Arcana Coelestia volume 7 - Swedenborg Foundation

ARCANA COELESTIA 39875509. Saying. That this signifies perception is evident from thesignification of “saying” in the historicals of the Word as being toperceive (as often shown above).5510. The man, the lord of the land, spoke. That this signifies thecelestial of the spiritual reigning in the natural is evident from therepresentation of Joseph, who is here “the man, the lord of theland,” as being the celestial of the spiritual. “Man” [vir] ispredicated of the spiritual, and “lord” of the celestial; for “man” inthe internal sense is truth, and “lord” is good, and truth from theDivine is what is called spiritual, and good from the Divine is whatis called celestial; and from the signification of “land,” here the landof Egypt, as being the natural mind (see n. 5276, 5278, 5280,5288, 5301). That the celestial of the spiritual, which is representedby Joseph, reigned in both naturals, is contained in the precedingchapter in the internal sense; and it was to the end that this mightbe represented that Joseph was appointed over the land of Egypt.[2] There are two things in the natural—memory-knowledgesand truths of the church; concerning memory-knowledges it hasbeen shown that the celestial of the spiritual or truth from theDivine disposed them in order in the natural; and now the truths ofthe church, which are represented by the ten sons of Jacob, aretreated of. Memory-knowledges must be disposed in order in thenatural before the truths of the church, because these are to beapprehended from the former; for nothing can enter man’sunderstanding without ideas derived from such memoryknowledgesas he has acquired from infancy. Man does not at allknow that every truth of the church that is called a truth of faith isfounded upon his memory-knowledges, and that he apprehends it,keeps it in the memory, and calls it out of the memory, by meansof ideas composed of the memory-knowledges in him.[3] In the other life the quality of these ideas is wont to be shownto the life to those who desire it; for such things are presentedplainly to view in the light of heaven; and then also it appears withwhat degrees of shade or with what rays of light they have held thetruth of the doctrine of the church. In some this truth appears