258. The reason why it is injurious to confirm the appearances of truth in the Word, thus leading to the creation of a fallacy and so the destruction of the Divine truth hidden within it, is precisely because every detail of the literal sense of the Word communicates with heaven. For, as was shown above, every detail of its literal sense contains a spiritual sense, which is revealed in passing from man to heaven. Everything in the spiritual sense is a genuine truth. Therefore, when a person with false beliefs applies the literal sense to confirm them, then there are falsities in it; and when falsities come in, the truths are scattered, as happens on the passage from man to heaven, This may be compared to a shiny bladder full of gall being tossed to another person, but before reaching him it bursts in the air and the gall is sprinkled around; on this happening, when the other person becomes aware of the air being polluted with gall, he turns away and shuts his mouth to prevent it touching his tongue. Again it is like a leather bottle bound with cedar twigs containing vinegar full of worms; and if the bottle is shattered on the road and another person smells the stench, it immediately makes him feel sick and he fans the air to prevent the stench entering his nostrils.
[2] Again it is like an almond in its shell, but instead of an almond there is a newly hatched viper inside; when the shell is broken open, the tiny viper seems to be blown by the wind into another person's eyes, but he turns away to prevent this happening. This is self-evident. It is similar when the Word is read by a person with false beliefs, who applies some things in its literal sense to confirm his falsities; then the Word is rejected on the way to heaven, to prevent anything of the kind affecting the angels and distressing them. For when falsity comes into contact with truth, it is like the point of a needle touching the fibril of a nerve, or the pupil of the eye. It is well known that the nerve fibril immediately curls up and retreats into itself; and likewise the eye as soon as it is touched covers itself with the eyelids. These comparisons make it plain that the falsification of truth breaks communication with heaven and shuts it off. This is why it is injurious to confirm any heretical falsity.
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