9922. 'In the middle of them round about' means consisting of the more internal features of the factual knowledge of good in every direction. This is clear from the meaning of 'in the middle' as what is more internal, dealt with in 1074, 2940, 2973, 5897, so that 'in the middle' - when it has reference to the hearing and understanding of religious teachings and of worship, which are meant by 'bells' - means from more internal features; from the meaning of 'pomegranates', in the middle of which the bells were, as factual knowledge of good, dealt with above in 9918; and from the meaning of 'round about' as in every direction, as above in 9920. Bells were placed in the middle of the pomegranates because known facts, meant by 'pomegranates', are the recipients, so to speak vessels, that hold truth and good within them, 1469, 1496, 3068, 5373, 5489, 7770; and religious teachings and worship, meant by 'bells', must consist of the good and truth which reside inwardly in known facts as their vessels. If they do not consist of that good and truth, only of known facts, they have no life in them.

[2] But since few can understand the nature of what has just been said - that religious teachings and worship must consist of the good and truth which reside inwardly in known facts, but not of known facts devoid of them - an intelligible explanation, so far as this is possible, will be given. The term 'known facts' or 'factual knowledge' describes all things contained in the external or natural memory; for there is the external memory, consisting of things in the natural world, and there is the internal memory, consisting of things in the spiritual world, see 2469-2494, 2831, 5212, 9394, 9723, 9841. The things which have been inscribed on the internal memory are not called known facts, because they are the things constituting a person's life; instead they are called truths belonging to faith and forms of good belonging to love. These are what must be present inwardly in known facts. For in the human being there is an external, called the external man, and an internal, called the internal man; the internal must be in the external, as the soul is in its body. Accordingly those things which are in the internal man must reside in those which are in the external, for in this way the external has a soul or life within it. Therefore if the internal things, or things of the internal man, are not in the external ones there is no soul in them, nor thus any life. Because the good of love and faith is internal it follows that external things must have that good in them, and so must known facts since known facts, as already stated, are recipients, so to speak vessels, that hold internal things. Consequently religious teachings and worship must consist of those things contained in the recipients or vessels; they do not reside in recipients and vessels that are empty or devoid of such contents. From all this it is evident how to understand the explanation that all aspects of religious teachings and of worship must spring from the more internal features of the factual knowledge of good, which are meant by the declaration that bells of gold should be in the middle of the pomegranates.

[3] In addition it should be recognized that there is factual knowledge of good and factual knowledge of truth, and that truths residing on this level are once again recipient vessels of good; for the truths of faith are vessels for the good of love. For light on this matter, see what has been stated and shown already regarding factual knowledge or known facts,

Known facts are things belonging to the memory in the natural man, 3293, 3309, 3310, 4967, 5212, 5774, 5874, 5886, 5889, 5934.

By means of known facts the internal man is opened, 1495, 1548, 1563, 1895, 1940, 3085, 3086, 5276, 5871, 5874, 5901.

Known facts are a means to make people wise and also a means to make them insane, 4156, 4760, 8628, 8629.

Known facts are vessels for truth, and truths are vessels for good, 1469, 1496, 3068, 3079, 3318, 5489, 5881, 6023, 6071, 6077, 6750, 7770, 8005, 9394, 9724.

Known facts give service to the internal man, 1486, 1616, 2576, 3019, 3020, 3665, 5201, 5213, 6052, 6068, 6084, 9394.

When known facts, which are things belonging to the external memory, become part of life, they pass from the external memory, but remain inscribed on the internal memory, 9394, 9723, 9841.

People guided by truths of faith rooted in the good of charity can be raised above factual knowledge, 6383, 6384; this is called being raised above the level of the senses, 5089, 5094, 6183, 6313, 6315, 9730.

A person carries with him into the next life when he dies the known facts or things belonging to the external memory, but they become dormant then, and in what manner, 2475-2486, 6931.

5094. 'The cupbearer and the baker' means regarding both kinds of sensory powers. This is clear from the meaning of 'the cupbearer' as the sensory powers subordinate to the understanding part of the mind, dealt with in 5077, and from the meaning of 'the baker' as the sensory powers subordinate to the will part, dealt with in 5078, which, as stated above in 5083, 5089, were cast aside by the interior natural. But it should be realized that the actual powers of the senses were not cast aside - that is to say, sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch, for the life of the body is dependent on these - but the insights or thoughts, as well as the affections and desires, that are dependent on them. Objects belonging to the world enter a person's external or natural memory by way of his senses on the one hand and by way of his rational thought on the other. These objects then divide themselves off from one another in that memory; those entering through rational thought place themselves in a more internal position, whereas those entering through the senses do so in a more external one, as a consequence of which the natural comes to have two parts - the interior part and the exterior - as has also been stated above.

[2] The interior natural is what 'Pharaoh king of Egypt' represents, while the exterior natural is what 'the cupbearer and the baker' represents. The nature of the difference between the two becomes clear from the different ways they look at things, that is, from their thoughts and their conclusions based on those thoughts. The person who uses the interior natural to think with and to form conclusions is rational, and is so insofar as he has absorbed what comes to him through rational thought; but the person who uses the exterior natural to think with and form conclusions is governed by his senses, and is so insofar as he has absorbed what comes to him from sensory evidence. Such a person is called one governed by his senses, whereas the other is called one who is rational-natural. When a person dies he has the entire natural with him; and its form remains the same as that which it took in the world. He is also rational-minded to the extent he has absorbed ideas from rational thought, but sensory-minded to the extent he has absorbed ideas from his senses. The difference between the two is that, to the extent it has absorbed ideas from rational thought and made them its own, the natural looks down on the senses belonging to the exterior natural and controls them by disparaging and casting aside illusions formed by the senses. But to the extent that it has absorbed ideas formed by the bodily senses and made them its own the natural looks down on rational thought by disparaging this and casting it aside.

[3] An example of the difference between the two may be seen in the ability of the rational-natural man to comprehend that no one's life is self-existent but that it comes to him through an influx of life from the Lord by way of heaven, and the inability of one governed by the senses to comprehend the same. For the latter says his senses tell him and he can plainly see that his life is self-existent and that it is pointless to contradict the evidence of the senses. Let another example be given. The rational-natural man comprehends the existence of a heaven and a hell; but one governed by his senses denies the existence of these because he has no conception of another world purer than the one he sees with his eyes. The rational-natural man comprehends the existence of spirits and angels who are not visible to him; but one governed by the senses cannot comprehend the same, for he imagines that what he cannot see or touch has no existence.

[4] Here is another example. The rational-natural man comprehends that it is the mark of an intelligent being to have ends in view, and with foresight to be directing means towards some final end. When he looks at the natural creation from the point of view of the order of everything, he sees the natural creation as a complex system of means and realizes that an intelligent Supreme Being has given them direction, though to what final end he cannot see unless he becomes spiritual. But a person governed by his senses does not comprehend how anything distinct and separate from the natural creation can exist or how some Being superior to the natural order can do so. He has no notion of what exercising intelligence, exercising wisdom, having ends in view, or giving direction to means may be unless all these activities are being spoken of as natural ones; and when they are spoken of as such, his idea of them is like that of one who is designing a machine. These few examples show what is meant by the interior natural and the exterior natural, and by the powers of the senses being cast aside - not sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch in the body, but the conclusions reached by these about interior matters.