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DEN is the most ancient and revered name in geography—the name of the first district of the earth's surface of which human beings could have any knowledge. The word is found in the Arabic as well as in the Hebrew language; it signifies delight, tenderness, loveliness. In spiritual theology, it signifies, in the supreme sense, the Lord himself; and the Lord is essential tenderness as a Father, as well as all that is lovely and delightful to the soul; and the garden of Eden signifies love to the Lord, heaven, and the church. In this paradise man was first placed; and the description of it, given in this chapter, at once portrays the blessedness, innocence, and peace by which the celestial man was characterized.

The scientific and rational principles, as the plant and herb springing from the ground; the life of goodness and of truth breathed into man's nostrils by the Lord, whereby he became a living soul; the intelligences and perceptions of truth, as the trees pleasant to the sight; and the trees good for food, as the perceptions and delights of heavenly good; while love,