2. [70.] II. THE LORD HAS CREATED WITH EVERY ONE A RECEPTACLE FOR LOVE, NAMELY HIS WILL, AFTERWARDS EFFECTING THE FORMATION OF IT WITH HIM, AND ADJOINING TO IT A RECEPTACLE FOR WISDOM, NAMELY HIS UNDERSTANDING

As the two things, Love and Wisdom, are in the Lord and proceed forth from Him, and as man has been created to be a likeness and image of Him - a likeness through love, and an image through wisdom - therefore two receptacles have been created with man, one for love, the other for wisdom. The receptacle for love is what is called "the Will," and the receptacle for wisdom is what is called "the Understanding". A man knows that these two are in him, but he does not know that they are conjoined in the same way as they are conjoined in the Lord, with this difference that in the Lord they are Life, whereas in man they are receptacles of life. What the forms of those receptacles are like cannot be unfolded, those forms being spiritual and spiritual things transcending the things of this world. They are forms within forms up to a third degree, ¹ an innumerable quantity of them, distinct from one another, yet in harmony with one another, each one being a receptacle for love and wisdom. The originator forms are in the brains and are the starting-points and heads there of the nerve-fibres, along which their efforts and forces flow down to all the organs in the body, both the more excellent and the less excellent, giving rise to sensation in the sensory organs, to motion in the motor organs, and, in the other organs, to the functions of nutrition, chyle-formation, blood formation, separation, purification and reproduction, thus giving rise in each one to its own use.

These things having been premised, it is now to be seen that

(1) these forms, the receptacles for love and wisdom, first come into existence with man when conceived and being developed in the womb,

(2) from these forms are drawn out and produced in a connected series every part of the body from the head to the soles of the feet,

(3) the production of these is effected in accordance with the laws of Correspondence, and consequently every part of the body, internal and external, is a correspondent.

[2] [71.] (1) That these forms, the receptacles for love and wisdom, first come into existence with man when conceived and being developed in the womb, can be established from practical knowledge and confirmed by reason.

From practical knowledge: From the first stages of the embryo's development in the womb after conception, and also from the first stages of the chick's development in the egg after sitting commences. The first forms themselves are not visible to the eye, but only the parts they first produce, constituting the head. It is well known that the head at first is relatively larger and that from it is put forth the web for every part of the body. It can be seen from this that those forms are the starting points.

By reason: Because all creating is from the Lord as a Sun, He being Divine Love and Divine Wisdom, and it is by the operation of these that the creating of man is effected. The forming of the embryo, and so of a human infant, in the womb is like a creating. It is termed "generation," because it is effected by a bringing across (traductio). Hence it follows that with man specially the first forms are receptacles of love and wisdom, and that the creating of everything else constituting a human being is effected by means of them. Besides, no effect comes forth from itself but from a prior cause, called the effecting cause, and neither does this come forth from itself but from the cause called "end," within which there is, both in effort and in idea, everything that follows-in effort in the Divine Love, in idea in the Divine Wisdom, these being the End of ends. This truth will be more fully established from things that follow.

[2] [3] [72.] (2) That from these forms are drawn out and produced in a connected series every part of the body from the head to the soles of the feet, can also be established from practical knowledge and confirmed by reason.

From practical knowledge: Because from those primitive forms nerve-fibres are drawn out to the sensory organs of the face, the eyes, ears, nose and tongue: also to the motor organs, namely, the muscles, throughout the body: likewise to all parts of the visceral system fulfilling various functions in the body. All these organs are nothing else than structures woven out of the fibres and nerves issuing forth from the two brains and from the spinal marrow. The very blood-vessels, out of which also the structures are formed, are likewise woven out of fibres from the same source. Any one skilled in anatomy can see that there are, round about the cerebrum as well as inside it, and in the cerebellum and in the spinal marrow, small spheres like little particles, termed cortical and cineritious substances and glands; and that every one of the nerve-fibres in the brains, and all the nerves composed of them throughout the body, issue and go forth from those small spheres or substances; these latter are the initial forms from which every part of the body from head to foot is drawn out and produced.

By reason: Because there could be no nerve-fibres without originating sources; and because the organic structures of the body, composed of the fibres variously woven together, are effects, unable to live, feel and move of themselves, but doing so from the sources originating them, through the continuum they together form. This may be illustrated by examples. The eye does not see of itself, but does so from the Understanding, through this continuum: it is the Understanding that sees, by means of the eye: it is the Understanding, too, that moves the eye, directs it to different objects and sharpens the sight. Neither does the ear hear of itself, but does so from the Understanding, through this continuum: it is the Understanding that hears, by means of the ear: it directs it, too, makes it attentive and adjusts it to different sounds. The tongue, again, does not speak of itself, but does so from the Understanding's thought. It is the thought that speaks, by means of the tongue, changing the sounds and heightening their inflexions at will. The same with the muscles: they do not move of themselves: it is the Will together with the Understanding that moves them and sets them in action as it wishes. It is clear from these examples that nothing in the body feels or moves of itself, but does so from the sources originating it, where the Will and Understanding reside, which consequently in man are the receptacles for love and wisdom; it is clear, too, that these are the first forms, the sensory and motor organs being forms derived from them; for influx follows the same course that formation has taken, there being no influx from the organs into the first forms, but from the first forms into the organs. This latter influx is spiritual influx, whereas the other is natural, or, as it is also termed, physical influx.

[3] [4] [73.] (3) The production of these is effected in accordance with the laws of Correspondence, and consequently every part of the body, internal and external, is a correspondent. Hitherto no one in the world has known what "Correspondence" is, because no one has known what the "spiritual" is, and Correspondence exists between what is natural and what is spiritual. Whenever anything derived from what is spiritual as its origin and cause, is made visible and perceptible before the senses, then there is Correspondence between them. Such correspondence exists between the spiritual and natural things in man: the spiritual things are all things of his love and wisdom, consequently all things of his Will and Understanding, and the natural things are all things of his body. These latter, because they have come into existence from the former and continue to draw their existence from them, that is, to subsist therefrom, are correspondents, and in consequence, the two act as one, just as end, cause and effect do. Thus, the face acts as one with the affections of the lower mind (animus), ² the speech acts as one with the thought, and the actions of every member act as one with the Will; similarly with the rest of the body. The universal law in regard to correspondences is that the spiritual thing conditions itself for the use that is its end in view, and then, by means of heat and light, actuates the use and regulates it, and clothes it with intermediary things provided for that purpose, so that finally a form is created serving the end in view. In that form, what is spiritual occupies the position of "end," the use the position of "cause," and what is natural the position of "effect"; in the spiritual world, however, what is substantial is in place of what is natural. All things in man are forms of this description.

[5] More about Correspondence can be seen in the work HEAVEN AND HELL, Nos. 87-102, 103-115: and about various correspondences in ARCANA CAELESTIA, namely, the correspondence of the face and its expressions with the affections of the mind, Nos. 1568, 2988-2989, 3631, 4796-4797, 4800, 5165, 5168, 5695, 9306: the correspondence of the body in posture and action with intellectual and voluntary things, Nos. 2988, 3632, 4215: the correspondence of the

Senses in general, Nos. 4318-4330;

Eyes and sight, Nos. 4403-4420;

Nose and smell, Nos. 4624-4634;

Ears and hearing, Nos. 4652-4660;

Tongue and taste, Nos. 4791-4805;

Hands, arms, shoulders and feet, Nos. 4931-4953;

Loins and organs of generation, Nos. 5050-5062;

Viscera inside the body, in particular the stomach, the thymus gland, and the receptacle and ducts of the chyle, Nos. 5171-5189;

Spleen, No. 9698;

Peritonaeum, kidneys and bladder, Nos. 5377-5396;

Skin and bones, Nos. 5552-5573;

Xiphoid (or ensiform) cartilage, No. 9236;

Memory of abstract things, No. 6808;

Memory of material things, No. 7253:

The correspondence of heaven with man, Nos. 911, 1900, 1928, 2996, 2998, 3634, 3636-3643, 3741-3745, 3884, 4041, 4279, 4523-4524, 4625, 6013, 6057, 9279, 9632: the knowledge of correspondences with the ancients was the chief of knowledges, specially with the orientals, though it has at the present day become completely lost, Nos. 3021, 3419, 3472-3485, 4280, 4749, 4844, 4964, 4966, 5702, 6004, 6692, 7097, 7729, 7779, 9391, 10252, 10407: without a knowledge of correspondences the Word is not understood, Nos. 2890-2893, 2987-3003, 3213-3227, 3472-3485, 8615, 10687: all things seen in the heavens are correspondents, Nos. 1521, 1532, 1619-1625, 1807-1808, 1971, 1974, 1977, 1980-1981, 2299, 2601, 3213-3226, 3348, 3350, 3475, 3485, 3745, 9481, 9575-9577: all things in the natural world and its three kingdoms correspond to all things in the spiritual world, Nos. 1632, 1881, 2758, 2890-2893, 2987-3003, 3213-3227, 3483, 3624-3649, 4044, 4053, 4116, 4366, 4939, 5116, 5377, 5428, 5477, 8211, 9280.

In addition to the above, the ARCANA CAELESTIA treats of the correspondence of the natural sense of the Word, which is its literal sense, with spiritual things which are the things of love and wisdom in the heavens from the Lord, these things constituting its internal sense: this correspondence, moreover, you may see confirmed in THE DOCTRINE OF THE NEW JERUSALEM CONCERNING THE SACRED SCRIPTURE, Nos. 5-26, and further on in THE DOCTRINE OF THE NEW JERUSALEM CONCERNING THE SACRED SCRIPTURE Nos. 27-69. To form an idea of the correspondence of the Will and Understanding, what has been said above may be consulted, HEAVEN AND HELL 366-367. ³

Footnotes:

3636. It is an entirely general and all-embracing law that the Lord is the Sun of heaven and that this is the source of all the light in the next life; that nothing at all from the light of the world is visible to angels and spirits, that is, to beings in the next life; and also that the light of the world which comes from the sun is to angels nothing else than thick darkness. From the Sun of heaven, or the Lord, comes not only light but also warmth; but these are spiritual light and spiritual warmth. The light that strikes their eyes is seen as light but it holds intelligence and wisdom within it since it is the outward manifestation of these. And the warmth is experienced by their senses as warmth but has love within it since it is the outward manifestation of that love. This being so, love is called spiritual warmth and is also the producer of the warmth which man's life possesses, while intelligence is called spiritual light and is also the producer of the light which his life possesses. From this all-inclusive correspondence all other correspondences are derived, for every single thing has regard to good which belongs to love and to truth which belongs to intelligence.

2180. 'And took a young bull, tender and good' means a celestial-natural which the rational took to itself in order that it might join itself to perception from the Divine. This is clear from the meaning of 'a young bull' or 'a son of an ox' in the Word as natural good. And because the subject is the Lord's Rational, it is called 'tender' from the celestial-spiritual, which is truth grounded in good, and 'good' from the celestial itself, which is good itself. Within the genuine rational there is both the affection for truth and the affection for good, but that which is first and foremost there is the affection for truth, as shown already in 2072. This explains why 'tender' is mentioned before 'good'; but even so, as is quite usual in the Word, both are mentioned on account of the marriage of truth and good which is referred to above in 2173.

[2] That 'a young bull' or 'a son of an ox' means the celestial-natural, or what amounts to the same, natural good, becomes especially clear from the sacrifices, which were the principal representatives in the worship of the Hebrew Church and after this of the Jewish Church. Their sacrifices were made either from the herd or from the flock, thus from animals of various kinds that were clean, such as oxen, young bulls, he-goats, sheep, rams, she-goats, kids, and lambs, besides doves and fledgling pigeons. All of these creatures meant the internal features of worship, that is, celestial and spiritual things, 2165, 2177, those from the herd meaning celestial-natural, those from the flock celestial-rational. Because both of these - natural things and rational things - are more and more interior and are various, so many genera and so many species of these creatures were therefore employed in sacrifices. This fact becomes clear also from its being laid down as to which creatures were to be offered in burnt offerings and also which in every kind of sacrifice - the daily sacrifices; those offered on sabbaths and at festivals; those made as free-will, eucharistic, or votive offerings; and those offered in purifications, cleansings, and also in inaugurations. Which creatures were to be used, and how many, in each kind of sacrifice is mentioned explicitly. This would never have been done unless each one had had some specific meaning, as is quite evident from those places where the sacrifices are the subject, as in Chapter 29 of Exodus; Chapters 1, 3, 4, 9, 16, and 23 of Leviticus; and Chapters 7, 8, 15, and 29 of Numbers. But this is not the place to explain what each one meant. The situation is similar in the Prophets where those animals are mentioned, from which it may become clear that young bulls meant celestial-natural things.

[3] That none but heavenly things were meant becomes clear also from the cherubim seen by Ezekiel and from the living creatures before the throne which were seen by John. Regarding the cherubim the prophet says,

The likeness of their faces was the face of a man (homo); and they four had the face of a lion on the right side; and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; and they four had the face of an eagle. Ezekiel 1:10.

Regarding the four living creatures before the throne John says,

Around the throne were four living creatures - the first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a young bull, the third living creature had a face like a man (homo), the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle - saying, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come. Revelation 4:7-8.

Anyone may see that holy things were represented by the cherubim and these living creatures, thus also by the oxen and young bulls in the sacrifices. The same applies in the prophecy of Moses concerning Joseph,

Let it come upon the head of Joseph and upon the crown of the head of the Nazirite among his brothers. The firstborn of his ox has honour, and his horns are the horns of a unicorn; with these he will thrust the peoples together, to the ends of the earth. Deuteronomy 33:16-17.

These words are not intelligible to anyone unless he knows what ox, unicorn, horns, and many other things mean in the internal sense.

[4] As for sacrifices in general they were indeed commanded to the Israelites through Moses. But the Most Ancient Church which existed before the Flood never knew anything at all about sacrifices, nor did it ever enter their minds to worship the Lord by the slaughtering of animals. The Ancient Church which existed after the Flood knew nothing about it either. Representatives did indeed exist there, but not sacrifices. These were first introduced in the subsequent Church called the Hebrew Church, and from there they spread to the gentile nations, and even to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and so to Jacob's descendants. The fact that the gentile nations had sacrificial worship has been shown in 1343, and the fact that Jacob's descendants also had such worship before they left Egypt, thus before sacrifices were commanded through Moses on Mount Sinai, becomes clear from Exodus 5:3; 10:25, 27; 18:12; 24:4-5.

[5] This is especially clear from their idolatrous worship in front of the golden calf, regarding which the following is said in Moses,

Aaron built an altar in front of the calf, and Aaron made a proclamation and said, Tomorrow there will be a feast to Jehovah. And they rose up early the next morning and presented burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Exodus 32:5-6.

This happened while Moses was on Mount Sinai, and so before the command came to them regarding the altar and the sacrifices. That command came to them for the reason that sacrificial worship among them had been turned, as it had among the gentiles, into idolatrous worship, from which they could not be drawn away because they looked upon it as-the chief holy thing. Once something has been implanted in people from their earliest years as being holy, the more so if received from their fathers, and thus is inrooted, the Lord in no way breaks it - provided it is not contrary to order itself - but bends it. This was the reason for its being laid down that the sacrificial system should be established, such as one reads in the books of Moses.

[6] The fact that sacrifices were by no means acceptable to Jehovah, and so were merely permitted and tolerated for the reason just stated, is quite evident in the Prophets. Concerning them the following is said in Jeremiah,

Thus said Jehovah Zebaoth, the God of Israel, Add your burnt offerings on to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh. I did not speak with your fathers and I did not command them on the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt on the matters of burnt offering and sacrifice. But this matter I commanded them, saying, Obey My voice, and I will be your God. Jeremiah 7:21-23.

In David,

O Jehovah, sacrifice and offering You have not desired; burnt offering and sin-sacrifices You have not sought. I have delighted to do Your will, O my God. Psalms 40:6, 8.

In the same author,

You do not delight in sacrifice that I should give it; burnt offering You do not accept. The sacrifices of God are a contrite spirit. Psalms 51:16-17.

In the same author,

I will not take any young bull from your house, nor he-goats from your folds. Sacrifice to God confession. Psalms 50:9, 14; 107:21-22; 116:17; Deuteronomy 23:18.

In Hosea,

I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. Hosea 6:6.

Samuel said to Saul,

Has Jehovah great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices? Behold, to be submissive is better than sacrifice, to be obedient than the fat of rams. - 1 Samuel 15:22.

In Micah,

With what shall I come before Jehovah and bow myself to God on high? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams, with tens of thousands of rivers of oil? He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does Jehovah require of you but to carry out judgement, and to love mercy, and to humble yourself by walking with your God? Micah 6:6-8.

[7] From these quotations it is now evident that sacrifices were not commanded but permitted, and also that in sacrifices nothing else was regarded except that which was internal, and that it was that which was internal that was pleasing, not that which was external. For this reason also the Lord abolished them, as was also foretold through Daniel in the following words when he was speaking about the Lord's Coming,

In the middle of the week He will cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease. Daniel 9:27.

See what has been stated about sacrifices in Volume One, in 922, 923, 1128, 1823. As for 'the young bull' which Abraham made ready or prepared for the three men, the meaning is similar to that of the same animals when used in sacrifices. That it had a similar meaning becomes clear also from the fact that he told Sarah to take three measures of fine flour. Regarding the fine flour that went with the offering of a young bull the following is said in Moses - referring to when they were to come into the land,

When you make ready a young bull for a burnt offering or a sacrifice in the declaring of a vow, or for peace offerings to Jehovah, you shall bring with the young bull a minchah of three tenths of fine flour mixed with oil. Numbers 15:8-9.

Here similarly the number 'three' appears, though three 'tenths' here but three 'measures' in Abraham's instruction to Sarah. But only two tenths went with the offering of a ram, one tenth with that of a lamb, Numbers 15:4-6.