10272. 'And the altar of incense' means within all things belonging to worship that spring from those forms of good and those truths. This is clear from the meaning of 'the altar of incense' as that which is representative of all things belonging to worship that spring from love and charity coming from the Lord, dealt with in 10177, 10198. The words of explanation speak of that which is representative of the Lord within the different kinds of good and truth, within those that are of service to them, and within all things belonging to worship, because the kinds of good and truth that are being represented are good and true only so far as they have what is Divine and the Lord's within them; for any goodness or truth present with man or angel comes from the Lord. Without life from the Lord within them they are things that are dead, indeed evil as well. For if things do not have their origin in the Lord but in man they look to man and the world, and things which have man and the world as their end in view are essentially evil. For the end in view within a person is central; it is the soul of everything within him. All this shows what should be understood by that which is representative of the Lord within the different kinds of good and truth, and within what is of service to them. By kinds of good and truth which act as servants, forms of good and truth within the natural or external man should be understood; and they are called cognitions and known facts. These are surveyed by the internal man, and from them he chooses supportive ones that are in agreement with the life of his affections, that is, with his love. And since these are for that reason subordinate they are called those that act as servants. There are also forms of good and truth which act in turn as servants to these; they are called known facts derived from sensory impressions. The forms of good and truth present with a person are like families or households, in which there are a householder; sons, daughters, sons-in-law, and daughters-in-law; and servants and maids. The lowest position there is occupied by those things which 'known facts derived from sensory impressions' describes, though at the present day with most people they occupy the highest position.