387. And with death. That this signifies the consequent extinction of spiritual life, is plain from the signification of death, as denoting the extinction of spiritual life (concerning which see above, n. 78, 186). That this is here signified by death is plain from the series of things in the internal sense; for it is said that power was given unto them to kill with the sword, with famine, and with death: and by the sword is signified falsity destroying truth; by famine, the deprivation of the knowledges of truth and good; whence by death is signified the extinction of spiritual life, for where falsity reigns, and where there are no knowledges of truth and good, there is no spiritual life; for it is acquired by the knowledges of truth and good applied to the uses of life. For man is born into all evil and the falsity thence, therefore he is also born entirely ignorant of all spiritual knowledges; in order, therefore, that he may be led from the evils and the falsities thence, into which he is born, and be led into the life of heaven, and be saved, it is necessary that he should learn the knowledges of truth and good, by which he can be introduced [into spiritual life] and become spiritual. From this series of things in the internal sense it is evident, that by death is here signified the extinction of spiritual life; this also is signified by spiritual death.

7424. 'And there were lice on man and on beast' means that evils rose up from those things - interior and exterior evils attached to wicked desires. This is clear from the meaning of 'lice' as evils, dealt with in 7419; from the meaning of 'man' as good, dealt with in 4287, 5302, and so in the contrary sense as evil; and from the meaning of 'beast' as the affection for good, and in the contrary sense as the affection for evil, which is evil or wicked desire, dealt with in 45, 46, 142, 143, 246, 714, 715, 719, 776, 2179, 2180, 3218, 3519, 5198. But when the expression 'man and beast' is used, man' means interior good, and in the contrary sense interior evil, while 'beast' means exterior good, and in the contrary sense exterior evil. The reason why 'man' means interior good or interior evil is that a person is truly human by virtue of his internal man and the nature of this, not by virtue of his external man; for without the internal the external man is not truly human. If the external man too is to be truly human it must be completely subject to the internal, so completely that it does not act by itself, only from the internal. The reason why 'beast' means exterior good and in the contrary sense exterior evil is that beasts do not have an internal side to them like that present in a human being. With them the internal side is merged into the external, so completely that it makes one with it, and at the same looks downwards or towards the ground without any uplifting towards more internal things. The expression 'evils attached to wicked desires' is used because all evils are objects of wicked desires; for wicked desires are the longings of a person's loves. What makes interior evils different from exterior evils is this: Interior evils belong to thought and will, whereas exterior evils belong to actions. The fact that evils may be interior without being exterior is evident from the consideration that a person can be evil and yet to outward appearance look like an upright man, indeed like a man possessing faith and conscience. Some even know how to pretend to be angels when in fact inwardly they are devils. This is how great the difference can be between the inward appearance, which is that presented by the spirit, and the outward appearance, which is that presented by the body.