Heaven and its Wonders and Hell. Emanuel Swedenborg

the natural or the spiritual mind.{1} 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.

      {Footnote 1} 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).

      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;{1} 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;{2} 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;{3} 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.{4} From these few examples the nature of correspondence can be seen.

      {Footnote 1} 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).

      {Footnote 2} 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).

      {Footnote 3} 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).

      {Footnote 4} 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).

      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.{1} 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.

      {Footnote 1} 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).

      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.{1} 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.{2}

      {Footnote 1} The Word was written wholly by correspondences (n. 8615). By means, of the