Heaven and Hell/13
XIII
There is as Correspondence of Heaven with All Things of the Earth
103. What correspondence is has been told in the preceding chapter, and it has there been shown that each thing and all things of the animal body are correspondences. The next step is to show that all things of the earth, and in general all things of the universe, are correspondences.
104. All things of the earth are distinguished into three kinds,
called kingdoms, namely, the animal kingdom, the vegetable kingdom,
and the mineral kingdom. The things of the animal kingdom are
correspondences in the first degree, because they live; the things of
the vegetable kingdom are correspondences in the second degree,
because they merely grow; the things of the mineral kingdom are
correspondences in the third degree, because they neither live nor
grow. Correspondences in the animal kingdom are living creatures of
various kinds, both those that walk and creep on the ground and those
that fly in the air; these need not be specially named, as they are
well known. Correspondences in the vegetable kingdom are all things
that grow and abound in gardens, forests, fields, and meadows; these,
too, need not be named, because they are well known. Correspondences
in the mineral kingdom are metals more and less noble, stones
precious and not precious, earths of various kinds, and also the
waters. Besides these the things prepared from them by human activity
for use are correspondences, as foods of every kind, clothing,
dwellings and other buildings, with many other things.
105. Also the things above the earth, as the sun, moon, and stars,
and those in the atmosphere, as clouds, mists, rain, lightning and
thunder, are likewise correspondences. Things resulting from the
presence and absence of the sun, as light and shade, heat and cold,
are also correspondences, as well as those that follow in succession
therefrom, as the seasons of the year, spring, summer, autumn, and
winter; and the times of day, morning, noon, evening, and night.
106. In a word, all things that have existence in nature, from the
least to the greatest thereof, are correspondences.[1] They are
correspondences because the natural world with all things in it
springs forth and subsists from the spiritual world, and both worlds
from the Divine. They are said to subsist also, because everything
subsists from that from which it springs forth, subsistence being a
permanent springing forth; also because nothing can subsist from
itself, but only from that which is prior to itself, thus from a
First, and if separated from that it would utterly perish and vanish.
107. Everything in nature that springs forth and subsists in
accordance with Divine order is a correspondence. Divine order is
caused by the Divine good that flows forth from the Lord. It begins
in Him, goes forth from Him through the heavens in succession into
the world, and is terminated there in outmosts; and everything there
that is in accordance with order is a correspondence. Everything
there is in accordance with order that is good and perfect for use,
because everything good is good in the measure of its use; while its
form has relation to truth, truth being the form of good. And for
this reason everything in the whole world and of the nature thereof
that is in Divine order has reference to good and truth.[2]
108. That all things in the world spring from the Divine, and are
clothed with such things in nature as enable them to exist there and
perform use, and thus to correspond, is clearly evident from the
various things seen in both the animal and vegetable kingdoms. In
both there are things that any one who thinks interiorly can see to
be from heaven. For illustration a few things out of a countless
number may be mentioned; and first some things from the animal
kingdom. Many are aware what knowledge there is engrafted as it were
in every animal. Bees know how to gather honey from flowers, to build
cells out of wax in which to store their honey, and thus provide food
for themselves and their families, even for a coming winter. That a
new generation may be born their queen lays eggs, and the rest take
care of them and cover them. They live under a sort of government
which all know by instinct. They preserve the working bees and cast
out the drones, depriving them of their wings; besides other
wonderful things implanted in them from heaven for the sake of their
use, their wax everywhere serving the human race for candles, their
honey for adding sweetness to food.
[2] Again, what wonders do we see in worms, the meanest creatures in the animal kingdom! They know how to get food from the juice of the leaves suited to them, and afterward at the appointed time to invest themselves with a covering and enter as it were into a womb, and thus hatch offspring of their own kind. Some are first turned into nymphs and chrysalides, spinning threads about themselves; and this travail being over they come forth clad with a different body, furnished with wings with which they fly in the air as in their heaven, and celebrate marriages and lay eggs and provide posterity for themselves.
[3] Besides these special instances all creatures in general that fly in the air know the proper food for their nourishment, not only what it is but where to find it; they know how to build nests for themselves, one kind in one way and another kind in another way; how to lay their eggs in the nests, how to sit upon them, how to hatch their young and feed them, and to turn them out of their home when they are able to shift for themselves. They know, too, their enemies that they must avoid and their friends with whom they may associate, and this from early infancy; not to mention the wonders in the eggs themselves, in which all things lie ready in their order for the formation and nourishment of the chicks; besides numberless other things.
[4] Who that thinks from any wisdom of reason will ever say that these instincts are from any other source than the spiritual world, which the natural serves in clothing what is from it with a body, or in presenting in effect what is spiritual in the cause? The beasts of the earth and the birds of the air are born into all this knowledge, while man, who is far superior to them, is not; for the reason that animals are in the order of their life, and have not been able to destroy what is in them from the spiritual world, because they have no rational faculty. Man, on the other hand, whose thought is from the spiritual world, having perverted what is in him from that world by a life contrary to order, which his rational faculty has favored, must needs be born into mere ignorance and afterwards be led back by Divine means into the order of heaven.
109. How the things in the vegetable kingdom correspond can be seen
from many instances, as that little seeds grow into trees, put forth
leaves, produce flowers, and then fruit, in which again they deposit
seed, these things taking place in succession and existing together
in an order so wonderful as to be indescribable in a few words.
Volumes might be filled, and yet there would be still deeper arcana,
relating more closely to their uses, which science would be unable to
exhaust. Since these things, too, are from the spiritual world, that
is, from heaven, which is in the human form (as has been shown above
in its own chapter), so all the particulars in this kingdom have a
certain relation to such things as are in man, as some in the learned
world know. That all things in this kingdom also are correspondences
has been made clear to me by much experience. Often when I have been
in gardens and have been looking at the trees, fruits, flowers, and
plants there, I have recognized their correspondences in heaven, and
have spoken with those with whom these were, and have been taught
whence and what they were.
110. But at the present day no one can know the spiritual things in
heaven to which the natural things in the world correspond except
from heaven, since the knowledge of correspondences is now wholly
lost. But the nature of the correspondence of spiritual things with
natural I shall be glad to illustrate by some examples. The animals
of the earth correspond in general to affection, mild and useful
animals to good affections, fierce and useless ones to evil
affections. In particular, cattle and their young correspond to the
affections of the natural mind, sheep and lambs to the affections of
the spiritual mind; while birds correspond, according to their
species, to the intellectual things of the natural or the spiritual
mind.[3] For this reason various animals, as cattle and their young,
rams, sheep, he-goats, and she-goats, he-lambs and she-lambs, also
pigeons and turtledoves, were devoted to a sacred use in the
Israelitish Church, which was a representative church, and sacrifices
and burnt offerings were made of them. For they correspond in that
use to spiritual things, and in heaven these were understood in
accordance with the correspondences. Moreover, animals according to
their kinds and species, because they have life, are affections; and
the life of each one is solely from affection and in accordance with
affection; consequently every animal has an innate knowledge that is
in accord with its life's affection. Man is like an animal so far as
his natural man is concerned, and is therefore likened to animals in
common speech; for example, if he is gentle he is called a sheep or
lamb, if fierce a bear or wolf, if cunning a fox or serpent, and so
on.
111. There is a like correspondence with things in the vegetable
kingdom. In general, a garden corresponds to the intelligence and
wisdom of heaven; and for this reason heaven is called the Garden of
God, and Paradise;[4] and men call it the heavenly paradise. Trees,
according to their species, correspond to the perceptions and
knowledges of good and truth which are the source of intelligence and
wisdom. For this reason the ancient people, who were acquainted with
correspondences, held their sacred worship in groves;[5] and for the
same reason trees are so often mentioned in the Word, and heaven, the
church, and man are compared to them; as the vine, the olive, the
cedar, and others, and the good works done by men are compared to
fruits. Also the food derived from trees, and more especially from
the grain harvests of the field, corresponds to affections for good
and truth, because these affections feed the spiritual life, as the
food of the earth does the natural life;[6] and bread from grain, in
a general sense, because it is the food that specially sustains life,
and because it stands for all food, corresponds to an affection for
all good. It is on account of this correspondence that the Lord calls
Himself the bread of life; and that loaves of bread had a holy use in
the Israelitish Church, being placed on the table in the tabernacle
and called "the bread of faces;" also the Divine worship that was
performed by sacrifices and burnt offerings was called "bread."
Moreover, because of this correspondence the most holy act of worship
in the Christian Church is the Holy Supper, in which bread is given,
and wine.[7] From these few examples the nature of correspondence can
be seen.
112. How conjunction of heaven with the world is effected by means of
correspondences shall also be told in a few words. The Lord's kingdom
is a kingdom of ends, which are uses; or what is the same thing, a
kingdom of uses which are ends. For this reason the universe has been
so created and formed by the Divine that uses may be every where
clothed in such a way as to be presented in act, or in effect, first
in heaven and afterwards in the world, thus by degrees and
successively, down to the outmost things of nature. Evidently, then,
the correspondence of natural things with spiritual things, or of the
world with heaven, is through uses, and uses are what conjoin; and
the form in which uses are clothed are correspondences and are
conjunctions just to the extent that they are forms of uses. In the
nature of the world in its threefold kingdom, all things that exist
in accordance with order are forms of uses, or effects formed from
use for use, and this is why the things in nature are
correspondences. But in the case of man, so far as he is in
accordance with Divine order, that is, so far as he is in love to the
Lord and in charity towards the neighbor, are his acts uses in form,
and correspondences, and through these he is conjoined to heaven. To
love the Lord and the neighbor means in general to perform uses.[8]
Furthermore, it must be understood that man is the means by which the
natural world and the spiritual world are conjoined, that is, man is
the medium of conjunction, because in him there is a natural world
and there is a spiritual world (see above, n. 57); consequently to
the extent that man is spiritual he is the medium of conjunction; but
to the extent that a man is natural, and not spiritual, he is not a
medium of conjunction. Nevertheless, apart from this mediumship of
man, a Divine influx into the world and into the things pertaining to
man that are of the world goes on, but not into man's rational
faculty.
113. As all things that are in accord with Divine order correspond to
heaven, so all things contrary to Divine order correspond to hell.
All things that correspond to heaven have relation to good and truth;
but those that correspond to hell have relation to evil and falsity.
114. Something shall now be said about the knowledge of
correspondences and its use. It has been said above that the
spiritual world, which is heaven, is conjoined with the natural world
by means of correspondences; therefore by means of correspondences
communication with heaven is granted to man. For the angels of heaven
do not think from natural things, as man does; but when man has
acquired a knowledge of correspondences he is able, in respect to the
thoughts of his mind, to be associated with the angels, and thus in
respect to his spiritual or internal man to be conjoined with them.
That there might be such a conjunction of heaven with man the Word
was written wholly by correspondences, each thing and all things in
it being correspondent.[9] If man, therefore, had a knowledge of
correspondences he would understand the spiritual sense of the Word,
and from that it would be given him to know arcana of which he sees
nothing in the sense of the letter. For there is a literal sense and
there is a spiritual sense in the Word, the literal sense made up of
such things as are in the world, and the spiritual sense of such
things as are in heaven. And such a Word, in which everything down to
the least jot is a correspondence, was given to men because the
conjunction of heaven with the world is effected by means of
correspondences.[10]
115. I have been taught from heaven that the most ancient men on our
earth, who were celestial men, thought from correspondences
themselves, the natural things of the world before their eyes serving
them as means of thinking in this way; and that they could be in
fellowship with angels and talk with them because they so thought,
and that thus through them heaven was conjoined to the world. For
this reason that period was called the Golden Age, of which it is
said by ancient writers that the inhabitants of heaven dwelt with men
and associated with them as friends with friends. But after this
there followed a period when men thought, not from correspondences
themselves, but from a knowledge of correspondences, and there was
then also a conjunction of heaven with man, but less intimate. This
period was called the Silver Age. After this there followed men who
had a knowledge of correspondences but did not think from that
knowledge, because they were in natural good, and not, like those
before them in spiritual good. This period was called the Copper Age.
After this man gradually became external, and finally corporeal, and
then the knowledge of correspondences was wholly lost, and with it a
knowledge of heaven and of the many things pertaining to heaven. It
was from correspondence that these ages were named from gold, silver,
and copper,[11] and for the reason that from correspondence gold
signifies celestial good in which were the most ancient people,
silver spiritual good in which were the ancient people that followed,
and copper natural good in which were the next posterity; while iron,
from which the last age takes its name, signifies hard truth apart
from good.
- ↑ All things that are in the world and its three kingdoms correspond to the heavenly things that are in heaven, that is, the things in the natural world correspond to the things in the spiritual world (n. 1632, 1881, 2758, 2760-2763, 2987-3003, 3213-3227, 3483, 3624-3649, 4044, 4053, 4116, 4366, 4939, 5116, 5377, 5428, 5477, 9280). By correspondences the natural world is conjoined to the spiritual world (n. 8615). For this reason all nature is a theatre representative of the Lord's kingdom (n. 2758, 2999, 3000, 3483, 4938, 4939, 8848, 9280).
- ↑ Everything in the universe, both in heaven and in the world, that is in accordance with order, has reference to good and truth (n. 2451, 3166, 4390, 4409, 5232, 7256, 10122); and to the conjunction of these, in order to be anything (n. 10555).
- ↑ From correspondence animals signify affections; mild and useful animals good affections, fierce and useless ones evil affections (n. 41, 45, 46, 142, 143, 246, 714, 716, 719, 2179, 2180, 3519, 9280); illustrated by experience from the spiritual world (n. 3218, 5198, 9090). Influx of the spiritual world into the lives of animals (n. 1633, 3646). Cattle and their young from correspondence signify affections of the natural mind (n. 2180, 2566, 9391, 10132, 10407). What sheep signify (n. 4169, 4809); and lambs (n. 3994, 10132). Flying creatures signify intellectual things (n. 40, 745, 776, 778, 866, 988, 991, 5149, 7441); with a difference according to their genera and species, from experience in the spiritual world (n. 3219).
- ↑ From correspondence a garden and a paradise signify intelligence and wisdom (n. 100, 108); from experience (n. 3220). All things that have a correspondence have in the Word the same significance (n. 2896, 2987, 2989, 2990, 2991, 3002, 3225).
- ↑ Trees signify perceptions and knowledges (n. 103, 2163, 2682, 2722, 2972, 7692). For this reason the ancient people held Divine worship in groves under trees according to their correspondence (n. 2722, 4552). Influx of heaven into subjects of the vegetable kingdom, as into trees and plants (n. 3648).
- ↑ From correspondence foods signify such things as nourish the spiritual life (n. 3114, 4459, 4792, 4976, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5410, 5426, 5576, 5582, 5588, 5655, 5915, 6277, 8562, 9003).
- ↑ Bread signifies every good that nourishes the spiritual life of man (n. 2165, 2177, 3478, 3735, 3813, 4211, 4217, 4735, 4976, 9323, 9545, 10686). Such was the signification of the loaves that were on the table in the tabernacle (n. 3478, 9545). Sacrifices in general were called bread (n. 2165). Bread includes all food (n. 2165). Thus it signifies all heavenly and spiritual food (n. 276, 680, 2165, 2177, 3478, 6118, 8410).
- ↑ Every good has its delight as well as its quality from use and in accordance with use; therefore such as the use is, such is the good (n. 3049, 4984, 7038). Angelic life consists in the goods of love and charity, that is, in performing uses (n. 454). The Lord, and consequently the angels, look only, in regard to man, to ends, which are uses (n. 1317, 1645, 5854). The Lord's kingdom is a kingdom of uses that is, of ends (n. 454, 696, 1103, 3645, 4054, 7038). Serving the Lord is performing uses (n. 7038). Each thing and all things in man have been formed for use (n. 3626, 4104, 5189 9297; also from use, that is, the use is prior to the organic forms in man through which the use is performed, because use is from the inflowing of the Lord through heaven (n. 4223, 4926). Moreover man's interiors, which constitute his mind, when he grows to maturity are formed from use and for use (n. 1964, 6815, 9297). Consequently man is such as are the uses with him (n. 1568, 3570, 4054, 6571, 6935, 6938, 10284). Uses are the ends for the sake of which (n. 3565, 4054, 4104, 6815). Use is the first and the last, thus the all of man (n. 1964).
- ↑ The Word was written wholly by correspondences (n. 8615). By means, of the Word man has conjunction with heaven (n. 2899, 6943, 9396, 9400, 9401, 10375, 10452).
- ↑ Concerning the spiritual sense of the Word see the little work on The White Horse referred to in the Apocalypse.
- ↑ Gold from correspondence signifies celestial good (n. 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 9510, 9874, 9881). Silver signifies spiritual good, that is, truth from a celestial origin (n. 1551, 1552, 2954, 5658). Copper signifies natural good (n. 425, 1551). Iron signifies truth in the outmost of order (n. 425, 426).