1203. And a second time they said, Alleluia.- That this signifies the joy and gladness of the angels of the lower heavens, and the glorification of the Lord on account of liberation from those signified by Babylon, and by the beasts of the evident from the things explained above (n. 1195, 1196). The reason why joy, gladness, and the glorification of the Lord by the angels of the lower heavens is signified, is, that it is said "a second time," and that "their smoke ascending unto ages of ages" is spoken of; and also from this that glorifications of the Lord commence with the angels of the higher heavens, and reach to the angels of the lower heavens. That Alleluia signifies praise and glorification, may be seen above (n. 1197).
[2] [CONCERNING THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM AND ITS SOUL.]
Continuation [concerning the Life of Plants]. - We shall now make some observations respecting the vegetable kingdom, and its soul, which is called the vegetative soul; since it is not known in the world that this soul also is spiritual. By the vegetative soul is meant the conatus or effort to produce a plant from seed, through all the progressive stages, to new seeds, and by this means to multiply itself to infinity, and propagate itself for ever. For there is in every plant an idea, as it were, of the Infinite and Eternal; since one seed might be multiplied for a number of years so as to fill the whole earth, and also propagated from seed to seed in endless succession. This power, associated as it is with the wonderful process of growing from a root into a shoot, then into a stalk, next into branches, leaves, flowers, and fruits, until the plant arrives at new seeds, is not natural, but spiritual. In a similar manner again this spiritual power is manifested by the resemblance which plants bear in many respects to the objects belonging to the animal kingdom. That they exist, for instance, from seed; that there is in them, as it were, a prolific principle; that they produce a shoot as their infant, with the stalk as its body, the branches as its arms, the top as its head, the bark as its skins, and the leaves as its lungs; that they reach a state of adolescence in the course of years; that they then bloom like brides before their nuptials, and afterwards, causing as it were their wombs or eggs to expand, they bring forth fruits as their offspring; that there are in these again new seeds, from which, as in the animal kingdom, there is a reproduction of the same species or family. These and many other particulars observed by botanists, who have traced a parallel between these two kingdoms, indicate that the conatus or effort to produce such results does not originate from the natural but the spiritual world. From the sequel it will be seen, that the living force, as the principal cause, is spiritual; and that the dead force, as the instrumental cause, is natural.
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