Page:Arcana Coelestia (Potts) vol 1.djvu/104

 signifies their knowing and acknowledging, from an interior dictate, that they were "naked," that is, no longer in innocence, as before, but in evil.

. That by having the "eyes opened" is signified an interior dictate, is evident from similar expressions in the Word, as from what Balaam says of himself, who in consequence of having visions calls himself the "man whose eyes are opened" (Num. xxiv. 3). And from Jonathan, who when he tasted of the honey-comb and had a dictate from within that it was evil, said that his "eyes saw," that is, were enlightened, so that he saw what he knew not (1 Sam. xiv. 29). Moreover in the Word, the "eyes" are often used to denote the understanding, and thus an interior dictate therefrom, as in David:—

where "eyes" denote the understanding. So in Ezekiel, speaking of those who are not willing to understand, who "have eyes to see, and see not" (xii. 2). In Isaiah:—

denotes that they should be made blind, lest they should understand. So Moses said to the people,

where "heart" denotes the will, and "eyes" denote the understanding. In Isaiah it is said of the Lord, that "He should open the blind eyes" (xlii. 7). And in the same Prophet: "The eyes of the blind shall see out of thick darkness and out of darkness" (xxix. 18).

. By "knowing that they were naked" is signified their knowing and acknowledging themselves to be no longer in innocence as before, but in evil, as is evident from the last verse of the preceding chapter, where it is said "and they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed," and where it may be seen that "not to be ashamed because they were naked" signifies to be innocent. The contrary is signified by their "being ashamed," as in this verse, where it is said that they "sewed fig-leaves together, and hid themselves;" for where there is no innocence, nakedness is a scandal and disgrace,