Earths in the Universe (Whitehead) n. 33

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33. Afterwards I represented to them birds of different sizes, both large and small, such as exist on our earth; for in the other life such things may be represented to the life. When they saw the birds represented, they at first wished to change them, but afterwards they were delighted with them and were satisfied. The reason was, because birds signify the knowledges of things, and the perception of this then flowed in also.# Thus they desisted from transmuting them, and thereby from averting the ideas of their memory. Afterwards it was allowed to represent before them a most pleasant garden full of lamps and lights; then they paused, and their attention was fixed, for the reason that lamps with lights signify truths which shine from good.## Hence it was made manifest that their attention might be fixed in viewing things material, if only the signification of those things in the spiritual sense was insinuated at the same time; for the things of the spiritual sense are not so abstracted from things material, since these are representatives of them. # Birds signify things rational, intellectual, thoughts, ideas, and knowledges (n. 40, 745, 776, 778, 866, 988, 993, 5149, 7441). And this with variety according to the genera and species of birds (n. 3219). ## Lamps with lights signify truths shining from good (n. 4638, 9548, 9783).


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