7319. 'And the river will stink' means an aversion to it. This is clear from the meaning of 'stinking' as an aversion, dealt with in 7161; and from the meaning of 'the river', here the river of Egypt turned into blood, as falsified truth. It should be recognized that in the next life nothing is more abominable and consequently nothing stinks more obnoxiously than profaned truth. It is like the stench of a dead body, which is given off when the living flesh dies. For falsity does not stink unless it is placed alongside truth, nor does evil unless it is placed alongside good; the character of each is recognized not from its own odour but from that of its opposite. From this one may realize the extent to which profaned truth stinks. Profaned truth is falsity blended with truth; but falsified truth is falsity not blended with truth, only attached to truth and dominating it.