Arcana Coelestia volume 7 - Swedenborg Foundation

ARCANA COELESTIA 3613According to these words did thy servant to me” signifiesconfirmation; “that his anger was kindled” signifies aversion tospiritual truth. “And Joseph’s lord took him” signifies temptationfrom the natural; “and put him into the prison house” signifies asto false speaking against good; “the place where the king’s boundones were bound” signifies the state in which those are who are infalsities; “and he was there in the prison house” signifies theduration of the temptation.5031. And it came to pass. That this signifies a new state is evidentfrom the signification of “it came to pass,” or “it was,” as involvingsomething new, or a new state (see n. 4979, 4987, 4999), here thestate of spiritual natural good, which state is represented by Joseph,after the ultimate of truth had been taken away from him, and thusafter there was no longer any conjunction with truth and goodnatural not spiritual.5032. When his lord heard the words of his wife, which she spokeunto him. That this signifies communication of falsity whichappeared as truth is evident from the signification of “hearingwords” as being communication, for “hearing” is perceiving (n.5017), thus to be communicated; and from the signification of“wife” as being truth natural not spiritual, of which above, but inthe present instance falsity. The false speaking itself is signified bythe words which she spoke to him (as above, n. 5024). Thecommunication of falsity is with good natural not spiritual, whichis here signified by his “lord” (as above, n. 5023). That the falsityappeared to him as truth is evident from what follows.[2] The subject treated of here is that good natural not spiritual iseasily persuaded, insomuch that falsity appears to it altogether astruth. What good natural not spiritual is, and what its quality, orwho and of what quality are those who are in this good, may beseen above (n. 4988, 4992, 5008, 5013, 5028), namely, that theyare such as are gentle and well disposed from what is hereditary andhence adventitious, thus such as do what is good from nature, butnot from religion. It is one thing to do good from nature, and quiteanother to do it from religion. These two things cannot be