702. 'Three unclean spirits like frogs' signifies that nothing but reasonings and the lusts of falsifying truths were arising. By 'spirits' here are signified the like as by demons, for it is presently said that they were 'the spirits of demons', and by 'demons' are signified the lusts of falsifying truths (n. 458). By 'three' are signified all (n. 400, 505), here therefore 'nothing but' (mere). By 'frogs' are signified reasonings derived from lusts, because they croak and are prurient. From these considerations it is plain that by 'three unclean spirits like frogs' are signified nothing but reasonings and the lusts of falsifying truths. The 'frogs' here have no other signification than 'the frogs of Egypt' have, because by the miracles done with the Egyptians the devastation of the Church is likewise described, concerning which [it is written] thus in Moses:-
Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and frogs came up and covered the land, and afterwards the frogs were removed and remained in the river only Exod. viii 5-14 [H.B. 1-10]; Ps. lxxviii 45; cv 30.
The reason why frogs were produced out of the waters of Egypt and remained in the river was because the waters of Egypt, and especially the waters of the river there, used to signify the untruths of the doctrine out of which they reasoned.
This page is part of 
© 2000-2001 The Academy of the New Church