Page:A Compendium of the Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg.djvu/281

Rh on account of them. Grief of mind is grief of the thought and understanding, which are of truth; and grief of heart is grief of the affection and will, which are of good; and because there is everywhere in the word a marriage of truth and good, therefore both weeping and tears are mentioned in the Word when grief is expressed on account of falsities of doctrine or of religion. That weeping is grief of heart may appear from the consideration that it bursts forth from the heart, and breaks out into lamentation through the mouth; and that shedding tears is grief of mind may appear from the fact that it issues forth from the thought through the eyes. In both weeping and shedding tears water comes forth, but bitter and astringent; which is occasioned by influx into the grief of man from the spiritual world, where bitter water corresponds to defect of truth because of falsities, and to grief on account of them. (A. E. n. 484.)

By the dragon in general they are meant who are more or less natural, and yet in the knowledge of things spiritual from the Word. The reason is that serpents in general signify the sensual things of man, and thence sensual men; and therefore the dragon which is a flying serpent signifies the sensual man, who though sensual yet flies towards heaven, in that he speaks and thinks from the Word, or from doctrine derived from the Word. (A. E. n. 714.)

Number and measure are mentioned in many places in the Word, and it is supposed that in either case number and measure is meant; but by number and measure in the spiritual sense the quality is meant of the thing treated of. The very quality is determined by the numbers which are expressed. . . . The reason why number signifies the quality of the thing treated of