10661. 'Of all your cattle you are to give the male' means which is imparted by means of truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'the male' as truth, dealt with in 2046, 4005, 7838. The situation is that all good which a person receives from the Lord is imparted to him by means of truth. For at birth the human being has no knowledge of anything at all; and when he starts to grow up, he is, if left to himself, completely in the dark so far as spiritual things are concerned, for he knows nothing about God, the Lord, heaven and hell, and life after death. All that he knows, if left to himself, has regard to the world and to himself. That which exists in the world for his own benefit he calls good, and that which lends support to it he calls true. In order therefore that he may come into possession of heavenly good, which he must love more than himself and the world, it is necessary for him to learn truths from the Word, or from the teachings of the Church which are derived from the Word. Until he has learned them, thus until he has knowledge of them, he cannot love them; for no one can have an affection for something that he has no knowledge of. So it is that truth is the means by which good is imparted to a person. But the truth residing with a person becomes good when he loves it; for everything that is loved is a form of good. Loving consists in intending and doing; for what a person loves he intends and does; in this way truth becomes good. This then is what is meant by the requirement that the male of all cattle should be given.