Page:The New Church - What, How, Why .djvu/40

36 upon truth and love—the water and bread of the spirit—from the Lord. The spiritual body lives from the spiritual world spiritually, just as the natural body lives from the natural world naturally. In short, nature with its particular forms and laws is a parable of the spiritual world of corresponding forms and laws from which the former derives existence.

In forming the Word, the Lord, who alone knew this relation because He created things and sustains them, followed this law. That is, He uses man's names of natural things for His names of spiritual things, pursuant to the law of correspondence.

Bread sustains the body. Goodness from the Lord does the same for the soul. So the Lord uses our name of bodily food for His name of spiritual food. He calls His goodness bread. "This is the bread that cometh down from God out of heaven."

Water quenches thirst. It is the great cleansing element. Truth quenches mental