of the nations in the land of Canaan, by the wealth, the herds, the cattle, the houses, the vineyards, which the sons of Israel there took for spoil. This is still plainer from the gold and silver taken from the nations for spoil, being also applied to a holy use as is evident from the Second Book of Samuel: There were in his hand vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of brass: these also did King David sanctify unto Jehovah, with the silver and gold which he had sanctified of all the nations which he subdued; of the Syrians, of Moab, and of the sons of Ammon, and of the Philistines, and of Amalek, and of the spoil of Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah (viii. 10-12). And in Isaiah: And the merchandise of Tyre and her hire shall be holiness to Jehovah: it shall not be stored up, nor laid away; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before Jehovah, to eat till satisfied, and for stately covering (xxiii. 18). These also which the women of the sons of Israel borrowed from the Egyptians, and thus took for spoil, were afterward applied to the use of constructing the ark, and several other of the holy things of their worship.

ye

6918. And raiment. That this signifies lower knowledges corresponding thereto, is evident from the signification of raiment, as lower knowledges (see n. 2576, 5248). Garments have this signification because they clothe interior things. 6919. And shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters. That this signifies application to their truths and to goods, is evident from the signification of sons, as truths (see n. 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 3373); and from the signification of daughters, as goods (n. 489491, 2362, 2363); and from the signification of putting upon them, as applying, for what is put upon one, is applied.

6920. And ye shall spoil the Egyptians. That this signifies that such things were to be taken from those who

were in falsities and thence in evils, is evident from the signification of spoiling, as taking away; and from the signification of the Egyptians, as those who are in falsities— of which frequently above. How this is, may be evident from what was adduced above (n. 6914, 6917).

CONTINUATION CONCERNING THE SPIRITS OF THE PLANET MERCURY.

6921. At the close of the preceding chapter it was shown that the spirits of the planet Mercury in the Greatest Man constitute the memory of things not material; and as they therefore love to know things abstracted from what is material, they are more prompt and expeditious than other spirits in discerning, thinking, and speaking; for material things are as weights which cause slowness and retard, for they bear the mind downward and immerse it in earthly things, and thus remove it from the spiritual world, whence all clear discernment comes. How prompt these spirits are, may be evident from what follows.

6922. There appeared a white flame of some brightness burning briskly, and this for some time. This flame signified the approach of spirits of Mercury more prompt than the rest. When they came, they instantly ran through the contents of my memory. This all spirits are able to do, and by the fact of being with man are in possession of all his memory (see n. 5853, 5857, 5859, 5860). But I could not perceive what these spirits observed on account of their quickness. From time to time I heard them saying that this was so. As to what I had seen in the heavens and in the world of spirits they said that they knew it before. I perceived that a multitude of spirits in association with them was at the back a little to the left in the plane of the back of the head.

6923. At another time I saw a multitude of such spirits, but at some distance from me, in front a little to the right, and thence they talked with me, but by intermediate spirits; for their speech is as quick as thought, which can fall into human speech only by intermediate spirits. And what sur• prised me, they spoke all together, and yet just so promptly and quickly. Their speech was perceived as an undulation, because it was of many together; and, what is remarkable, it glided toward my left eye, though they were to the right. The reason was, that the left eye corresponds to knowledges of things abstracted from material, thus to such as are of intelligence; but the right eye to those which are of wisdom. They likewise perceived and judged what was heard with the same promptness with which they spoke, saying that this was so, and this not so. Their judgment was as it were instantaneous.

6924. There was a spirit from another earth who could speak well with them, being a prompt and ready speaker. They judged in a moment of what he spoke, saying that this was too elegantly expressed, and that too artfully, so that they only heeded whether they heard anything from him which was unknown to them before, thus rejecting such things as obscure the discourse, as all affectations of elegance and erudition especially do; for these hide the real things and present instead thereof, expressions, which are their material forms.

6925. The spirits of the earth Mercury do not tarry long in one place, or in the sphere of the spirits of one world, but wander through the universe. The reason of this is, that they relate to the memory of things in the Greatest Man, which memory must be continually enriched. Hence it is given them to wander, and everywhere to acquire to themselves knowledge. During this journeying if they meet with spirits who love material, that is, corporeal and earthly things, they shun them, and betake themselves where such things are not heard. From this it may be evident that

their mind is raised above the things of sense, and thus that they are in an interior light. This it was also given actually to perceive when they were near and talked with me. I then observed that I was withdrawn from things of sense, so that the light of my eyes began to grow dull and obscure.

6926. The spirits of that earth go in companies and bands, and when assembled together, form as it were a globe; they are thus joined together by the Lord in order that they may act as one, and that the knowledges of each may be communicated to all, and of all to each. That those spirits wander through the universe to acquire knowledges of things, was made evident to me also from this, that once when they appeared very remote from me, they talked with me thence, and said that they were then gathered together and were journeying out of the sphere of this solar world into the starry heaven, where they knew there were spirits who had no concern about what is earthly and corporeal, but about what is abstracted therefrom, and that they wished to be with them. It was said that they do not know themselves whither they are journeying, but that they are led by the Divine guidance where they may be instructed in what they do not yet know, and which agrees with the knowledges they already have. It was said further that they do not know how they meet the companions with whom they are joined, and that this also is of the Divine guidance.

6927. Because of their thus journeying through the universe, and so being able to know more than others of the worlds and earths beyond the sphere of our solar system, I have also talked with them on this subject. They said that in the universe there are very many earths inhabited by men, and that they wondered that it should be supposed by any, whom they called men of little judgment, that the heaven of the omnipotent God consists only of the spirits and angels who come from one earth, when yet these are so

few that in respect to the omnipotence of God they are scarce anything, even if there were myriads of worlds and myriads of earths. They further said that they knew of earths existing in the universe numbering more than hundreds of thousands; yet what is this to the Divine, Which is infinite?

6928. The spirits of the earth Mercury differ wholly from those of our earth, for the spirits of our earth, especially at their first entrance into the other life, love corporeal and earthly, that is material things, and desire to know such in the other life. In order therefore that they may be enabled to be with good spirits who have no concern about such things, they are kept in places which are beneath the soles of the feet, and are called in the Word the lower earth, and this even till they abhor things corporeal and earthly, and so put them off. When this is effected, they are raised into heaven, initiated into things interior, and become angels.

6929. Spirits of Mercury who were with me while I was writing and explaining the Word as to its internal sense, and perceived what I was writing, said that what I wrote was very gross, and that almost all the expressions appeared material; but it was given to answer that to the men of our earth what was written seemed subtile and elevated, and much of it incomprehensible. I added that very many on this earth do not know that it is the internal man which acts upon the external, and causes this to live; and that they persuade themselves from fallacies of the senses that the body lives of itself, consequently that the whole man is to die, when he dies as to the body, and thus they cherish doubts in themselves as to the life after death; also that they do not call that part of man which is to live after the death of the body, the spirit, but the soul; and that they dispute what the soul is, and where is its seat, and believe that it must be joined again to the material body, that the man may live - - with many like things. When the spirits