The Swedenborg Library Vol 2/Chapter 11
XI.
CORRESPONDENCE.
T is unknown at this day what correspondence is. This ignorance arises from various causes, the chief of which is, that man has removed himself from heaven by the love of self and the world. For he who loves himself and the world above all else, cares only for worldly things, because they please the external senses and delight the carnal appetite; and has no concern about spiritual things, because they please the internal senses and delight the rational mind. Therefore such men reject spiritual things, saying they are too high for their comprehension.
It was otherwise with the ancients. To them the knowledge of correspondences was the chief of all knowledges. By means of this they acquired intelligence and wisdom, and those who were of the church had communication with heaven; for the knowledge of correspondences is angelic knowledge. The most ancient people, who were celestial men, actually thought from correspondence as do the angels. For this reason also they conversed with the angels. And for the same reason the Lord often appeared to them and instructed them. But that knowledge is now so entirely lost, that it is not known what correspondence is.
Without a knowledge of correspondence no clear understanding can be had of the spiritual world; of its influx into the natural world; of the relation of the spiritual to the natural; of the spirit of man, which is called the soul; of the operation of the soul upon the body; and of the state of man after death. Therefore it is necessary to explain the nature of correspondence, and thus prepare the way for what is to follow.
ITS MEANING EXPLAINED AND ILLUSTRATED.
First, I will explain what correspondence is.—The whole natural world corresponds to the spiritual world; not only the natural world in general, but also every particular part thereof. Therefore whatever exists in the natural world from the spiritual, is said to be the correspondent [of that from which it exists]. It is to be observed that the natural world exists and subsists from the spiritual world, precisely as an effect from its efficient cause. All that is called the natural world which lies beneath the sun, and receives therefrom heat and light; and the things of this world are all those which thence subsist. But the spiritual world is heaven; and the things of that world are all those which are in heaven.
Since man is a heaven and also a world in the least form after the image of the greatest, therefore there is both a spiritual and a natural world belonging to him. The interiors which belong to his mind and have relation to understanding and will, constitute his spiritual world; but the exteriors which belong to his body and have relation to its senses and actions, constitute his natural world. Whatever therefore in his natural world, that is, in his body and its senses and actions, exists from his spiritual world, that is, from his mind and its understanding and will, is called correspondent.
The nature of correspondence may be seen from the human face. In a face which has not been taught to dissemble, all the affections of the mind appear visibly in a natural form as in their type. Hence the face is called the index of the mind. Thus man's spiritual world is apparent in his natural world. In like manner the thoughts of his understanding are manifested in his speech, and the determinations of his will in the gestures of his body. Those things, therefore, which occur in the body, whether in the face, the speech or the gestures, are called correspondences.
From these considerations may also be seen what the internal man is, and what the external; namely, that the internal is that which is called the spiritual man, and the external that which is called the natural man; also that one is distinct from the other as heaven is from the world; and likewise that all things which are done and exist in the external or natural man, are done and exist from the internal or spiritual man.
GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE OF HEAVEN WITH MAN.
Thus far concerning the correspondence of the internal or spiritual man with the external or natural. I shall now treat of the correspondence of the whole heaven with every part of man.
It has been shown that the universal heaven resembles one man, that it is in the form of a man, and is therefore called the Grand Man. It has also been shown that the angelic societies whereof heaven consists, are arranged like the members, organs and viscera in man; so that some are in the head, some in the breast, some in the arms and some in every particular part of those members. The societies, therefore, which are in any member in heaven, correspond to a like member in man.
That heaven is distinguished into two kingdoms, one of which is called the celestial and the other the spiritual kingdom, may be seen above. The celestial kingdom in general corresponds to the heart and to all things in the whole body belonging to it; and the spiritual kingdom to the lungs, and to all things throughout the body belonging to them. The heart and the lungs also form two kingdoms in man. The heart rules therein by the arteries and veins, the lungs by the nervous and moving fibres,—both, in every effort and action.
In every man's spiritual world which is called his spiritual man, there are also two kingdoms; the kingdom of the will and the kingdom of the understanding. The will rules by the affections of good, and the understanding by the affections of truth. These kingdoms also correspond to the kingdoms of the heart and lungs in the body.
The case is similar in heaven. The celestial kingdom is the will-principle of heaven, and the good of love there rules. The spiritual kingdom is the intellectual principle of heaven, and there truth rules. These are what correspond to the functions of the heart and lungs in man. It is from this correspondence that the heart in the Word signifies the will and also the good of love; and the breath of the lungs, the understanding and the truth of faith. Hence also the affections are ascribed to the heart, although they are not there nor derived from it.
ITS CORRESPONDENCE WITH EACH MEMBER.
The correspondence of the two kingdoms of heaven with the heart and lungs, is the general correspondence of heaven with man. But there is one less general with each member, organ and viscus, which shall now be explained.
In the Grand Man which is heaven, they who are in the head excel all others in every good; for they are in love, peace, innocence, wisdom, intelligence, and thence in joy and happiness. These flow into the head of man and the things thereto belonging, and correspond to them. They who are in the breast in the Grand Man which is heaven, are in the good of charity and faith, and also flow into the breast of man to which they correspond. But they in the Grand Man or heaven who are in the loins, and in the organs dedicated to generation there, are in conjugial love. They who are in the feet, are in the ultimate good of heaven which is called spiritual-natural. They who are in the arms and hands, are in the power of truth derived from good. They who are in the eyes, excel in understanding; they who are in the ears, in attention and obedience; they who are in the nostrils, in perception; and they who are in the mouth and tongue, in discourse from understanding and perception. They who are in the kidneys excel in truth which examines, separates and corrects; and they who are in the liver, pancreas and spleen are skilled in the various purifications of good and truth.
So with those in other members and organs. They all flow into similar parts of man, and correspond to them. The influx of heaven is into the functions and uses of the members; and uses, because they are from the spiritual world, clothe themselves with a form by means of things in the natural world, and thus appear in the effect. Hence comes correspondence.
Hence it is that these same members, organs and viscera, denote similar things in the Word; for all things in the Word have a signification according to correspondences. By the head, therefore, is signified intelligence and wisdom; by the breast, charity; by the loins, conjugial love; by the arms and hands, the power of truth; by the feet, the natural [principle]; by the eyes, understanding; by the nostrils, perception; by the ears, obedience; by the kidneys, the purification of truth; and so on.
Hence also it is usual, in common discourse, to say of an intelligent and wise man, that he has a head; of one who is in charity, that he is a bosom friend; of one who excels in perception, that he is quick-scented; of one who excels in intelligence, that he is sharp-sighted; of one in power, that he has long arms; and of one who purposes from love, that he does it from the heart. These and many other sayings in common use, are from correspondence; for such expressions are from the spiritual world, although man does not know it.
That there is such a correspondence of all things of heaven with all things of man, has been shown me by much experience—so much, indeed, that I am as sure of it as of any truth that is clear beyond a doubt. But it is needless to adduce here all this experience; nor can I, on account of its abundance. It may be seen in the Arcana Cœlestia, in the sections which treat of Correspondences, of Representations, of the Influx of the Spiritual World into the Natural, and of the Intercourse between the Soul and the Body.
But although all things of the human body correspond to all things of heaven, still man is not an image of heaven as to his external form, but as to his internal. For the interiors of man receive heaven, and his exteriors receive the world. So far, therefore, as his interiors receive heaven, man as to them is a heaven in the least form after the image of the greatest. But so far as his interiors do not receive, he is not a heaven nor an image of the greatest.
Nevertheless the exteriors which receive the world, may be in a form according to the order of the world, and thence in various beauty; for external beauty which is of the body, derives its cause from parents and from the formation in the womb, and is afterwards preserved by a common influx from the world.
Hence it is that the form of one's natural man may differ very much from the form of his spiritual man. I have occasionally seen the form of the spirit of particular persons. In some who had beautiful and handsome faces, the spirit was deformed, black and monstrous, so that it might be called an image of hell, not of heaven; but in some who were not beautiful in person, the spirit was beautiful, fair and angelic. The spirit of man also appears after death such as it was in the body which clothed it when living in the world. (H. H., n. 87-89.)
