580. For their power was in their mouth.* - That these words signify that sensual thoughts and reasonings thence are very powerful with them, is evident from the signification of their power, which denotes to be powerful, in this case, to be very powerful; and from the signification of the mouth, which denotes sensual thought and reasoning thence, for the mouth, and the things pertaining to it, signify such things as pertain to the understanding and to thought and speech thence, because these correspond to the mouth. For all the organs which designated by one word are called the mouth, as the larynx, the glottis, the throat, the tongue, the palate, the lips, are organs serviceable to the understanding for expression and utterance; for this reason the mouth signifies thought, and reasoning thence. But because the man's thought is interior and exterior, or spiritual, natural, and sensual, therefore by the mouth is signified the thought of the man to whom the subject refers; in this case, sensual thought, because the subject treated of is the man who has become sensual through the falsities of evil. Sensual thought is the lowest of all, and is material, and corporeal. In such thought are all those who are in evils of life, and thence in falsities of doctrine, however learned and clever they may be supposed to be, and although they can arrange their falsities attractively, and clothe them in choice and eloquent language.
[2] That the mouth, from correspondence, thus in the spiritual sense, signifies thought, but in the natural sense, utterance, is evident from the following passages.
Thus in David:
"The mouth of the just meditateth wisdom" (Psalm xxxvii. 30).
The mouth here signifies thought from affection, for from that a man meditates wisdom, but not from the mouth and its speech.
In Luke, Jesus said:
"I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to resist" (xxi. 15).
Here the mouth signifies speech from the understanding, thus thought from which man speaks.
So in Matthew:
"Not that which entereth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. Whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth out of the heart. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications (stupra), thefts, false witness, blasphemies" (xv. 11, 17-19).
Those things which enter into the mouth mean, in the sense of the letter, food of every kind, which, after having performed its use in the body, passes through the belly into the draught. But, in the spiritual sense, that which entereth into the mouth, means all things that enter into the thought from the memory, and also from the world, and these things also correspond to food. Those things that enter into the thought, and not at the same time into the will, do not defile a man, for the memory, and the thought therefrom, are to man only as it were the entrance to him, since the will is the man himself. Those things also which enter the thought and proceed no further, are cast out as it were through the belly into the draught. The belly, from correspondence, signifies the world of spirits, whence thoughts flow in with man, while the draught signifies hell.
[3] It must be observed, that man cannot be purified from evils, and the falsities thence, unless the unclean things that are in him come forth even into the thought, and are there seen, acknowledged, discerned, and rejected. From these things it is evident, that that which enters into the mouth, signifies, in the spiritual sense, that which enters into the thought from the memory and from the world; but that which comes out of the mouth, in the spiritual sense, signifies thought from the will, or from the love. For the heart, from which it comes out into the mouth, and from the mouth, signifies the will and love of man; and since the love and will constitute the whole man, for as is the love so is the man's quality, therefore those things which proceed therefrom into the mouth, and out of the mouth, make the man unclean. That these are evils of every kind, is evident from the things there enumerated. In this way is this saying of the Lord understood in the heavens. That the heart signifies the will and love, may be seen above (n. 167).
So in Isaiah:
"Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal from off the altar in his hand: and he touched my mouth and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; therefore thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin expiated" (vi. 6, 7).
By one of the seraphim touching the mouth and lips of the prophet with a live coal from off the altar, is signified his interior purification, which is that of the understanding and will, and inauguration thence into the function of teaching. The live coal from off the altar signifies the Divine Love, from which is all purification, and the mouth and lips signify thought and affection, or what is the same thing, the understanding and the will, these being purified, a man is removed from iniquity and sin; it is therefore said, "therefore thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin expiated." That iniquity is not taken away by the application of a live coal to the mouth and lips, must be evident to every one. That the things pertaining to the mouth correspond to things intellectual, because from them the voice and speech proceed, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia (n. 8068, 9384), That "from the mouth and from the heart," denotes from the understanding and the will; in the same (n. 3313, 8068). * The words "and in their tails," which occur in the A.V. and R.V., are omitted by Swedenborg, who agrees with Schmidius. The words do not occur in Beza's Greek Testament (A.D. 1598). In the translation of chapter ix. of the Apocalypse, on page 292, these words are left in, but the reader should supply [ ] to indicate that they are not in Swedenborg's MS., although found in the versions.
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