Arcana Coelestia (Potts) n. 9040

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9040. Verses 22-27. And when men shall quarrel, and shall strike a pregnant woman, and her births go forth, and harm is not done, with fining he shall be fined, as the woman's master shall lay upon him; and he shall give according to the judges. And if harm is done, then thou shalt give soul for soul, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, blow for blow. And when a man shall smite the eye of his manservant, or the eye of his maidservant, and shall destroy it; he shall let him go free for his eye. And if he shall knock out his manservant's tooth, or his maidservant's tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth. "And when men shall quarrel," signifies grievous contention among truths; "and shall strike a pregnant woman," signifies the injuring of the good which is from truth; "and her births go forth," signifies if nevertheless it is confirmed in the natural; "and harm is not done," signifies thus no injury there; "with fining he shall be fined," signifies amendment; "as the woman's master shall lay upon him," signifies until it agrees with the truth of good; "and he shall give according to the judges," signifies according to what is equitable; "and if harm is done," signifies injury; "then thou shalt give soul for soul," signifies the law of order that thou shalt do to thy neighbor as thou wouldest that he should do to thee, consequently that what thou doest to another shall be done to thyself, "the soul," denotes the spiritual life; "eye for eye," signifies if anything in the interior intellectual; "tooth for tooth," signifies if anything in the exterior intellectual; "hand for hand," signifies if anything of the power of spiritual truth; "foot for foot," signifies if anything of the power of natural truth; "burning for burning," signifies if anything of the affection of love which is interiorly in the will; "wound for wound," signifies if anything of the affection of love which is exteriorly in the will; "blow for blow," signifies if anything of affection in the intellectual-that is to say, if anything of all these be extinguished or injured; "and when a man shall smite the eye of his manservant," signifies if the internal man shall injure the truth of faith in the external or natural man; "or the eye of his maidservant," signifies or the affection of truth therein; "and shall destroy it," signifies if he shall extinguish it; "he shall let him go free for his eye," signifies that it can longer serve the internal man; "and if he shall knock out his manservant's tooth, or his maidservant's tooth," signifies if he shall destroy truth or the affection of it in the sensuous part; "he shall let him go free for his tooth," signifies that it can no longer serve the internal man.


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