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281. And the fourth animal was like a flying eagle. That this signifies the appearance in ultimates of the Divine guardianship and providence as to intelligence and circumspection in every direction is evident from the signification of an eagle, as being intelligence, in this case the Divine intelligence of the guardianship and providence of the Lord. The reason why an eagle denotes intelligence is that intelligence is in the light of heaven, and an eagle flies on high to be there, and to look about on every side; hence it is that the face of the cherub appeared like a flying eagle, for to fly signifies presence and circumspection roundabout, and when said of the Divine, it signifies omnipresence. The reason why eagle signifies intelligence is also that the birds of heaven, in a good sense, signify things intellectual and rational, and the eagle above all others, because it not only flies high, but possesses a most acute sight. (That the birds of heaven signify intellectual and rational things in each sense may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 745, 776, 866, 988, 991, 3219, 5149, 7441).
[2] That an eagle signifies intelligence is evident from the following passages in the Word. In Ezekiel:
"A great eagle with great wings, long pinions, full of feathers, which had embroidering, came upon Lebanon, and took a small branch of a cedar. He plucked off the head of its shoots, and carried it down into a land of traffic; he set it in a city of dealers in spices. He took of the seed of the land, and placed it in the field of the sower; he took it to great waters, and placed it circumspectly; and it budded and became a luxuriant vine of low stature, so that its branches looked to him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, which produced branches and sent out boughs to him. There was also another great eagle with great wings and full of feathers; and, behold, this vine did bend its roots toward him, and shot forth its branches toward him to water him from the little beds of its plantation. It was planted in a good field near many waters to form the bough, and to bear fruit, that it might be for a vine of magnificence" (Arcana Coelestia 9688). It came upon Lebanon, and took a small branch of cedar, signifies that it took some knowledges (cognitiones) of truth from the doctrine of the church which is from the Word; for by Lebanon is signified that doctrine, and by the small branch of a cedar are signified knowledges. He plucked off the head of its shoots and carried it into a land of traffic signifies primary cognitions therefrom, to which it applied (by the head of the shoots are signified primary knowledges, and by the land of traffic is signified the natural man, to which knowledge (scientia) belongs). In a city of dealers in spices, signifies among truths from good in the natural man. (That spices signify truths which are grateful because from good, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, 5621, 9474, 9475, 10199, 10254). He took of the seed of the land, and placed it in the field of the sower, he took it to great waters and placed it circumspectly, signifies multiplication. The seed of the land denotes the truth of the church; the field of the sower denotes the good by virtue of which it grows. Great waters signify the knowledges of truth and good; to place circumspectly denotes separation from falsities. And it budded and became a luxuriant vine, so that its branches looked towards him, and the roots thereof were under him signifies the church arising from the arrangement of the knowledges of truth, and their application to use. So it became a vine which produced branches, and sent out boughs signifies the beginning of the spiritual church, and the continuous increase of truths. (That vine signifies the spiritual church, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 1069, 6375, 9277.) Hitherto the beginning of the church in the natural or external man has been described; its establishment, which takes place in the spiritual or internal man, is now described by the other eagle. Because this signifies spiritual intelligence, it is said that the vine bent its roots and sent its branches towards him, namely, the eagle, for by roots are signified knowledges (scientiae), and by branches the cognitions (cognitiones) of truth and good, which are all applied to the truths which are in the spiritual or internal man, since without their spiritual application man has no wisdom. The multiplication and fructification of truth from good, thus the increase of intelligence, is described by the vine being planted in a good field, near many waters, to form the bough, and to bear fruit, that it might be a vine of magnificence. Here, by the good field is signified the church as to the good of charity; many waters signify the knowledges, of good and truth. To form the bough is to multiply truths; and to bear fruit is to produce goods, which are uses. A vine of magnificence is the spiritual church, thus internal and external. (But these things, because they are arcana of regeneration and of the establishment of the church with man, may be better perceived from what is adduced in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem from Arcana Coelestia, concerning knowledges (scientiae) and knowledges (cognitiones), n. 51, and concerning regeneration, n. 183.)
[3] That eagle signifies intelligence is also evident in Isaiah:
"They that wait for Jehovah shall renew their strength, and mount up with wings as eagles" (40:31).
To mount up with wings as eagles denotes ascent into the light of heaven, thus into intelligence.
[4] Again, in David:
"Jehovah satisfieth thy mouth; so that thou art renewed as the eagle" (Psalm 103:5).
To be renewed as the eagle, means as to intelligence.
[5] Again, in Moses:
"Ye have seen how I bare you as on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself" (Exodus 19:4).
By bearing them as on eagles' wings and bringing them is also signified into intelligence, because into heaven and the light thereof.
[6] Again:
Jehovah "found him in a desert land; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the pupil of his eye. As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings; so Jehovah alone did lead him" (Deuteronomy 32:10-12).
Here the establishment of the Ancient Church is treated of, and the first reformation of those who belonged to that church; their first state is meant by the desert land in which Jehovah found them. This land denotes a state in which there is no good because there is no truth. Their instruction in truths, the guarding of them from falsities, and the opening of the interiors of their mind that they may come into the light of heaven and so into the understanding of truth and good, which is intelligence, is described by the eagle stirring up her nest, fluttering over her young, and bearing them upon her wings; comparison is here made with the eagle, because the eagle signifies intelligence.
[7] In 2 Samuel:
"Saul and Jonathan were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions" (1:23).
By Saul as king, and by Jonathan as son of a king, the truth of the church is signified; and because intelligence and power are therefrom, it is said that they were swifter than eagles, and stronger than lions; swiftness in the Word, when said of intelligence, signifying the affection of truth. For David wrote his lamentation over Saul and Jonathan to teach the sons of Judah the bow; and by the sons of Judah are signified the truths of the church, and by the bow is meant the doctrine of truth fighting against falsities.
[8] In Job:
"Doth the hawk fly by thy intelligence, and stretch her wings toward the south? Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high? In the rock she dwelleth and passeth the night, thence she seeketh her food, and her eyes behold afar off; and where the slain are, there is she" (Arcana Coelestia 4503).
[9] From these considerations it is evident what is signified by the words of the Lord when the disciples asked Him where the Last Judgment would be:
They said unto Him, "Where, Lord? He said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together" (Luke 17:37).
By the body is here signified the spiritual world, where all men are together, good and evil. By eagles are signified those who are in truths, and also those who are in falsities, thus those who are in true intelligence and those who are in false intelligence. False intelligence is from man's proprium, but true intelligence is from the Lord, by means of the Word.
[10] The falsities which are from man's own intelligence are also described by eagles in the following passages in the Word. In Jeremiah:
"Behold he ascendeth as clouds, and his chariots are as a storm, his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us, for we are spoiled" (Arcana Coelestia 7695, 7866), and by horses the understanding of truth, and, in the opposite sense, the understanding of falsity, or reasoning from fallacies against truths (see Arcana Coelestia 2760, 2761, 2762, 3217, 5321, 6125, 6400, 6534, 7024, 8146, 8148, 8381). And because horses signify the understanding of truth, and eagles intelligence, in this place man's own intelligence, which is reasoning from falsities, it is therefore said, "their horses are swifter than eagles."
[11] In Lamentations:
"Our persecutors were swifter than the eagles of the heavens" (4:19).
In Habakkuk:
"Their horses are swifter than leopards, and are fiercer than the wolves of evening: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, whence his horsemen come from far; they fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat. They come all for violence" (1:8, 9).
The eagle here, in like manner, signifies reasoning from falsities against truths, which is reasoning from man's own intelligence.
281. And the fourth animal was like a flying eagle, signifies the appearance in ultimates of the Divine guard and providence in respect to intelligence and as to circumspection on every side. This is evident from the signification of "eagle," as being intelligence; here Divine intelligence which is that of the Lord's guard and providence. "Eagle" means intelligence because intelligence is in the light of heaven, and the eagle flies high that he may be there and may look about on every side; this is why this face of the cherub appeared "like a flying eagle;" for "to fly" signifies presence and clear vision or every side, and in reference to the Divine it signifies omnipresence. "Eagle" signifies intelligence for this reason also, that the "birds of heaven" signify in a good sense things intellectual and rational, and the eagle especially, because it not only flies high but also has keen vision. (That "the birds of heaven" signify things intellectual and rational, in both senses, see Arcana Coelestia 745, 776, 866, 988, 991, 3219, 5149, 7441)
[2] That "eagle" signifies intelligence is evident from the following passages in the Word. In Ezekiel:
A great eagle, great in wings, long in pinions, full of feathers, which had divers colors [embroidery], came upon Lebanon, and took a twig of cedar; he plucked off the head of its shoots, and carried it into a land of traffic; and set it in the city of spice dealers. He took of the seed of the land, and placed it in a field of sowing; he took it to great waters, and placed it carefully; and it sprouted and became a luxuriant vine of low stature, so that its branches looked to it, and the roots thereof were under it; so it became a vine that produced shoots and sent out boughs. And there was another great eagle, great in wings and full of feathers; and behold, this vine did bend its roots toward it and sent forth its branches toward it to water it from the beds of its plantation; it was planted in a good field by many waters, to make the bough and to bear fruit, that it might be a vine of magnificence (Arcana Coelestia 9658, 9688). "It came upon Lebanon, and took a twig of cedar," signifies the reception of some knowledges of truth from the doctrine of the church which is from the Word; for "Lebanon" signifies that doctrine, and "the twig of cedar" knowledges. "He plucked off the head of its shoots, and carried it into a land of traffic," signifies primary knowledges from that doctrine to which knowledges [scientiae] were applied; "the head of the shoots" signifying primary knowledges, and "the land of traffic" the natural man, to which things known belong. "He set it in the city of spice dealers" signifies among truths from good in the natural man; "spices" signifying truths which are agreeable because from good (See Arcana Coelestia 4748, 5621, 9474, 9475, 10199, 10254). "He took of the seed of the land, and placed it in the field of sowing; he took it to great waters, and placed it carefully," signifies multiplication; "the seed of the land" meaning the truth of the church; "the field of sowing," the good from which it grows; "great waters," the knowledges of truth and good; "to place carefully," separation from falsities; "and it sprouted and became a luxuriant vine, so that its branches looked to it [the eagle] and the roots thereof were under it," signifies the church coming to the birth through the arrangement of the knowledges of truth, and from their application to use. "So it became a vine that produced shoots and sent out boughs," signifies the beginning of the spiritual church, and the continual increase of truths. (That "vine" is the spiritual church, see Arcana Coelestia 1069, 6375, 9277.) Thus far the beginning of the church with man, which takes place in the natural or external man, has been described; its establishment which takes place in the spiritual or internal man is now described by the other eagle; because this signifies spiritual intelligence, it said that "the vine did bend its roots toward it, that is, the eagle, and send forth its branches toward it;" for "roots" signify knowledges [scientiae], and "branches" the cognitions of truth and good, which are all applied to the truths which are n the spiritual or internal man; without their spiritual application man does not become wise at all. The multiplication and fructification of truth from good, thus the increase of intelligence, is described by "the vine was planted in a good field, by many waters, to make the bough and to bear fruit, that it might be a vine of magnificence;" "a good field" is the church in respect to the good of charity; "many waters" are the knowledges of good and truth; "to form the bough" is to multiply truths; "to bear fruit" is to bring forth goods, which are uses; "a vine of magnificence" is the spiritual church, both internal and external. (But these things, since they are arcana of regeneration and of the establishment of the church with man, can be better understood from what is (New Jerusalem and Heavenly Doctrine 51) (New Jerusalem and Heavenly Doctrine 183) brought together in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, from the Arcana Coelestia, On Knowledges [scientiis] and Cognitions, n. 51; and On Regeneration, n. 183.)
[3] That "eagle" signifies intelligence can also be seen in Isaiah:
They that wait upon Jehovah shall renew the strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles (Isaiah 40:31).
"To mount up with wings as eagles" is ascent into the light of heaven, thus into intelligence.
[4] In David:
Jehovah, who satisfieth thy mouth, so that thou shalt be renewed like an eagle (Psalms 103:5).
"To be renewed like an eagle" is to be renewed in respect to intelligence.
[5] In Moses:
Ye have seen how I bare you as on eagles' wings, and brought you unto Myself (Exodus 19:4).
"To bear as on eagles' wings, and to bring," also means into intelligence, because into heaven and its light.
[6] In the same:
Jehovah found him in the land of the wilderness. He led him about, He instructed him, He preserved him as the pupil of His eye. As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young; it spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh him, beareth him on her pinions, so Jehovah alone led him (Deuteronomy 32:10-12). This treats of the establishment of the Ancient Church, and the first reformation of those who were of that church; their first state is meant by "the land of the wilderness in which Jehovah found them;" "the land of the wilderness," is where there is no good because there is no truth; their instruction in truths, guarding them from falsities, and the opening of the interiors of their mind, that they may come into the light of heaven, and thus into the understanding of truth and good, which is intelligence, is described by "the eagle," its "nest on high," "it fluttereth over the young, and beareth them on the pinions;" comparison is made with the eagle, because "eagle" signifies intelligence.
[7] In the second book of Samuel:
Saul and Jonathan, swifter than eagles, and stronger than lions (2 Samuel 1:23).
"Saul" as a king, and "Jonathan" as a king's son, signify the truth of the church; and because intelligence is from truth, and also power, it is said that they were "swifter than eagles, and stronger than lions;" "swiftness" in the Word, in reference to intelligence, signifying the affection of truth. For David wrote his lamentation over Saul and Jonathan "to teach the sons of Judah the bow;" and "the sons of Judah" signify the truths of the church, and the "bow" means the doctrine of truth combating against falsities.
[8] In Job:
By thy intelligence doth the hawk fly, and spread her wings toward the south? At thy command doth the eagle mount up and make high her nest? In the rock she dwelleth and lodgeth; thence she searcheth her food; her eyes behold afar off; and where the slain are there is she (4503).
[9] From this it can be seen what is signified by the Lord's words when the disciples asked Him where the Last Judgment would be, in Luke:
The disciples said, Where, Lord? He said unto them, Where the body is, there will the eagles be gathered together (Luke 17:37).
The "body" here means the spiritual world, where all men are together, both the evil and the good; and "eagles" signify those who are in truths, and also those who are in falsities, thus those who are in true intelligence and those who are in false intelligence. False intelligence is from what is man's own [ex proprio], but true intelligence is from the Lord through the Word.
[10] The falsities that are from self-intelligence are also described by "eagles" in the following passages in the Word. In Jeremiah:
Behold he ascendeth as the clouds, and his chariot as the storm, his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us, for we are devastated (Arcana Coelestia 7695, 7866); and "horses" signify the understanding of truth, and in a contrary sense, the understanding of falsity or the reasoning from falsities against truth (Arcana Coelestia 2760-2762, 3217, 5321, 6125, 6400, 6534, 7024, 8146, 8148, 8381); and because "horses" signify this, and "eagles" intelligence, here self-intelligence which is reasoning from falsities, therefore it is said, "their horses are swifter than eagles."
[11] In Lamentations:
Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles of the heavens (Lamentations 4:19).
And in Habakkuk:
His horses are nimbler than leopards, and are fiercer than the evening wolves, that his horsemen may spread themselves; whence his horsemen come from far, they fly as an eagle that hasteth to eat. He cometh all for violence (Habakkuk 1:8-9);
here too, "eagle" stands for the reasoning from falsities against truths, which is from self-intelligence.
281. "Et quartum Animal simile aquilae volanti." Quod significet in ultimis apparentiam Divinae custodiae et providentiae quoad intelligentiam et quoad perspectionem undequaque, constat ex significatione "aquilae" quod sit intelligentia, hic intelligentia Divina quae est custodiae et providentiae Domini.
Quod "aquila" sit intelligentia, est quia intelligentia est in luce caeli, et aquila alte volat ut ibi sit, et circumspiciat undequaque; inde est quod haec facies cherubi apparuerit similis "aquilae volanti", "volare" enim significat praesentiam et perspectionem circumcirca, et cum de Divino omnipraesentiam: quod "aquila" significet intelligentiam, est etiam quia "aves caeli" in bono sensu significant intellectualia et rationalia, et aquila prae ceteris, quia non modo alte volat sed etiam acutae aciei est. (Quod aves caeli" significent intellectualia et rationalia in utroque sensu, videatur n. 745, 776, 866, 988, 1
[2] Quod "aquila" significet intelligentiam, constat ex his locis in Verbo: Apud Ezechielem,
"Aquila magna, magna alis, longa pennis, plena plumis, cui acupictura, venit super Libanum, et accepit ramusculum cedri; caput surculorum ejus decerpsit; et deduxit in terram negotiationis, in urbe aromatoriorum posuit id. Sumpsit de semine terrae, et posuit id in agro sementis; accepit ad aquas magnas, circumspecte posuit id; et germinavit, et factum est in vitem luxuriantem humili statura; ita ut respicerent palmites ejus ad illam, et radices ejus sub illa essent; sic facta est in vitem quae fecit palmites et emisit ramos. Et fuit aquila altera magna, magna alis et plena plumis, ad quam ecce vitis haec applicuit radices suas, et palmites suos misit ad illam, ad irrigandum eam ex areolis plantationis ejus, in agro bono apud aquas multas illa plantata, ad faciendum ramum, et ad portandum fructum, ut esset in vitem magnificentiae" (17:1-8):
agitur ibi de instauratione ecclesiae spiritualis a Domino, et describitur ibi in sensu interno processus instaurationis ejus seu regenerationis hominum ejus a principio ad finem; et per primam aquilam describitur processus regenerationis naturalis seu externi hominis per scientifica et per cognitiones ex Verbo; et per alteram aquilam describitur processus regenerationis spiritualis seu interni hominis per vera ex bono: inde per primam aquilam significatur intelligentia naturalis hominis, et per alteram intelligentia spiritualis hominis. Paucis etiam dicetur quid singula significant. Aquila prima dicitur "magna alis, longa pennis, plena plumis", et per illa significatur copia scientiarum et cognitionum veri et boni, ex qua prima intelligentia quae est intelligentia naturalis hominis; ideo dicitur "cui acupictura", per "acupicturam" enim significatur scientificum et cognitivum (videatur n. 9688): "venit super Libanum et accepit ramusculum cedri", significat quod ex doctrina ecclesiae quae ex Verbo acceperit aliquas cognitiones veri; per "Libanum" significatur illa doctrina, et per "ramusculum cedri" significantur cognitiones: "caput surculorum ejus decerpsit, et deduxit in terram negotiationis", significat primarias cognitiones inde, ad quas applicuit scientias (per "caput surculorum" significantur primariae cognitiones, et per "terram negotiationis" significatur naturalis homo cui scientiae): "in urbe aromatoriorum posuit id", significat inter vera ex bono ibi; per "aromata" significantur vera quae grata quia ex bono (n. 4748, 5621, 9474, 9475, 10199, 10254): "sumpsit de semine terrae, et posuit id in agro sementis, accepit ad aquas magnas, circumspecte posuit id", significat multiplicationem; "semen terrae" est verum ecclesiae, "ager sementis" est bonum ex quo crescit, "aquae magnae" sunt cognitiones veri et boni, "circumspecte ponere" est separare a falsis: "germinavit et factum est in vitem luxuriantem, ...ut respicerent palmites ejus ad illam, et radices ejus sub illa essent", significat nascentem ecclesiam ex ordinatione cognitionum veri et ex applicatione earum ad usum: "sic facta est in vitem quae fecit palmites et emisit ramos", significat initiamentum ecclesiae spiritualis, et crescentiam verorum continuam (quod "vitis" sit ecclesia spiritualis, videatur n. 1069, 6375, 9277). Huc usque descripta est initiatio ecclesiae apud hominem quae fit in naturali seu externo homine; describitur nunc instauratio ejus quae fit in spirituali seu interno homine per "aquilam alteram", per quam quia significatur intelligentia spiritualis, dicitur quod "vitis ad illam", nempe aquilam, "applicuerit radices suas et miserit palmites"; per "radices" enim significantur scientiae, et per "palmites" cognitiones veri et boni, quae omnes applicantur veris quae sunt in spirituali seu interno homine; sine earum applicatione spirituali homo nihil sapit: multiplicatio et fructificatio veri ex bono, ita incrementum intelligentiae, describitur per quod "illa plantata fuerit in agro bono, apud aquas multas, ad faciendum ramum, et ad portandum fructum, ut esset in vitem magnificentiae"; "ager bonus" est ecclesia quoad bonum charitatis, "aquae multae" sunt cognitiones boni et veri, "facere ramum" est multiplicare vera, "portare fructum" est producere bona quae sunt usus, "vitis magnificentiae" est ecclesia spiritualis, sic interna et externa. (Sed haec, quia arcana regenerationis et instaurationis ecclesiae apud hominem sunt, melius perspici possunt ex illis quae in Doctrina Novae Hierosolymae, ex Arcanis Caelestibus, De Scientiis et Cognitionibus, n. 51, tum quae De Regeneratione, n. 183 ibi, allata sunt.)
[3] Quod "aquila" intelligentiam significet, etiam constare potest apud Esaiam,
"Exspectantes Jehovam innovantur robore, et ascendunt ala sicut aquilae" (40:31);
"ascendere ala sicut aquilae", est in lucem caeli, ita in intelligentiam.
[4] Apud Davidem,
"Jehovah qui saturat os tuum, ut renoveris sicut aquila..." (Psalms 103:5);
"renovari sicut aquila" est quoad intelligentiam.
[5] Apud Mosen,
"Vidistis... quomodo tulerim vos sicut alis aquilarum, et adduxerim vos ad Me" (Exodus 19:4);
"ferre sicut alis aquilarum et adducere" est quoque in intelligentiam, quia in caelum et ejus lucem.
[6] Apud eundem,
Jehovah "invenit eum in terra deserti, ... circumduxit eum, instruxit eum, custodivit eum sicut pupillum oculi; sicut aquila excitat nidum suum, super pullis motitat se, expandit alas suas, accipit eum, portat eum super ala sua; sic Jehovah solus ducit eum" (Deuteronomius 32:10-12):
agitur ibi de instauratione Ecclesiae Antiquae, ac de prima reformatione eorum qui ab ea ecclesia; primus status eorum intelligitur per "terram deserti" in qua invenit illos; "terra deserti" est ubi non bonum quia non verum; instructio eorum in veris, custoditio a falsis, ac aperitio interiorum quae mentis eorum ut venirent in lucem caeli, et sic in intellectum veri et boni qui est intelligentia, describitur per "aquilam", ejus "nidum in alto", ejus "motitationem super pullis, et portationem eorum super alis"; comparatio fit cum aquila quia "aquila" significat intelligentiam.
[7] In Libro Secundo Samuelis,
"Saul et Jonathan. .. prae aquilis veloces, et prae leonibus validi" (1:23);
per "Saulem" ut regem et per "Jonathanem" ut filium regis significatur verum ecclesiae; et quia inde est intelligentia et quoque potentia, dicitur quod "prae aquilis essent veloces et prae leonibuS validi"; "velocitas" in Verbo, cum de intelligentia, significat affectionem veri: inscripsit enim David suum lamentum super Saulem et Jonathanem "Ad docendum filios Jehudae arcum", et per "filios Jehudae" significantur vera ecclesiae, et per "arcum" doctrina veri pugnantis contra falsa.
[8] Apud Hiobum,
"Num per intelligentiam tuam volat accipiter, et expandit alas suas versus austrum? Num juxta os tuum attollit se aquila, et in alto ponit nidum suum? In petra habitat et pernoctat, ...inde pervestigat cibum, in longinquum oculi ejus prospiciunt; ...et ubi sunt confossi ibi illa" (39:26-30):
agitur ibi de intelligentia, quod nemo illam ex se seu ex proprio comparare possit; quare dicitur "Num per intelligentiam tuam volat accipiter, et expandit alas suas versus austrum?" (per quod) significatur inducere semet in lucem intelligentiae (hanc significat "austrum"), hic autem non posse. Ipsa intelligentia quae spiritualis hominis describitur per quod "aquila se attollat, in alto ponat nidum, in petra habitet et pernoctet, inde pervestiget cibum, et oculis in longinquum prospiciat": quod nulli talis intelligentia ex se sit, significatur per "Num ad os tuum" hoc facit aquila? At quod ex propria intelligentia non prodeant nisi quam falsa, significatur per "Ubi sunt confossi ibi illa"; "confossi" in Verbo significant illos apud quos vera exstincta sunt per falsa (videatur n. 4503).
[9] Ex his constare potest quid significatur per Domini verba quando interrogaverunt Ipsum ubinam ultimum judicium: apud Lucam,
Dixerunt discipuli, "Ubi Domine? Ipse dixit eis, Ubi corpus ibi congregabuntur aquilae" (17:37);
per "corpus" ibi significatur mundus spiritualis, ubi omnes homines simul sunt tam boni quam mali; et per "aquilas" significantur qui in veris et qui in falsis, ita qui in intelligentia vera et qui in intelligentia falsa; haec intelligentia est ex proprio hominis, intelligentia vera autem est ex Domino per Verbum.
[10] Falsa quae sunt ex propria intelligentia etiam describuntur per "aquilas" in Verbo, ut in sequentibus his locis: Apud Jeremiam,
"Ecce sicut nubes ascendit, et sicut procella currus ejus, celeres sunt prae aquilis equi ejus; vae nobis quia devastati sumus" (4:13);
agitur ibi de desolatione veri in ecclesia, et per "nubem" quae ascendit, significantur falsa; per "currum" qui sicut procella, significatur doctrina falsi; cupiditas et voluptas eorum ratiocinandi contra vera et destruendi illa significatur per quod "celeres sint prae aquilis equi eorum"; per "velox" et "festinum" in Verbo significatur excitatum ab affectione et cupidine (videatur n. 7695, 7866); et per "equos" intellectus veri, et in opposito sensu intellectus falsi seu ratiocinatio ex falsis contra vera (n. 2760-2762, 3217, 5321, 6125, 6400, 6534, 7024, 8146, 8148, 8381): et quia equi hoc significant, et "aquilae" intelligentiam, hic intelligentiam propriam quae est ratiocinatio ex falsis, ideo dicitur "Celeres sunt prae aquilis equi illorum."
[11] In Threnis,
"Veloces fuerunt persecutores nostri prae aquilis caelorum" (Threnis 4:19 2
);
et apud Habakuk,
"Cujus leves sunt prae pardis equi, et acuti sunt prae lupis vesperae, ut diffundant se equites ejus; unde equites ejus e longinquo adveniunt, advolant sicut aquila festinans ad comedendum; tota ad violentiam venit" (1:8, 9):
similiter hic "aquila" pro ratiocinatione ex falsis contra vera, quae est ex propria intelligentia.
Footnotes:
1. The editors made a correction or note here.
2. The editors made a correction or note here.