Heaven and Hell (Harley) n. 110

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110. To know, however, the spiritual things in heaven to which natural things in the world correspond is possible to no one at the present day except from heaven, since the knowledge of correspondences has now been entirely lost. But the nature of the correspondence of spiritual things with natural I would illustrate by some examples. The living creatures of the earth, in general, correspond to affections, gentle and useful creatures to good affections, fierce and useless ones to evil affections. In particular, cattle and their young correspond to the affections of the natural mind, sheep and lambs to the affections of the spiritual mind, while winged creatures, according to their species, correspond to the intellectual things of either mind#. For this reason, various animals, as cattle and their young, rams, sheep, she-goats, he-goats, he-lambs and she-lambs, also pigeons and turtle-doves were received for a sacred use in the Israelitish Church which was a representative Church, and sacrifices and burnt-offerings were made of them. For in that use they corresponded to things spiritual, and in heaven these were understood in accordance with correspondences. Moreover, animals according to their kinds and species, are affections, because they are living, and the life of each one is solely from, and in accordance with affection. Consequently, every animal has an innate knowledge in accord with its life's affection. Man, too, is similar to animals as to his natural man. Therefore, he is compared to them in common speech. For example, if he is gentle he is called a sheep or a lamb, if fierce, a bear or wolf, if cunning, a fox or a serpent, and so on. # From correspondence "animals" signify affections; mild and useful animals good affections, fierce and useless ones evil affections (n. 45, 46, 142, 143, 246, 714, 716, 719, 2179, 2180, 3519, 9280); illustrated by experience from the spiritual world (n. 3218, 5198, 9090). Influx of the spiritual world into the lives of beasts (n. 1633, 3646). "Cattle and their young" from correspondence signify affections of the natural mind (n. 2180, 2566, 9391, 10132, 10407). What "sheep" signify (n. 4169, 4809); and "lambs" (n. 3994, 10132). "Flying creatures" signify intellectual things (n. 40, 745, 776, 778, 866, 988, 991, 5149, 6441); with a difference according to their genera and species, from experience in the spiritual world (n. 3219).


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