103. I will here add this fact, hitherto unknown, concerning the soul. The soul, which is from the father, is the real man, and the body, which is from the mother, is not in itself the man but is from him; it is merely a covering for him, composed of material things belonging to the natural world, but his soul is formed of such substances as belong to the spiritual world. After death every man lays aside what is natural, derived from the mother, but retains what is spiritual, derived from the father, together with a kind of border (limbus) around it from the purest things of nature. With those who come into heaven this substance is beneath, and the spiritual is above; but with those who come into hell this substance is above, and the spiritual beneath. For this reason an angelic man speaks from heaven, thus what is good and true; but an infernal man, when he speaks from the heart, speaks from hell; while he may speak as if from heaven, but from the lips only. The latter he may do when abroad, but the former he does at home.

[2] Since a man's soul is the real man, and is spiritual in its origin, it is clear why the mind, temper, disposition, inclination and affection of the father's love dwell in the succeeding offspring, and return and display themselves from generation to generation. This is the reason why many families, even whole nations, are known by the resemblance they bear to their original progenitor; there is a common likeness which shows itself in the countenance of every one of the race: and this likeness is not changed except by the spiritual things of the Church. The common likeness of Jacob and Judah, by which their posterity are distinguished from others, still persists, because they have hitherto firmly adhered to their religion. For in the seed from which every one is conceived there is a graft, or offshoot, of the father's soul in its fullness, within a kind of covering composed of natural elements. By means of this his body is formed in the womb of the mother, which may be in the likeness either of the father or of the mother, the likeness of the father still remaining within, and continually endeavoring to bring itself forth; and if it cannot do so in the first generation, it effects it in those that follow. The likeness of the father is in its fullness in the seed because, as has been stated, the soul is spiritual in its origin, and what is spiritual has nothing in common with space; and therefore the likeness remains the same, as well in small compass as in large. When the Lord was in the world, by the acts of redemption He put off the whole of the Human which He had from the mother and put on a Human from the Father, the Divine Human; therefore in Him Man is God, and God Man.

2574. 'And to Sarah he said' means perception from spiritual truth. This is clear from the representation of 'Sarah when a wife' as Divine spiritual truth, dealt with in 2507, and of the same character when 'a sister' as rational truth, dealt with in 2508, and from the meaning of 'saying' as perceiving, dealt with in 2506. Here Sarah is addressed as 'a wife' and also as 'a sister' - as 'a wife' because she had been restored [to Abraham], 2569, as 'a sister' because it is said, 'I have given a thousand pieces of silver to your brother'. Also, in that what was said by Abimelech was perceived by Sarah in her wifely status, therefore 'saying to Sarah' means perceiving from spiritual truth.

[2] These words, it is evident, embody deeper arcana than can be disclosed intelligibly. And if they were to be disclosed merely to a limited extent it would be necessary to explain many things first of all, which are as yet unknown, such as what spiritual truth is; what perception from spiritual truth is; the fact that the Lord alone has had perception from spiritual truth; the fact that just as the Lord implanted rational truth within rational good so He implanted spiritual truth within celestial good, and in so doing was constantly implanting the Human within the Divine in order that in every thing the marriage might exist of the Human with the Divine, and of the Divine with the Human. These things and many more must come first before the things within this verse can be presented intelligibly. Those things are primarily suited to the minds of angels which have the ability to understand them and for the sake of which minds the internal sense of the Word exists. To them these matters are represented in a heavenly manner; and by means of those matters and of the things within this chapter, an idea is instilled of how the Lord by degrees cast aside the human which He had from the mother until at length He was no longer her son (the fact that He did not acknowledge her as His mother is evident in Matthew 12:46-49; Mark 3:31-35; Luke 8:20-21; John 2:4) and also an idea of how by His own power He made the Human Divine until He was one with the Father, as He Himself teaches in John 14:6, 8-11, and elsewhere.

[3] By means of myriads of ideas and representations, all of which are beyond description, the Lord presents such matters to angels in clear light. The reason, as has been stated, is that these are suited to their minds, and when conscious of them they experience the bliss of intelligence and the happiness of wisdom. What is more, there are angels who, while they were men, formed ideas of the Lord's Human as they did of that of any other person. In order that these angels may exist together with celestial angels in the next life - for in that life ideas inspired by an affection for good join people together - such erroneous ideas as they have had about the Lord are dispelled by means of the internal sense, and in this way they are perfected. This shows how precious to angels those things are within the internal sense of the Word, though they may perhaps seem of small importance to man whose idea of such things is so obscure as to be scarcely any idea at all.