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Arcana Coelestia # 10050

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10050. 'And its legs' means purification of the more external things belonging to the natural man. This is clear from the meaning of 'washing the legs' as purification of the natural man (for the meaning of 'washing' as purifying, see immediately above in 10049); and from the meaning of 'the legs' as the more external things belonging to the natural man. The reason why these things are meant by 'the legs' is that one must at the same time understand the feet, since an animal's four legs are closely connected to its feet, and 'the feet' by virtue of their correspondence mean the natural or external level in a person, see 2162, 3147, 3761, 4938-4952.

[2] Much the same is meant by 'the legs' in Amos,

As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs or a piece of an ear, so will the children of Israel dwelling in Samaria be rescued, on the corner of a bed and on the end of a couch. Amos 3:12.

'The lion' here means those who lay the Church waste, 'legs' the external part of it, which is also the external part of the natural man, 'a piece of an ear' its discernment, and those 'dwelling in Samaria' those whose worship is external. 'The corner of a bed and the end of a couch' is the lowest part of the natural, which is external sensory awareness and its truth and good.

[3] In Daniel's description of Nebuchadnezzar's statue - its head made of pure gold, breast and arms of silver, belly and side of bronze, legs of iron, and feet partly of iron and partly of clay, Daniel 2:32-33 - what is meant by 'the legs' is the truth of faith in the external or natural man; and the same thing is also meant by 'iron', see 10030. The reason why the legs in the description are distinguished from the feet is that human legs are by nature different from animal legs.

  
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Arcana Coelestia # 2161

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2161. That 'let now a little water be taken' means that they were to draw near and bring themselves down from Divine things nearer to His intellectual concepts does not become clear so much from these words alone that they should take a little water, as from the whole train of thought in this verse and from its connection with what comes before and after. From the actual words used in this verse no one could possibly know that 'let now a little water be taken, and wash your feet, and recline under the tree' meant that the Divine was to bring itself down nearer to that state of perception which was the Lord's at that time and was to put on something natural so that His perception might be improved. Indeed not the smallest trace of this arcanum is evident in these words if understood historically. That such is nevertheless their meaning in the internal sense, and that angels perceive them in that way, I know for certain.

[2] This shows what great and deep arcana lie concealed in the Word. The same is further evident from the meaning of the words in the internal sense, that is to say, from the meaning of 'water' as intellectual concepts, from the meaning of 'feet' as natural things, and from the meaning of 'tree' as perception. Once these things are understood, then what is meant in the internal sense - namely that which has been stated - becomes clear from the train of thought and from its connection with what comes before and after. That 'waters' means factual knowledge and rational concepts, consequently intellectual concepts, has been shown in Volume One, in 28, 680, and may also become clear from very many other places in the Word, which would take up too much space if they were introduced here.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.