Arcana Coelestia volume 7 - Swedenborg Foundation

ARCANA COELESTIA 4091inverted order is evident from the representation of the Egyptians,as being memory-knowledges that are in inverted order (of whichhereafter); and from the signification of “who did eat with himalone” as being separation (as just above, n. 5699). By theEgyptians “who did eat with him” are meant the Egyptians who ateat Joseph’s house; that they did not eat with Joseph is plain,because they ate alone. By “Egypt” or the “Egyptians” in a goodsense are signified the memory-knowledges of the church (see n.1462, 4749, 4964, 4966); but in the opposite sense are signifiedthe memory-knowledges which are in inverted order, thus whichare contrary to the truths of the church (n. 1164, 1165, 1186). Inthis sense “Egypt” is mentioned in many passages of the Word.That “Egypt” signifies these memory-knowledges is because thememory-knowledges of the ancient church, which wererepresentative and significative of celestial and spiritual things, andwhich were cultivated among the Egyptians more than amongothers, were turned by them into magic; whereby they completelyinverted the memory-knowledges of the representative church.[2] Memory-knowledges are said to be in inverted order whenmen abuse heavenly order to do evil; for heavenly order is that goodbe done to all. Hence it comes to pass that when they have thusinverted heavenly order, they at last deny Divine things, the thingsof heaven, and consequently those of charity and faith. They whobecome such know how to reason acutely and skillfully frommemory-knowledges, because they reason from the senses, and toreason from these is to reason from such things as are external, thatis, from such as are of the body and the world, which take directhold of man’s senses and feelings. Unless such things have beenillumined by the light of heaven, and thereby arranged in anentirely different order, they put the man in so great an obscurity asto heavenly things that he not only comprehends none of them, buteven wholly denies, and at last rejects them, and then as far as hemay, blasphemes them. When memory-knowledges are in order,they are arranged by the Lord in the form of heaven; but when theyare in inverted order, they are arranged in the form of hell, andthen things most false are in the midst, and those which confirmthem are at the sides, while truths are without, and because they arewithout they can have no communication with heaven where truths