Arcana Coelestia volume 7 - Swedenborg Foundation

ARCANA COELESTIA 3979pass into affections which are of love and charity, to which sensethe internal sense serves as a plane.[2] That the historicals of the Word pass into another sense whenthey are elevated into heaven, may be seen by the man whoconcludes from reason, and who knows anything about the naturaland the spiritual. He can see that to lift produce upon their asses isa purely natural act, and that there is nothing spiritual in itwhatever; and he can also see that the angels who are in heaven, orthey who are in the spiritual world, cannot apprehend these wordsotherwise than spiritually, and that they are apprehended spirituallywhen in their place are understood their correspondences, namely,the truth of the church in place of “produce,” and the memoryknowledgesthat are in the natural in place of “asses.” That by“asses” in the Word are signified things that serve, and thusmemory-knowledges (for these are things that serve relatively tothings spiritual and also to things rational), may be seen explainedat n. 2781. Hence also it is plain what angelic thought and speechare relatively to man’s thought and speech—that angelic thoughtand speech are spiritual, but man’s natural; and that the former fallsinto the latter when it descends, and that the latter is turned intothe former when it ascends. Unless this were so, there would be nocommunication whatever of man with angels, or of the world withheaven.5493. And they went thence. That this signifies the consequent lifeis evident from the signification of “going” as being to live (see n.3335, 3690, 4882). The case is the same with “going” (which inthe spiritual sense denotes to live) as with what was said just above(n. 5492).5494. And one opened his sack. That this signifies observation isevident from the signification of a “sack” as being a receptacle inthe natural (n. 5489, 5497), which was endowed with good fromtruth (n. 5487). That to “open” it denotes to observe is plain fromthe series; for by the words which follow, “to give his ass provenderin the inn,” is signified when they reflected upon the memoryknowledgesin the exterior natural.