general way, man has the faculty of thinking, and from thought of speaking rationally, for this is the common effect of the influx of heaven with every man. Hence it is clear, that man has thoughts and affections both spiritual, natural, as well as sensual, and that those have spiritual thoughts and affections who think from God concerning God and Divine things; but that those only have natural thoughts and affections who do not think from God concerning God and Divine things, but only from themselves, or from the world concerning themselves or the world. But it must be understood, that to think from self or from the world is not to think from these but from hell, for he who does not think from God thinks from hell, it being impossible for any one to think from both at the same time.

But those who deny God, and thence the Divine things of heaven and the church, and confirm themselves against them, all become sensual men more or less, according to confirmations. When their minds are engaged upon spiritual things they think only about falsities, and are affected with evils; and if they think about any truths, whether they be spiritual, moral, or civil, it is only from the knowledge (scientia) of such things as are in the memory, and they see nothing beyond causes the most obvious, and which they are also able to confirm; and if they are influenced by goods, it is merely from a delight which is for the sake of themselves, or of the world, thus from some desire pertaining to the love of self, or to the love of the world. The thought of the sensual man is called material thought, and his affection is called corporeal affection, which is cupidity.

[4] Moreover, it is to be observed that all the evils derived by man from his parents, which are called hereditary evils, reside in his natural and sensual man, but not in the spiritual; hence it is that the natural man, and particularly the sensual man is opposed to the spiritual. For the spiritual man from infancy is closed, and it is opened and formed only by Divine Truths received in the understanding and will; and in proportion as the spiritual man is opened and formed, and according to the quality thereof, in the same proportion are the evils of the natural and sensual man removed, and goods implanted in their place. Since all evils reside in the natural and sensual man, it follows that falsities reside there also, because all falsities are of evil; for while man desires, and wills from evil, he thinks and speaks from falsity; for the evil of the will, when it forms itself in the thought, so that its quality is clear to others, or to himself, is called falsity, wherefore falsity is the form of evil, as truth is the form of good.

From these considerations the nature and quality of the man who is called a sensual man is evident, and that a man becomes sensual when he acts out the evils into which he is born and adds more to them from himself. So far as he does this, and confirms himself therein, so far the spiritual man is kept closed; in which case the natural and sensual man denies Divine things which pertain to heaven and the church, and acknowledges only such things as pertain to the world and Nature; in fact, the sensual man, is then so blind as to believe nothing but what he sees with his eyes, and touches with his hands. In this state are many of the learned, however wise and intelligent they may be supposed to be from their ability to speak from the knowledges (scientiae) that are in the memory, and this apparently like rational men; because their spiritual mind is opened in a general way, as is the case with every man, as shown above.

[5] Because in that which follows in this chapter much is said concerning the locust, and as the locust signifies the Sensual, which is the ultimate or extreme of the natural man, it is important that the nature and quality of this Sensual should be fully known, and therefore also who and what the sensual man is. I shall, therefore, quote here what has been stated and shown in the Arcana Coelestia on this subject as follows. The Sensual is the ultimate of the life of man, inhering and adhering to his Corporeal (n. 5077, 5767, 9212, 9216, 9331, 9730). He is called a sensual man, who judges all things from the bodily senses, and who, believes nothing but what he can see with his eyes and touch with his hands, saying that this is something, and rejecting everything else (n. 5094, 7693). Such a man thinks in things outermost, and not interiorly from any spiritual light (n. 5089, 5094, 6564, 7693). The interiors of the mind, which sees from the light of heaven, are closed, so that a man sees therein nothing of the truth pertaining to heaven and the church (n. 6564, 6844, 6845). In a word, he is in a gross natural light, and thus perceives nothing that is from the light of heaven (n. 6201, 6310, 6564, 6844, 6845, 6598, 6612, 6614, 6622, 6624). Hence he is interiorly opposed to the things of heaven and the church (n. 6201, 6317, 6844, 6845, 6948, 6949). The learned, who have confirmed themselves against the truths of the church, are sensual (n. 6316). Sensual men reason with acuteness and readiness, because their thought lies near their speech, so as to be almost in it, and because they place all intelligence in discoursing from the memory alone (n. 195, 196, 5700, 10236); but they reason from the fallacies of the senses, with which the vulgar are captivated (n. 5084, 6948, 6949, 7693). Sensual men are crafty and malicious above all others (n. 7693, 10236). The covetous, adulterers, the voluptuous, and the deceitful, are especially sensual (n. 6310); their interiors are unclean and filthy (n. 6201); thereby they communicate with the hells (n. 6311). They who are in the hells are sensual, and the more so the deeper their hells (n. 4623, 6311). The sphere of infernal spirits conjoins itself with the Sensual of man from behind (n. 6312). Those who reasoned from the Sensual, and thence against the genuine truths of faith, were called by the ancients serpents of the tree of knowledge (n. 195, 196, 197, 6398, 6949, 10313). The Sensual of man, and the sensual man, are further described (n. 10236); and the extension of the Sensual in man (n. 9731). Sensual things ought to be in the last place and not in the first, and with a wise and intelligent man, they are in the last place, and subject to interior things, but with an unwise man, they are in the first place, and govern, and these are they who are properly called sensual (n. 5077, 5125, 5128, 7645). If sensual things are in the last place, a way is opened by them to the understanding, and truths are perfected by a mode of extraction (n. 5580). The sensual things of man are proximately extant to the world, and admit the things which flow to them from the world, and as it were sift them (n. 9726). The external or natural man communicates by means of those things with the world, but by rational things with heaven (n. 4009). Sensuals thus minister such things as are serviceable to the interiors of the mind (n. 5077, 5081). There are sensual things which minister to the intellectual part, and others which minister to the will part (n. 5077). Unless the thought be elevated from sensual things, man can attain but little wisdom (n. 5089). A wise man thinks above the Sensual (n. 5089, 5094). Man, when his thought is elevated above sensual things, comes into a clearer light, and at length into heavenly light (n. 6183, 6313, 6315, 9407, 9730, 9922). Elevation above things sensual, and withdrawal from them, were known to the ancients (n. 6313). Man in his spirit might see things that are in the spiritual world, if he could be drawn away from the sensual things of the body, and be elevated into the light of heaven by the Lord (n. 4622); the reason of this is, that it is not the body which thinks, but the spirit of man in the body in proportion as he thinks in the body, in the same proportion he thinks grossly obscurely, thus in darkness, but in proportion as he thinks not in the body, he thinks clearly in the light 4622, 6614, 6622). The ultimate of the understanding is the Scientific Sensual, and the ultimate of the will is sensual delight (n. 9996). What the difference is between the sensual things which are in common with the beasts, and those which are not common with them (n. 10236). There are sensual persons who are not evil, because their interiors are not shut, in the manner [above described]; concerning their state in the other life see n. 6311.

[6] That the locust signifies nothing else but the Sensual of man just described, is evident also from other passages in the Word where the locust is mentioned.

Thus in Moses:

"Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and Jehovah brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning the east wind brought the locust. And the locust went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the border of Egypt, very grievous, before it there was no such locust, neither after it shall there be such. And they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the tree which the hail had left; and there remained not any green thing on the trees, or in the herb of the field, through all the land of Egypt." And the locust filled the house of Pharaoh, and the house of all his servants, and the house of all the Egyptians (Exodus 10:4, 6, 13-15).

All the miracles in Egypt, as well as all the other miracles recorded in the Word, involve and signify spiritual things pertaining to heaven and the church, consequently the plagues of Egypt signify spiritual plagues. This plague of the locusts denotes the destruction of the whole natural man by the rushing in of evil and falsity from the Sensual. Egypt signifies the natural man as to the Scientific and what is pleasurable therein, and "locust" the falsity and evil of the sensual man vastating the natural man, that is, expelling thence and destroying all the truth and good of the church; therefore it is said, "The locust went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the border of it." The land of Egypt signifies the Natural of the men of the church, and by the border of Egypt is signified their Sensual. For the Sensual is the ultimate or outermost of the Natural, wherefore it is its boundary; the locust is the falsity and evil therein.

Because the falsity and the evil of the sensual man are the most grievous, being corporeal and earthly, therefore it is said that the locust was very grievous, that there was none like it before, nor would there be any such after it. The reason of this was, that the Egyptians had the knowledge (scientia) of correspondences, and from it they had a knowledge of spiritual things pertaining to heaven, but these they turned into what was magical. Because the falsity and evil [of the sensual man] when they break into the natural man, lay it altogether waste, by destroying every truth and every good therein, it is therefore said that the locust "covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened, and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees"; the land of Egypt, denoting the Natural of the men of the church, the herb of the land denoting the truth, and the fruit of the tree the good therein. The same is also meant by the locust filling the houses of Pharaoh, and the houses of his servants, and of all the Egyptians, for the house of Pharaoh, and the houses of his servants and all the Egyptians signify the natural mind in its whole extent. For house in the Word signifies the interior things of man which belong to his inner and to his outer mind, and in this case those things which are of his natural mind.

[7] It is said that here by the locust going up over all the land of Egypt, is signified the irruption of falsity and evil out of the sensual man into the natural, when yet the natural man is interior and the sensual exterior, and irruption or influx proceeds not from the exterior into the interior, but from the interior into the exterior. It must be known therefore that the irruption or influx of the sensual man into the natural means the closing up of the natural man until it becomes like the sensual, whence, the extension of the evil and falsity is greater, and both in like manner become corporeal and earthly. Otherwise, however man, from his infancy, learns to separate the sensual man from the natural, by speaking truth and doing good, although from the sensual man he thinks falsity, and wills evil, and he does this until they are altogether separated, which takes place when man is reformed and regenerated by the Lord; but if they are not separated, man cannot do otherwise than think and will insanely, and therefore speak and act insanely.

[8] Because the locust signifies the Sensual as to falsity and evil, or, what is the same thing, the falsity and evil of the sensual man, therefore the signification of the locust and the grasshopper is similar, as in David:

"He sent a swarm among them, which devoured them; and frogs which destroyed them. He gave also their increase unto the grasshopper, and their labour unto the locust" (Psalm 78:45, 46).

And again:

"He spake, and the locust came, and the grasshopper, and that without number, which devoured all the herb in the land, and devoured the fruit of their ground" (Psalm 105:34, 35).

But here by locust is signified the falsity pertaining to the sensual man, and by the grasshopper (bruchus) the evil of the same, or the falsity and evil which are in and from the sensual man. This evil is signified by the grasshopper, and this falsity by the locust because the grasshopper also is a locust, which is evident from this fact, that those things were said by David concerning the locusts in Egypt, and yet in Moses the locust only is mentioned, and not the grasshopper.

[9] Similar things are signified by the locust and the grasshopper in Joel:

"That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the grasshopper eaten. Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine (mustum); for it is cut off from your mouth" (1:4, 5).

So again, in the same prophet:

"And the floors shall be full of pure wheat, and the presses shall overflow with new wine (mustum) and oil. And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the grasshopper, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you" (2:24, 25).

That these injurious creatures signify falsities and evils vastating or consuming the truths and goods of the man of the church, is evident, since it is said, that "all drinkers of wine (vinum) should howl for the new wine (mustum) which is cut off from your mouth," and by wine and new wine is signified the truth of the church; and also since it is said that their floors should be full of wheat, and their presses should overflow with new wine and oil, for by the floor is signified the doctrine of the church, by the wheat and the oil are signified its goods, and by the new wine (mustum), its truths.

[10] So in Nahum:

"The fire shall devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall devour thee as the grasshopper; multiply thyself as the grasshopper; multiply thyself as the locust. Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of the heavens; the grasshopper spread itself abroad, and fled away. Thy crowned are as the locust, and thy captains as the locust of locusts which sit in the fences in the day of cold, the sun ariseth, they flee away, and their place is not known where they are" (3:15, 17).

These things are said concerning the "city of bloods," which signifies doctrine fashioned from falsified truths, thus from falsities. The destruction of those who are in a faith and life according to that doctrine, is signified by the fire shall devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off. The fire which shall devour, signifies evil destroying good, and the sword, falsity destroying the truth; and since the evil and falsity from the sensual man are meant, it is therefore said, "The grasshopper shall devour thee; multiply thyself as the grasshopper; multiply thyself as the locust. Thou has multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven." This multiplication is said to be like that of the grasshopper and the locust, because the Word is very extensively falsified by those who are sensual, thus by the sensual man, for the sensual man is signified by the grasshopper and locust, as was stated above.

The reason why the sensual man falsifies the Word more than others, is, that the ultimate sense of the Word, which is the sense of the letter, is for the natural and sensual man, but the interior sense, for the spiritual man. It is for this reason that a man when he is not a spiritual, but a natural and sensual man, and is in evil, and thence in falsities, does not see the goods and truths which are in the Word, but applies its ultimate sense to confirm his falsities and evils. Merchants signify those who falsify, communicate, and sell. Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the locust of locusts, signifies that the primary and chief things of doctrine, which is the "city of bloods," are falsities of evil, and that also those falsities of evil proceed from them. Which sit in the fences in the day of cold, signifies in the truths of the Word, which do not appear as truths, because they are falsified, and are from evil, fences denoting truths that are not apparent, because falsified, and the day of cold denoting the state of the love of evil. The sun ariseth, they flee away, and their place is not known where they are, signifies that they consume all truth and good, so that none remains. The expression "multiplying as the locust" has a similar signification in Jeremiah (46:20, 22, 23), also in the book of Judges (6:5; 7:12).

[11] Falsity in the extremes, or the densest falsity, is also signified by the locust in Moses:

"Thou shalt carry much seed into the field, but shall gather little in; for the locust shall consume it" (Deuteronomy 28:38).

This was one of the curses if they did not observe and do the commandments of Jehovah. By the seed of the field is meant the Word, and by the locust, the dense falsity from the sensual man, which consumes and destroys. The same is signified by "locust" in Amos (7:1, 2); Isaiah (33:3, 4); and in David, (Psalm 109:22, 23).

[12] Since the Sensual of man is the ultimate and lowest of the life of man's thought and affection, as stated above, and as that which is lowest is small, when viewed from those things that are in a higher and more exalted place, it is therefore compared to locusts, as in Isaiah:

Jehovah "who sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as locusts" (40:22).

These words signify that men, as to intelligence, are in the lowest things, and the Lord in the highest.

[13] Similarly, men, viewed by those who regard themselves as superior to others, are compared to locusts, in Moses:

The explorers of the land of Canaan said: "We saw the Nephilim; the sons of Anak, which come of the Nephilim; and we were in our own sight as locusts, and so we were in their eyes" (Num. 13:33).

That Nephilim and the Anakim in the Word signify those who are fully convinced of their own superiority and wisdom above others, and, in the abstract sense, dire persuasions, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 311, 567, 581, 1268, 1270, 1271, 1673, 3686, 7686). That they were seen, and also appeared to themselves, as locusts, is agreeable to appearances in the spiritual world, for there, when those who are persuaded of their own superiority look at others, they see them as little and vile, and these also then appear such to themselves.

[14] Since the locust signifies the Sensual, which is the ultimate of the life of man's thought, or the ultimate in which the understanding closes, and upon which it rests, therefore this ultimate is, as it were, the basis and foundation upon which stand the interior or higher things, pertaining to the understanding and will of man; similarly the interior and higher things, called in the Word spiritual and celestial. And since everything must have a foundation in order to endure and subsist, therefore the sense of the letter of the Word, which is the ultimate [sense] and the basis, is natural and sensual, and is also meant, in a good sense, by the locust, consequently also its truth and good; for this reason John the Baptist ate locusts, and the sons of Israel were allowed to eat them. It is said of John the Baptist that he had raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins, and ate locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:6). John the Baptist was thus clothed because, like Elias, he represented the Word; and by raiment of camel's hair, by a leathern girdle, and by eating locusts and wild honey, he represented its ultimate sense, which, as was said is natural-sensual, because it is for the natural-sensual man. Raiment signifies truth which clothes good; camel's hair signifies the ultimate of the natural man, which is sensual; locusts and wild honey also signify the ultimate in regard to appropriation, or the Sensual; the locust signifies the Sensual as to truth; wild honey, the Sensual as to good; and eating, the appropriation thereof.

It is to be observed, that in ancient times, when churches were representative churches, all who were in ministries were clothed according to their representations, and also ate in agreement with the same.

[15] That the children of Israel were allowed to eat the locust, is evident from these words in Moses:

"Every winged creeping thing that goes upon four feet, shall be an abomination. But what goeth upon four, which hath legs above its feet, to leap withal upon the earth, ye may eat," among which the locust also is named (Leviticus 11:20, 21, 22).

They were allowed to eat locusts because locusts have legs above their feet to leap with, for legs signify natural good conjoined to spiritual good, and feet, natural truth from that good; and all truth which is from good ought to be appropriated and conjoined to man, but not the truth which is not from good, for this truth is conjoined with some evil; wherefore it is said that the winged creeping thing going upon four which hath no legs above its feet was an abomination. It is said also to leap upon the earth, because leaping, when stated of birds, signifies to live, equally as walking when used in reference to the animals of the earth; and spiritual life is from truths from good, which are signified by leaping with the feet above which are legs; but spiritual death is from truths conjoined to evil, which is signified by going upon four feet above which are no legs, wherefore to eat such things, is said to be an abomination.

[16] Because a horse signifies the Intellectual, and a locust the Sensual which is the ultimate of the Intellectual, and the intellect lives whilst it is in its ultimate, therefore the ancients spoke of horses leaping and jumping like the locust.

Thus in Job:

"Dost thou give the horse strength? dost thou clothe his neck with shaking? Dost thou make him to leap as the locust? the glory of his nostril is terror" (39:19, 20).

The quality of the understanding is here described by a horse, as being robust, moving and curving its neck, and walking by leaps; and because the ultimate of the understanding is the Sensual, which is signified by the locust, and the life of the understanding in this ultimate is signified by jumping and walking by leaps, therefore it is said that the horse leaps like the locust. The most ancient books, amongst which is the book of Job, were written by pure correspondences; for the knowledge (scientia) of correspondences was then the knowledge of knowledges (scientia scientiarum), and those who could write books abounding in the more significant correspondences, were esteemed above others. The book of Job is of this kind. But the spiritual sense from the correspondences brought together therein does not treat of the holy things of heaven and the church, like the spiritual sense in the prophets, therefore that book is not amongst the books of the Word; nevertheless passages are quoted from it on account of the correspondences in which it abounds.