55. 'And He put His right hand upon me' signifies life then inspired by Him. The Lord put His right hand upon him because a communication is effected by the touch of hands. The cause of this is that the life of the mind and consequently of the body puts itself forth into the arms and through them into the hands. It is in consequence of this that the Lord with His hand touched those whom He revived into life, and healed (Mark i 31, 41; vii 32, 33; viii 22-26; x 13, 16; Luke v 12, 13; vii 14; xviii 15; xxii 51); and that in like manner He touched the disciples, after they saw Jesus transformed, and fell on their face (Matt. xvii 6, 7). The origin itself [of this] is because the presence of the Lord with men is an adjunction, thus a conjunction by means of what is contiguous, and this contiguity becomes nearer and fuller in the proportion that a man loves the Lord, that is, does His precepts. From these few considerations it can be established that by putting His right hand upon him is signified inspiring His own life in him.