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506. And the third part of the trees was burnt up.- This signifies that the perceptions and knowledges of truth and good perished through desires springing from evil loves, as is plain from the signification of a third part, when used in reference to truths, for it denotes all, concerning which we shall treat in what follows; and from the signification of trees, as denoting the interior things of man, which are those of his mind (see above, n. 109), and thence the perceptions concerning truths and goods, and the cognitions of them (see above, n. 420); and from the signification of being burned, as denoting to perish by lusts springing from evil loves, as stated just above (n. 504), where it was shown that those lusts are signified by fire, wherefore to be burned denotes to perish by means of them.
[2] The third part signifies all, and therefore the third part of the trees the all of perception concerning truths and goods, and thence all the knowledges thereof, because three signifies what is full, the whole, and all, and these are said of truths similarly, therefore, the third part, for third signifies the same as three. Numbers also multiplied into one another, and divided by one another, have a signification similar to the integers from which they are derived, as may be seen above (n. 8)
"And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, died" (Verse 9);
"A burning star fell upon the third part of the rivers" (Verse 10)
"And the third part of the waters became wormwood" (Verse 11);
"And the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars" (12; also chap. 9:15, 18; 12:4).
[3] Here, it is described how all perception of truth and good, and thence the cognition of them, would first perish by means of the loves of self and of the world, and the lusts and pleasures arising therefrom. The reason why the perception and cognition of spiritual truth and good perish through those loves and the lusts thence arising, is, that those loves are corporeal and merely natural loves, into which also man is born, and which, unless subdued and ruled by spiritual loves, which are out of heaven from the Lord, extinguish all perception and thence cognition concerning the truths and goods of heaven and of the church; for those loves, considered in themselves, are altogether opposite to spiritual loves. It is therefore evident, that when the church lapses, it first passes from an internal spiritual into a natural state, and this consists in the love of self and of the world above all things; consequently it then comes into thick darkness in regard to all things of heaven and of the church, although it may be in light as to the things of the world.
[4] When perception concerning spiritual truths and goods perishes, the cognition of them also perishes, for although man knows them, and speaks of them, either from the Word or from doctrine, still he does not know them, when he has no perception of them. The perception of a thing makes the cognition of it. Cognition without perception is not alive, but dead, and is also a cognition of the meaning of the words only, and not of the thing itself. Such are the cognitions of truth and good from the Word and the doctrine of the church with those in whom the love of self and the love of the world hold the chief place, although they have been taught to speak and preach artificially and ingeniously about them. They are only shells, which appear before the vulgar to have kernels within, although they are empty.
506. And the third part of the trees was burnt up, signifies that the perceptions and knowledges of truth and good were destroyed by cupidities arising from evil loves. This is evident from the signification of "a third part," when predicated of truths, as meaning all (of which presently); also from the signification of "trees," as being the interiors of man that belong to his mind (of which above, n. 109, and thus the perceptions of truths and goods, and the knowledges of them (See above, n. 420); also from the signification of "to be burnt up," as being to be destroyed by cupidities arising from evil loves, of which just above (n. 504) here it was shown that these cupidities are signified by "fire," therefore "to be burnt up" means to be destroyed by these.
[2] "The third part" signifies all, and thus "the third part of the trees" signifies every perception of truths and goods, and thence every knowledge of them, because the number "three" signifies fullness, the whole, and all, and is predicated of truths; so "the third part" has the like meaning, for "a third" means the same as "three;" moreover, numbers multiplied into themselves and divided by themselves have a similar signification as the integral numbers from which they are derived (See above, n. 8);
The third part of the creatures that were in the sea died (verse 9);
A burning star fell upon the third part of the rivers (verse 10);
The third part of the waters became wormwood (verse 11);
The third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars (verse 12; likewise Revelation 9:15, 18; 12:4).
[3] This describes how all perception of truth and good, and thence the knowledge of them, were first destroyed by the loves of self and the world and the cupidities and pleasures arising therefrom. The perception and knowledge of spiritual truth and good are destroyed by these loves and the cupidities arising therefrom, because these loves are the corporeal and merely natural loves into which man is born and unless these are subdued and ruled by spiritual loves, which are out of heaven from the Lord, they extinguish every perception and thence every knowledge of the truths and goods of heaven and the church; for these loves regarded in themselves are diametrically opposite to the spiritual loves. From this it can be seen that when the church lapses it comes first from an internal spiritual state into a natural state, that consists of loving self and the world above all things; thence then it is in thick darkness in respect to all things of heaven and the church, however much light it may have in respect to the things of the world.
[4] When the perception of spiritual truths and goods perishes, the knowledge of them also perishes, for although man knows them and speaks of them from the Word or from doctrine, still he does not know them when he does not perceive them. The perception of a thing makes the knowledge of it. Knowledge without perception is not living, but dead, and is a knowledge of the mere sense of the words, and not of the thing itself. Such are the knowledges of truth and good from the Word and from the doctrine of the church that those have with whom the loves of self and the world are dominant; however skilled such may be in cleverly and artfully speaking and preaching about them, yet they are mere shells, which seem before the vulgar to have kernels within, and yet they are empty.
506. "Et tertia pars arborum combusta est." - Quod significet quod perceptiones et cognitiones veri et boni per cupiditates oriundas ex malis amoribus perierint, constat ex significatione "tertiae partis", cum dicitur de veris, quod sit omne (de qua sequitur); ex significatione "arborum", quod sint interiora hominis quae sunt mentis ejus (de qua supra, n. 109), et inde perceptiones de veris et bonis, ac cognitiones eorum (supra, n. 420); et ex significatione "comburi", quod sit perire per cupiditates oriundas ex amoribus malis, de qua mox supra (n. 504 [c-e]), ubi ostensum est quod "ignis" significet illas cupiditates; quare "comburi" est per illas perire.
[2] Quod "tertia pars" significet omne, et sic "tertia pars arborum" omne perceptionis de veris et bonis et inde omnes cognitiones illorum, est quia "tria" significant plenum, totum et omne, ac dicuntur de veris; inde "tertia pars" similiter, nam "tertium" significat id; et quoque numeri in se multiplicati et a se divisi similia cum integris a quibus sunt, significant (videatur supra, n. 430 [a, b]): "quod tertia pars" significet omne, et dicatur de veris, videatur etiam supra (n. 384). Simile per "tertiam partem" significatur in his sequentibus:
"Facta est tertia pars maris sanguis" (vers. 8);
"Mortua est tertia pars creaturarum in mari" (vers. 9);
"Stella ardens cecidit super tertiam partem fluviorum" (vers. 10);
"Facta est tertia pars aquarum absinthium" (vers. 11);
"Percussa est tertia pars solis, et tertia pars lunae, et tertia pars stellarum", (vers. 12). (Tum cap. Apoc. 9:15, 18; 12:4.)
[3] Describitur hic, quod omnis perceptio veri et boni, et inde cognitio eorum, per amores sui et mundi et inde oriundas cupiditates et voluptates primum perierit. Quod per illos amores et inde oriundas cupiditates perceptio et cognitio veri et boni spiritualis pereat, est quia illi amores sunt amores corporei et mere naturales, in quos etiam homo nascitur; qui nisi domantur et reguntur per amores spirituales, quae sunt e caelo a Domino, exstinguunt omnem perceptionem et inde cognitionem de veris et bonis caeli et ecclesiae; nam illi amores, in se spectati, sunt e diametro oppositi amoribus spiritualibus. Exinde constare potest quod ecclesia, cum labitur, primum veniat a statu interno spirituali in naturalem, qui est ut se et mundum super omnia amet; inde tunc in caligine est quoad omnia ecclesiae et caeli, utcunque in luce quoad illa quae mundi sunt.
[4] Quando perceptio de veris et bonis spiritualibus perit, etiam cognitio illorum perit; nam etsi homo scit illa et loquitur illa, vel ex Verbo vel ex doctrina, usque non scit illa quando non percipit illa: perceptio rei facit cognitionem ejus; cognitio absque perceptione est mortua et non viva, et quoque est cognitio solius sensus vocum et non ipsius rei. Tales cognitiones veri et boni, ex Verbo et ex doctrina ecclesiae, sunt apud illos apud quos praedominantur amores sui et mundi, utcunque edocti sunt ingeniose et artificialiter de illis loqui et praedicare; sunt usque modo crustae, quae apparent coram vulgo sicut intus in illis forent nuclei, cum tamen sunt vacuae.