52. As long as someone is a spiritual man, the dominion over him runs from external man to internal man, as is said here, 'They will have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air', and over the beasts, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth'. When however he becomes celestial and does what is good out of love, then the dominion over him runs from internal man to external man. This is how the Lord describes Himself, and so simultaneously the celestial man, who is a likeness of Him, in David,

You have given him dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, flocks and all cattle, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, ¹ and the fish of the sea, and that crossing the paths of the seas. Psalms 8:6-8.

Here therefore the beasts are mentioned first, the birds next, and the fish of the sea after that, for the reason that the celestial man starts with love which resides in the will. With the spiritual man it is different. With him fish and birds, which have to do with the understanding, the domain of faith, come first, while beasts come afterwards.

Footnotes:

268. And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders. (5:6) This symbolically means from the inmost elements of heaven, the Word, and the church, and so in all their constituents.

"In the midst" means, symbolically, in inmost elements and so in all (no. 44). The throne symbolizes heaven (no. 14). The four living creatures or cherubim symbolize the Word (no. 239). And the twenty-four elders symbolize the church in respect to all its constituents (no. 233, 251). It follows from this that the statement, "in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders," means, symbolically, from the inmost elements in all the constituents of heaven, the Word, and the church.