6472. Hoe het is gesteld met de invloeiing van het ene en het andere leven, namelijk van het leven van het denken en van het leven van de wil, uit de Heer, werd door onthulling te weten gegeven, namelijk dat de Heer op tweevoudige wijze invloeit door de hemel indirect en vanuit Zich rechtstreeks; en dat Hij vanuit Zich invloeit zowel in de redelijke dingen van de mens, die zijn innerlijke dingen zijn, als in zijn natuurlijke dingen, die de uiterlijke dingen zijn. Hetgeen uit de Heer invloeit, is het goede van de liefde en het ware van het geloof, want dat wat uit de Heer voortgaat, is het Goddelijk Ware waarin het Goddelijk Goede is; maar deze worden verschillend opgenomen bij de mens, namelijk volgens het hoedanige van hem; de Heer dwingt de mens niet om op te nemen wat uit Hem invloeit, maar Hij leidt hem in het vrije en voor zoveel als de mens het toelaat, leidt Hij door het vrije tot het goede; zo leidt de Heer de mens volgens diens verkwikkingen en verder ook volgens de begoochelingen en de daaruit opgevatte beginselen, maar ongemerkt leidt Hij hem daaruit weg; en dit verschijnt de mens alsof het uit hemzelf plaatsvindt; zo breekt de Heer die dingen niet, want dit zou gelijk staan met het vrije geweld aan te doen en dit vrije moet er toch noodzakelijk zijn opdat de mens kan worden wederverwekt, nrs. 1937, 1947, 2875, 2876, 2881, 3145, 3146, 3158, 4031.

Dat de Heer zo bij de mens invloeit, namelijk niet alleen indirect door de hemel, maar ook rechtstreeks vanuit Zich, zowel in de innerlijke als in de uiterlijke dingen bij de mens, is een tot dusver onbekende verborgenheid.

10031. 'And the omentum over the liver' means the more internal good of the external or natural man. This is clear from the meaning of 'the omentum', which is over the liver, as the more internal good of the external or natural man. 'The omentum' means this good because it consists wholly of fat, and by 'fat' good is meant, dealt with above in 10029. The reason why the good is more internal is that this fat is higher in the body or more internal than the fat covering the intestines, which is spoken of immediately above. Also 'the liver' means more internal purification, for the liver purifies the blood, whereas the intestines purify the substances from which blood is produced. And the reason why that good belongs to the external or natural man is that 'the young bull' in which this omentum resided means the good of innocence and of charity in the external or natural man, 9990. In other places 'the liver' means the external good of innocence, the kind of good that exists with young children or infants. The reason for this is that before every other organ has been fully formed to serve its particular function, which is done while they are still in the womb, infants are fed through the liver; for it is to this organ that all their fluid nourishment is brought from their mother's womb by way of the placenta and umbilical cord. This fluid corresponds to the good of innocence.

[2] The fact that this good is meant by 'the liver' is clear in Jeremiah,

My eyes have been consumed by tears, my internal organs have been disturbed, ¹ my liver has been poured out onto the earth, because of the destruction ² of the daughter of my people, while the infant and the suckling faint in the streets; they say to their mothers, Where is grain and wine? Lamentations 2:11-12.

This describes the grief of a Church when it has been laid waste. Grief on account of truth that has been lost is meant by 'eyes have been consumed by tears'; grief on account of the truth of innocence which has been lost is meant by 'internal organs have been disturbed'; and grief on account of the good of innocence which has been lost is meant by 'liver has been poured out onto the earth'. This is the reason for the words, 'While the infant and the suckling faint in the streets', and 'they say to their mothers, Where is grain and wine?' 'The daughter of my people' because of whose destruction that grief exists is the Church, 2362, 3963, 6729; 'eyes' are the powers of inward sight, thus the truths of faith, 4526, 4528, 9051; 'internal organs' or 'bowels' are the truths of innocence, 3294; 'liver' is the good of innocence, since the infants and sucklings who faint in the streets are those with whom the good of innocence is present, 430, 3183, 4563, 5608; 'the grain and wine' - about which they say to their mothers, Where are they? - are the good of truth and the truth of good, 'grain' being the good of truth, 5959, and 'wine' the truth of good, 1071, 1798.

5552. CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE GRAND MAN - continued

IN THIS SECTION THE CORRESPONDENCE OF THE SKIN, HAIR, AND BONES WITH IT

Correspondence is by nature such that the parts in the human being which possess the greatest amount of life correspond to those communities in heaven which possess the greatest amount of life and consequently the greatest amount of happiness there, such as those communities to which a person's external and internal sensory powers correspond, and which have a link with his understanding and his will. But parts in the human being which possess less life correspond to the kinds of communities where less life is present, such as the layers of the skin which cover the whole body, also the cartilages and the bones which hold together and support everything within the body, as well as the hairs that grow out of the skin. The identity and nature of those communities to which all these parts of the body correspond must also be stated.