Page:Spiritual Reflections for Every Day in the Year - Vol 3.pdf/59

 more hidden things would be perceived by the interior organs. Man is born in the ultimate or lowest degree of the natural world; he is then elevated by sciences to the second degree; as he perfects himself in scientific knowledge, his understanding becomes expanded, and by becoming rational, or by reflecting upon the science he has acquired, he is elevated to the third degree. These three degrees belong to the natural man. Thus man is, first, natural; secondly, rational; and, thirdly, spiritual; when, in the natural degree, he may be said to be in Egypt; when he becomes rational, he is in Assyria; and when he becomes spiritual, he enters the land of Canaan—that is, he becomes a member of the Lord's church, In this state, the last, or spiritual, becomes first; and the first, or natural, becomes last.

Man's affections and thoughts correspond with all things of the animal kingdom; his will and understanding with all things of the vegetable kingdom; and his ultimate life with all things of the mineral kingdom. If we examine the actions of men, this truth will be obvious at once; for with respect to the animal kingdom, so long as men remain in merely natural good and truth, they correspond to oxen and asses. When the understanding is cultivated more than the will, they bear analogy to the horse—and "a horse is a vain thing for safety, neither can he deliver any one by his great strength." When he enters on the first stage of the regeneration, he is correspondent with cattle; when truth leads him to goodness, he becomes one of the flock of the Good Shepherd; but when he cherishes evils and falses, and continues in a state of impenitence, his will becomes a den