408. (Verse 15) And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men. That this signifies all internal goods and truths, and all external goods and truths, by means of which there are wisdom and intelligence, is clear from the signification of kings, as denoting truths from good in their whole extent (concerning which see above, n. 31); from the signification of great men, and rich men, as denoting internal goods and truths, concerning which we shall speak presently; from the signification of chief captains, and mighty men, as denoting external goods and truths; the chief captains denoting such goods, and the mighty men such truths, concerning which also we shall speak presently. It is said also, by which there are wisdom and intelligence, because from internal goods and truths, which are spiritual goods and truths, there is wisdom, and from external goods and truths, which are natural goods and truths from spiritual, there is intelligence. Wisdom is distinguished from intelligence in this, that wisdom is from the light of heaven, and intelligence from the light of the world enlightened by the light of heaven. Hence it is that wisdom is said of spiritual goods and truths, and intelligence of natural goods and truths; for spiritual goods and truths are from the light of heaven, because the spiritual mind, or the internal mind, is in the light of heaven; and natural goods and truths are from the light of the world, because the natural and external mind is in the light of the world; but in proportion as this mind receives the light of heaven through the spiritual mind, in the same proportion it is in intelligence. He who supposes that intelligence is from the light of the world only, which is called natural light, is much deceived. To see goods and truths from themselves, whether they be civil, moral, or spiritual, is understood by intelligence; but to see them from another, is not intelligence but knowledge. But that it may be known how these things are to be understood, see what is said in the preceding article (n. 406), namely, that man has two minds, the one spiritual or internal, the other natural or external, and that the spiritual or internal mind is opened with those who apply the goods and truths of the Word to the life, but that it is not opened with those who do not apply the goods and truths of the Word to the life, but only the natural or external mind; hence the latter are called natural men, but the former spiritual; to which it must be added, that in proportion as the spiritual or internal mind is opened, in the same proportion spiritual light, which is the light of heaven, flows in thereby from the Lord into the natural or external mind, and enlightens it and imparts intelligence. The goods and truths that make the spiritual or internal mind are meant by the great men, and the rich men; goods by the great men, and truths by the rich men; and the goods and truths which make the natural or external mind are meant by the chief captains, and the mighty men; such goods by the chief captains, and such truths by the mighty men. Hence it is clear that these words, in the internal sense, include all things with man; for the extinction of all things is treated of in what follows. All things in man have reference to good and truth, as also all things in the universe, man having all wisdom and intelligence from and according to these.

[2] He who considers the sense of the letter only, cannot see otherwise than that kings, and the chief men in their kingdoms, are meant, and that so many are mentioned in order that the sense may be exalted. But no word in the Word is without meaning, because it is Divine in everything therein; therefore by them are meant things Divine pertaining to heaven and the church, which in general speech are called things celestial and spiritual, from which the Word is Divine, celestial, and spiritual. The Word also was given, that by its means there may be a conjunction of heaven with the church, or of the angels of heaven with the men of the church (as may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 303-310); and such conjunction cannot exist if nothing else were meant by these words but what appears in the sense of the letter, namely, that the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the chief captains, and the mighty men, also every bondman and every freeman, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, these things also being natural; but when thereby spiritual things are at the same time meant, then there is conjunction. For otherwise the angels could not be conjoined with men, since the angels are spiritual, because [they are] in the spiritual world, and hence think spiritually and also speak spiritually; but men are natural, because in the natural world, and hence think naturally and speak naturally. These observations are made in order that it may be known that by the kings of the earth, great men, rich men, chief captains, and mighty men are also signified spiritual things. That spiritual things are meant; namely, by great men and rich men, internal goods and truths, and by the chief captains and the mighty men, external goods and truths, is evident from their signification where they are mentioned in the Word.

[3] That great men in the Word signify internal goods, which are the goods of the internal or spiritual man, is because great and greatness, in the Word, are said of good, and many and multitude, of truth (as may be seen above, n. 336, 337). That internal goods are signified by great men, is, that by these four, namely, great men, rich men, chief captains, and mighty men, are signified all the goods and truths in man, thus both the goods and truths of the internal or spiritual man, and of the external or natural man. By the great men and the rich men [are meant] the goods and truths of the internal or spiritual man; and by the chief captains and the mighty men, the goods and truths of the external and natural man; therefore it is also added, every bondman and every freeman, the bondman signifying the external of man, which is called the natural man, and the freeman, the internal of man, which is called the spiritual man. Similar things are also signified by great men elsewhere in the Word (namely, in Jeremiah 5:5; in Nahum 3:9; and in Jonah 3:7). That rich men signify internal truths, which are spiritual truths, or those who are in such truths, is plain from what has been shown above (n. 118, 236). That chief captains signify external goods, which are goods of the natural man, was also shown above (n. 336); wherefore it is unnecessary to adduce more concerning them. But that the mighty men signify external truths, or truths of the natural man, is plain from many passages in the Word, where mighty men, and strong men, also power and strength, are mentioned; the reason is, that all power belongs to truths from good, and indeed to the truths that are in the natural man. That all power belongs to truths from good, is, because good does not act of itself, but by means of truths, for good forms itself into truths, and clothes itself with them, as the soul with the body, and so acts; the reason why it acts by means of truths in the natural man, is, that all interior things are together therein, and in their fulness. That all power pertains to truths from good, or to good by truths, may be seen above (n. 209, 333; and in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 231, 232, 539); and that all power is in ultimates, because the Divine is therein in its fulness, above (n. 346; and in the Arcana Coelestia 9836, 10044). From these things it is evident that by mighty men are meant external truths, or the truths of the natural man.

3563. 'And said, The voice is Jacob's voice, and the hands Esau's hands' means that the understanding consists in this case of truth existing inwardly, while the will consists in this case of good existing outwardly, so that an inversion of order exists with them. This is clear from the use of 'voice' to refer to truth and of 'hand' to refer to good. For 'voice' is used in reference to truth, as is evident from the places introduced in Volume One, in 219, 220, and from the fact that the actual words used are 'the voice is Jacob's voice', Jacob representing natural truth, as shown in various places above. And the reason why 'hand' is used in reference to good is that 'the hand' means power and ability, 878, 3541, the source of which is nothing other than good. All the power and ability that truth possesses comes from good, even though it seems to come from truth. This likewise is evident from the fact that the actual words used are 'the hands are Esau's hands', Esau representing natural good, as also shown above. The consequent existence of an inversion of order with them is evident from the consideration that proper order requires good, which belongs to the will, to exist inwardly, and truth, which belongs to the understanding, to exist outwardly. But these matters, as stated above, are such as can hardly be explained in any intelligible way because few have any knowledge of such things. For even if a perfectly clear explanation of them were given they would still not be understood if knowledge of them is lacking. Nevertheless the matter must be discussed since it is the subject at this point.

[2] The only source of the good of the natural which manifests itself in a person is interior good, that is, the good of the rational. Natural good can have no other source, though that which flows in from the one determines the nature of the good in the other. And since the good of the natural comes from no other source, neither does the truth of the natural, for where good is, so also is truth. Both must be present if they are to be anything at all. And again, that which flows in determines the nature of the truth there. Influx is such that the good of the rational flows into the natural along two different routes - one a very short and thus direct route into the good itself of the natural, and then on through the good of the natural into the truth there, this good and this truth being represented by Esau and his venison. In addition to this, the good of the rational flows into the natural along a second route which is less short, that is to say, through the truth of the rational, by means of which influx it forms something resembling good, but which in fact is truth.

[3] Everything is thus taking place according to order when the good of the rational flows directly into the good of the natural and at the same time into the truth there, and also indirectly by way of the truth of the rational into the good of the natural, and in a similar way both directly and indirectly into the truth of the natural. When all this is taking place the influx is according to order. Such is the influx with those who have been regenerated. But a different influx exists prior to regeneration, as has been stated above. That is to say, the good of the rational does not flow into the good of the natural directly but indirectly, by way of the truth of the rational, and so manifests something resembling good in the natural, which is not genuine good nor consequently genuine truth. Instead it is something such as does indeed possess good inmostly by virtue of influx through the truth of the rational; but there is nothing more. Therefore good too presents itself there under a different form, that is to say, outwardly as good represented by 'Esau' but inwardly as truth represented by 'Jacob'. And as this is not in accordance with order an inversion of order is said to exist with them. Yet insofar as nobody can be regenerated in any other way it is according to order.

[4] I realize that no matter how clearly these matters are stated and as a consequence are able to be perceived clearly by those who have a knowledge of the existence of such things, they still remain obscure to those who do not know what influx is, more so to those who do not know that the rational is distinct and separate from the natural, and more so still to those who do not have any distinct and clear idea of what good is or of what truth is. But the nature of natural good and of natural truth in the state prior to regeneration is plain to see only from the desires present at that time. When a person desires truth not because he has life in view but some other ends, such as to become learned, and to become this because of some desire to outdo others, which amounts to childish envy, and also because of some desire for glory, the order existing with the good of the natural and the truth of the natural is akin to that represented here by Jacob. As these two exist in relation to each other, there is a reversal of order, that is to say, the will, to which good belongs, exists outwardly, while the understanding, to which truth belongs, exists inwardly.

[5] But in the state following regeneration the situation is different. In this case the person desires truth not only because he has life in view but more still because he desires the good itself which constitutes that life. Previous desires, that is to say, those connected with outdoing, with childish envy, and with glory, now break away, so much so that they seem so to speak to have been dispelled. At this point good which belongs to the will exists inwardly, and truth which belongs to the understanding exists outwardly. The result then is that truth acts as one with good since it stems from good. This order is genuine order. The order existing previously also serves to bring this order about, for the will which at that time occupies an external position allows many things to come in which contribute to regeneration, like a sponge which absorbs water, clear or muddy, so that it absorbs such things as would otherwise be rejected. Indeed these things serve as means and also as ideas that have to be formed concerning genuine goods and truths, besides other uses which they serve.