Arcana Coelestia (Potts) n. 1718

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1718. And also brought back his brother Lot and his substance. That this signifies the external man and all that belongs to it, is evident from the signification of "Lot," which is the external man, as has been stated several times before. What the external man is, is scarcely known at this day; for it is thought that only that which belongs to the body constitutes the external man; as the faculties of sense, namely, the touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight; and also the appetites and pleasures. But these constitute the outermost man, which is merely corporeal. The knowledges that belong to the memory, and the affections that are of the love, with which the man has been imbued, properly constitute the external man; also those faculties of sense which properly belong to the spirit, together with the pleasures that the spirit enjoys. That these properly constitute the external or exterior man, is evident from men in the other life, that is, spirits. These in like manner possess an external man, and in like manner an interior man, and consequently an internal man. The body is only as it were a covering, a crust, which is dissolved in order that the man may truly live, and that all things belonging to him may become more excellent.


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