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:

3680. 'And had sent him away to Paddan Aram' means the beginning of the manifestation [of the Natural] through cognitions of that good. This is clear from the meaning of 'he sent him away' as the beginning of its manifestation, dealt with above in 3674 and from the meaning of 'Paddan Aram' as the cognitions of truth, dealt with in 3664. They are called cognitions of good because all truths are cognitions of good. Truths which are not rooted in good, or which do not have good as the end in view, are not truths. But insofar as they look to doctrine they are called cognitions of truth.