'The serpent is here used to mean man's sensory perception in which he trusts. 'Wild animal of the field' here, as previously, means every affection that belongs to the external man. 'Woman' means the proprium. 'The serpent said, Has God indeed said, You shall not eat of every tree' means that for the first time they entertained doubts. The subject is the third generation of the descendants of the Most Ancient Church, which began not to believe matters of revelation unless they could see the import of these with their eyes and apprehend them with the senses. Their first state is described in this verse and the next as being a state of doubting.