424.启9:3.“有蝗虫从烟中出来，到了地上”表最末端或最表层部位中的虚假从这些欲望涌出来，就是盛行在那些已变得感官化，通过感官及其谬论来看待并判断一切事物之人当中的那类虚假。它们被称为最末端或最表层部位的虚假，占据人生命的最末端或最表层之物，被称为感官的；对此，我们稍后将予以说明。在圣言中，这些虚假由“蝗虫”来表示。不过，要知道，它们看上去并不像在田间跳跃并糟蹋草地和庄稼的蝗虫，倒是像矮人或侏儒；这也可从对它们的描述看出来，如它们头戴冠冕，脸面像男人，头发像女人，牙齿像狮子，胸甲像铁甲，有无底坑的使者作它们的王。古人也将矮人或侏儒称为“蝗虫（或译为蚱蜢、蚂蚱）”，这一点从以下经文可得知：
窥探迦南地的探子说，我们在那里看见亚衲族人，就是伟人，我们在他们眼里如蚱蜢一样。（民数记13:33）
耶和华坐在地球大圈之上，地上的居民好像蝗虫。（以赛亚书40:22）
由于在圣言中，诸如盛行在他们当中的最末端或最表层部位中的虚假由“蝗虫”来表示，所以它们被称作“蝗虫”。如那鸿书中的百姓、领袖和军长都被称为：
火必烧灭你，吞灭你如同蝻子；任你多如蝻子，任你多如蝗虫；你的首领如蝗虫；你的军长仿佛成群的蚂蚱。（那鸿书3:15-17）
正是由于最末端或最表层部位中的虚假吞灭教会的真理与良善，而它们都是人与生俱来的，所以它们由吞噬原野青草和田间菜蔬的“蝗虫”来表示。这一点从以下经文明显看出来：
你带到田间的种子虽多，蝗虫却把它吞吃了。（申命记28:38）
剪虫剩下的，蝗虫来吃，蝗虫剩下的，蝻子来吃，蝻子剩下的，蚂蚱来吃。（约珥书1:4）
蝗虫、蝻子、蚂蚱、剪虫那些年所吃的，我要补还你们。（约珥书2:25）
“埃及的蝗虫”所表相同，对此，在摩西五经中如此记着说：
摩西向埃及地伸杖，东风把把蝗虫刮了来。蝗虫上到埃及全地；以前没有这样的蝗虫，它吃田间一切的菜蔬，后来摩西伸杖，蝗虫就被吹入红海。（出埃及记10:12等）
诗篇：
把他们的土产交给蚂蚱，把他们辛苦得来的交给蝗虫。（诗篇78:46；105:34-35）
在埃及的神迹描述了教会的荒废；这个神迹则描述了由最末端或最表层部位中的虚假所造成的荒废；人生命的最表层之物在它们所依赖的内在事物被关闭时，就变成地狱的。由于这个原因，蝗虫“被吹入红海”，而“红海”表示地狱。
由于如今很少有人知道何谓感官层，以及感官人是何性质，并且“蝗虫”表示这些，故接下来从《天堂的奥秘》摘录一些相关内容：感官层是人心智生命的终端或末层，附着并黏结于他的五种身体感官（5077，5767，9212，9216，9331，9730节）。凡凭身体感官判断一切，只相信亲眼看到和亲手摸到的，声称这些才是存在的，至于其余的，则一概拒绝的人，就被称为“感官人”（5094，7693节）。以天堂之光观之，其心智的内层被关闭了，以致他丝毫看不到那里属天堂和教会的任何真理（6564，6844-6845节）。这种人在最表层部位思考，而不是凭任何属灵之光进行内在思考（5089，5094，6564，7693节）。总而言之，他们处于粗糙的属世之光（6201，6310，6545，6844-6845，6612，6614，6622，6524节）。因此，他们内在反对属天堂和教会的事物，而外在却能声称支持它们，而且还很热情，其程度取决于他们利用这些事而行使的权柄（6201，6316，6844，6845，6948，6949节）。深入确认虚假的学识渊博者，尤其确认反对圣言真理的，比其他人更感官化（6316节）。感官人推理起来既尖锐又娴熟，因为他们的思维如此接受他们的言语，以致它几乎就在其中，仿佛就在嘴皮子上，还因为他们将一切聪明都置于唯独来自记忆的言辞中；而且，他们当中有一些人能够巧妙地确认虚假，确认之后便信以为真理（195，196，5700，10236节）。但他们的推理和确认出于感官谬论，这些谬论会迷惑和说服普通百姓（5084，6948，6949，7693节）。感官人比其他人更狡猾、更恶毒（7693，10236节）。贪婪者、奸淫者、纵乐者、骗子尤其感官化，尽管在世人眼里他们看似并非如此（6310节）。其心智内层肮脏、污秽（6201节）。他们通过这些与地狱相通（6311节）。地狱居民是感官化的，并且越感官化，所处的地狱越深（4623，6311节）。地狱灵的气场从背后与感官人联结（6312节）。那些只通过感官事物进行推理，因而反对教会纯正真理的人被古人称为“知识树的蛇”（195，196，197，6398，6399，10313节）。此外还描述了人的感官层和感官人（10236节）；以及感官事物在人身上的延伸（9731节）。感官事物当处于末位，而不是首位；对聪慧与聪明人来说，它们处于末位，服从于内层；而对不明智的人来说，它们处于首位，并进行统治；这些人适合被称作感官人（5077，5125，5128，7645节）。如果感官事物处于末位，那么通往理解力的路就通过它们被打开，真理便通过提炼的方法被萃取出来（5580节）。这些感官事物与尘世联系密切，并允许从尘世流出的事物进入，可以说，筛选它们（9726节）。人通过这些感官事物与尘世相通，通过理性事物与天堂相通（4009节）。感官事物提供诸如服务于心智内层的那类事物（5077，5081节）；有些感官事物服务于智识部分（intellectual part），有些服务于意志部分（voluntary part）（5077节）。若思维不能被提升超越感官事物，人享有的智慧极少（5089节）。智者思想感官事物（5089，5094节）。当人的思维被提升超越感官事物时，他便进入更清晰的光中，最终进入天堂之光（6183，6313，6315，9407，9730，9922节）。当古人知晓超越感官事物的这种提升和它们的抽象（6313节）。人若能从感官事物退出，并被主提升进入天堂之光，就有可能凭他的灵觉察到灵界所发生的事（4622节）。原因在于，进行思考的不是肉身，而是肉身里面的人的灵；人的灵越在肉身中思考，其思维就越模糊和黑暗；而它越不在肉身中思考，其思维就越清晰，越处于光中；不过是在属灵事物中（4622，6614，6622节）。认知或理解力的末端是感官知识，意愿的末端是感官快乐（9996节）。人与动物共享的感官事物，和不与动物共享的感官事物之间有何区别（10236节）。有些感官人并不邪恶，因为他们的内层没有如此被关闭；关于他们在来世的状态（6311节）。
424. Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth. (9:3) This symbolically means that from them issued falsities of the lowest sort, such as are found in the case of people who have become sensual and who view and judge everything in accordance with the senses and their fallacies.
Falsities that we term falsities of the lowest sort are those which occur on the lowest level of a person's life, called sensual, which we will speak of below. These falsities are symbolized in the Word by locusts. It should be known, however, that the locusts here did not look like the locusts found in fields, which hop about and devastate pastures and crops. Instead they looked like pygmies or midgets, as is apparent also from their description, as for instance, that they had crowns on their heads, faces like the faces of men, hair like women's hair, teeth like lions' teeth, breastplates of iron, and the angel of the bottomless pit as king over them.
Ancient peoples, too, called midgets locusts, as we can conclude from these verses:
(Those who spied out the land of Canaan said:) ."..we saw the Nephilim, the descendants of the Anakim..., and we were like locusts... in their sight." (Numbers 13:33)
(Jehovah) who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants like locusts... (Isaiah 40:22)
[2] However, because falsities of the lowest sort, such as existed in the people here, are in the Word symbolized by locusts, therefore in Nahum the people are called locusts, as well as being termed crowned and commanders:
...the fire will devour you..., it will eat you up like a locust's larva. Make yourself many like the locust's larva! Make yourself many like locusts! ...Your crowned ones are like locusts, and your commanders like great locusts... (Nahum 3:15-17)
Because falsities of the lowest sort devour the growing truths and goods of the church in a person, they are symbolized by locusts which devour the grasses in fields and the vegetation on farms, as is clear from the following passages:
You shall carry much seed out to the field, but... the locust shall consume it. (Deuteronomy 28:38)
What the caterpillar left, the locust will eat; what the locust left, the beetle grub will eat; and what the beetle grub left, the locust's larva will eat. (Joel 1:4)
I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten, the beetle grub, the locust's larva, and the caterpillar... (Joel 2:25)
[3] The locusts in Egypt have the same symbolic meaning, of which we read the following in Exodus:
Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and... the east wind brought the locusts. And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt...; previously there had been no such locusts...; and they ate every herb... of the field... (Exodus 10:12ff.)
And afterward Moses stretched out his rod, and the locusts were cast into the Red Sea.
Further, in the book of Psalms:
He gave their produce to the locust's larva, and their labor to the locust. (Psalms 78:46, cf. 105:34-35)
The miracles in Egypt describe the devastation of the church, and this particular miracle, its devastation by falsities of the lowest sort. And when the inner levels of a person's life are closed, on which the lowest levels depend, the lowest levels become hellish. Therefore the locusts were cast into the Red Sea, which symbolizes hell.
[4] Since few people today know what we mean by the sensual level, or what the character of a sensual person is, and since this is what locusts symbolize, therefore we will introduce from our Arcana Coelestia (The Secrets of Heaven) the following extracts regarding it:
The sensual level is the lowest of a person's mental life, attaching to and uniting with his five physical senses (nos. 5077 5767, 9212, 9216, 9331, 9730).
That person is called sensual who judges of everything in accordance with his physical senses, and who believes in nothing but what he can see with his eyes and touch with his hands, saying that if he can, it is real, and rejecting everything else (nos. 5094 7693).
The inner levels of that person's mind, which see in the light of heaven, are closed, so that he sees no truth on those levels which has to do with heaven and the church (nos. 6564, 6844, 6845).
A person like that thinks on the lowest levels, and not interiorly in any spiritual light (nos. 5089 5094, 6564, 7693).
In a word, people like that have a crude natural sight (nos. 6201 6310, 6564, 6844, 6845, 6612, 6614, 6622, 6624).
Inwardly they are therefore hostile to matters having to do with heaven and the church, though it is possible for them to speak in favor of them outwardly, even ardently, according to the power they have by virtue of them (nos. 6201, 6316, 6844, 6845, 6948, 6949).
The educated and learned who have deeply confirmed themselves in falsities, and still more those who are hostile to the Word's truths, are more sensual than others (no. 6316).
Sensual people reason keenly and skillfully, because their thinking is so near to speech as to almost reside in it, and to be, so to speak, on the lips, and because they place all intelligence in speech from the memory alone; moreover, some of them can cleverly defend falsities, and after they have done so, believe they are true (nos. 195 196, 5700, 10236).
They reason from fallacies of the senses and defend them, which they use to captivate and persuade the populace (nos. 5084 6948, 6949, 7693).
Sensual people are craftier and more malicious than others (nos. 7693, 10236).
Greedy people, adulterers, hedonists, and the deceitful are especially sensual, even though to the world they do not appear so (no. 6310).
The interiors of their minds are foul and filthy (no. 6201).
Through them they are in communication with the hells (no. 6311).
People residing in the hells are sensual, and the more so the deeper the hell (nos. 4623 6311).
The atmosphere of spirits in hell mixes with a person's sensual level from behind (no. 6312).
People who have based their reasoning on the evidence of the senses only, and so are hostile to the genuine truths of the church, were called by ancient peoples serpents of the tree of knowledge (nos. 195, 196, 197, 6398, 6399, 10313).
In addition, a person's sensual level and the sensual person are described (no. 10236), together with the extent of the sensual things in a person (no. 9731).
Sensual things ought to be held in last place, and not in first place, and in a wise and intelligent person they are held in last place, subject to more interior ones, while in a foolish person they are in first place and dominant; the latter are those properly called sensual (nos. 5077 5125, 5128, 7645).
If sensual things are in last place, they are the means by which a path is opened to understanding, and truths are refined by a process of abstraction (no. 5580).
These sensual things are the closest to the world, and they admit things that flow in from the world and, so to speak, sift them (no. 9726).
By these sensual things a person is in communication with the world, and by rational things with heaven (no. 4009).
Sensual things supply materials that are of service to the interior levels of the mind (nos. 5077 5081).
Some sensual things are of service to the intellectual faculty, and some are of service to the volitional faculty (no. 5077).
If a person does not raise his thought from sensual things, he is hardly wise (no. 5089).
A wise person thinks above the level of sensual things (nos. 5089, 5094).
When a person raises his thinking above the level of sensual things, he comes into a clearer sight, and finally into the light of heaven (nos. 6183 6313, 6315, 9407, 9730, 9922).
An elevation above the level of sensual things and withdrawal from them was something known to ancient peoples (no. 6313).
A person can be conscious in his spirit of things that occur in the spiritual world, if he can be withdrawn from sensual things by the Lord and elevated into the light of heaven (no. 4622). That is because it is not the body that thinks, but a person's spirit in the body, and to the extent that it dwells in the body, it thinks dimly and in a state of darkness; however, to the extent that it does not dwell in the body, it thinks clearly and in a state of light - but only as regards spiritual matters (nos. 4622, 6614, 6622).
The lowest level of the intellect is sensual knowledge, and the lowest level of the will is sensual delight (no. 9996).
The difference between sensual characteristics possessed in common with animals, and those not possessed in common with them (no. 10236).
Some sensual people are not evil, because their interior levels have not been closed: their state in the other life (no. 6311).
424. [verse 3] 'And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the land' signifies that out of those lusts there were untruths in the outermost parts, such as those have who have become sensual and see and judge all things from the senses and the fallacies thereof. Those things are termed 'untruths in the outermost parts' which are in the outermost things of a man's life. They are called sensual things, and are dealt with below. These are signified by 'locusts' in the Word; but it is to be known that they did not appear as the locusts in the plains, which hop about and lay waste meadows and crops, but they appeared as pygmies or little men, which indeed is plain from the description of them, as that they had crowns upon their heads, faces as of men, hair as of women, teeth as of lions, iron breastplates, and over them a king, the angel of the deep. That little men were also termed 'locusts' by the ancients can be concluded from these statements:
Those reconnoitering the land of Canaan said, We have seen the Nephilim the sons of the Anakim, and we were in their eyes as locusts. Numbers 13:33.
Jehovah Who sits upon the circle of the land, and the inhabitants thereof are as locusts. Isaiah 40:22.
[2] But because untruths in the outermost parts such as pertain to them are signified by 'locusts' in the Word, therefore they were called 'locusts,' as also 'crowned' and 'commanders,' in Nahum:
Fire shall devour thee, it shall devour thee as the bruchus 1, multiply thyself as the bruchus, multiply thyself as the locust, thy crowned ones are as the locust, and thy commanders as the locust of locusts, Nahum 3:15-17.
Because untruths in the outermost parts consume the truths and goods of the Church while they are being born with a man, they are signified by the locusts that consume the grass in the plains and the herbs in the fields. This is established from these passages:
Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, but the locust shall consume it. Deuteronomy 28:38.
What remains from the caterpillar shall the locust eat; and what remains from the locust shall the cankerworm eat, and what remains from the cankerworm shall the bruchus eat. Joel 1:4-5.
I will make up to you the years that the locust has consumed, the cankerworm, the bruchus and the caterpillar. Joel 2:24-25.
[3] The like is signified by the locusts in Egypt of which it is thus written in Moses:
Moses stretched forth the rod over the land of Egypt, and an east wind brought the locust, and the locust went up over all the land of Egypt; before it there was no such locust, and it ate up every herb of the field: and afterwards Moses stretched forth the rod, and the locust was cast into the sea Suph, Exodus 10:12 seq.
And in David:
He gave their produce to the bruchus, and their labour to the locust, Psalms [78:46; also] 105:34-35.
The vastation of the Church is described by the miracles in Egypt, and by this miracle vastation by means of untruths in the outermost parts; and the outermost things of a man's life, when the interior things on which they depend are closed up, are infernal. For this reason the locusts were 'cast into the sea Suph' by which is signified hell.
[4] Since few at this day know what is understood by 'the sensual,' and what the quality of the sensual man is, and since 'locusts' signify that, therefore the following extracts concerning it are adduced out of our ARCANA CAELESTIA:
That the sensual is the ultimate of the life of a man's mind, adhering and cohering to the five senses of his body (5077, 5767, 9212, 9216, 9331, 9730).
That he is termed a sensual man who judges all things out of the senses of the body, and who believes only what he can see with eyes and touch with hands, declaring that these exist and rejecting the rest (5094, 7693).
That the interiors of his mind, which see by virtue of the light of heaven, are closed up, so that he sees there nothing of the truth that is of heaven and the Church (6564, 6844-6845). That such a man thinks in the outermost parts, and not interiorly by virtue of any spiritual light (5089, 5094, 6564, 7693). In a word, that they are in a gross natural light (lumen) (6201, 6310, 6564, 6844-6845, 6612, 6614, 6622, 6624).
That consequently interiorly they are against the things that are of heaven and the Church, but exteriorly they can speak in favour of them, ardently according to the domination they exercise by means of them (6201, 6316, 6844-6845, 6948-6949).
That the learned and well-informed who have confirmed themselves deeply in untruths, and even more those who are against the truths of the Word are sensual above all others (6316).
That sensual men reason keenly and shrewdly, because their thought is so near to their speech as to be almost in it, and as it were in the lips, and because they place all intelligence in speech out of the memory only: also that some of them can skilfully confirm untruths, and that after confirmation they believe them to be true (195-196, 5700, 10236). But that they reason and confirm things out of the fallacies of the senses, by which the great mass of the people is captivated and persuaded (5084, 6948-6949, 7693).
That sensual men are more cunning and full of wickedness than the rest (7693, 10236).
That the avaricious, adulterers, the voluptuous and the crafty are especially sensual, although before the world they do not appear so (Arcana Coelestia 6310).
That the interiors of their minds are foul and filthy (6201).
That by means thereof they are in communication with the hells (6311).
That those who are in the hells are sensual, and more sensual the deeper they are (4623, 6311).
That the spheres of infernal spirits conjoin themselves with the sensual of man from behind (6312).
That those who have reasoned only out of sensual things, and consequently against the genuine things of the Church, were termed by the ancients 'serpents of the tree of knowledge' (195-197, 6398-6399, 10313).
Furthermore, the sensual of man and the sensual man is described (10236); and the extent of the sensual things with a man (9731).
That sensual things ought to be in the ultimate place and not in the first, and that in the case of a wise and intelligent man they are in the ultimate place, and subject to the interiors but that in the case of an unwise man they are in the first place, and ruling; these are they who are properly termed sensual (5077, 5125, 5128, 7645).
That if sensual things are in the ultimate place a way is opened by means of them to the understanding, and truths are furbished by a mode of drawing forth (5580).
That those sensual things are in close contact with the world, and admit the things that flow thereto out of the world, and sift them, as it were (9726).
That by means of those sensual things a man is in communication with the world, and by means of rational things is in communication with heaven (4009).
That sensual things supply things that are of service to the interiors of the mind (5077, 5081).
That there are sensual things furnishing supplies for the intellectual part, and such as furnish them for the voluntary part (5077).
That unless the thought is lifted up from sensual things, a man has little discernment (5089).
That a wise man thinks above sensual things (5089, 5094).
That a man, when his thought is raised above sensual things, comes into a clearer light, and at length into a heavenly light (6183, 6313, 6315, 9407, 9730, 9922).
That a raising above sensual things, and a withdrawal from them, was known to the ancients (6313).
That a man by his spirit can give heed to the things that are in the spiritual world, if he can be withdrawn from sensual things and raised up into the light of heaven by the Lord (4622). This is because the body does not think, but the man's spirit in the body; and to the extent that it is in the body it thinks obscurely and in the dark, and to the extent that it is not in the body it thinks clearly and in the light; but in spiritual things (4622, 6614, 6622).
That the ultimate of the understanding is sensual knowledge, while the ultimate of the will is sensual delight (9996). What the difference is between the sensual things [that a man has] in common with beasts, and the sensual things not in common with them (10236).
That there are sensual men who are not evil, because their interiors are not so closed up, of whose state in the other life (6311).
Footnotes:
1. Arcana Caelestia 7643 states: 'The reason why the bruchus also is named is that by 'bruchus' is signified evil, and by "locust" untruth, both in the outward parts of the natural.' Possibly the term bruchus is applied to the locust in the wingless and non-gregarious state, formerly thought to be a different species.
424. Verse 3. And out of the smoke there went forth locusts upon the earth, signifies that from them were falsities in the outermost parts, such as prevail with those who have become sensual, and see and judge of all things from the senses and their fallacies. They are called falsities in the outermost parts, which occupy the outermost things of man's life, and are called sensual, concerning which we shall speak presently; these are signified by "locusts," in the Word: but it is to be known that they did not appear like the locusts of the field, which leap about and lay waste the meadows and the crops, but like pygmies or dwarfs, which is evident also from their description, in that "they had crowns on their heads, faces like men, hair like women, teeth like lions, breastplates of iron, and a king over them, the angel of the abyss." That dwarfs were also called "locusts" by the ancients, may be concluded from these passages:
The spies of the land of Canaan said, We saw the Nephilim, the sons of the Anakim, and we were in their eyes as locusts, (Numbers 13:33).
Jehovah who sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as locusts, (Isaiah 40:22).
[2] But because falsities in outermost things, such as prevail among them, are signified by "locusts" in the Word, therefore they are called "locusts," as also "crowned" and "commanders," in Nahum:
The fire shall devour thee, it shall eat thee up like the canker worm; make thyself many as the canker worm, make thyself many as the locust; thy crowned are as the locust, and thy commanders as the locust of locusts, (Nahum 3:15-17).
It is in consequence of falsities in the outermost parts consuming the truths and goods of the church, as they spring up in man, that they are signified by "locusts," which consume the grass and the herbs of the fields, as may be evident from these passages:
Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, but the locust shall consume it, (Deuteronomy 28:38).
That which the palmer worm left hath the locust eaten, and that which the locust left hath the canker worm eaten, and that which the canker worm left hath the caterpillar eaten, (Joel 1:4).
And I will compensate to you the years that the locust, the cancer worm, the caterpillar, and the palmer worm have consumed, (Joel 2:25).
[3] The same is signified by "the locusts in Egypt," concerning which it is thus written in Moses:
And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the east wind brought the locust. And the locust went up over all the land of Egypt; before it there was no such locust, and it did eat every herb of the field, and afterwards Moses stretched forth his rod, and the locust was cast into the Red Sea, (Exodus 10:12, and subsequent verses).
And in David:
He gave their produce to the caterpillar, and their labor to the locust, (Psalms 78:46; 105:34-35).
By the miracles in Egypt is described the vastation of the church; and by this miracle, vastation by falsities in outermost things; and the outermost things of man's life, when the interiors on which they depend are closed, are infernal; for this reason "the locusts were cast into the Red Sea," by which is signified hell.
[4] As few at this day know what is meant by the sensual, and what the quality of the sensual man is; and as "locusts" signify that, the following extracts are therefore adduced concerning it from our Arcana Coelestia. That the sensual is the ultimate of the life of man's mind, adhering and cohering to his five bodily senses, (Arcana Coelestia 5077, 5767, 9212, 9216, 9331, 9730). That he is called a sensual man who judges of all things from the bodily senses, and who believes nothing but what he can see with his eyes, and touch with his hands; saying that these are something, and rejecting the rest, (5094, 7693). That the interiors of his mind, which see from the light of heaven, are closed, so that he sees nothing of truth there, which is of heaven and the church, (6564, 6844-6845). That such a man thinks in outermost things, and not interiorly from any spiritual light, (5089, 5094, 6564, 7693). In a word, that they are in a gross natural light [lumen] (6201, 6310, 6564, 6844-6845, 6612, 6614, 6622, 6524). That thence interiorly they are against the things which are of heaven and the church, but that exteriorly they can speak in favor of them, and ardently, according to the dominion they exercise by means of them, (6201, 6316, 6844-6845, 6948-6949). That the learned and erudite, who have confirmed themselves deeply in falsities, and still more they who have confirmed themselves against the truths of the Word, are more sensual than others, (6316). That sensual men reason acutely and skillfully, because their thought is so near their speech that it is almost in it, and as it were in their lips, and because they place all intelligence in speech from memory only; also that some of them can dexterously confirm falsities, and that after confirmation they believe them to be truths, (195, 196, 5700, 10236). But that they reason and confirm things from the fallacies of the senses, by which the common people are captivated and persuaded, (5084, 6948, 6949, 7693). That sensual men are more cunning and malicious than others, (7693, 10236). That the avaricious, adulterers, the voluptuous and the deceitful, are especially sensual, although in the eyes of the world they do not appear so, (6310). That the interiors of their minds are foul and filthy, (6201). That by these they communicate with the hells, (6311). That they who are in the hells are sensual, and the more so the deeper they are in it, (4623, 6311). That the sphere of infernal spirits conjoins itself with the sensual of man from behind, (6312). That they who have reasoned from sensual things only, and thence against the genuine truths of the church, were called by the ancients, serpents of the tree of knowledge, (195, 196, 197, 6398, 6399, 10313). Moreover the sensual of man, and the sensual man, are described, (10236); and the extension of things sensual in man, (9731). That sensual things ought to be in the last place, and not in the first, and that in a wise and intelligent man they are in the last place, and subject to the interiors; but that with an unwise man, they are in the first place, and govern; these are they who are properly called sensual, (5077, 5125, 5128, 7645). If sensual things are in the last place, a way is opened by them to the understanding, and truths are elaborated by a mode of extraction, (5580). That those sensual things are in close contact with the world, and admit the things which flow from the world, and, as it were, sift them, (9726). That man by means of those sensual things, communicates with the world, and, by means of rational things, with heaven, (4009). That sensual things supply such as are subservient to the interiors of the mind, (5077, 5081). That there are sensual things which minister to the intellectual part; and such as minister to the voluntary part, (5077). That unless the thought be elevated above sensual things, man enjoys but little wisdom, (5089). That a wise man thinks about sensual things, (5089, 5094). That man, when his thought is elevated above sensual things, comes into a clearer light, and, at length, into heavenly light, (6183, 6313, 6315, 9407, 9730, 9922). That elevation above sensual things, and abstraction from them, was known to the ancients, (6313). That man, by his spirit, might perceive the things which are done in the spiritual world, if he could be withdrawn from sensual things, and be elevated into the light of heaven by the Lord, (4622). The reason is, because the body does not think, but the spirit of man in the body; and in proportion as it thinks in the body, in the same proportion it thinks obscurely and in darkness; and in proportion as it does not think in the body, in the same proportion it thinks clearly and in the light; but in spiritual things, (4622, 6614, 6622). That the sensual scientific is the ultimate of the understanding, and the sensual delight, the ultimate of the will, (9996). What the difference is between the sensual things common to beasts, and the sensual things not common to them, (10236). That there are sensual men not evil, by reason that their interiors are not so closed (concerning whose state in another life, see 6311).
424. (Vers. 3.) "Et ex fumo exiverunt Locustae in terram," significat quod ex illis falsa in extremis, qualia sunt illis qui sensuales facti sunt, et omnia vident et judicant ex sensibus et eorum fallaciis. - Falsa in extremis dicuntur, quae sunt in extremis vitae hominis, quae vocantur sensualia, de quibus infra; haec per "locustas" in Verbo significantur; at sciendum est, quod non apparuerint sicut locustae in campis, quae subsultant et devastant prata et sata, sed quod apparuerint sicut pygmei seu homunciones, quod etiam a descriptione illarum patet, ut quod "haberent coronas super capitibus, facies sicut hominum, capillos sicut mulierum, dentes sicut leonum, thoraces ferreos, et super se regem Angelum abyssi." Quod homunciones etiam ab antiquis dicti fuerint "locustae," concludi potest ex his:
Exploratores terrae Canaanis dixerunt "vidimus Nephilim filios Enakim, et fuimus in oculis eorum sicut Locustae," (Numeri 13:33); 1
Jehovah "Qui habitat super circulo terrae, et habitatores ejus sicut Locustae," (Esaias 40:22). 2
Sed quia falsa in extremis, qualia apud illos sunt, in Verbo significantur per "locustas," ideo vocati sunt "locustae," ut quoque "coronati" et "imperantes," apud Nahum:
"Comedet te ignis, comedet te sicut bruchus; multiplicate sicut bruchus, multiplica te sicut Locusta; coronati tui sicut Locusta, et imperantes tui sicut Locusta locustarum," (3:15, 17). 3
Quod falsa in extremis, quia consumunt vera et bona Ecclesiae nascentia apud hominem, per "locustas" quae consumunt gramina in campis et herbas in agris, significentur, constat ex his locis:
Semen multum educes in agrum, sed consumet illud Locusta," (Deuteronomius 28:38);
"Residuum Erucae comedet Locusta, et residuum Locustae comedet melolontha, et residuum melolonthae comedet bruchus," (Joel 1:4); 4
"Compensabo vobis annos quos consumpsit Locusta, melolontha, bruchus et eruca," (Joel 2:25). 5
Simile significatur per "locustas in Aegypto," de quibus ita apud Mosen:
"Extendit Moses baculum super terram Aegypti, et ventus orientalis produxit Locustam, et ascendit Locusta super omnem terram Aegypti; ante illum non fuit talis Locusta, et comedit omnem herbam agri;" et extendit Moses baculum, "et conjecta est Locusta in Mare Suph," (Exodus 10:12, 6seq.);
et apud Davidem:
"Dedit brucho proventum eorum, et laborem eorum Locustae," ((Psalm 88:46 [NCBSP: Psalm 78:46]; videatur etiam) Psalm 105:34-35);
per miracula in Aegypto describitur Ecclesiae vastatio, et per hoc miraculum vastatio per falsa in extremis: et extrema vitae hominis, quando clausa sunt interiora a quibus pendeant, sunt infernalia; quare "locustae conjectae sunt in mare Suph," per quod significatur Infernum.
Quoniam pauci hodie sciunt, quid intelligitur per Sensuale, et qualis est sensualis homo, ac "locustae" significant illum, ideo adducentur ex Arcanis nostris Caelestibus de illo sequentia: -
Quod Sensuale sit ultimum vitae mentis hominis, adhaerens et cohaerens quinque sensibus corporis ejus (5077, 5767, 9212, 9216, 9331, 9730); 7Quod is sensualis homo dicatur, qui omnia judicat ex sensibus corporis, et qui nihil credit nisi quod oculis videre et manibus tangere potest, haec dicens esse aliquid, reliqua rejiciens (5094, 7693); Quod interiora mentis ejus, quae vident ex luce Caeli, clausa sint, ut ibi nihil veri, quod Caeli et Ecclesiae est (videatur 86564, 6844, 6845); Quod talis homo cogitet in extremis, et non interius ex aliqua luce spirituali (5089, 5094, 6564, 7693); Verbo, quod in crasso lumine naturali sint (6201, 6310, 6564, 6844, 6845, 6612, 6612, 6622, 6624); Quod inde interius sint contra illa quae Caeli et Ecclesiae sunt, sed quod exterius possint loqui pro illis, ardenter secundum dominationem per illa (6201, 6316, 6844, 6845, 6948, 6949); Quod docti et eruditi, qui se confirmaverunt profunde in falsis, et plus qui contra vera Verbi, caeteris sensuales sint (6316); Quod sensuales homines ratiocinentur acriter et solerter, quia cogitatio illorum est tam prope loquelam ut paene in illa, et sicut in labiis, et quia in loquela ex sola memoria ponunt omnem intelligentiam: tum quod quidam ex illis dextre possint confirmare falsa, et quod post confirmationem credant quod vera sint (195, 196, 5700, 10236); Sed quod ex fallaciis sensuum ratiocinentur et confirment, a quibus captatur et persuadetur vulgus (5084, 6948, 6949, 7693); Quod sensuales homines astuti sint et malitiosi prae reliquis (7693, 10236); Quod avari, adulteri, voluptuosi et dolosi, imprimis sensuales sint, tametsi coram mundo non tales apparent (6310); Quod interiora mentis eorum sint foeda et spurca (6201); Quod per illa communicent cum infernis (6311); Quod illi qui in infernis sunt, sensuales sint, et eo plus quo profundius (4623, 6311); Quod sphaera spirituum infernalium se conjungat cum sensuali hominis a tergo (6312); Quod illi qui ratiocinati sunt ex solis sensualibus, et inde contra genuina vera Ecclesiae, ab antiquis dicti fuerint serpentes arboris scientiae (195, 196, 197, 6398, 6399, 10313); 9Porro, sensuale hominis et sensualis homo describitur (10236); et extensio sensualium apud hominem (9731); Quod sensualia ultimo loco esse debeant, et non primo; et quod apud hominem sapientem et intelligentem ultimo loco sint, et subjecta interioribus, at quod apud hominem insipientem primo loco sint, et dominantia; hi sunt qui proprie dicuntur sensuales (5077, 5125, 5128, 7645); Si sensualia ultimo loco sunt, quod per illa aperiatur via ad intellectum, ac elimentur vera per modum extractionis (5580); Quod sensualia illa proxime exstent mundo, et admittant quae e mundo alluunt, et quasi cribrent illa (9726); Quod homo per sensualia illa communicet cum mundo, et per rationalia cum Caelo (4009); Quod sensualia subministrent illa quae inserviunt interioribus mentis (5077, 5081); Quod sint sensualia subministrantia parti intellectuali et subministrantia parti voluntariae (5077); Quod nisi cogitatio a sensualibus elevatur, homo parum sapiat (5089); Quod sapiens homo supra sensualia cogitet (5089, 5094); Quod homo, cum cogitatio ejus supra sensualia elevatur, in lumen clarius veniat, et tandem in lucem caelestem (6183, 6313, 6315, 9407, 9730, 9922); Quod elevatio supra sensualia, et abductio ab illis, antiquis nota fuerit (6313); Quod homo spiritu suo animadvertere possit quae in mundo spirituali fiunt, si abduci possit a sensualibus, et elevari in lucem Caeli a Domino (6622); Causa est, quia corpus non cogitat sed spiritus hominis in corpore: et quantum in corpore, tantum obscure et in tenebris, et quantum non in corpore, tantum clare et in luce; sed in spiritualibus (4622, 6614, 6622); Quod ultimum intellectus sit scientificum sensuale, ac ultimum voluntatis sit jucundum sensuale (9996); Quae differentia inter sensualia communia cum bestiis, et inter sensualia non communia cum illis (10236); Quod sint sensuales non mali, quia interiora illorum non ita clausa sunt, de quorum statu in altera vita (6311).
Footnotes:
1. 33 pro "13"
2. 22 pro "21"
3. 15, 17 pro "15, 16, 17"
4. 4 pro "4, 5"
5. 25 pro "24, 25"
6. 12 pro "10"
7. 9212 pro "9121"
8. videatur pro "videat"
9. 6399 pro "6349"