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1146. And every vessel of ivory, and every vessel of precious wood.- That this signifies rational truths and goods, profaned, is evident from the signification of vessel, which denotes the Scientific, of which we shall speak presently; from the signification of ivory, which denotes rational truth, of which also we shall speak presently; and from the signification of precious wood, which denotes excellent good, thus rational good, for this good is excellent, because it is the best good of the natural man. That wood signifies good may be seen above (n. 1145). The reason why a vessel denotes the Scientific (scientificum) is, because all truth in the natural man is called scientific (scientificum). And the reason why this is signified by a vessel is, because the Scientific of the natural man is the containant of rational and spiritual truths; for these, when thought and perceived, are deposited in the memory, and are called scientifics (scientifica). This is the reason why vessels, in the Word, signify knowledges, which, as far as they belong to and are deposited in the memory of the natural man, are scientifics.
[2] The reason why ivory signifies rational truth, is, that the elephant signifies the Natural in general, therefore ivory - which is the elephant's tusk, and by means of which he exercises his power - both because it is white and has power of resistance, signifies rational truth, which is the most excellent truth of the natural man; this truth is also signified by ivory and also by ebony in Ezekiel:
"Of the oaks of Bashan they made thy oars; thy rafter they made of ivory. Many islands were the merchandise of thine hand, horns of ivory and ebony they brought for thy present" (27:6, 15).
This is said of Tyre, which signifies the knowledges of truth, by which man has intelligence. These are described by a ship, whose oars were of oak, and the planks of ivory. Oars denote those things of the understanding by which a man speaks, and which belong to the sensual man; and a plank denotes that part of the understanding by which he is led, which is the Rational; this also is signified there by the ebony, which the islands bring, for islands signify those in the church who are natural, but still rational.
[3] In Amos:
"Who lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches" (6:4).
Reasoning from falsities is here described. Beds of ivory denote doctrines, as it were, from rational truths, while to reason in favour of these from falsities is meant by stretching themselves upon their couches.
Again in the same:
"I will smite the winter house with the summer house, that the houses of ivory may perish, that the great houses may cease" (3:15).
Houses signify those things that belong to the human mind, here those that belong to the natural mind separated from the spiritual mind. By the winter house and the summer house are signified those things of the natural man that are called sensual, while by the house of ivory and the great house are signified those things of the natural man that are called rational, those relating to truth being signified by the house of ivory, and those relating to good by the great house. Because a house signifies a man in regard to those things which belong to his mind, therefore houses of ivory used formerly to be built, as is evident from what is said of Ahab in the first book of Kings (22:39), by which man as to his rational mind was signified. From these things the signification of these words in David is evident:
"Out of the ivory palaces they have made thee glad" (Psalm 45:8).
This is said of the Lord; the palaces of ivory denote truths from the rational man, thus rational truths. But the vessels of ivory and of every precious wood here in the Apocalypse signify rational truths and goods, profaned, because they are spoken of in connection with Babylon, by which are signified the profanations of all things appertaining to truth and good.
[4] Continuation concerning the Athanasian Creed.- That man is only a recipient of good and truth from the Lord, and of evil and falsity from hell, must be illustrated by comparisons, confirmed by the laws of order and influx, and, lastly, substantiated by experience. It is illustrated by the following comparisons. The sensories of the body are merely recipient and percipient as if from themselves. The sensory of sight, which is the eye, sees objects out of itself, as it were in close contact with them, although it is the rays of light that, with the wings of ether, convey their forms and colours to the eye; these forms, being perceived by the internal sight, which is called the understanding, are examined in the eye and thus distinguished and known according to their quality. Similarly the sensory of hearing perceives sounds - whether they are words or tones of music - from the place whence they proceed, as if it were there, although the sounds enter from without, and are perceived in the ear by the understanding within. The sensory of smell, also, perceives from within what enters from without, sometimes from a great distance. The sensory of taste also is excited by the food, which externally moves over the tongue. The sensory of touch has no sensation unless it is touched. These five sensories of the body, by virtue of an influx from within, are sensible of the things which enter by influx from without; the influx from within is from the spiritual world, and the influx from without is from the natural world.
[5] With these facts, the laws inscribed on the nature of all things are in agreement, and these laws are as follows:
(1.) That nothing exists, subsists, is acted upon and moved, by itself, but by something else; whence it follows, that every thing exists, subsists, is acted upon and moved, from the First, who is not from another, but is in Himself the living force, which is life.
(2.) That nothing can be acted upon and moved, unless it be intermediate between two forces, one of which acts and the other re-acts, thus, unless one acts on the one part, and one on the other; and further, unless one acts from within, and the other from without.
(3.) And since these two forces, while they are at rest, are in equilibrium, it follows, that nothing can be acted upon or moved, unless it is in equilibrium, and that when it is acted upon, it is not in equilibrium; and further, that every thing acted upon or moved seeks to return to equilibrium.
(4.) That all activities are changes of state and variations of form, and that the latter are the result of the former.
By state in man we mean his love, and by changes of state the affections of love; by form in man we mean his intelligence, and by variations of form his thoughts; the latter also are from the former.
1146. And every vessel of ivory, and every vessel of precious wood, signifies rational truths and goods that have been profaned. This is evident from the signification of "vessel," as being the knowing faculty (of which presently); also from the signification of "ivory," as being rational truth (of which also presently); also from the signification of "precious wood," as being good of great excellence, thus rational good, for this is such good because it is the best good of the natural man. That "wood" signifies good may be seen above (n. 1145). A "vessel" means the knowing faculty, because all truth in the natural man is called knowledge; and this is signified by a "vessel" because the knowledge of the natural man is the containant of rational and spiritual truths, for when these are thought and perceived they are laid up in the memory and are called knowledges. This is why in the Word "vessels" signify cognitions [cognitiones] and so far as these belong to the natural man, and are laid up in the memory of that man, they are knowledges [scientifica].
[2] "Ivory" signifies rational truth, because the camel 1signifies the natural in general; since, therefore, "ivory" is from his teeth and by it he has power, also since it is white and also has a power of resistance, it signifies rational truth, which is the most excellent truth of the natural man. This truth is signified by "ivory," as well as by "ebony." In Ezekiel:
Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars; they have made thy benches of ivory. Many isles were the traffic of thine hand, they brought thee for a gift horns of ivory and ebony (Ezekiel 27:6, 15).
This is said of Tyre, which signifies the knowledges of truth, by which man has intelligence. These knowledges are here described by a ship, the oars of which were of oak and the bench of ivory, "oars" signifying the things of the understanding that are of use in speaking and that belong to the sensual man, and "bench" signifying that part of the understanding by which one is led, which is the rational. This is here signified also by the "ebony" which the isles bring, "isles" signifying those in the church who are natural and yet rational.
[3] In Amos:
That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches (Amos 6:4).
Reasonings from falsities are thus described, "beds of ivory" being doctrines seemingly from rational truths, and "to stretch themselves upon their couches" being to reason in favor of these from falsities. In the same:
I will smite the winter house with the summer house, that the houses of ivory may perish, and the great houses may have an end (Amos 3:15).
"Houses" signify the things of the human mind, here the things of the natural mind separate from the spiritual mind; "winter house and summer house" signify things of the natural man that are called sensual, and "house of ivory" and "great house" signify the things of the natural man that are called rational, "house of ivory" here meaning those that have relation to truth, and "great house" those that have relation to good. As "house" signifies man as to those things that are of his mind, they formerly built houses of ivory, as we read of Ahab (1 Kings 22:39), which signified man as to the rational. This makes clear what is signified by these words in David:
Out of the ivory palaces have they made thee glad (Psalms 45:8).
This is said of the Lord. "Ivory palaces" mean truths from the rational man, thus rational truths. But "vessel of ivory" and "vessel of precious wood" signify rational truths and goods profaned, because they were predicated of Babylon, which signifies profanation of all things of truth and good.
(Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith)
[4] That man is merely a recipient of good and truth from the Lord and of evil and falsity from hell, must be illustrated by comparisons confirmed by the laws of order and influx, and finally established by experience. It is illustrated by the following comparisons. The sensories of the body are recipient and percipient only seemingly from themselves; the sensory of sight, which is the eye, sees objects out of itself as if it were close by them, when, in fact, the rays of light convey with wings of ether their forms and colors into the eye, and these forms when perceived in the eye are observed by an internal sight that is called the understanding, and are distinguished and recognized according to their quality. It is the same with the sensory of hearing. This perceives sounds, whether words or musical tones, from the place from which they come as if it were there; when in fact, the sounds flow in from without and are perceived by the understanding within the ear. It is the same with the sensory of smell; this, too, perceives from within what flows in from without, sometimes from a great distance. Also the sensory of taste is excited by the foods that come in contact with the tongue from without. The sensory of touch does not feel unless it is touched. These five bodily sensories by virtue of an influx from within are sensible of what flows in from without; the influx from within is from the spiritual world, and the influx from without is from the natural world.
[5] With all this the laws inscribed on the nature of all things are in harmony, which laws are: 1. That nothing exists or subsists from itself, or is acted upon or moved by itself, but only by something else. From this it follows that everything exists and subsists and is acted upon and moved by the First that is not from another, but is in itself the living force, which is life.
2. That nothing can be acted upon or moved unless it is intermediate between two forces, one of which acts and the other reacts, that is, unless one acts on the one side and the other on the other, and unless one acts from within and the other from without.
3. And since these two forces when at rest produce an equilibrium, it follows that nothing can be put in action or moved unless it is in equilibrium, and when put in action it is out of the equilibrium; also that everything put in action or moved seeks to return to an equilibrium.
4. That all activities are changes of state and variations of form, and that the latter are from the former. By state in man his love is meant, and by changes of state the affections of love; by form in man his intelligence is meant, and by variations of form his thoughts; and thoughts are from affections.
Footnotes:
1. Swedenborg wrote "camel" instead of elephant. In Apocalypse Revealed 774 he has elephant
1146. "Et omne vas eburneum et omne vas ex ligno pretioso." - Quod significet vera et bona rationalia profanata, constat ex significatione "vasis", quod sit scientificum (de qua sequitur); ex significatione "eboris" quod sit verum rationale (de qua sequitur); et ex significatione "ligni pretiosi", quod sit bonum praestans, ita bonum rationale, hoc enim praestans est quia est optimum naturalis hominis; quod "lignum" significet bonum, videatur mox supra (n. 1145).
Quod "vas" sit scientificum, est quia omne verum in naturali homine dicitur scientificum; quod hoc significetur per "vas", est quia scientificum naturalis hominis est continens veritatum rationalium et spiritualium; hae enim cum cogitatae et perceptae sunt, reponuntur in memoria, et vocantur scientifica; inde est quod per "vasa" in Verbo significentur cognitiones, quae quatenus sunt naturalis hominis, repositae in memoria ejus, sunt scientifica.
[2] Quod per "ebur" significetur verum rationale, est quia per 1
elephantum significatur naturale in communi; inde per "ebur", quod est ex dente ejus, et ex quo ei potentia est, tum quia est album, et quoque resistens, significatur verum rationale, quod est verum praestantissimum naturalis hominis: hoc verum etiam significatur per "ebur", 2
tum quoque per ebenum", apud Ezechielem,
"Ex quercubus e Baschane fecerunt remos tuos; asserem tuum fecerunt ex ebore. .... Insulae multae mercatura manus tuae, cornua eboris et ebenum adduxerunt munus tuum" (27:6, 15);
haec de Tyro, per quam significantur cognitiones veri, per quas homini intelligentia; haec ibi describitur per navem, cujus remi essent ex quercubus, et asser ex ebore; "remi" significant illa intellectus per quae loquitur, quae sunt sensualis hominis; et "asser" significat illud intellectus ex quo ducitur, quod est rationale: hoc quoque ibi significatur per "ebenum", quod insulae adducunt, nam "insulae" significant illos in ecclesia qui naturales sunt, sed usque rationales.
[3] Apud Amos,
"Qui cubant super lectis eboris, et extendunt se super spondis suis" ( 3
6:4):
ratiocinatio ex falsis ita describitur; "lecti eboris" sunt doctrinae sicut ex veris rationalibus, et "extendere se super spondis" est ratiocinari pro illis ex falsis.
Apud eundem,
"Percutiam domum hiemis cum domo aestatis, ut pereant domus eboris, et desinant domus magnae" (3:15);
per "domos" significantur illa quae mentis humanae sunt, hic quae mentis naturalis separatae a mente spirituali; per "domum hiemis et domum aestatis" significantur illa naturalis hominis quae vocantur sensualia; ac per "domum eboris" et per "domum magnam" significantur illa naturalis hominis quae vocantur rationalia, haec quoad verum per "domum eboris", et quoad bonum per "domum magnam." Quoniam homo quoad illa quae mentis ejus sunt significatur per "domum", ideo etiam olim exstruebantur domus ex ebore, ut legitur de Achabo ( 4
1 Regnum 22:39); per quam significabatur homo quoad rationale. Ex his patet quid significatur per haec apud Davidem,
"Ex palatiis eboris..laetificarunt Te" ( 5
haec de Domino; "palatia eboris" sunt vera ex rationali homine, ita vera rationalia. Quod autem per "vas eburneum" et per "vas ex ligno pretioso" significentur vera et bona rationalia profanata, est quia dicuntur de Babylone, per quam significantur profanationes omnium veri et boni.
[4] (Continuatio de Fide Athanasiana, et de Domino.)
Quod homo sit modo recipiens boni et Veri a Domino, ac mali et falsi ab inferno, illustrandum est per comparationes, confirmandum est per leges ordinis et influxus, et demum stabiliendum est per experientias. Illustratur id per has comparationes: – Sensoria corporis sunt modo recipientia et percipientia sicut a se; sensorium visus, quod est oculus, videt objecta extra se sicut esset apud illa, cum tamen radii lucis cum alis aetheris advehunt formas et colores illorum in oculum, quae formae a visu interno, qui vocatur intellectus, perceptae in oculo lustrantur, et secundum quale eorum distinguuntur et cognoscuntur. Sensorium auditus similiter; hoc percipit sonos, sive sint voces sive moduli, ex loco unde profluunt, sicut foret ibi; cum tamen soni influunt ab extra, ac percipiuntur ab intellectu intus in aure. Sensorium odoratus pariter; id quoque percipit ab intra quod ab extra influit, quandoque e longinquo. Sensorium gustus etiam excitatur ab esculentis, quae linguae ab extra illabuntur. Sensorium tactus non sentit nisi tactum sit. Quinque haec sensoria corporis sentiunt ex influxu ab intra illa quae influunt ab extra; influxus ab intra est e mundo spirituali, et influxus ab extra est e mundo naturali.
[5] His adstipulantur leges inscriptae naturae omnium rerum quae sunt: –
(1) Quod nihil existat, subsistat, agatur et moveatur a se sed ad alio. Unde sequitur quod omne existat, subsistat, agatur et moveatur a primo qui non ab alio est, sed in se est vis viva, quae est vita.
(2) Quod nihil agi et moveri possit, nisi sit in medio inter binas vires, quarum una agit et altera reagit, ita nisi una agat ad una parte, et una ab altera; tum nisi una agat ab intra, et altera ab extra.
(3) Et quia binae illae vires, dum quiescunt, faciunt aequilibrium, sequitur quod nihil agi et moveri possit nisi sit in aequilibrio, et cum agitur quod sit extra illud; tum quod omne actum et motum quaerat redire ad aequilibrium.
(4) Quod omnes activitates sint status mutationes et formae variationes, et quod hae sint ex illis.
Per statum in homine intelligimus ejus amorem, et per status mutationes amoris affectiones; per formam in homine intelligimus ejus intelligentiam, et per formae variationes cogitationes; hae etiam sunt ex illis.
Footnotes:
1. The editors made a correction or note here.
2. The editors made a correction or note here.
3. The editors made a correction or note here.
4. The editors made a correction or note here.
5. The editors made a correction or note here.