----中文待译----
622. And when I had eaten it, my belly was made bitter.- That this signifies that it was examined and perceived that the Word was interiorly undelightful from the adulterated truth of the sense of its letter, is evident from the things explained above (n. 617, 618), where similar words occur. The reason why the belly here signifies the interiors of the Word, which are called spiritual, is, that exploration was represented by the devouring or eating up of the little book, which means the Word, and by its taste, which means perception. Hence the first perception is signified by the taste in the mouth, where the little book was sweet as honey. The first perception of the Word is the perception of the quality of the sense of its letter, thus of the exterior quality of the Word. But the other perception is signified by its taste when it came into the belly which is said to have been made bitter; and this other perception of the Word is the perception of the quality of its spiritual sense, or of the interior quality of the Word. Hence it is, that as the exterior is signified by the mouth, therefore here the interior is signified by the belly, because interiorly received and explored. The reason why the belly signifies interior things, is, that the belly inwardly stores up the food, and food signifies every thing that nourishes the soul, and because the belly, as well as the rest of the viscera, is within, or in the midst of the body, therefore, in the Word, the belly, and also the bowels (viscera), signify interior things.
[2] That the belly and the bowels signify interior things, is evident from the following places.
Thus in Ezekiel:
"Son of man, feed thy belly, and fill thy bowels with this roll" (3:1, 3).
Similar things are signified by these words as by those just explained in the Apocalypse, that is, that he took the little book and ate it up. For the roll, like the little book, signifies the Word, and by feeding the belly, and filling the bowels with the roll, is signified, to explore as to how the Word is understood in the church, which is done by the reading and perception of it.
[3] Again, in David:
"Fill their belly with thy treasure; the sons are fed to the full, and they leave their residue to their infants" (Psalm 17:14).
The treasure here mentioned signifies the truth of the Word, the belly, the interior understanding; therefore, by filling their belly with treasure is signified to instruct their interior understanding in the truths of the Word. That those therefore who are affected with truths are fully instructed, is signified by, the sons are fed to the full, sons denoting those who are in the affection for truth, and the sons' infants, truths springing up; of these it is said that they leave their residue to their infants. It is here said, the interior understanding, for man has an exterior understanding and an interior; the exterior understanding pertains to the natural mind, and the interior understanding to the spiritual mind; the interior understanding is signified by the belly.
[4] Again, in John,
Jesus said, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture saith, out of his belly shall flow streams of living water. This spake he of the Spirit, which they who believe on him should receive" (7:37-39).
The Lord thus describes the Divine Truth interiorly perceived by those who are in the spiritual affection for truth; these are meant by those who thirst, and come to the Lord and drink. That such have understanding of Divine Truth, is signified by, out of his belly shall flow streams of living water, streams out of the belly denoting, the interior understanding or intelligence, and living water Divine Truth from the Lord. And because the Holy Spirit signifies the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord, it is therefore added, "this spake he of the Spirit, which they who believe on him should receive."
[5] Again, in Mark:
"Whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man cannot defile him, because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and is cast out into the draught, purging all foods; but that which goeth out of the man, that defileth the man, for it goeth from within out of the heart of man" (7:18-21; Matthew 15:17-20).
These words are to be understood as follows: that those things, whether falsities or evils, which, either from the sight or hearing, flow into the thought of the understanding, and not into the affection of its will, do not affect or influence the man, because the thought of the understanding of a man, so far as it does not proceed from the affection of his will, is not in the man, but outside of him, therefore it is not appropriated to him. The case is similar in regard to truth and good. These things the Lord teaches by correspondences, when He says, that that which enters by the mouth into the belly does not render a man unclean, because it enters not into the heart, for that which enters into the belly is cast out into the draught; and this means that what enters the thought of the understanding of man from without or from the outside, whether from objects of the sight, speech, or memory, does not render him unclean, but that so far as it is not of his affection or will, it is separated and cast out, just as that which is taken into the belly is cast out into the draught.
These spiritual things the Lord expounded by means of natural things, because the foods that are taken into the mouth, and thus passed into the belly, signify those things that man spiritually receives, and with which he nourishes his soul, and therefore the belly corresponds to the thought of the understanding, and also signifies it. That the heart signifies the affection of the will of man was shown above; likewise, that that alone is appropriated to man which becomes a part of his affection or will. That spiritual things, and not natural things, are meant, is evident, for the Lord declares that out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. Since the falsities and evils which enter from without into the thoughts, enter from the hells, and if not received by man in the affection of the will are cast back into the hells, it is therefore said that they are cast out into the draught. For the draught signifies hell, because all things are unclean in the hells, and those who have been cast there out of heaven (e coelo), which, being in form as a man, is therefore called the Grand Man (Maximus Homo), and also corresponds to all things of man; whereas the hells correspond to the ejections from the belly of the Grand Man or of heaven, for this reason hell in the spiritual sense is meant by the draught. The belly is said to purge all foods, because the belly signifies the thought of the understanding, as stated above, and foods signify every kind of spiritual nourishment, and the thought of the understanding is that which separates the unclean from the clean, and thus purges.
[6] Again, in Jeremiah:
Jehovah God said, "Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon hath disturbed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up as a sea monster (cetus), he hath filled his belly with my delicacies, he hath driven me away" (51:34).
Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon signifies the profanation of Divine Truth; and because those who profane it drink it in more than others and use it for the purpose of filthy loves, especially the love of ruling, even to the transferring of all Divine power to themselves, this is signified by the words, "he hath swallowed me up as a sea monster, he hath filled his belly with my delicacies," the sea monster signifying the ultimate Natural, in which those are who are in the love of self, while delicacies denote cognitions of truth and good from the Word, and to fill the belly with them signifies here to imbibe and profane them.
[7] Again, in David:
"Have mercy upon me, O Jehovah, for I am in distress; mine eye wasteth away with indignation, my soul and my belly" (Psalm 31:9).
The eye, the soul, and the belly, here signify the understanding, and thence the thought of truth, interior and exterior; thus by the belly are signified the interiors of the understanding, which are said to waste away with indignation when they perish through falsities.
[8] Again:
"Our soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly cleaveth unto the earth" (Psalms 44:25).
The soul and the belly in the spiritual sense here also signify the thought of the understanding, and being bowed down to the dust, and cleaving to the earth, signifies to be imbued with falsities, for dust and earth here signify what is infernal and accursed. Infernal and accursed are also signified by going upon the belly and by eating dust, as was said to the serpent:
"Be thou cursed above all beasts, and above every wild beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life" (Genesis 3:14).
For the same reason it was altogether forbidden to eat whatsoever goeth upon the belly, for it was an abomination (Leviticus 11:42). The reason why dust, and the cleaving of the belly to the earth, signify infernal and accursed falsity, is, that the hells are under the lands (sub terris) in the spiritual world, and through the lands in that world falsities of evil are exhaled from the hells. And because the belly from correspondence signifies the interiors of the understanding and thought, infected and imbued with the falsities of evil if they adhere to those earths, therefore also in the spiritual world no one lies with the belly upon the earth. Moreover to walk there upon the earth with the feet, denotes to touch and drink in exhalations from the hells with the corporeal Natural, which corresponds to the soles of the feet, and this Natural has no communication with the thoughts of the understanding, except with those who are in evils as to life and falsities as to doctrine.
[9] Again, in Job:
"The belly prepareth deceit" (15:35).
And again, in the same:
"For I am full of words, the spirit of my belly constraineth me; and, my belly, as wine, is not opened" (32:18, 19).
By these words is meant that he could not open the thoughts of his understanding.
Again, in Jeremiah:
"O Jerusalem, wash thy heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thoughts of iniquity abide in thy belly?" (4:14).
In these words thoughts are clearly attributed to the belly, for it is said, "How long shall thoughts of iniquity abide in thy belly?" wickedness also is attributed to the heart, because the heart corresponds to the will, where wickedness resides.
And in David:
"For there is nothing certain in the mouth of any one; their belly is perditions; their throat is an open sepulchre, with their tongue they speak smoothly" (Psalm 5:9).
Here also perditions, that is, evil thoughts, are attributed to the belly.
Again:
"The belly of man (vir) and the heart are deep" (Psalm 64:6).
The belly of a man signifies thoughts of falsity, and the heart, the affections of evil, the latter pertaining to the will, the former to the understanding.
So in Habakkuk:
"My belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice" (3:16).
By the belly trembling is signified grief of thought, wherefore it is also said, "My lips quivered at the voice," denoting a stammering thence of the speech. The belly (viscera) of the sea monster (ceti), in which Jonah was three days and three nights (Jonah 1:17), signifies the hells where the direst falsities are, with which he was encompassed, consequently grievous temptations, as is evident from the prophecy of Jonah in the same chapter, where it is said:
Out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice (2:2).
[10] That the bowels (viscera) have a similar signification to the belly (venter) is clear from the following passages.
In Isaiah:
"My bowels are moved like a harp for Moab, and my inward part for Kir-heres" (16:11).
In David:
"Bless Jehovah, O my soul; and all my bowels the name of his holiness" (Psalm 103:1).
And again:
"I have desired to do thy will, O my God, and thy law is in my bowels" (Psalm 40:8).
In Ezekiel:
"Their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of Jehovah; they shall not satisfy their soul, neither fill their bowels" (7:19).
Their silver and gold signify the falsities and evils of the religion which is from their own intelligence and their own will; that no spiritual nourishment or intelligence, and affection for good comes from these, is signified by, they shall not satisfy their soul, neither fill their bowels. Because the bowels signify the interiors of thought, and because these are affected with grief, therefore such grief is expressed in the Word by "the moving of the bowels"; as in Isaiah 63:15; Jeremiah 31:20; Lamentations 1:20; Matthew 9:36; Mark 6:34; 8:2; Luke 1:78; 7:12, 13; 10:33, 34; 15:20.
[11] Since the belly signifies the interiors of the thought or of the understanding, therefore by the fruit of the belly in the spiritual sense, are signified the goods of the understanding, and by sons its truths.
Thus in David:
"Lo, sons are the heritage of Jehovah, the fruit of the belly the reward" (Psalm 127:3).
And in Isaiah:
"They shall have no pity on the fruit of the belly; their eye shall not spare the sons" (13:18).
And in Job:
"Pitying I mourn for the sons of my belly" (19:17).
And in Moses:
"He will bless the fruit of the belly, and the fruit of the land" (Deuteronomy 7:13).
And in Hosea:
"Yea when they have brought forth, I will slay the desires of their belly" (9:11, 16).
The fruit of the belly and the desires of the belly, signify, in the sense of the letter, natural offspring, but in the spiritual sense spiritual offspring, which is knowledge (scientia), intelligence, and wisdom, for into these man is re-born when he is regenerated. For this reason births, sons and daughters, and other names referring to nativity, signify such things as pertain to spiritual nativity or regeneration. For the angels, who perceive the Word spiritually, are unacquainted with any other birth or fruit of the belly.
[12] Therefore the womb and the belly signify similar things in the following passages.
Thus in Isaiah:
"O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! Thy seed had then been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the small stones thereof" (48:18, 19).
And in David:
"I was cast upon thee from my mother's belly, thou art my God" (Psalms 22:10).
And again:
"For thou hast possessed my reins; thou hast covered me in my mother's belly" (Psalms 139:13).
And again:
"The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from the belly, speaking a lie" (Psalms 58:3), and in other places.
[13] The belly or the bowels signify the interiors of the thought or of the understanding, because there are two lives with man, the life of the understanding, and the life of the will. All things of the body correspond to these two fountains of life, and are therefore acted upon and act at their direction to such a degree that whatever part of the body does not suffer itself to be acted upon by them is not alive; consequently the whole body is subject to the government of those two lives. For all things in the body that are moved by the respiration of the lungs, and in the measure that they are so moved, are under the government of the life of the understanding, and all things in the body that are acted upon by the pulsation of the heart, and in the measure that they are so acted upon, are under the government of the life of the will. For this reason mention is frequently made in the Word of the soul and the heart, and the soul signifies the life of the understanding, and also the life of faith, for the term soul is used in reference to respiration, while the heart signifies the life of the will, and also the life of the love. Therefore also the belly and the bowels are spoken of in reference to thought which is of the understanding, while the heart refers to affection which is of the will.
622. And when I had eaten it my belly was made bitter, signifies that it was perceived and ascertained that the Word was inwardly undelightful because of the adulterated truth of the sense of its letter. This is evident from the explanations above (n. 617, 618), where there are like words. The "belly" here signifies the interiors of the Word, which are called spiritual, because exploration was represented by "devouring or eating up the little book," which means the Word, and by its taste, which means perception; therefore the first perception is signified by the taste in the mouth, where the little book was "sweet as honey." The first perception of the Word is such as is the perception of the sense of its letter, that is, as the Word is outwardly. The other perception however is signified by its taste when it has come into the belly, which is said to be made bitter by it. This other perception of the Word is such as the perception of its spiritual sense is, that is, as the Word is inwardly. Consequently, as the "mouth" signifies what is exterior, so here the "belly" signifies what is interior, because inwardly received and ascertained. The "belly" signifies interior things because the belly stores up the food inwardly, and "food" signifies everything that nourishes the soul; also because the belly, like the bowels, is within or in the midst of the body; for this reason the "belly," and also the "bowels," signify in the Word interior things.
[2] That the "belly," and the "bowels" signify interior things can be seen from the following passages.
In Ezekiel:
Son of man, feed thy belly and fill thy bowels with this roll (Ezekiel 3:1, 3).
This has a similar signification as what is now being explained in Revelation, that "he took and ate up the little book," for the "roll" has a similar signification as "the little book," namely, the Word, and "to feed the belly and fill the bowels with the roll" signifies to explore how the Word is understood in the church, which is done by the reading and perception of it.
[3] In David:
Fill their belly with Thy treasure; the sons are fed to the full, and what remains to them they leave to their babes (Psalms 17:14).
"Treasure" signifies the truth of the Word, "belly" the interior understanding, so "to fill their belly with treasure" signifies to instruct their interior understanding in the truths of the Word; that thence those who are affected by truths are fully instructed is signified by "the sons are fed to the full," "sons" signifying those who are in the affection of truth; and the sons' "babes," truths in their birth; of such it is said that "what remains to them they leave to their babes." It is here said the interior understanding, for man has an exterior understanding and an interior understanding; the exterior understanding is of the natural mind, and the interior understanding is of the spiritual mind; the interior understanding is signified by the "belly."
[4] In John:
Jesus said, If anyone thirst let him come unto Me and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture saith, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. This He said of the Spirit which they that believe on Him were to receive (John 7:37-39).
Thus the Lord describes Divine truth inwardly perceived by those who are in the spiritual affection of truth; such are meant by "those who thirst and come to the Lord and drink;" that such shall have an understanding of Divine truth is signified by "out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water," "rivers out of the belly" meaning interior understanding or intelligence, and "living water," Divine truth from the Lord; and as "the Holy Spirit" means Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, it is added "this He said of the Spirit which they that believe on Him were to receive."
[5] In Mark:
Whatsoever from without goeth into the man cannot render him unclean, because it goeth not into his heart but into the belly; and is cast out into the draught purging all foods. But that which goeth forth out of the man, that rendereth the man unclean; for from within out of the heart of men it goeth forth (Mark 7:18-21; Matthew 15:17-20).
These words must be thus understood, that all things, whether falsities or evils, that from things seen or things heard flow into the thought of the understanding and not into the affection of its will, do not affect or infect the man, since the thought of a man's understanding, so far as it does not proceed from the affection of his will, is not in the man but outside of him, therefore it is not appropriated to him; it is similar with truth and good. This the Lord teaches by correspondences when He says that "that which enters through the mouth into the belly does not render a man unclean, because it does not enter into the heart, for that which enters into the belly is cast out into the draught;" which means that whatever enters into the thought of man's understanding from without or from the outside, whether from objects of sight or from objects of speech or from objects of the memory, does not render him unclean, but so far as it is not of his affection or will it is separated and cast out, as what is taken into the belly is cast out into the draught. These spiritual things the Lord explained by natural things, since the foods that are taken into the mouth and thus pass into the belly signify such things as man takes in spiritually and with which he nourishes his soul; this is why the "belly" corresponds to the thought of the understanding and signifies it. That the "heart" signifies the affection of man's will has been shown above; also that only that which is made a part of a man's affection or will is appropriated to him. Evidently spiritual, not natural, things are here meant, for the Lord says that "out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, whoredoms, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies." Since the falsities and evils that enter from without into the thoughts enter from the hells, and if not received by man with the will's affection are cast back into the hells, it is said that "they are cast out into the draught," for the "draught" signifies hell; and for the reason that in the hells all things are unclean, and those who are there have been cast out of heaven, which is like a man in form, and is therefore called the Greatest Man and also corresponds to all things of man, while the hells correspond to what is cast out of the belly of the Greatest Man or heaven; this is why hell is meant in the spiritual sense by the "draught." The "belly" is said "to purge all foods," because the "belly" signifies the thought of the understanding, as has been said above, and "foods" signify all spiritual nourishments, and the thought of the understanding is what separates unclean things from what are clean, and thus purges.
[6] In Jeremiah:
Jehovah God hath said, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon hath confounded Me, he hath placed Me as an empty vessel, he hath swallowed Me up as a whale, he hath filled his belly with My delicacies, he hath thrust Me out (Jeremiah 51:34).
"Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon" signifies the profanation of Divine truth; and as those who profane it drink it in more than others and apply it to filthy loves, especially to the love of rule, even to the transference to themselves of all Divine power, this is signified by "he hath swallowed me up as a whale, he hath filled his belly with my delicacies," "whale" signifying the lowest natural, in which those are who are in the love of self, and "delicacies" meaning the knowledges of truth and good from the Word, so "to fill the belly with them" signifies to drink in and to profane them.
[7] In David:
Be gracious unto me, O Jehovah, for I am in distress; mine eye wasteth away with vexation, my soul and my belly (Psalms 31:9).
"Eye, soul, and belly," here signify the understanding and exterior and interior thought of truth therefrom; thus the "belly" signifies the interiors of the understanding, which are said "to waste away with vexation" when they are destroyed by falsities.
[8] In the same:
Our soul is bowed down to the dust, our belly cleaveth unto the earth (Psalms 44:25).
Here, too, "soul" and "belly" signify in the spiritual sense the thought of the understanding; and "bowed down to the dust," and "cleaving to the earth," signify to be imbued with falsities, for "dust" and "earth" signify what is infernal and damned. What is infernal and damned is signified also by "going upon the belly" and "eating dust," as was said to the serpent:
Be thou cursed above all beasts, and above all the wild beasts of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life (Genesis 3:14).
For this reason also:
It was strictly forbidden to eat anything that goeth upon the belly, for it was an abomination (Leviticus 11:42).
"Dust" and "the cleaving of the belly to the earth" signify falsity infernal and damned, because in the spiritual world the hells are under the lands, and through the lands there, falsities of evil are exhaled from the hells; also because the "belly" signifies from correspondence the interiors of the understanding and of thought, and these, if they cleave to the earths there, are infected and imbued with the falsities of evil. For this reason, in the spiritual world no one lies with the belly upon the ground; and indeed, to walk there with the feet upon the ground means to touch and drink in what is exhaled from the hells with the corporeal natural, which corresponds to the soles of the feet; and this natural has no communication with the thoughts of the understanding, except in those who are in evils in respect to life and in falsities in respect to doctrine.
[9] In Job:
The belly prepareth deceit (Job 15:35).
And again:
I am filled with words, the spirit of my belly causes anguish for me; and my belly, like wine, is not opened (Job 32:18, 19);
which means inability to open the thoughts of one's understanding. In Jeremiah:
O Jerusalem, wash thy heart from evil, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thoughts of thy iniquity lodge in thy belly? (Jeremiah 4:14).
Here thoughts are plainly attributed to the belly, for it is said, "How long shall thoughts of iniquity lodge in thy belly?" and evil is attributed to the heart, because the heart corresponds to the will, in which evil has its seat. In David:
There is no certainty in the mouth of anyone; perditions are their belly; their throat is an open sepulcher; they flatter with their tongue (Psalms 5:9).
Here "perditions," that is, evil thoughts, are attributed to "the belly." In the same:
The belly of man and the heart are deep (Psalms 64:6).
Here "the belly of man" signifies the thoughts of falsity, and "the heart" the affections of evil; the latter belong to the will, the former to the understanding. In Habakkuk:
My belly trembled, my lips quivered at the voice (Habakkuk 3:16).
"My belly trembled" signifies grief of thought, therefore it is added, "my lips quivered at the voice," which signifies a consequent stammering of the speech:
The bowels of the whale in which Jonah was three days and three nights (Jonah 1:17);
signifies the hells where there are most direful falsities, with which he was encompassed, consequently grievous temptations, as can be seen from the prophecy of Jonah in the next chapter, where it is also said:
Out of the belly of hell have I cried, and Thou hast heard my voice (Jonah 2:2).
[10] The "bowels" have a similar signification as the "belly," as can be seen from the following passages. In Isaiah:
My bowels are moved like a harp for Moab, and My inward part for Kir-heres (Isaiah 16:11).
In David:
Bless Jehovah, O my soul, and all my bowels the name of His holiness (Psalms 103:1).
In the same:
I have desired to do Thy will, O my God, and Thy law is in my bowels (Psalms 40:8).
In Ezekiel:
Their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of Jehovah's anger; they shall not satisfy their soul, neither fill their bowels (Ezekiel 7:19).
"Their silver and gold" signify falsities and evils of a religion that is from self-intelligence and self-will; that from these there is no spiritual nourishment, or intelligence and affection of good, is signified by "they shall not satisfy their soul, neither fill their bowels." Because the "bowels" signify the interiors of the thought, and these are what are affected by grief, such grief is described in the Word by "being moved in the bowels" (as Isaiah 63:15; Jeremiah 31:20; Lamentations 1:20; Matthew 9:36; Mark 6:34; 8:2; Luke 1:78; 7:12, 13; 10:33, 34; 15:20).
[11] As the "belly" signifies the interiors of the thought or of the understanding, so "the fruit of the belly" signifies in the spiritual sense the goods of the understanding, and "sons" its truths. Thus in David:
Lo, sons are the heritage of Jehovah, and the fruit of the belly is His reward (Psalms 127:3).
In Isaiah:
They shall have no compassion on the fruit of the belly, their eye shall not spare the sons (Isaiah 13:18).
And in Job:
Pitying I mourn for the son of my belly (Acts of the Apostles 19:17).
In Moses:
He will bless the fruit of the belly and the fruit of the ground (Deuteronomy 7:13).
In Hosea:
Even when they have brought forth I will slay the desires of their belly (Hosea 9:11, 16).
"The fruit of the belly" and "the desires of the belly" signify in the sense of the letter, natural offspring, but in the spiritual sense spiritual offspring, which is knowledge [scientia], intelligence, and wisdom, for man is reborn into these when he is regenerated; this is why "births," "sons," "daughters," and other terms pertaining to nativity signify such things as pertain to spiritual nativity, that is, regeneration; for angels, who perceive the Word spiritually, know of no other births or "fruits of the belly."
[12] For the same reason "womb" and "belly" have this signification in the following passages. In Isaiah:
O that thou hadst hearkened to My commandments! Thy seed would have been as the sand, and the issue of thy bowels like the grains thereof (Isaiah 48:18, 19).
In David:
I was cast upon Thee; from my mother's belly Thou art my God (Psalms 22:10).
In the same:
Thou dost possess my reins; Thou hast covered me in my mother's belly (Psalms 139:13).
In the same:
The wicked are estranged from the womb; they err from the belly, speaking falsehood (Psalms 58:3).
So elsewhere.
[13] The "belly" or "bowels" signify the interiors of the thought or of the understanding, because there are two lives with man, the life of the understanding and the life of the will; to these two fountains of life all things of the body correspond; consequently under their direction all things of the body are acted upon and act, even to the extent that any part of the body that does not suffer itself to be put in action by the understanding and the will has no life. For this reason the universal body is subject to the control of these two lives, for all things in the body that are moved, and so far as they are moved by the respiration of the lungs, are subject to the control of the life of the understanding; and all things in the body that are brought into action, and so far as they are brought into action by the pulsation of the heart, are subject to the control of the life of the will. This is why "soul" and "heart" are often mentioned in the Word, and why the "soul" signifies the life of the understanding, also the life of faith, for the soul is predicated of respiration; and why the "heart" signifies the life of the will, also the life of the love. For the same reason "the belly and bowels" are predicated of thought, which is of the understanding, and the "heart" is predicated of affection, which is of the will.
622. "Et cum devora vi illum, et amaricatus est venter meus." - Quod significet quod perceptum et exploratum sit quod Verbum esset interius injucundum ex adulterato vero sensus litterae ejus, constat ex illis quae supra (n. 617 et 618) explicata sunt, ubi similia verba.
Quod "venter" hic significet interiora Verbi quae vocantur spiritualia, est quia exploratio repraesentata est per devorationem seu comestionem libelli, per quem intelligitur Verbum, perque ejus saporem, per quem intelligitur perceptio: inde prima perceptio significatur per "saporem in ore", ubi libellus erat "dulcis sicut mel"; prima perceptio Verbi est qualis est perceptio sensus litterae ejus, ita quale est Verbum exterius; altera autem perceptio significatur per saporem ejus dum "in ventrem" venit, qui dicitur "amaricatus"; altera haec perceptio Verbi est qualis est perceptio sensus spiritualis ejus, seu quale Verbum est interius: inde est quod quia per "os" significatur exterius, ideo per "ventrem" hic significetur interius, quia interius receptum et exploratum.
Quod "venter" significet interiora, est quia venter interius recondit cibum, et per "cibum" significatur omne quod nutrit animam, et quia venter sicut reliqua viscera intus seu in medio corporis est; inde est quod per "ventrem" et quoque per "viscera" in Verbo significentur interiora.
[2] Quod per "ventrem " et per "viscera" significentur interiora, constare potest a sequentibus his locis:
- Apud Ezechielem,
"Fili hominis, ventrem tuum ciba, et viscera imple volumine hoc" (3:1 [, 3]);
per quae similia significantur quae in Apocalypsi, quae nunc explicantur, quod nempe "acciperet et devoraret libellum"; per "volumen" enim simile significatur quod per "libellum", nempe Verbum; et per "cibare ventrem et implere viscera volumine significatur explorare quomodo Verbum intelligitur in ecclesia, quod fit per lectionem et perceptionem ejus.
[3] Apud Davidem,
"Thesauro tuo imple ventrem eorum, saturantur filii, et relinquunt residuum suum infantibus suis" (Psalms 17:14):
per "thesaurum" significatur verum Verbi, per "ventrem" interior intellectus; inde per "thesauro implere ventrem eorum" significatur veris Verbi instruere interiorem intellectum apud illos: quod inde qui veris afficiuntur, plene instruantur, significatur per "saturantur filii"; "filii" significant illos qui in veri affectione sunt; et "infantes" filiorum significant vera nascentia; de illis dicitur quod "relinquant residuum infantibus suis." Dicitur Interior intellectus, nam apud hominem est intellectus exterior et intellectus interior; intellectus exterior est mentis naturalis, et intellectus interior est mentis spiritualis; intellectus interior significatur per "ventrem."
[4] Apud Johanem,
Jesus dixit, "Si quis sitiverit, venito ad Me, et bibito; quisque credit in Me, sicut dicit Scriptura, flumina e ventre Ipsius fluent aquae viventis: hoc dixit de spiritu, quem accepturi credentes in Ipsum" (7:37-39):
ita describit Dominus Divinum Verum interius perceptum ab illis qui in affectione veri spirituali sunt; hi intelliguntur per eos "qui sitiunt ac veniunt ad Dominum et bibunt"; quod intellectus Divini Veri illis sit, significatur per quod "flumina e ventre Ipsius fluent aquae viventis"; "flumina e ventre" sunt intellectus seu intelligentia interior, et "aqua vivens" est Divinum Verum a Domino: et quia per "spiritum sanctum" intelligitur Divinum Verum procedens a Domino, dicitur quod hoc dixerit "de spiritu, quem accepturi credentes in Ipsum."
[5] Apud Marcum,
"Omne extrinsecus ingrediens in hominem non potest illum immundum reddere; quoniam non ingreditur illius in cor, sed in ventrem, et in latrinam ejicitur, expurgantem omnes cibos:.... quod autem ex homine egreditur, hoc immundum reddit hominem; intrinsecus enim ex corde hominis" egreditur (7:18-20 [, 21] ; Matthaeus 15:17-20):
haec ita intelligenda sunt; quod omnia tam falsa quam mala, quae vel ex visis vel ex auditis influunt in cogitationem intellectus, et non in affectionem ejus voluntatis, non afficiant et inficiant hominem; quoniam cogitatio intellectus hominis, quatenus non procedit ex affectione voluntatis ejus, non est in homine sed extra illum; quare non appropriatur ei: similiter fit cum vero et bono. Haec Dominus docet per correspondentias, dicendo quod "id quod per os intrat in ventrem non immundum reddat hominem, quoniam non intrat in cor, illud enim quod intrat in ventrem in latrinam ejicitur"; per quod intelligitur quod id quod ab extra seu extrinsecus, sive sit ex objectis visus, vel ex objectis loquelae, vel ex objectis memoriae, intrat in cogitationem intellectus hominis, non immundum reddat illum; sed id, quatenus non est ejus affectionis seu voluntatis, separatur et ejicitur, sicut assumptum ventre in latrinam. Haec spiritualia exposuit Dominus per naturalia; quoniam cibi qui assumuntur ore, et demittuntur in ventrem, significant talia quae homo spiritualiter haurit et quibus nutrit animam; inde est quod "venter" correspondeat cogitationi intellectus, et quoque significet illam: quod "cor" significet affectionem voluntatis hominis, supra ostensum est; tum quod id solum approprietur homini quod fit ejus affectionis seu voluntatis: quod spiritualia intelligantur, et non naturalia, patet; nam dicit Dominus quod "ex corde egrediantur cogitationes malae, caedes, adulteria, stupra, furta, falsa testimonia, blasphemiae." Quoniam falsa et mala, quae extrinsecus in cogitationes intrant, ex infernis intrant, et si non recipiuntur affectione voluntatis ab homine, rejiciuntur in inferna, quare dicitur quod "ejiciantur in latrinam", nam per "latrinam" significatur infernum; ex causa quia in infernis omnia immunda sunt, et illi qui ibi ejecti sunt e caelo, quod in forma est sicut homo et inde vocatur Maximus Homo, et quoque correspondet omnibus hominis; at inferna inde correspondent ejectionibus ex ventre Maximi Hominis seu caeli; ex eo est quod infernum per "latrinam" in sensu spirituali intelligatur.
Quod "venter" dicatur "expurgare omnes cibos", est quia per "ventrem" significatur cogitatio intellectus, ut supra dictum est, et per "cibos" significantur omnes nutritiones spirituales, et cogitatio intellectus est quae separat immunda a mundis, et sic expurgat.
[6] Apud Jeremiam,
Dixit Jehovah Deus, "Conturbavit Me Nebuchadnezar, rex Babelis, constituit Me vas vacuum, deglutivit Me sicut cetus, implevit ventrem suum ex deliciis meis, dispulit Me" (Jer. 51:34 1
);
per "Nebuchadnezarem regem Babelis" significatur profanatio Divini Veri; et quia illi qui profanant illud, prae reliquis hauriunt illud, et applicant spurcis amoribus, imprimis amori dominandi, usque dum omnem Divinam potestatem in se transtulerint, hoc significatur per quod "deglutiverit Me sicut cetus", et quod "impleverit ventrem suum deliciis meis"; "cetus" significat ultimum naturale, in quo sunt tales qui in amore sui sunt; "deliciae" sunt cognitiones veri et boni ex Verbo; ac "implere ventrem" illis significat haurire illa et profanare;
[7] Apud Davidem,
"Miserere mei, Jehovah, quia angustia mihi: contabuit prae indignitate oculus meus, anima mea, et venter meus" (Psalms 31:20 [B.A. 9]):
per "oculum", "animam" et "ventrem" hic significatur intellectus et inde cogitatio veri exterior et interior; ita per "ventrem" significantur interiora intellectus, quae "contabescere prae indignitate" dicuntur quando pereunt per falsa.
[8] Apud eundem,
"Incurvata est ad pulverem anima nostra, adhaesit terrae venter noster" (Psalms 44:26 [B.A. 25]);
per "animam" et per "ventrem in spirituali sensu etiam ibi significatur cogitatio intellectus: et per "incurvata ad pulverem et adhaesit terrae" significatur quod imbuta falsis; per "pulverem" enim et "terram" significatur infernale et damnatum: infernale et damnatum etiam significatur per "ambulare super ventre", et per "comedere pulverem", ut dictum est ad serpentem,
"Maledictus esto prae omnibus bestiis, et prae omnibus feris agri; super ventre tuo ambulabis, et pulverem comedes omnibus diebus vitae tuae" (Genesis 3:14).
Inde quoque erat
Quod prorsus vetitum fuerit comedere omne ambulans super ventre, quia abominatio (Leviticus 11:42):
quod per "pulverem" et per "adhaesionem ventris ad terram" significetur falsum infernale et damnatum, est quia sub terris in mundo spirituali sunt inferna, et per terras ibi ab infernis exhalantur falsa mali; et quia "venter" ex correspondentia significat interiora intellectus et cogitationis, quae inficiuntur et imbuuntur falsis mali, si terris illis adhaerent; quare etiam in mundo spirituali nemo cubat ventre super terra: at vero ibi ambulare super terra pedibus est tangere et haurire exhalata ab infernis corporeo naturali, quod correspondet plantis pedum; et hoc naturale non, communicationem habet cum cogitationibus intellectus nisi apud illos qui in malis quoad vitam et in falsis quoad doctrinam sunt.
[9] Apud Hiobum,
2
Quod venter paret dolum (15:35);
et alibi,
"Impletus sum verbis, angustiam mihi facit spiritus ventris mei; et venter meus, sicut vinum, non aperitur" (32:18, 19);
per quae intelligitur quod non aperire possit cogitationes intellectus sui.
Apud Jeremiam,
"Ablue a malitia cor tuum, Hierosolyma, ut serveris; quamdiu commorabuntur in ventre tuo cogitationes iniquitatis [tuae] ?" (4:14):
hic cogitationes manifeste tribuuntur ventri; nam dicitur, "Quamdiu commorabuntur in ventre tuo cogitationes iniquitatis?" et malitia tribuitur cordi, quia cor correspondet voluntati, in qua malitia residet.
Apud Davidem,
"Non in ore cujusvis certum, venter eorum perditiones, sepulchrum apertum guttur eorum, lingua sua blandiuntur" (Psalms 5:10 [B.A. 9]);
hic quoque ventri tribuuntur "perditiones", hoc est, cogitationes malae.
Apud eundem,
"Venter viri atque cor profundum" (Psalms 64:7 [B.A. 6]):
per "ventrem viri" significantur cogitationes falsi, et per "cor" significantur affectiones mali; hae sunt voluntatis, et illae intellectus.
Apud Habakuk,
"Commotus est venter meus, ad vocem tinnuerunt labia mea" (3:16);
"Commotus est venter meus" significat dolorem cogitationis; quare etiam dicitur, "Ad vocem tinnuerunt labia mea", per quae significatur quod titubaret inde loquela. Per "viscera ceti, "
In quibus fuit Jonas tres dies et tres noctes (Jonas 2:1 [B.A. 1:17]),
significantur inferna ubi dirissima falsa, quibus circumstipatus; proinde atroces tentationes; ut constare potest a prophetico Jonae in eo capite, ubi etiam dicitur,
"E ventre inferni vociferatus sum, et exaudivisti vocem meam" (vers. 3 [B.A. :2]).
[10] Similia quae per "ventrem" etiam per "viscera" significantur, ut constare potest ex sequentibus his locis:
- Apud Esaiam,
"Viscera mea propter Moabum sicut cithara commoventur, et intestinum meum propter Kir Cheres" (16:11);
apud Davidem,
"Benedic, anima mea, Jehovae; et omnia viscera mea nomini sanctitatis Ipsius" (Psalms 103:1);
apud eundem,
"Facere voluntatem tuam, Deus mi, desideravi, et lex tua in visceribus meis" (Psalms 40:9 [B.A. 8]);
apud Ezechielem,
"Argentum eorum et aurum eorum non poterit eripere eos in die irae Jehovae, animam eorum non saturabunt, et viscera eorum non implebunt" (7:19):
per "argentum" et "aurum" eorum significantur falsa et mala religionis quae ex propria intelligentia et ex propria voluntate; quod ex illis non aliqua nutritio spiritualis seu intelligentia et affectio boni, significatur per quod "animam eorum non saturabunt, et viscera eorum non implebunt." Quoniam per "viscera" significantur interiora cogitationis, et haec sunt quae dolore afficiuntur, ideo dolor ille exprimitur in Verbo
per "commoveri visceribus" (Ut Esaias 63:15; Jeremias 31:20; Threni 1:20; Matthaeus 9:36; Marcus 6:34; 8:2; Luca 1:78; 7:12, 13; 10:33, 34; 15:20).
[11] Quoniam per "ventrem" significantur interiora cogitationis seu intellectus, ideo per "fructum ventris" in sensu spirituali significantur bona intellectus, et per "filios" vera ejus:
- Ut apud Davidem,
"Ecce hereditas Jehovae filii, merces fructus ventris" (Psalms 127:3)
apud Esaiam,
"Fructus ventris non miserebuntur, filiis non parcet oculus eorum" (13:18);
apud Hiobum,
"Miserans lugeo filios ventris mei" (19:17);
apud Mosen,
"Benedicetur fructus ventris, et fructus terrae" (Deuteronomius 7:13);
apud Hoscheam,
"Etiam cum generaverint, occidam desideria ventris eorum" (9:11, 16):
"fructus ventris" et "desideria ventris" significant in sensu litterae prolem naturalem, sed in sensu spirituali prolem. spiritualem, quae est scientia, intelligentia, et sapientia; in has enim renascitur homo quando regeneratur: inde est quod per "partus", per "filios" et "filias", et per reliqua nomina quae nativitatis sunt, significentur illa quae nativitatis spiritualis, hoc est, regenerationis sunt; angeli enim, qui spiritualiter Verbum percipiunt, non alios partus et fructus ventris norunt.
[12] Inde etiam est quod per "uterum" et "ventrem" similia significentur in sequentibus his:
- Apud Esaiam,
"Utinam auscultavisses praeceptis meis;.... futurum esset semen tuum sicut arena, et nati viscerum tuorum sicut lapilli ejus" (48:18, 19);
apud Davidem,
"Super Te projectus sum.... a ventre matris meae, Deus Tu" (Psalms 22:11 [B.A. 10]);
apud eundem,
"Tu possides renes meos, obtexisti me in ventre matris meae" (Psalms 139:13);
apud eundem,
"Abalienati sunt impii ab utero, aberrant a ventre loquentes mendacium" (Psalms 58:4 [B.A. 3]);
et alibi.
[13] Quod "venter" seu "viscera" significent interiora cogitationis seu intellectus, est quia binae vitae apud hominem sunt, nempe vita intellectus et vita voluntatis: binis illis vitae fontibus correspondent omnia corporis; quare etiam ad omnem nutum eorum aguntur et agunt, usque adeo ut pars corporis quae non patitur se agi ab illis non sit viva: inde est quod universum corpus sit subjectum imperiis binarum illarum vitarum; omnia enim in corpore quae moventur et quatenus moventur a respiratione pulmonum, illa subjecta sunt imperio vitae intellectus; et omnia in corpore quae aguntur et quatenus aguntur a pulsu cordis, illa subjecta sunt imperio vitae voluntatis. Inde est quod in Verbo pluries dicatur "anima" et "cor"; et quod "anima" significet vitam intellectus, tum vitam fidei, nam anima praedicatur de respiratione; et quod "cor" significet vitam voluntatis, tum vitam amoris. Ex his etiam est quod "venter" et "viscera" dicantur de cogitatione quae est intellectus, et quod "cor" dicatur de affectione quae est voluntatis.
Footnotes:
1. The editors made a correction or note here.
2. The editors made a correction or note here.