7449. 'And the land was ruined by the presence of the noxious flying insects' means that all truth in the natural mind was corrupted. This is clear from the meaning of 'being ruined' as being corrupted; from the meaning of 'the land of Egypt' as the natural mind, dealt with in 5276, 5278, 5280, 5288, 5301; and from the meaning of 'the noxious flying insects' as malevolent falsity, dealt with in 7441. All truth is said to be corrupted, for truth is indeed totally corrupted by falsity springing from evil.