Arcana Coelestia (Potts) n. 4875

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4875. And thy kerchief. That this signifies by means of truth, namely, a token of consent, is evident from the signification of a "kerchief," as being truth. That a "kerchief" denotes truth, is because it is among those things which relate to garments, and by garments are in general signified truths; for as garments clothe the flesh, so truths clothe good (see n. 297, 2132, 2576, 4545, 4763). Among the ancients therefore, everything with which they were clothed signified some special and particular truth; hence a tunic signified one truth, the outer garment [chlamys] another, the outermost garment [toga] another; the coverings of the head too, as the miter and turban, another; also the coverings of the thighs and feet, as breeches and stockings, another; and so on. But a "kerchief" signified outermost or lowest truth, being made of threads twisted together, by which the determinations of such truth are signified. A "kerchief" signifies such truth also in Moses: Every open vessel upon which there is not a cloth (or kerchief) for a covering, it is unclean (Num. 20:15); whereby was signified that nothing should be indeterminate; for whatever is indeterminate is open. Moreover, it is outermost truths to which interior truths are determined, and in which they terminate.


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