585. Dat door het menigvuldig geworden kwade van de mensen op de aarde wordt aangeduid, dat de wil tot het goede ophield te bestaan, blijkt uit het voorgaande, namelijk dat er geen wil meer was, maar alleen begeerte; verder uit de betekenis van de mens op aarde. De aarde, in de letterlijke zin, is de plaats waar de mens is; en daar de liefde tot de wil of tot de begeerte behoort, zo wordt de aarde voor de wil van de mens zelf genomen, want de mens is men krachtens zijn willen, en niet zozeer krachtens zijn weten en verstaan, daar het weten en verstaan uit zijn wil voortvloeit; al wat niet uit zijn wil voortvloeit, dat wil hij niet weten, noch verstaan; ja zelfs, wanneer hij anders spreekt en handelt dan hij wil, is er toch iets van een wil, buiten zijn spreken en handelen om, dat hem regeert. Dat het land Kanaän of het Heilige Land, voor de liefde, en dus voor de wil van de hemelse mens genomen wordt, kan door vele plaatsen in het Woord bevestigd worden; op dezelfde wijze dat de landen van verschillende heidense volken hun liefde aanduiden, welke in het algemeen de eigenliefde en de liefde tot de wereld zijn; omdat dit echter zo vaak voorkomt, is er hier ter plaatse niet bij stilgestaan. Hieruit blijkt dat de boosheid van de mensen op de aarde zijn natuurlijke boosheid betekent, dat tot de wil behoort; en het wordt vermenigvuldigd geheten, daar het bij allen nog niet zo verkeerd was of zij wilden anderen het goede, zij het dan om eigenbelang; dat het echter geheel en al verdorven is geworden, duidt het gedichtsel van de gedachten van het hart aan.

34. FROM THE ARCANA COELESTIA

Spiritual truths cannot be comprehended, unless the following universals are known:

I. All things in the universe have relation to good and truth, and to the conjunction of both, in order that they may be anything; consequently to love and faith, and their conjunction.

II. With man there is will and understanding, and the will is the receptacle of good, and the understanding the receptacle of truth, and all things with man have relation to those two, and to their conjunction, as all things relate to good and truth, and their conjunction.

III. There is an internal man and an external, and they are distinct one from the other like heaven and the world, and nevertheless that they ought to make one, in order that man may be truly man.

IV. The light of heaven is that in which the internal man is, and the light of the world that in which the external is; and the light of heaven is the Divine truth itself, from which is all intelligence.

V. There is a correspondence between the things which are in the internal, and those which are in the external man; and consequently they appear in each under a different form, so that they can only be discerned by the science of correspondences.

Unless these and many other things are known, it is impossible to form any ideas concerning spiritual and celestial things, but such as are incongruous; and thus the scientifics and knowledges, which are of the external man, without these universals, can be of little service to the rational man for understanding and growth. Hence it appears, how necessary scientifics are. Concerning those universals, much is said in the Arcana Coelestia.

6982. 'I am not a man of words' means that he is lacking in speech. This is clear from the meaning of 'a man of words' as the fact that he is not an able speaker, and so is lacking in speech. What all this entails must be stated. The subject here in the highest sense is the Lord, for 'Moses' represents the Lord in respect of the law of God, thus in respect of God's truth. Truth that goes forth directly from the Divine cannot be heard by anyone, not even by any angel; if what is Divine is to be heard it must first be made human, and it is made human when it passes through the heavens. When it has passed through the heavens it is presented in a human form and becomes speech, speech which is uttered by spirits who, while they are in that state, are called the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit is said to come forth from the Divine because what is holy with a spirit, namely the holy truth uttered by him at that time, comes forth from the Lord. From all this one may recognize that truth coming forth directly from the Divine cannot be presented to anyone as spoken word or speech except by means of the Holy Spirit. This is what is meant in the highest sense when Moses, who represents the Lord in respect of God's truth, says that he is 'not a man of words', and by the fact that Aaron his brother was to be attached to him; Aaron was to serve him in place of his mouth, and he was to serve Aaron in God's place.