8288. 'The depths were congealed in the heart of the sea' means that utter falsities arising from evil belonging to the desires of self-love could not rise to the surface. This is clear from the meaning of 'being congealed', when those in the hells are the subject, as being unable to rise to the surface; from the meaning of 'the depths' as falsities resulting from evil desires, and as the hells, dealt with above in 8278, 8279; and from the meaning of 'the heart of the sea' as the evil of self-love and the falsities arising from that evil. 'The heart' in the genuine sense means celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord, spoken of in 3635, 3883-3896, 7542, and in the contrary sense the evil of self-love. For this evil is the opposite of the good of love to the Lord, while the evil of the love of the world is the opposite of spiritual good, which is the good of love towards the neighbour. From all this it is evident that 'the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea' means that utter falsities arising from evil belonging to the desires of self-love could not rise to the surface. They are spoken of as being unable to rise to the surface because 'the depths' and 'the heart of the sea' mean the hells where falsities resulting from evil desires are, or where falsities arising from evil are. Consequently, since they are hemmed in by their own falsities arising from evil, they can no longer work their way out, because the Lord's Divine presence stands in the way of the falsities there.