j.f.potts the swedenborg concordance vol 2 dtof pages 51 to 71 degree the swedenborg society 1890...

8/14/2019 J.F.Potts THE SWEDENBORG CONCORDANCE Vol 2 DtoF pages 51 to 71 DEGREE The Swedenborg Society 1890 Rep 1953

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THE

SWEDENBORG CONCORDANCE.A OOMPLETE ',,"ORR OF REFERENOE TO THE

THEOLOGIOAL WRI11NGSOF

lnnnUtI ~ f n t h t n h n r g . BASED ON THE ORIGINAL LATI1V J;VRITINGS

OF THE AUTHOR.

Qtompileb, ~ b i t e b , anb m : : t a n ~ L a t e b bl! tbeREV. JOHN FAULKNER POTTS, B.A.

VOLUME II. D TO F.

L O N DON : S W ED E N BO R G SO C 1 E T Y,

(INSTITUTED 1810)3 20/21. BLOOMSBURY WAY. T.Reprinted 1953


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Deflle 51- } 1 Deflowersees what the evils are which pol lute and defile-c01lspurcant-the love.R. 166. 'Who have not defiled their garments' (Rev.

iii.4)=who are in truths, 8IId have not defiled-conspurc a t ' e r u ~ t h e i r worship through evils of life and thefalsities thenee.

626. 'These are they who have not been defiled withwomen' (Rev.xiv.4)=that they have not adulterated thetruths of the Church, and d e f i l e d - c 0 1 l s p u r c a l ' e r i ~ t h e m with falsities of faith.T. 3662. The evil obstruct this influx by . . spiritualdeJllemen ts . . .

E. 195. See SARDIS at t ~ i s ref.862. 'These are they who have not been defiled with

women'=those who have no t falsified the truths of theWord,Deflle. Polluere.Defllement. Pollulio.

A.4439. 'Ja,cob hoard that he had defiled Dinah hisdaughter' (Gen.xxxiv.5) = conjunction notlawful. . . Thedefilement of marriages=con,iunction na t law.ful.

4460. 'Because he defiled Dinah their sister' = initiation to conjunction.453". 'To defile the houses" and fi11 the courts withthe slain' (Ezek.ix.7)=to profane goods and truths,4504. 'Because they had defiled their sister' = becausethey had d e f i l e d - I o e d a v e r u ~ t h e truth of faith,59549 'Defiled garments' (Zech.iii.3)=truths defiledconspurcat$-by the falsities which are from evil.

EV4ol6,E. 195 3 Thus are Knowledges from the Word pollutedand defiled-conspurcantur-by the loves of self and ofthe \Vorld .3881>. 'To defile the temple of holiness' (Ps.lxxix.l)=to profane worship.

Deflne. Dejinin.Deflnition. Dejini/io.Deflnite. Dejini/us.A. 448 e They deprive Spirits of a11 sense by theirdefinitions alld suppositions.2575'. As a thousand ... is a deflnite number , , ,8533. Goods . . are datermined with every man

tions of such worda . . in the deflnitions of certainworda ...2370. They who have llOt inhered in the philosophica.ldeflnitions of words ...4627. Cannot be defined ...Min. 4578. See PHILOSOPHY at these refs. 4655.

Deflower. Dejlorare.Defloration. Dejlora/io.A. 828. (On those who are in the desire to defiowervirgins; the enormity and the punishment of thiscrime.) D.2704. De Conj.I26.

M. 319. The lust of defioration ... has led sorne todesire repeated marriages.454. The lust of fornication is more grievous as itverges to the desire of . . . defioration. Gen. art.S0I. On the lust of defioration. Gen.art.--. This lust is not only a lust of adultery, bu t ismore grievous than (ordinary adulteries); for the lust of

def!oX'lJotion ... cannot previously exist with anyone.5022. The wives said ... that this state commencedfrom the moment of defioration ...5040 Defloration, without a view to marriage, is thevillainy of a robber. Gen.art.- ~ Sorne adulterers are possessed of the desire ofdeflowering virgins, and th us girls . . . and after defiora

tion they leave them, and continua11y seek for others... and this lust grows to be the chief of the delightsof their flesh. , . This villainy remains inrooted ... afterdeath... A woman dellowered by such . , , becomes aharlot, which is to be laid at the do or of that robber...As such are ~ i o l a t o r s of marriage, and despisers of thefemale sex, and thus are spiritual robbers, it is evidentthat the Divine N emesis pursues them.505. The lo t of those who have confirmed themselvesin the persuasion that the lust of defiora.tion is not anevil of sin, aCter death is grievous. Gen.art.

D. 4741. See CHARLES XII. nt this ref.Deformity. See UGLY.Defraud. See under FRAUD.Defunct. See DIE-dejungere.~ a d e . See under ABROGATE.

( D e g r ~ ~ / Gradus.while he lives in the world; they are dete:nninedaording t.o the quantity and quality of the f8ith llud GrB;dilate. Graduare.charity in his life. See under REGXON.T. 173 They said. , . Thus do the chiefs of the A. 62. By d.egrees (man becornes regenerate).Church detine the word person. . 1 said, Is this a 316. Are led by degrees to Heaven.definition of person 1 " . You have defined person as 543. 1:0 that degree that they could bear no more . . .being that which properly subsists . . , Hence it is evident, that not onlyare there degrees (of28. I t cannot define it otherwise ... heavenly joy) . , .52. Here wa will open the subjcct of order by a general 657. There are three degrees of intellectual things indefinition of it. . In this defution . . man; the 10WE'.st is the Scientific, the middle is t.heRational, the highest is the Intellectual; these are sodistinct from each other as never to be confounded.132. The determined damnation. , ,423. Chari ty may be dellned as ...

(Sig. by the three stories of the ark.)D. 2369. Inhering in thcir significatioIls and deflni- 658. These three degreea , . understanding, reason,


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Degree 52 Degreeand knowledge, are also signified by the windows of thethree tiers in the Temple (1 Rings vi.); and also by thedvers which went forth from Eden. 655 2.

[A.) 15553 The llilW life is received by degrees.1627. Decorll.tions ofsteps, described.1661. By degrees. 1871. 41452. 7186 (occurs fivetimes). H.3351 8 2 c r ~ . In the highest degree. (In the sense ofsuperlative. )20232. Love to the Lord is in a higher degree (thanlove towards the neighbour).2504". Ali these are called spiritual things, which arethus distinguished into degrees, and succeed each other

in such an order.3020'. The natural mind isa distinct mind from therational one, and is in a lower degree ...3209. The Rational is in a degree above theNatural . . .3309. Scientifics are of two kinds, or of two degrees,

sensuous things and scientific ones. Sig. and Ex.3404. These appearances or truths are of a higherdegree. Tr.34052. The appearances of truth which are of a higher

degree far -surpass in abundance and perfection thosewhich are in a lower degree; for myriads of myriads ofthings which are distinctly perceived by those who arein a higher degree, appear as ouly a single one to thosewho are in a lower degree ; for lower things are nothingbut compounds of higher ones; as may be inferred fromthe memories of man, the interior of which, being in ahigher degree, far surpasses the exterior one, which isin a lower degree.__0 . The Angels of the Third Heaven are in thefourth degree above man.3412. The appearances of truth of a lower degree. Tr.3646. In, a like degree and manner.--'. The souls of men are in a higher degree (than

those of brutes).3691. The reason it is said, the good and truth of thatdegree, is that goods and truths are entirely distinctfrom each other aceording to degrees; interior goods andtruths are in a higher degree, and exterior ones are in alower degree; in a higher degree are the goods andtruths of the Rational, in a lower. one are the goods andtruths of the N atural, and in the lowest are the sensuousgoods and truths which are of the body. The interiorgoods and truths, or those in a higher degree, inflowin to the exterior goods and truths, or those in a lowerdegree, and there present theIr own image ... Hence itis evident, that the goods and truths . . which are ina higher degree are entirely sep,!:ratcd from those in alower one, and so separated, that the interior ones, orthose in a higher degree, are able to come into existenceindcpendently of the exterior ones, or those which arein a lower degree. He who has not a distinct notion ofdegrees, cannot have a distinct notion .of intcrior andexterior goods; nor how the case is with the soul ofman ... or with the Heavens ...__ 3. These three Heavens are most distinct fromeach other according to degrees ...

-_.. They who are in love to the Lord, 50 as tohave a perception of the love, are in a higher degree ofgood and truth, and are in the Third Heaven ... andare called Celestial Angels; but they who are in charity, towards the neighbour, so as to havc a perception of thecharity, bu t not so much a perception of love to theLord, are in a lower degree of good and truth, and arein the Second Heaven . . . and are called SpiritualAngels; while they who are in charity towards theneighbour merely from the affection of truth, so as notto have a perception of the charity itself, except froipthe truth by which they are affected, are in a still lowerdegree of good and truth, and are in the First Heaven... and are called good Spirits. Hence it may in sornemeasure appear how the case is with degrees; namely,that those things which are in a higher degree, presentthemselves in an image in those which are in the nextlower one ...__0 . Into these degrees are the three Heavensdistinguished, and according to these degrees does theLord flow in with Divine good and truth, thus withwisdom and intelligence, and with heavenly joy andhappinesa.

3699". There are lowest goods and truths, and highcstones, and between them there are steps as of aladder.37472. There are three degrees of life in man, as thereare three degrees of life in the Heavena. . 1 have beeninstructed concerning these degrees of life, that theultimate degree of life is what is called the external ornatura! man ... that the second degree is what iscalled the internai or rational man . . and that thethird degree of life, which is entirely unknown to man,is that through which the Lord flows into the rationalmind, whence he has the capacity of thinking as a man,and whenco he has conscience, aI\d the perception of goodand truth, and, also elevation by the Lord to Himself.

3952. The heavenly marriage is not between good andtruth of one and the same degree,.but between good andtruth of a lower degree and of a higher one. Ex.--'. The celestial man is in a higher degree (thanthe spiritual).3994' In the Original Language, 'Iamb' is expresscdby various words, whereby are signified the differcntdegrees of innocence.4121. Ali who are in goods and truths are in brother

hood; but still there are degrees according to thequality of the goods and truths; these degrees aresign1fted by 'brothers,' 'sistere,' ete.4154. The goods and truths of the internai man areof threefold degrees, such as exist in the three Heavens ;and the goods and truths of the external man are alsoof threefold degrees, and correspond to the internaiones; for there arc intermediate goods and truthsbetween the .!lternal and the external man ... there aregoods and truths proper to the natural man ... andthere are sensuous goods and trnths . These goodsand truths of threefold dgreea pertain to the externalman, and correspond to so many goods and truths of thejnternal man ... The goods and trnths of ail the degreesare entirely distillct from each other . . those whichare interior arc component, and those which are exteriorare composite ...


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Degree 53 Degree42862. The First Heaven is also celestial and spiritual, most. The interior Rational constitutes th e first degree

bu t not in the same degree as the former ones . . in which are the Celestial Angels, or the Third Heaven ;443410 (Correspondence of. the forbidden degrees in the exterior Rational constitutes the second degree, inmarriage.) which are th e Spiritual Angels, or the Second Heaven;

", ,6 He whA' . ' t 1 . . te ' d the interior Natural constitutes the third degree, in44;)7 u IS SpITI ua lU an ln l'lor egree,. , , .regards intelligehce and wisdom as a mediate end. . .. 4 4 8 ~ 3 . They who are in a like degree of.good, &ore also11l a hk e degree of truth . . .45929. Ail things of the Church, from the first degreeto the last. Sig.

50083. (Such) hold everyone to be the neighbour, ye tall in a different respect and degree ... whereas (such)do not ailow of degrees and respect.35114. There are degrees (or steps) as of a ladderbetween the Intcllectual and the Sensuous; bu t no one.can apprehend these degrees, unless hc knows .. that. . .

w h t l C l ~ al'Ne gtoodl SplrSltS, or the F t ~ t u t t Heahven j th eex cnor a ura or ensuous cons 1 es t e lourthdegree, in which is man. These degrees with man areperfectly distinct .. Hence if a man has lived the lifeof charity and love,. he can after death be translatedinto the Third Heaven ; but, in order for him to be ofs ~ c h a character, i t . ~ s necessary for ail the d ~ g r e ~ withlum to he weil tennmated, and thus by termmatlOns tobe dis,tinct from each other. ,When this Is the case,each degree is a plane, in which the good .that flows infrom the Lord rests and is received. Without thesed 1 th ad '. t 'd b t fiegrees as panes, e go 19 no recelVe, u owsth h th h' d t th Sroug as roug a sleve . . own 0 e ensuous

t h e ~ a ~ perfectly d l ~ t m c ~ from each other! and m fact, and there ... is turned into what is filthy.so dlstmct, that the mtenor ones can come mto existence'"nd subSISt wlthout the extenor ones, but not theexterior ones without the interior (51462). as fexample, the spirit of man can subsist witllOut t ~ material body ... the spirit of mali bcing in an interiordegree, and the body in an exterior one. The case isthe same \Vith the Spirit of man after death if he isamong thc blest: hc is in the ultimate d e ~ e e therewhen he is in the First Heaven, in the interiOi' degreewhen in the Second and in the inmost when in theThird: when he is ir: this last, he is at the same timein a.!1 the l'est, bu t they are quiescent with him, almostas the Corporeal is quiescent during sleep, only with thcd i f f e r ~ n c e that thc interiors with the Angels are then inthe hlghest state of w a k e f u l , n e ~ s . There also cxist withman the same number of dlstmct degrees as there areof Heavens, besides the ultimate, which is the body withits sensuous things. Hence it is evident how the case iswith the derivations from first ta l a s ~ (which are sigui-lied by thc 'three shoots of the vme'), or fro1Jl theIntellectual ta the Sensuous. The life of man which isfrom the Divine of the Lord, passes t h r o ~ g h thesedegrees from the inmost to the ultimate, and accordingta it s derivation it becomes more and more general, andin the ultimate most gencral; the derivations into lowerdegrees are only compositions, or rather conformationsof the singlllars and particulars of the higher degrees insuccession, with such things added from purer nature,and thcn from gr'osser, as may serv,e for containingvessels; on the dissolution ofwhich vessels, the singularsand particulars of the interior degreee, which had beenconformed therein , return ta the degree next higher . . .5144. 'Three baskets'=the successives of voluntarythings ... for there are degrees (or steps) as of a ladderfrom inmost things ta outermost ones ; into the inmostthere f10ws in good from the Lord, and this flows throughthe Ratio,nal into the interior N a t u r ~ l " and then?e intothe exterlOr Natural or S e n s u o u s ~ d19tmctly, as It ~ e ~ e by t,he steps ~ a ladder, and. m every degree It ISqualified accordmg to the receptlOn. 5147.

51452. The interiors with mali are distinguished intodegrees, and in ea.ch degree there are terminated things,and, by the termination, they are separated from thelower degree; thus it is from the inmost ta the outer

4 S B t 'na); ' t th ' f--. ee OUNDARY- e7'7n> 10 a IS rc 2' ' , 5146 . What IS purer and what lB grosser mayeXlst mone a ~ the ~ a m e degree, ~ c o r d i n g to bO,th ~ x t e n s i o n

and c o m p r ~ s s l O n , and, a c c o ~ d m g to ,determmatlOns, andalso accordmg to the mserbon of thmgs homogeneous orheterogeneous.

1 5 ~ 3 6 2 . By the 'suckling,' :little child,' and 'child,' areslgmfied th.ree degrees of. m ~ o c e n c e ... and as threedegrees of mnocence are slgmfied by them, sa also arethree degrees of love and charity ...

5605. 'W e will arise, and go, and we will live, andnot dic' =spirituallife a.ccording ta degreee. Ex .

5934". By such degrees of scientifics, man ascends tointelligence; for, through these degreee, scientificsopen the mind ...

63 10 The interiors of man are distinct according 10d e g r e e ~ by means of derivations' according to thescdegrees there are also lights . . . '" . "63 13 . The three Heavens are no otherwlse dlstmctf r ~ m each other t h ~ n according ta e l ~ v a t i o n ta interio!'thmgs, thus accordmg ta degrees of hght.

6326. There was a philosopher ... who died a fe\\'years aga, with whom 1 spoke about the three degreesof life in man, saying, that man consists of mere formsfor the reception of life, and that one form is moreinterior than another, bu t that one has c o m ~ intoexistence and subsists from the other; also, that whenthe lower or exterior fonn is dissolved, the higher orinterior one still lives.

6396. Man . . is first in truth . ncxt, in the goodof lifc from truth . . then, in the good of life f ~ o m good ... these are the degrees (or steps) ofregeneratlOn.

6707. The quality of Christian good detennines inwhat degree everyone is the neighbour . .

6819. These are the four ascending degrees of th eneighbour; a society consisting of many is in a degreepriaI' ta that of a. single man; our Country is in a priordegree ta a society; in a still priaI' degree is the Church ;and in a still priaI' degree is th e Lord's Kingdom; bu tin the highest degree is the Lord. These Wlccndingdegrees are like the stops of a Wlder, at the top ofwhich is the Lord.


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Degree 54 Degree[A.] 7014. These were.the steps of the Lord's glorification.7265. In this chapter it treats of the first three degreesof vastation. Enum.

. 72953. (The first, second, and third degrees of thetaking away and deprivation of the influx of truth andgood.) Sig.

7378. In this chapter it treats of the third and thefourth degree of the vastation of tliose who are infalsities, and who infest the upright in the other life.Ex.

752. The degrees of the vastation of those who wereinfesting, were punishments.77Ia. Hence it is that there are degrees of devastation, until at last they are cast into Hell, which is thelast of the degrees of vastation.7795. 'Prodigies' =s o many degrees of their vastation

... The reason there are so many degrees ...84432 Truth Divine is not of one degree, but of

many; truth Divine in the first degree and aIso in thesecond is that which immediately proceeds from theLord, and is above the angelic understanding; truthDivine in the third degree is such as there is in theThird Heaven ... truth Divine in the fourth degree issuch as there is in the Second Heaven ... truth Divinein the fifth degree is such as there is in the FirstHeaven ... and truth Divine in the sixth degree issuch as there is with man, accommodated to his perception ; th us is the sense of the letter of the Wordo

8603i The passings over from one to another insuccessive order are also called degrees.864i. Truth in the first degree is represented by

'Moses'; and the truths thence derived in sucessiveorder, by ' the princes of thousands,' 'o f hundreds,' 'o ffifties,' and 'o f tens. '8643. When the son-in-Iaw represents truth, thefather-in-Iaw represents good, in a higher degree ...8707 ''IYay' is predicated of the understanding of

tl1lth; here, in an interior degree, because ...8712. 'Princes of thousands'=the primary thingswhich are in the first degree under truth immediatelyfrom the Divine . . . (these) are in a more digniJied degree

than they who are over few; here, therefore (i t means)those who were in the first degree, for they who werein a lower degree \Vere princes of hundreds, of fifties,and of tens.

87 13. Primary things in the second degree. Sig.87 14. Intermediates between those truths from goodwhich are in the second degree, and those which are inthe third. Sig.87 15. 'Tens' also=many things, but in a less degree.8872. These things are such as are in the sensuousCorporeal, as is evident from the successive degrees of

the light which is of the Intellectual in man; in thefirst degree with man are those things which are inspiritual light, signified by ' the things in the heavensabove;' in the second degree are those things which arein natural light, signified by 'the things in the earthbeneath ; , and in the third degree are those things

which are in the sensuous Corporeal, signilied by ' thethings in the waters under the earth.'

8945. 'Thou shalt not go up by steps unto Miucaltar' (Ex.xx. 23)=non-elevation to the iuterior thingswhich are celestial. . . 'To go up by steps'=to elevateone's self to higher or to interior things.

1 __2. No one in the other life is allowed to be .eleva!edhigher into Heaven than to the degree of good ln whlChhe is ...__6. I t is said 't o go up by steps,' because, in theWorld of Spirits, elevation to interior things ... appearsas an ascent by steps; hence it \Vas that Jacob in hissleep saw Angels ascending to the Lord by the steps ofa ladder; therefore, too, in the 'IYord, 'steps' = anascent to higher, that is, to interior things, as in Ezek.x1.6,22,26,3I,34; and in Amos; 'The Lord JehovihZebaoth builds His steps in the heavens' (ix.6).

92862 The successive steps of deliverauce from damnation are circumstanced as are the successive steps ofre6eneration. Sig. and Ex.9336. 'B y little and Little 1 will drive them out frombefore thee'=the removal (of evils and falsities) bydegrees according to order. Ex.9435. The degrees of ascent from the people to theLord are thus described.__ 2. There are like degrees of ascent from theworld to Heaven with those who are being regeneratedby the Lord ...9489. 'A cubit and a half the height thereof'=whatis full as to degrees. 'Height' = degrees as to good andas to truth.__0. The reason 'height' =degrees as to good andthence as to truth, is also because what is high=whatis internaI, and good is perfect according to degreestowards in terior things.9594. The reason there are three Heavens, is thatthere are three degrees of life with man ... the inmost

degree of his life is for the inmost Heaven; the middledegree of life is for the middle Heaven; and the ultimateone is for the ultimate Heaven . .__ 2. These degrees of life with man are openedsucccssively; the first degree by a life according towhat is fair and just; the second degree by a lifeaccording to the truths of faith from the Word andaccording to the goods of charity towards the neighbourtherefrom; and the third degree according to the goodof mutuallove and the good of love to the Lord; theseare the means by which are suecessively opened thesethree degrees of life with man, thus the three Heavenswith him. But in proportiou as man recedes from thegood of life, and accedes to l'lviI of life, these degrees are

1 closed . .96596. Truths leading to good and from good to truthsare signified by ' the porch,' and by ' the steps' (Ezek.xl).9773. 'The height five cubits'=degrees of good and

truth also as much as is sufficient. 'Height' = degreesas to ' good; and as it is predicatell of the ultimateHeaven, it also=degrees as to truth, for that Heavenis in the good and truth of faith.__0 . Distances from the inmost are degreetl of goodand truth from the Lord.


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Degree 55 Degree98Z5. As the Spiritual Kingdom is distinguished intothree degrees, into the inmost, middIe, and external,'the robe'=that which is in the middIe of this Kingdom.The reason this Kingdom is distinguished into threedegrees, is that the inmost there communicates withthe Celestial, and the external with the Natural, andtherefore the middIe draws equally from both. For

anything to be perfect, it must be distinguished intothree degrees; such is the case \Vith Heaven, and withthe goods and truths there. 'That there are threeHeavens is known, thus there are three degreesof goods and truths there. Each Heaven, too, isdistinguished into three degrees; for the inmost of itcommunicates immediatcly with the higher one, theexternal with the lower one, and therefore the middlewith both; hence its perfection. The case is the samewith the interiors of man, which, in general, arc distinguished into three degrees, namely, into the Celestial,the Spiritual, and the Natural. In like manner, eachof these is distinguished into its own three degrees; forthe man who is in the good of faith and of love to theLord, is a Heaven in the lcast form corresponding tothe Grand one. Such, also, is the case with all thingsof nature; that the Natural of lllan is distinguished in tothree degrees,' see 4570... The reason it is so, is thateverywhere there are end, cause, and effect ... andnenceitis that ' three' =what is completefrom beginning toend.

9940. These are the degrees of the influx and thereception of the Divine; bu t every degree containsinnumerable things, which are distinct from those whichare in every other degree; and the innumerable thingstherein are the arcana of Heaven, few of which faUwithin the human understanding ... The arcana ofpermission are few relatively to those of the higherdegrees, which are the things which take place fromleave, from good-pleasure, and from will.

1013z12. T.hese three degrees of innocence are signifiedby 'a bullock,' 'a l'am,' and 'a lamb' ...10181. 'Two cubits the height thereof'=the degreesof good and truth, and their conjunction. 'Height'=thc degrees of good and thence of truth. By degreesof height are meant degrees from interiors to exteriors,or from inmosts to outermosts.__2. There are two kinds of degrees, degrees inlength and breadth, and degrees as to height and

depth; the latter degrees differ very greatly from theformer ones; the degrees of length and breadth arethose which succeed each other from the middle to thecircumferences; bu t the degrees of height proceed frominteriors to exteriors; the former degrees, namely, thoseof length and breadth, are degrees which continuallydecrease from the middle towarda the circumferences, aslight decreases from the flame ... Whereas the degreesof height, which proceed from inmosts to outermosts, orfrom highests to lowests, are no t continuous, but discrete;they are ciIcumstanced as are the inmost things of asclld relatively to its exteriors . . These degrees ared i 8 C r i m i n a t e d ~ thus are distinct, as the thing producingand the thing produced. The things wh1ch are in aninterior degree, are more perfect than those \vhich arein an exterior degree, and there is 'no likeness betweenthem, except through correspondences ...

_ _ 4. He who does not acqUle a perception of thesedegrees, cao know nothing whatever of the differencesbetween the Heavens, and between the interior and theexterlor faculties of man, thus between the soul and thebody; he is alao utterly unable to apprehend what theinternal sense of the Word is, and it s difference fromthe external sense; and not even the difference betweenthe SpiIitual World and the natural world; being, infact, not able to understand what and whence are correspondences and represcntatives, and scarcely what influxis. Sensuous men do not apprehend these differences ;for they make increase and decrease according to thesedegrees continuous, thus they make these degrees likethe degrees of length and breadth, wherefore they standoutside, far from intelligence. H.383 J.(Post.)309.

H. 31. The spiritual natural and celestial naturalAngels are distinct from each other, ye t constitute onlyonc Heaven, because they are in one degree.33. There are three degrees of the interiors with everyone, both Angel and SpiIit, and aIso with man; they withwhom the third degree is open, are in the inmost

Heaven; they with whom the second, or only the firstis open, are in the middle or in the ultimate Heaven:the intcriors are opened by the reception of Divine goodand Divine truth. (See THIRD HEA VEN at this ref.)(q). There are as many degrees of life in man as th creare Heavens, and they are opened after death accordingto bis life. Refs.34. As, with the Angels of the inmost Heaven, theinteriors are opened into the thiId degree, their perfection vastly surpasses that of the Angela in the middleHeaven, whose interiors are opened into the seconddegree . 38. He who does not know how the case is withDivine order as to degrees, cannot apprehend in whatway the Heavens are distinct from each other, nor, infact, what the internaI and the external man are ...There are two kinds of degrees, there are continuousdegrees, and there are degrees not continllous; continuous degrees are circumstanced as are the degrees ofthe decrease of light from the flame down to darkness,or as the degrees of the dcerease of sight from thosethings which are in light to those which are in shade,or as the degrees of purity of the atmosphere from thebottom of it to the top; it is distances that determinethese degrees. Whereas degrees not continuous, bu tdiscrete, are discriminated as are the prior and theposterior, as the cause and the effect, and as the thingproducing and the thing produced. He who investigatesthe matter, will see that in each and 0.11 things in theuniversal world, whatsoever they may be, there aresuch degrees of production and of composition; that isto say, that from one lis formed] a second, and from thesecond a third, and so on.39. With every Angel, and also with every man,there is an inmost or highest degree, or an inmost orhighest something, into which the Divine of the Lordfirst or proximatcly inflows, a.nd from which it disposesthe l'est of the interiors which succeed each other according to the degrees of order. . By this inmost orhighest man is man, and is distinguished from the bruteanimaIs, for tRey have it not., Rence it is, that man,


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Degree 56 Degreedifferently from animais, alf to all the interiors of hismind and disposition can be elevated by tbe Lord toHimself, can believe in Him, be affected with love toHim, and thu8 see Him, and can also receive intelligenceand wisdom, and speak from rea.son; bence, too, it is,that he lives to eternity. J . 2 5 ~ .

[H.] 104. See CORRESPONDENCE" at tbis ref.120. The Lord as a Sun does not flow in immediately

i"nto the Heavens, but the ardour of His love is temperedon tbe way by means of degrees; the temperings appearas radiant belts round the sun.146. The distance betweell, the Sun and the Moonthere, is thirty degrees; consequently, tlJ.e distancehetween the [two sets of] quarters is tbe same. E.4224.208. In every Angel tbere are three degrees of life,as there are three degrees of Heaven; with those whoare in the inmost Heaven, tbe third or inmost degree isopen, and the second and first are closed; witb thosewbo -are in the middle Heaven, tbe second degree isopen, and tbe first and tbird are closed; and with thosewbo are in tbe ultimate Heaven, the first degree is open,and the second and third are closed. As soon, tberefore,as an Angel of tbe Tbird Heaven looks down into aSociety of the Second, and speaks with anyone tbere,his tbird degree is closed, and tben he is bereaved of biswisdom, because bis wisdom resides in bis tbii:d degree,and be has none in tbe second or first. Sig.211. In tbe inmost Heaven (the form of Heaven) is

the most perfect of all; in tbe middle Heaven it is alsop ~ r f c c t , bu t in a lower degree; and in the ultimateHeaven in a stilliower one; and the form of one Heavensubsists from that of anotber Heaven tbrough influxfrom tbe Lord. But tbe nature of communication byinflux is not eomprebended, unless the nature of degreesof beigbt is knowII, and wbat tbe difference" is betweenthese degrees and tbe degrees of lengtb and b r e a d ~ h .

267. Witb every Angel tbere are three degrees oflife, wbicb correspond to tbe three Heavens; those witb",born tbe first degree is open are in tbe First Heaven;those witb whom tbe second degree is open are in theSccond Heaven; and those with whom tbe tbird degreeis open are in tbe Tbird Heaven; a.ccording to tbesedegrees is the wisdom of tbe Angels il! tbe Heavens. .The reason tbere are sucb great differenccs (in theirwisdom), is tbat tb066 tbings whicb arc in a higberdegree are singulars, and those wbicb -are in a lowerdegree are generals . . _ _ 2. The sensuous Corporeals of man are in thelowest degree.

270. Tbe wisdom of the Angels of tbe Tbird Heavenis incomprehensible, even to those wbo arc in theultima.te Heaven; the reason is, tbat the interiors ofthe Angels of tho Tbird Heaven are open to the thirddegree, whereas those of tbe Angels of tbe First Heavenare only open to tbe first degree ... As the interiors ofthe Angels of the Tbird Heaven are open to tbe thirddegree, Divine trlltbs are as it were inscribed on them,for the interiOl'S of the third degree are more in the formof Heaven tban those of tho second and the first degree,and the form of Heaven is from Divine truth . .

271. Love to the Lord opens the interiors of the mindto the third degree ...

280. The Heavens are distinguished aceording toinnocence; they wbo are in the First Heaven arc ininnocence of the first or ultimate degree; they who arein the Second Heaven are in innocence of the second ormiddle degree; and they who are in the Third Heavenarc in innocence of the third or inmost degree.288'. The Angels of the Third Heaven are in the

third or illmost"degree of peace, because they are in thethird or inmost degree of innocence; and the Angels ofthe lower Heavens arc in a lcss degree of pca.e, beca.usethey are in a lesa degree of "innocence.

349. Whatever a man acquires" in the "orld, remainsand is carried with him after death, ",hen, also, it isincreased and becomes full, bu t within the degree of hisaffection and desire of truth and it s good ...410. Hence it is evident, not only that there aredegrees of the joys of Heaven, but also that the inmost

of one hardly approaches the ultimate or middle ofanother.4682. There are thrlle degrees of life with every man ;

the Rational is opened to the first degree by civil truths ;to the second degree by moral truths; and to tbe thirddegree by spiritual truths. The Rational, h()\vever, isnot formed and opened by these truths merely by man'sknowing them, but"by his living according to them ...When truths are mere servants (to selfish ends) they donot enter into man, and open any degree of his life,even the first . . Man, tberefore, becomes rational tothe third degree by the spiritual love of the good andtruth which are of Heaven and the Church; to thesecond degree by the love of what is sincere and right;and to the first degree by the love of ",hat is just andfair.

S. 62 Hence it fol1ows, that the Divine which proceedsfrom the Lord to its ultimates, descends through threedegrees, and is named the Celestial, the Spiritual, andthe Ratural. The Divine wbich descends from the Lordto men, descends through tbese three degrees, and whenit has descended,.it contains tbese three degrees withini t : everything Divine is of this character; therefore,when it is in its ultimate degre, it is in it s fulnesa.Such is the Wordo

7. The difference between these "degrees cannot beknown unless correspondence is known; for thesedegrees are entirely distinct from each other, as are theend, the cause, and the effect; or as the prior, theposteriori and the postreme; but they make one throughcorrespondences.

68. In every man from creation therc are three degreesof life, celestial, spiritual, and natural; but man is inthe natural so long as he is in tho world, and so far inthe spiritual as he is in genuine truths, and so far inthe celestial as he is in a life according to them; butstill he does not come into the spiritual itself or thecelestial itself until aCter death. T.239.

W. 65. The uses of all things which are createdascend through degrees from ultimates to man, andthrough man to God the Creator. Gen.art... Ulti.mates are all th ings of the minerai kingdom . Mediatesare ail things of the vegetable kingdom ... Primes areall things of the animal kingdom . . 170.


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Degree 5i Degree66. There are three degrees of ascent in the natura.!world, and thore are three degrees of a.scent in theSpiritual World... The. more perfect animais are recipi-

ents of the three degrees of life of the natural world;the lesS perfect are recipiellts of the life of two degreesof that world; and the imperfect ones are recipients ofone of its degrees. Bu t man alone is a reeipicnt of thelife, not onJy oHhe three degrees of the natura.! world,bu t also of the three degrees of the Spiritual World.Rence it is, that, unlike any animal, man can be elcvatedabove nature; can think analytically and rationally. .Bu t these six degrees ... will be treated of . . ,

67. How man ascends from the ultimate degree tathe first. Re is born into the ultimate degree of thenatural world; he is then elevated by knowledges intothe second degree; and as he perfects his understandingby knowledges, he is elevated into the third degree, andthen becomes rational. The three degrees of ascent inthe S p ~ i t u a l World are in him above the three naturaldegrees, bu t they do not appea.r until he puts off theea.rthly body. When he puts this off, the first spiritualdegree is opened to him, afterwards the second, and atlast the third; but only with those who become AngeIsof the Third Heaven ... Those become Angels of theSecond and the Ultimate Heaven, with whom the secondand the ultimate degree can be opened. Each spiritualdegree is opened with man accordulg to the receptionof the Divine love and the Divine wisdom from theLord; they who receive something thereof come intothe first or ultimate spiritual degree; they who receivemore, into the second or middle spiritual degree;and they who receive much, into the third 01' highestdegree. Bu t they who receive nothing thereof remainin the natural degrees, and from the spiritual degreesdraw only this, that they are able to think and thenccto speak, and to will and thence to act, but not intelli-gent1.y.

712. Instead of height (the spiritual man) thinks ofthe degmes (of good and truth).The decreasing (of p"tu 1 h t d l ' h t ) '94. s in a ea .an 19 !Sh'h dh l'h ' f ' d .effected through degmes .. ,104 The Sun ... appears ~ b o v e the lands on whlChthe Angels dwell, at an elevatlOn of about 45 d.egrees .

179. There are degrees of love and wisdom, and thencedegmes of heat and light, also degrees of atmospheres.Gen.art.--. That there are degrees of love and wisdom maybc cvident from the Angels of the three Heavens . . .The degrees of love and wisdom distinguish and separatethem . ISo. That there exist degrees of love.and wisdom may 1be still more evident from the love and wisdom of theAngels relatively to the love and wisdom of men'. . .r8r. As there arc degrees of love and wisdom, thereare also degrees of (spiritual) heat and lightd . . .".r82. T h egrees of spll'ltual heat cannot .b? desor;bedfrom expenence . but the degrees of spll'ltual hghtcan be d e s c : i ~ e d ... From the degrees of light thedegrees ~ spn?tual heat even can be comprehendcd ; for

they are m a hke degree . r83. As the atmospheres are the receptacles and con-

tainants of heat and light, it follows that there are asmany degrees of atmospheres as there are degrees ofheat and light, and aIso that there are as many as thereare degrees of love and wisdom . .184. Degrees are of a twofold kind, degrees of heightand degrees of breadth. Gen.art.

1 -- . The knowledge of degrees is like a key foropening the causes of things ... Without this know-ledge, scareely anything of Cause ean be known . . Theinterior things which are not open to view can in noway he discovered unless degrees are known. Fol'exterior things pass ta interior ones, and through theseto inmost ones, through degrees; not through con-tinuous degrees, but through discrete degrees. Thegraduai lessenings or decreasings from grosser to finer,or from denser to rarer, are caUed continuous degrees;or rather [they arc] as the graduaI additions and increas-ings from finel' to grosser, or from 1'&rer ta denser;exa.ctly as it is with [the gradations] of light to shade,or of heat to cold.--, Bu t discrete degrees are entirely different ; theyare as things prior, posterior, and postreme; 01' as end,cause, and effect. These degrees are called discrete,because the prior is by itself, the posterior is by itself,and the postreme is by itself; jet taken together theymake one. The atmospheres ... from the sun to theearth ... are discrete in such degrees; and are assimples, as congregates of these, and again as congregatesof these, which taken together are caUed a composite.These degrees are discrte because they come into exist-elJ.ce distinctly, and they are meant by the degrees ofheight; whereas the former degrees are continuous,beoause they increase cOlltinuously, and are meant bythe degrees of breadth.

185. Ea.ch and ail things which come into existencein the Spiritual World and in the natural world comeinto existencc conjointly from disorete degrees and atthe same time from continuous degrees, that is, fromdegrees of height and from degrees of breadth. Thatdimension which consists of discrete degrees is ca11edelg t, an t at W lIC conslsts 0 contmuous egrees IScalled breadth: their position relatively to the sight ofthe eye does not alter the designation. Without aknowledge of these degrees, nothing can be knownabout the differences between the three Heavens, norabout the differences between the love and wisdom ofthe Angels there, nor about the differences between theheat and light in which theyare, nor about the differ-ences between the atmospheres which environ and holdtogether. Further, without a knowledge of thesedegrees, nothing can be known about the differencesbetween the interior fa.culties of the mind in men, thusnothing about ther state as to reformation and regene-ration; nor about the differences between the exteriorfacuities, which. are of the body, with ?oth Angels andmon; and nothmg at ail about the dlfference betweenthe Spiritual and the Natural, consequently nothingabout correspondence; nay, nothing about any differ-ence of life between men and beasts nor about thedifference between the more perfcct and' the more imper-fect beasts; nor about the differences among the formsof the vegetable kingdom, and among the matters of theminerai kingdom. From which it may be evident, that


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Degree 58 Degreethey who are ignorant of these degrees, cannot seecauses from any judgment ...

[W.] 186, In order to comprehend sti ll bet ter what dis-crete degrees are, what their nature is, aud how they differfrom continuous degrees, let the angelic Heavens servefor an example. There are three Heavens, and they aredistinct by degrees of height ... They do not communi-cate with each other except through influx ... But cachHeaven by itself is not distinct by degrees of height,but by degrees of breadth ... I t is the same with men;the interiors of their minds are distinguished into thesame number of degrees as the angelic Heavens, andone of thcir degrees is above another; wherefore theinteriors of men belonging to their minds are distin-guished by discrete degrees or degrees of height. Henceit is that a man may be in the lowest degree, he maybe in the higher, and also in the highest one, accordingto the degree of his wisdom; and that when he is onlyin the lowest degree, the higher degree is closed ,; andthat it is opened as he receivcs wisdom from the Lord.With man, too; as in Heaven, there aro continuousdegrees, or degrees of breadth.

i87. He' who does not know anything of discretedegrees . cannot know anything of the state of manas to his reformation and regeneration, which take placethrough the reception of love and wisdom from theLord, and the consequent opening of the interior'degreespf the mind in the1r order. Nor can he knowanythingof the influx through the Heavens from the Lord, noranything of the order into which he is created. For i fanyone tbinks of these tbings, not from discrete degrees. . . but from contii1UouS degrees ... he cannot seeanything about them except from effects ...188. 1 am not aware whether anything has beenhitherto known about discrete degrees . . but onlyabout continuous degrees; ye t not anything of Cause

in its truth can become known without a knowlOOge ofdegreea of both kinds.1&9. The degrees of height are homogeneous, and theone is from the other in succession, as are the end, thecause, and the effect. Gen. art.--. As the degreea of breadth, or continuous ones,are as thosc from ligh't to shade, from heat to cold,from hard to soft, from dense to rare, from gross tofine, and so forth; and these degreea are known from

sensuous and ocular experience; bu t not so the degreesof height or discrete degrees ; the latter will be.especiaUytreated of in this Part; for without Knowledge of thesedegrees ,causes cannot be seen... Hence it is, thatalthough end, cause, and effect proceed by discretedegrees, little, if anything, is known in the world aboutthese degrees . . .190. A11 things . . of whicb trinal dimcnsion ispredicated, or wmch are caHOO composite, consist ofdegreea of height. For example . . every muscleconsists of least fibres, and these compounded fascicu-larly present the larger fibres wbich are caUcd motorfibres, and from bundles of these there cornes forth the

composite which is called a muscle. It is the sarne withthe nerves ... I t is the same in a11 tbe other combinations... ~ h i c h constitute the organs and viscera; for theseare compositions of fibres and vessels variously put

together by the like degrees. I t is the same in a11things of the vegetablc and in aU things of the mineraIkingdom. In woods ~ h e r e are combinations of filamentsin a threefold order; in metals and in stones there areconglobations of parts also in a threefold order. Hence'i s evident the nature of discrete degrees, namely, thatthe second is from the first, and the third from thesecond, the third being called the composite; and thateach degree is discrete from the others.191. The case is the sa.me with the organic substanceswhich are the receptacles . . of the thoughts and affec-tions in the brains; with the atmspheres; with heatand light; and with love and wisdom. For the atmospheres are receptacles of heat and light; and heat andlight are receptacles of love and wisdom. Wherefore, asthere are degrees of the atmospheres, there are also likedegrees of heat and light, and like ones of love andwisdom . .192. That these degrees are homogeneous, that is, ofthe same nature, is evident from what has just beensaid. The motor fibres of the muscles, least, larger, andlargest, are homogeneous. The nervous fibres, least,larger, and largest, are homogeneous. The, filaments ofwoods . . the parts of stones and metals . theorganic substances which are the receptacles ... of thethoughts and affections ... the atmospheres . . thedegrees of heat and light in series, according to thedegrees of the atm08pheres . . and hence also thedegreea of love and wisdom, are homogeneous. Thingswhich ... are heterogeneous do not agrec with thehomogeneous, thus cannot present discrete degreestogether with them, bu t only with their own . . 194. Each degree is distinct from the others through

coverings of its own, and aH the degrees together aredistinct by means of a general covering. The generalcovering communicates with the interior and with theinmost things in their order. Henee comes the con-junction of aU, and unanimous action.195. The first degree is the ail in aU things of thesubsequent degreea. Gen.art. The reason is, that thedegreea of each subject and of each tbing are homo-geneous; aud they are homogeneous because producedfrom the first degree. For the formation of these

degreesis such, that the first, by confasciclliations orconglobations . . produces the second, and through it! the third; and discretes each from the other by a cover-1 ing drawn around it. Hence it is evident, that the first. degree is the principal and the solely regnant in thc1 subsequent degrees ...

196. f t is said that degrees are such in regard to eachother, but the meaning is that the substances are suchin their degrees. Speaking by degrees is abstractspeaking, which is universaI, and therefore applicableto every subject or thing which is in degrees of thiskind.199. AU perfections increase and asccnd with degrees,and according to them. Gen.art.--. Of (degreea of height) it is said that they ascend

or descend, for they are of height; whereas of (degreeaof breadth) it is said that they increase or decrease, forthey are of breadth. The latter degrees differ so',muchfrom the former, that they have nothing in cornmon;


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Degree 59 Degreewhercfore they must be pcrceived distinctly, and by nomeans be confounded.

200. The reason why ail perfections increase andascend with degrees and according to them, is that allpredicatcs follow thei r subjects ...__o. The forms which are not at the same timeforces, are also perfect according to degrees.201. We shall speak here ... of the perfections oflife, of forces, and of forms, which ascend or descendaccol'ding to degrees of height, because these degreesare not known in the world. . As these degrees standout conspicuously in the Spiritual World, for the wholeof that World from highest to Jowest is distinctly discreted into them, from that World the Knowledge ofthese degrees can be drawn; and afterwards conclusionsmay be drawn thercfrom respecting the perfections ofthe forces and the forms which are in like degreea in thenatural world.202. In the Spiritual World there are three Heavensa.rranged according to degrees of.height ... The d e ~ e e s of their perfections are such, that the Angels of thelowest Heaven cannot ascend to the first threshold ofthe perfections of the Angels of the middle Heaven, northese to the first threshold of the perfections of theAngels of the highest Heaven... The reason is, thatthey are consociated aecording to discrete degrees, andnot according to continuous degrees. Ex.203. These perfections do not appear to any man solong as he lives in the world, because he is then in thelowest degree; and the higher degreea cannot be knownfrom the lowest degree, but they are Known after death.Thc man then COlles into that degree which correspondswith his love and wisdom . . There is then an elevationof ail things of his mind, not in a simple ratio, but in atriplicate ratio. In the latter ratio are the degrees of

height; in the former are the degrees of breadth. Butnone ascend into these degrees except those who in theworld have been in trutlls, and have applied. thern tolife.20$. In successive order, the first degree makes thehighest, and the third the lowest; but in simultaneousorder, the first degree makes the inmost, and the thirdthe outermost. Gen.art.~ ~ 2 . When the degrees of height are in successiveorder, they may e compared to a coluDln divided into

th l'ce steps, by means of which ascent and descent aremade. Des.-'_3. Bu t sim'ultaneous order, which consists of thelike degrees, has another appearance ... They lie as ina solid consisting of these three degrees; in the middleof which are the most subtle parts, round about are theparts less subtle, and in thc outermost things, whichconstitute the circuit, are the parts compounded of these,aud thcl1ce grosser. I t is likc that columl1 . . subsiding into a plane ...207. In every ultimate there are discrete degreesin simu!taneous order. The motor fibres iu everymuscle, the fibres in every nerve, and the fibres andlittle vesscls in every viscus and organ, are in such anorder. Inmostly in them are the most simple things,which are the most pcrfect; the outermost is the composite of these. There is a. like order of these degreea

in every seed and in every fruit, and also in every met&!aud stone ... The inmost, middle, and outermost thingsof the par ts are in these degrees, for they are successivecompositions . . from simples ...208. In short, there are such degrees in every ultimate,thus in every effect. Ex.--". There are the like degrees in each and ailthings of the Wordo209. The ul timate degree is the complex, the containant, and the basis of the prior degrees. Gen.art.--. Thli doctrine of degrees ... has an extension,

not only to natural things, but also to civil, moral, andspiritual things, and to each and ail things thereof. Ex.211. Ali things civil, moral, and spiritual advancethrough degrees in like. manner as do natural things,not only through 'continuous degrees, but also throughdiscrete degrees ; and the progressions of discrete degrecaare circumstanced as are the progressions of ends tocauses, and of causes to effects . . 212. That the ultimate degree is the comptex, the

containant, and the basis of the prior degreea, is mani.festly evident from the progression of ends and causes toeffects. Ex.214. In a series of like degrees (to love, wisdom, anduse) are affection, thought, and action... In a series oflike degreesare charity, faith, and good work . . In aseries of like degrees are also will, understanding, andexercise . 217. The degrees of height in their ultimate are in

full1ess and in power. Gen.art.218. Those ascending and descending degrees, whichare also called prior and posterior oncs,' also degrees ofheight, and discrete ones, are in their power in theirultimate. Ex.--. As motion is the ultimate degree of endeavour,

it thereby exerts its power. Endeavour, force, andmotion are no othermse conjoined than according todegrees of height, the conjunction of which .is not bycontinuity, for they are discrete, but by c o r r e s p o ~ d e n c e s . Ex.219. The interior things which belong to the will andunderstanding make the first degree ; the interior thingswhich belong to the body the second; and the wholebody, which is their complex, makes the third degree.220. Such is the evolution and the putting forth 01

the degrees iI!to power . .221. There are three senses in the "\Vord according to

the three degrees. . . As these senses are in the Wordaccol'ding to the degrees of height . 222. There are degrees of both kinds in the greatestand the least of ail things that are created. Gen.art...The greatest and the least of ail things consist of discreteand of continuous degrees, or of thosc of height and ofbreadth . . . 310".223. (The Angels say that) there is nothing so smallwhich has not in it degrees of both kinds; for instance,there is not the least thing in any auimal . . plant ...or minerai ... in the ether and in the air, that has notin it these degrees; and as the ether .and the air arereceptacles of hoat and light, there is not the least of


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Degree 60 Degreehent and light; and as spiritual heat and spirituallightare receptacles of love and wisdom, there is not the leastof these, in which there are not degreeB of both kinds.(The AngeIs also say) that the least of affection, and theleast of thought, nar, the least of an idea of thought,eonsists of degrees of both kinds; and that a leastwhich does not consist of these degrees is nothing; forit has no form, thus no quality, and no state which canbe changed and varied ... The Angels confirm this bythe truth, that the Infinite things in God the Creator... are distinctly one; and that there are infinite thingsin His infinite things; and that in the infinitely Infinitethings there are degreeB of both kinds, which also inHim are distinctly one; and as these things are in Him,-and 11,11 things have been created by HinI ... it followsthat there is not the least finite thing in which thereare not such degreeB. The reason these degrees areequally in the least things and in the greatest, is thatthe Divine in the greatest and in the least things is thesame. 224, Ex.

[W.] 225. Thegreatest things in which there are degreeBof both kinds, are the universe- . the natural warld... the Spiritual World . . each empire . . each kingdom, in thcir complex; also, al! the Civil, the Moral,and the Spiritual thereof, in their complex; the wholeanimal kingdom, the whole vegetable kingdom, and thewhole minerai kingdom, each in it s coniplex; and al!the atmospheres of each world taken together, and oJsotheir hents apd lights. In like manner things lessgcncral, as man in his complex; every anima.I in itscomplex; every tree and every shrub in its complex;also every metal and every stone in theirs. The formsof these things are similar in this respect, tha.t theyeonsist of degreeB of both kinds. The singula.rs andthe most singular things of a.1l these a.re like the generaland the most genera.! things in this, tha.t they &re formsof both kinds of degrees.

226. On account of the greatest and the least thingsbeing forros of both kinds of degreeB, there is a. connection of them from primes to ultimates . The reasonwhy there is not any least thing in any form, or amongauy forms, whieh is the same (a.s any other), is thatthere are the like degrees in the greatest things, andt h greatest things consist of the l e ~ t . As there aresuch degrees in the greatest things, and aceording tothose degrees perpetuaI differenees from top to bottom,and from the centre to the circumferenees, it fol!owsthat there do not exist &ny less or least things thereof,in which there are the like degrees, that are the sa.me.

230. There are Uuee Infinite and Ililcreated degreesin the Lord, and there are three finite and created degreesin man. Gen.art... The reason there are three infiniteand uncreatcd degreeB of height in the Lord, is that theLord is love itself and wisdom i tself . . . and thereforeis use itself ... These thyee constitute the three degreeBof height in the subjects of life. These three are as thefirst end, the mediate end which is called the cause, anthe ultimate end which is called the effect. That theend, the cause, and the effeet constitute three degreesof height, has been shown above.

231. That there are these three degreeB in man, maybe evident from the elevation of his mind even to the

degrees of love and wisdom in which are the Angels ofthe Second and the Third Hcavcns; for ... as to theinterior things of his mind, man is Heaven in the leastform; therefore. there are from creation as many d e g r e ~ s of height with man as there are Heavens. Man, too, ISan image and likeness of God; wherefore these tlll'eedegrees are inscribed on man, because theyare in . , .the Lord.

232. With the Angels, these three degrees are namellcelestial, spiritual, and natural; and with them thecelestial degree is the degree of love, the spirit.ualdegree is the degree of wisdom, and the natural deg-.eeis the degree of uses. The reason why these degreesare so named, is that the Heavens are distinguished intotwo Kingdoms, named the Celestial and the SpiritualKingdoms, to which is added a third Kingdom, inwhich are men in the world, an \"hich is the NaturalKingdom ...233. In the Lord from eternity, before the assnmpti?nof the Ruman in the world, there were the two pl'lor

degrees actual1y, and the thinl degree in potency, snchas they 'also are with the Angels; but after the assumption of the Ruman in the World, He superinduced alsothe third degree, whieh is called natural; and He t h e r ~ -by became a Man like a man in the world, with thlsdifference however, that this degree , like the prior ones,is in Rim Infinite and uncreate, while in Augel and manthese degrees are finite and created... Before theassumption of the Ruman, the Divine influx into thenatural degree was mediate through the angelic Renvens,but after the assumption, Immediate from Himself.234,Ex.235. These are the general statements concerning thethreefold ascent of the degrees of height... There aresuch degrees in each and all things of love, and thencesuch degrees in each and al! things of wisdom, and,from these there are such degrees in each and 11,11 thingsof uses; b:lt in the Lord 11,11 these degrees are infinite,and in Angel and man finite.

236. These threc degrees of height are in evcry manfrom birth, and they can be snccessivcly opened; and,as they are opened, the man is in the Lord, and theLord in him. Gen.art.-- . So long as these degrees remained hidden, nodegrees could be known but continuous degrecs; an

when only these degrees are known, i t may be believedthat love and wisdom with man increase only by continuity. But it is to be known, that with every man1 from birth there are three degreeB of height, or discreteones one above or within another; and that each degreeof h ~ i g h t . . has also degreeB of breadth . . , accordingto which it increases by continuity; for there are degreeBof both kinds in the greatest and in thc least of al!things ... as no degree of. one kind can possibly existwithout degreeB of thc other kind.

237. These tlnee degrees of height are named natural ,spiritual, and celestial. . . WhEm man is born ho firstcornes into the natnral degree, and this increascs withhim by continui ty, according to knowledges and acconling to the unclcrstanding thereby acquire, up to thehighest of the understanding which is called the Rational;but still he does not thereby open the second degree


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Degree 61 Degreewhich is called the spiritual one; this is opened by thelove of uses from intellectual things, that is to say, bythe spiri tual love of uses, which love is love towards theneighbour. This degree is in like manner able toincrease by a continuous degree up to it s summit, andit increases by means of the Knowledges of truth andgood, that is, by means of spiritual truths. Yet thethird degree, which is called the celestial one, is notopened even by these truths, bu t it ois opened by meansof the celestial love of use, which love is love to theLord, and love to the Lord is nothing else than commit-ting to life the precepts of the Word ... These threedegrees are thus successively opened with man.

238. So long as a man lives in the world, he does notknowanything about the opening of these degrees inhimself. The reason is, that he is then in the naturaldegree, which is the ultimate, and from it he at thattime thinks, wills, speaks, and acts; and the spiritualdegrae, which is the interior one, does not communicatewith the natural degree by continuity, bu t by corre-spondences, and communication by correspondences isnot felt. "\Vhen, however, a man puts off the naturaldegree, which is the case when he dies, he th en cornesinto that degree whieh has been opened with him inthe world; into the spiritual one he with whom thespiritual degree has been opened, into the celestial onehe with whom the celestial degree has been opened.He who comes into the spiritual degree after death, nolonger thinks, wills, speaks, and sets naturally; butspiritually; and he who cornes into the celestial degree,thinks, wills, speaks, and aets according to his owndegree. And as communication between the threedegrees exists only by correspondences, the differencesof love, of wisdom, and of use as to these degrees aresuch, that they have nothing in common byanyeon-tinuity between thernselves.

239. As there exist with man three degrees of loveand wisdom and thence of use, it follows that there alsoexist with him three degrees of will and understandingand thence of conclusion, and thus of determination touse ... In a word, the mind of man ... is of threedegrees, so that man has a natural mind, a spiritualmind, and a celestial mind ...

~ 3 See COMMAND-praecipere, at this ref.240e. The Lord's abode with man is nearer, as bymeans of these fseulties a man opens the higher degrees ;for by the opening of thesehe cornes iuto the higherdegrees of love and wisdom, thus nearer to the Lord.Hence it is evident, that as these degrees are opened,

so is the man in the Lord, and the Lord in him.241. The three degrees of height are as the end, thecause, and the effect, and according to these degreesthere succeed love, wisdom, and use.242. Spiritual light infiows with man through threedegrees, bu t not spiritual heat, except in so far as manshuns evils as sins, and looks to the Lord. Gen. art .--. There are three degrees of light and threedegrees of heat, that is, three degrees of wisdom andthree degrees of love, and these degrees have been

formed with man in order that he may be a receptacleof the Divine love and the Divine wisdom, thus of theLord.

__ e, Man is able to receive wisdom up to the thirddegree, bu t not love, unless he shuns evils as sins, andlooks to the Lord .245. The nature of the influx of light into the threedegrees of life which are of the mind with man, shallnow be told. The forms which are the receptacles of

heat and light, or of love and wisdom, with him, andwhich are in a threefold order, or are of three degrees,are from birth transparent, and transmit spiritual lightas crystalline glass transmits naturallight. Hence it iathat as to wiadom man can be raised up to the thirddegree. Yet these forms are no t opened until spiritualheat conjoins itself with spiritual light . . By thiaconjunction these transparent forms are opened according to the degrees.

246. Wben a man shuns evils from the Lord, the loveof evil and its heat is removed, and the love of good andit s heat lS introduced in its place, by which a higherdegree is opened. For the Lord f10ws in from above,and opens it ...

247. By the infiux of spirituallight into aIl the threedegrees of the mind, man is distinguished from beasts,and . . is able to think analytically . 248. I f the higher degree, which is the spiritual one,is not opened with man, he becomea natural and sen-suous. Gen. art. I t was shown that there are threedegrees of the human mind, which are called uatural,spiritual, and celestial ; and that these degrees can besuccessively opened with him: also, that the naturaldegree is first opened, and afterwards; if he shuna evilsas sins, and looks to the Lord, the spiritual degree isopened, and at last the celestial degree. As these

degrees are successively opened according to the man'sliie, it follows that the two higher degrees may also no tbe opened, and that the man th en remains in the naturaldegree, which is the ultimate one. 260'.__e, I t is not known that t'he natural man becomesspiritual by the opening of any higher degree withhim . .252. The quality of the naturaI man with whom thespiritual degree is opened. Gen.art. The natural manis a full man when the spiritual degree is opened withhim ... The natural man with whom the spiritual

degree is opened does not know that he thinks and actsfrom his spiritual man ... Neither does the naturaI manwhose spiritual degree is opened know that by hisspiritual man he is in Heaven ... Moreover, the naturalman with whom the spitual degree is opened does notknow that his spiritual mind is filled by the Lord withthousands of the arcana of wisdom and with thousandsof the delights of love ... The reason why the naturalman does not know these things, is that communicationbetween the natural man and the spiritual man iseffected by correspondences . . .

253. The quality of the natural man with whom thespiritual degree is not opened, bu t still is Ilot closed up.Gen. art . The spiritual degree is not opened, bu t stillis not closed up, with those who have led some life ofcharity, and yet have known but little genuine truth.The reason is, that this degree is opened by the con-junction of love and wisdom, or of heat with light ...


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Degree 62 DegreeLoye (alone, therefol'e,) does not avail to open that 1 that one degree is above another, and that the naturaldegree, bu t only keeps it in the potency of being degree, whieh is the ultimate one, is a kind of generalopencd ; which is meant by its not being closed up . . . covering to the two higher degrees; and then, as the[W.253]2. Good through truths opens the spiritual natural degree is elevated to a degree of higher [light),degree . . . so the higher from within acts into the exterior Natnral,--. The lo t after death of those with whom the and iIluminates it. The illumination is indeed effectedspiritual degree is not opened, and still not closed up, from within by the light of the higher degreee, bu t this

is that as they are still natural and not spiritual, they Iight is reeeived by the natural degree which envelopsare in the lowest parts of Heaven '... or they are in the and surrounds them, by eontinuity, therefore moreboundaries in sorne higher Heaven, where they are as it lucidly and purely according to the height of the ascent ;\Vere in the light of evening . . that is to say, the natural degree is enlightened from254. The quality of the natural man \Vith whom the witbfn ,from the ~ i g h t of thc h i g h e ~ ~ e g r e ~ , discreteJ.y,"t 1 degree' ti 1 1 d G rt Th bu t m Itself contmuously. Henee It IS eVldent that soSpin ua IS en re y e ose up. en .a . el' h d . .

1spiritual degree is closed up with th ose who are in evils ong as man hves m t e world, an ~ t h e ~ e b y I the

'0 d t'II 'th th h f vi l natural degree, he cannot be elevated Into w18dom Itselfas t0 Ile, an s 1 more WI ose W 0 rom e sare . , , .in falsitics ... So the substances or forms of the spiritual s ~ c h as eXlSts wlth the A n g ~ l s , but ~ n ~ y mto, hlgher't h .h ' k f vi l d tl ' la't' hght up to the Angels, and mto recClvmg enlighten.degree \VI man's rm rom e san lelr la 1168, t f th ' r htbeeause these are heterogeneous; for, ' as the spiritual men rom en' Ig ...degree is in the form of Heaven, it admits ~ o t h i n g bu t 257'. But still the man with whom the spiritual"oods and the truths whieh are from good;' these arc degree has been opened, cornes into that wisdom whenhomogeneous to i t . . . he dies, and he can also come into it by a laying asleep__ 2. This degree is eontracted, and by contraction of t ~ sensations of the body ...

elosed up, with those espeeially who in the world are in 258. Every man is born into thc faculty of understand.the love of ruling from self-love, because this love is ing truths even to that inm08t degree in which are theopposed to love to the Lord. I t is also closed up with Angels of the Third Heaven; for the human understand.those who from the love of the world are in the mad ing, rising up by eontinuity around the two highel'eupidity of possessing the goods of others, bu t not to degreee, receives the light'ofthe wisdom ofthose degreessuch a degree. The reason why these loves close the ... Henee it is, that man can become rational accordingspiritual degree, is that they are the origins of evils. to this elevation; if he is elevated to the third degree,The contraction or closing up of this degree is like the he becomes rational from the third degree; if he isrctorsion of a spire into the opposite direction; whieh is elevated to the second degree, he becomes rational fromthe reason why, after this degree has been closed up, it the second degree; and if he is not elevated, he isrefleets the light of Hcaven . . . rational in the first degree. I f is said that he beeomes__ 3. With these persons, not only is the spiritual rat ional from these degrees, because the natural degreedegree itself el08ed up, but also the higher region of is the general receptacle of their light.the natural degree, which is called the Rational; until __2. Hence it is, that if a man's love is not elevatedat last the lowest region of the natural degree, which is at the same time into the spiritual degree, he is still notcalled the Sensuous, alone stands open. . . rational save in the ultimatc degree. Hence it is

255. The difference '(between the life of a merely ~ v i d e n t , that man's Rational is in appearance as of threenatural man and that of a beast) is that man has tlnee egrees ...degrees of the mind, that is, three degreeB of the uncler- 260. As the natural mind is the covering and containstanding and of the will, and these degreeB can be an t of the higher degreeB of the human mind, it issuccessively opened j and, as they are transparent, man reactive! and if the hig.her degrees are n o opened" it can bc raised as to his understanding into the Iight of acts agamst them, bu t If theyarc opened, It acts wlthHeaven ... But beasts have not the two higher degreeB, them. Gen.art.bu t only the natural degrees, which, without thc higher , -_. As the natural mind is i ~ h u l t i ~ a t e degree,degrees are in no faculty of thinking about any subjcet ; It envelops and encloses the spiritual mllld and thecivil m ~ r a l or spiritual. And as their natural degrees celestial mind, which, as to degreeB, are higher th an it.are ~ o ca;able of being opened, and thenec of being , __2. (In respect to the reaction of the naturalraised into higher light, they cannot think in successive mind) it is the same \Vith every ultimate degree oforder, bu t in simnltaneous order, which is not thinking degrees of height ...

P324 269". The malignity of evil-inereases aecording to the256. Regarded in itself, the natural degree of the degree of the closing up of the natural mind . .hnman mimi is continuons, bu t by cOl'l'cspondenee with 274. The natural mind, which is a form or image of

thc two higher degrees, while it is elevated, it appears Hell, descends by three degrees. Gen.art. In theas if it were discrete. Gen.art . gl'eatest and in the least things there are degrees of two--. Bnt the enlightenment of the natural mind kinds ... and such also is the case \Vith the natural

oes not ascellll by diserete degreeB, but it increases by mind in its greatest and in its least things: degrees ofa eontinuous degree, aud, as it inereases, so that mind height are here meant. From its two faculties, whiehis enlightened from within by the light of the two are called rationali ty and freedom, the natural mind ishigher degrees. How this takes place, can be compre- in sueh astate, th at it can ascend through three degreee,hended from a perception of the degrees of height, in and it ean descend through three degrees . . when it


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Degree 63 Degreeascends, the lower d2grees which tend to Hell areclosed, and when it dcscends, the higher degrees whichtend to Heaven are closed: the reason is, that they arein reaction. These three degrees, higher and lower, areneither opened nor closed in man in early iLfancy; forhe is then in ignorance of good and truth, and of eviland falsity; but as he commits himself to the one or theother, so are the degrees opened or closed on the oneside or on the other. When they are opened towardsHeIl, the reigning love .. oQtains the highest place,the thought of falsity from that love ... obtains thesecond place, and the conclusion of the love through thethough t . . . 0btains the lowest place. I t is the samehere as with the degrees of height before treated of,namely, that they are in order as the end, the cause, andthe cffect ... The descent of these degrees is towardsthe body; hence, in the descent they become grosser,and become material and corporeal. I f truths from theWord in the sccond degree are taken to it ta form it ,these truths are falsified from the first degree, which isthe love of evil ..

275. The three degrees of the natural mind, which isa form and image of HeIl, are opposite to the threedegrees of the spiritual mind, which is a form andimage of Heaven. Gen.art. There are three degrees ofthe mind, which are called natural, spiritual, andeelestial; and the human mind consisting of thesedegrees looks toward Heaven, and bends itself roundthither ... Hence it may be seen, that when thenatural mind looks downwards and bends itself roundtowards Hell it consists in like 'manner of three degreesand that each degree of it is opposite to a degree of th;mind which is a Heaven. . . (For) there are threeHeavens, and these are distinct according to degrees ofheight; and there are three HeIls, and these also aredistinct according to degrees of height, that is, of depth... I t is the same with the natural mind, which is inthe form of Hell . . .__ 3. Love to the Lord, and thence love towards theneighbour, make the inmost degree in the Heavens;

bu t the love of self and the love of the world make theinmost d ~ g r e e in th e Hells: w i s d ~ m and i n t e I l ~ g e n c e from thelr own loves make the mlddle degree m theHeavens; bu t folly and insanity ... from their ownloves make the middle .degree in the HeIls: and theconclusions from their own two degrees, which areeither ~ t o r e ~ up in t h memory as knowledges, ~ aredetermllled mto acts I I I the body, make the ultlmatedegree in the H e a v e n ~ ; a n the conclusions from theirown two degrees, whwh mther become k ~ I O w l e d g e s , orbecome acts, make the. outermost degree I I I the Hells.(Shown from experience.)

277. AIl things which are of the three degrees of thenatural mind, are included in the works which are doneby acts of the body. Gen.art.--. There are forces of the motor fibres of the whole

are aIl things of the memory ... which present thethird degree.

278. Each degree is encompassed by a covering, andis thereby distinguished from another degree; wherefore those things which belong -to the first degree areno t known by the second degree; nor are the thingswhich belong to this degree knownby the third. Forexample: The love of the will, which is the first degreeof the mind, is no t known in th e wisdom of the understanding, which is the second degree of the mind,except by a certain delight in the ,thought of a thing.Tlle first degree, which, as was said, is the love of thewill, is not known in th e knowledge of the memory,except by a certain pleasantness in knowing aud speaking.

295. Hence it is evident, that the Natural and theSpiritual differ according to degrees of height . .

297. Love, wisdom, and use follow in order nccordingto degrees of height, and the ultiroate degree is thecomplex, the containant, and th e basis of the priordegrees.300. The one only substance, which is the Sun,procecding by means of atmospheres according to continuous degrees, or those of breadth, and at the sametime according to discrete degrees, or those of hcight,presents th e varieties of aIl things in the createduniverse. .~ 0 2 . T h e ~ ' e ~ r three atmospheres m ~ a c h world ...

w h l C ~ are dlstmct ~ r o m each o t ~ e r acc?rdmg to degreesof hmght, and wInch decrease m thmr downward progression according to degrees of breadth... From thisorigin of substances and matters, it follows, that thesesubstances and matters are also of three degrees.313. The first forms of the mineraI kingdom are the

substances and matters of which earths consist, in theirleast things; the second forms are congregates of these . . the third forms arise from plants fallen to dust, andfrom the remains of animaIs, and from the coutinualevaporations and exhalatious of these, which mix withearths, and form their soil. These forms of the threedegrees of the mineraI kingdom ...

345. The Spiritual flows down from its Sun throughthree degrees down to the ultimates of nature andthese degrees are called celestial spiritual and natural .and these degrees are in man f r ~ m creatio'n and thenc;from birth; and they are opened a c c o r d i n ~ to his life.I f the celestial degree is opened, which is the highestand inmost one, th e man .becomes celestial; if thespiritual degree is opened, which is the middle one, hebecomes spiritual; and if only the natural degree isopened, which is the lowest and outermost one, the manbecomes natural.

3462 AIl animaIs, great and smaIl, draw their originfrom the Spiritual in the ultimate degree, which iscalled the natural one; man alone from aIl the degrees,which are three, and are called celestial, spiritllal, andbody in concurrence, and there are aIl the things of the ; natu;al. . As e v ~ r y degre? of h ~ i g ~ t ... de?reases bymind which excite and determine these forces which 'contllllllty from ItS perfectIOn to lts ImperfectIOn ... soare of three degrees ... And as there are aIl things of i do. animaIs:: But still, a s . t h ~ y live only from thethe mind, there are aIl things of the will .. which ,ulhmate spmtual degree, WhlCh lS called natural, theymake th e first degree; there are aIl things of the under- cannot look elsewhere than to the earth . . standing : which make the second degree; and there 414- See LOVE at this ref.


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Degree 64 Degree[W.] 4222. The reason love purified by wisdom becomesspiritual and celestial, is that man has three degrees oflife, which are called natural, spiritual, and celestial. , .and man can be elevated from one degree to another.4242. Just as naturallove Cn ascend through degrees;and becolile spiritual and celestial, so also it can descendthrough dgrees, and become sensuous and corporeal . .4322 Thera was seen as it were a least image of abrain ... which in the upper gibbous part was acompages of contiguous globules or spherules, and eachspherule was compacted of others still more minute, andeach of these in like manner of others most minute: thus

it was of three degrees._ _4. The Angels said, that the two internai degrees,which were in the order and form of Heaven, wererecentacles of love and wisdom from the Lord; and thatthe exterior degree, which was in opposition, contraryto the order and form of Heaven, was the receptacle ofinfernal love and insanity . . and from this fall thereis no recovery, unless the higher degrees are opened.

p, 32. Man is such from creation, that, throughdegrees, he can be more and more closely conjoinedwith the Lord. Ex.~ In every man from creation and thence birththere are thrce discrete degrees . . and man comes intotho first degree, which is callad natural, when he isborn, and he can augmeiIt this degree with himself bycontinuity even until he becomes rational; and hecomes into the second degree, which is calied spiritual,if he lives according to the spirituallaws of order, whichare Divine truths; and he can also come into the thirddegree, which is callOO celestial, if he lives according tothe celestial laws of order, which are Divine goods.These degrees are opened with a man by the Lordaccording to his life in the 'l'orld, actually; but notperceptibly and sensibly until after his departure out ofthe \Vorld; and as they are openOO and afterwardsperfected, the man is more and more closely conjomedwith the Lord._ _ 3. But still an Angel cannot atta in, or even touch,the first degree of the Lord's love and wisdom ...

34. As there are three degrees of life with man fromercation and thence from birth ... there are especialJythree degree of wisdom with him ; these are the degreeswhich are opened with man according to conjunction;they are openedaccording to love . . But of the ascent


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5

Degree 65 Degreeand thcy are a1so in genera1 in Heaven and in theCburch; whicb is thc r6&8on why tbere are threeHeavens ... entirely distinct from each other accordingto tbese degrees; in like manner the Lord's Chul'Chon earth . . .

M. 763. Steps of a1abaster. R.875'.,..37 (The Sun s altitude there lS 45 degrees.)185'. Tbe reason is, that the interna1 things of man,by which are meant the things of his mind or spirit, areelevated in a higher degree above the external things;and in those tbings which are in a higher degree, athousand things take place in the same instant in whichone takes place in externa1 ones.1883 See REGION at tbis ref.. "442 I t lS Bald that the dehgbts are natural, sensuous,. d" . h d .

tbree degrees; ID the hlghest degree are those natural. l ' 1. . d'Ilmeu wh0 from rabona Slg"t see IDsamtles, an sb are. . .arl'led away by th e delights thereof. : . ; ID a 10werdegree are the natura1 men who see and Judge only from.the senses of tbe b o ~ y .. '. ; m the lowest d e ~ e are thcnatura1 men who wlthout Judgment are carrled away by. . .he a11ul'lDg heats of tbelr bodies. . .. ..478. On adulterles, and therr kmds and degrees.Gen.art.

485. There are four degrees of adulteries ... Gen.rt. These degrees are not kinds, but enter into eachind . , .486. Adu1teries of the first degree are adulteries ofgnorance ... Gen.art., '488. Adultel'les of the second degree are adu1tel'les of... Gen.art.490. Adu1teries of the third degree are adu1teries of

the reason . . . Gen.art.492 Adulteries of th e fourth degree are adu1teries of 1

and corporea, bccause th e N atural lS ISbugUls e r o t o , 't" l lik' th hl' 'bl k' , II I par lCU ar ; 50 eWlSe are e w 0 e vege.... e mg

distinguish things prior aa d posterior are to be cal1 ...ddegrees ofheigbt, also discrte degrees; but the degreesby whicb things greater and less are distinguisbed fromeach otber, are to be ca11ed degrees of breadth, and alsocontinuous degrees. Degrees of height ... are 1ike thegenerations and compositions of onc.thing from another;as for examp1e, oi some nerve from Its fibres, and of anyfibre from its fibrils; or of some piece of woOd, stone, ormetal from its parts, and of any part from its particles.But degrees of breadth .. are 1ike the increments anddecrements of the sarne degree of height with respect tobreadth, length, height, and depth; as of greater andless volumes of water, air, or ether; and as of large andsma11 masses of wood, stone, or metal. Each and a11things in the Spiritual and natural worlds, are bycreation in degrees of this twofold kind. The who1e'al k' d . . th d gre- . l damm mg orn ... IS m ese e - m genera and d th hl' 1 k' gd d '1 thom an e w 0 e mmera II I om; an a so et b ' f th d t th rtha mosp el'lC expanse rom e sun own 0 e ca .There are tberefore three atmospheres diserete1y distiilct

di to d f h . h t ' b th th S "t l daccor ng egrees 0 elg m 0 e prrl ua anthe natural worlds ... And as the atmospheres descendf ' th ' .. d' t th d -- d'rom CIl' orlgJns accor mg 0 ese v".__, an areth ' t f l' ht d h t ' t r 11 th' te con ....man s 0 19 an ea ... 1 10 ows atherc are three degrees of 1ight and of heat: and as tbelight in tbe Spitua1 World is in its essence wisdom,and the heat tbere is in its essence love ... it fo11owsalso that there are three degrees of wisdom and threedegrees of love, coIlSequently three degrees of life; forthey are g r a d ~ a ~ d by those things through,which theypass. Hence It lS that there are three an:gelic Heavens :a highest . . where are Ange1s of the hlghest degree ;amidd1e one .. wbere are Angels of the midd1e degree ;and an u1timate one ... where are

j.f.potts the swedenborg concordance vol 2 dtof pages 51 to 71 degree the swedenborg society 1890...

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