by comparisons. He is like an eagle flying aloft, which no sooner spieth on the ground any kind of prey for food, as poultry, young swans, or new born lambs, but he instantly pounceth down upon it, and devours it. He is also like an adulterer, who keeps a harlot concealed below in a secret vault of his house, and who by turns ascendeth to the highest story, where in his wife's presence he entereth into sober conversation with those who dwell there on the subject of chastity, and then suddenly descending, indulges his lascivious passions with his harlot. He is also like a swarm of gnats in a fenny country, which fly in a column over the head of a galloping horse, but which, when it stops, descend and immerse themselves in the fen that bred them: even so the man, whose understanding is in a state of elevation, whilst the love of his will remains below, immersed in the unclean indulgences of nature, and the libidinous propensities of the senses.

But as

persons in such a state seem to have an understanding resplendent with wisdom, and yet their will is in opposition to it, they may be likened also to serpents with shining scales, and to flies called cantharides, that appear of a golden hue, and also to that meteor-like appearance in marshy places, called an ignis-fatuus, to rotten wood that emitteth light, and to other phosphoric bodies: they rank amongst those who have the art of appearing like angels of light, both to men on earth, and after death to the angels of heaven, but after a short examination, they are then deprived of their garments, and cast down naked from their state of exhaltation; this cannot be the case here on earth, because their spirits here are not open and apparent, but concealed under feigned characters, like the representations of actors on a stage. The power they have to appear like angels of light both as to their aspect and speech, is grounded in this circumstance, of which also it is a convincing proof, that they have the faculty, as before observed, of elevating their un

derstandings above the love of the will, and that almost to angelic wisdom. Now as the internal and external of man may thus be turned contrary ways, and as the body is cast off after death and the spirit continues to exist, it is plain that a dusky spirit may dwell under a fair outside, and a fiery one under the cover of soft and courteous discourse; wherefore, my friend, form your judgment of men, not from their lips, but from their hearts, that is, not from their words, but from their actions; for the Lord saith, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves; by their fruits ye shall know them," Matt. vii. 15, 16.

VI. THAT THE INTERNAL MAN IS FIRST TO BE REFORMED, AND BY IT THE EXTERNAL, AND THAT

THUS MAN IS REGENERATED.

591. That the internal man is first to be regenerated, and by it the external, is a doctrine at the present day commonly insisted on in the church; but then by the internal man nothing else is conceived or meant, than a faith that God the Father imputes the merit and righteousness of his Son, and sends the Holy Ghost. It is generally supposed that this faith constitutes the internal man, and that the external, which constitutes the natural-moral man, flows from it, and is as a sort of appendage to the former, just like the tail of a horse or a cow, or the tail of a peacock, or a bird of paradise, which reaches down to the feet, without having any coherence with the body; * for it is asserted,

* The reader will find a difficulty in apprehending the propriety of the comparison here used by the author, unless he be attentive to distinguish between the conjunction of one thing with another in the way of an appendage, and in the way of coherence. By conjunction in the way of an appendage is meant the annexing of one thing to another in such a manner, that though they touch, and are joined together in some particular point, yet in other respects they may be considered as distinct and separate from each other, as is the case in respect to the conjunction between an animal and its tail. But by conjunc

that charity follows that faith, but that in case charity enter from man's will, it proves the destruction of faith. Since, however, the church at this day allows of no other internal man than what is here described, it has in fact no internal man, since no one can tell whether that faith be given to him or not; that it cannot possibly be given, and that it is thus a mere creature of the imagination, was shewn above. Hence it follows, that at this day, with such as have confirmed themselves in that faith, there is no other internal man than that natural man before described, which by birth is replete with all kinds of evils. It is further asserted, that regeneration and sanctification are a certain consequence of that faith, and that man's co-operation, by which alone regeneration is effected, ought to be excluded. Hence it is that the knowledge of regeneration in the present church is not attainable, when yet the Lord saith, that except a man be regenerate he cannot see the kingdom of God.

592. But the internal and external man of the New Church are of a very different nature from what we have been describing; the internal man belongs to his will, under whose influence he thinks when he is left to himself, as is the case when he is at home; but the external man is his action and conversation, in which he is engaged when

tion in the way of coherence is meant a union effected between two different things in such a manner, that they form no longer two but one substance, as is the case with respect to the conjunction subsisting between flesh and blood, heat and light, the will and the understanding, &c. Hence then may be seen a reason why the author here compares the conjunction of the internal and external man, according to the notions which the present church entertaineth concerning them, with the conjunction that subsisteth between an animal and its tail, which is a conjunction in the way of appendage and not of coherence; whereas according to truth and order, they ought to be united in the way of coherence, so that the internal man might enter into and rule in the external, and thereby preserve, bless, and sanctify it, by communicating to it holy influences from the Lord,

abroad or in company; so that the internal man is charity, { because charity belongs to the will, and it is at the same time faith, which hath relation to the thought. Both these together before regeneration, constitute the natural man, which is thus divided into internal and external, as is evident from this circumstance, that a man does not permit himself to act and speak in company, or abroad, as at home, or when left to himself; the cause of which division is, that as the laws of society prescribe punishments for those who do ill, and rewards for those who do well, men compel themselves to separate the external man from the internal, for no one is desirous of punishment, but every one wishes for reward, which he finds in the acquisition of wealth and honours; and to avoid punishment, and attain reward, can only be effected by living in conformity to the laws of society hence it is that morality and benevolence in externals, are found amongst those who have none in their internals; and this is also the origin of all hypocrisy, flattery and simulation.

593. As to what concerns the division of the natural man into two forms, it consists in an actual divison both of its will and of its thought; for all the actions of man proceed from the will, and all his speech from the thought; so that a second will is formed by him below the first, and in like manner a second thought; but still both these constitute the natural man: this second will, which he forms, may be called his corporeal will, because it acts upon and impels the body to conduct itself according to the outward forms of morality; and this second thought may be called pulmonary thought, because it acts upon and impels the tongue and lips to utter such discourse as may seem intelligent. This thought and this will, taken together, may be compared to the thin skin (philyra) which adheres to the inside of the bark of a tree, and to the membrane which adheres to the shell of an egg, and

the internal natural man is within them, which natural man, if evil, may be compared to the wood of a rotten tree, about which the bark with its thin skin appears entire, and also to a rotten egg within a white shell. But the quality of the internal natural man from birth, shall be here described: his will is prone to evils of every kind, and his thought, as originating in the will, is alike prone to falses of every kind: this then is the internal man which is to be regenerated, for unless it be regenerated, there is nothing but hatred against all things that respect charity, and wrath, as a consequence, against all things that respect faith. Hence it follows, that the internal natural man is first to be regenerated, and by it the external, this being according to order; but to regenerate the internal man by the external, is contrary to order; for the internal is as a soul in the external, not only in general, but also in the minutest particular; it is consequently included in every single word that the external utters, notwithstanding man be ignorant of such a circumstance: it is from this ground that the angels perceive the nature and quality of man's will, by observing a single action only, and the nature and quality of his thought, by attending only to a single expression, and can thus discover whether the will and thought be infernal or heavenly; hence they know at once the whole man, perceiving by the tone of his voice, the affection that reigns in his thought, and by his behaviour, or form of action, the love that rules in his will: the angels have a clear perception of such things, however man may strive to conceal his true character, under an appearance of religion and morality.

594. The regeneration of man is described in Ezekiel by the dry bones, which were first covered with sinews, then with flesh and skin, and lastly had spirit breathed into them, so that they revived, chap. xxxvii. 1 to 14: that regenera tion is described by these circumstances, is evident from the words which follow: "These bones are the whole house of