The
people of that age were acquainted with the science of correspondences;
and as every man, beast, bird, and fish, corresponds to some quality,
therefore each particular carved figure represents partially some virtue
or truth, and several together represent virtue itself, or truth, in a
common extended form. These are what in Egypt were called
hieroglyphics." We proceeded through the valley, and as we entered the
plain, lo! we saw horses and chariots; horses variously harnessed and
caparisoned, and chariots of different forms; some carved in the shape
of eagles, some like whales, and some like stags with horns, and like
unicorns; and likewise beyond them some carts, and stables round about
at the sides; and as we approached, both horses and chariots
disappeared, and instead thereof we saw men (_homines_), in pairs,
walking, talking, and reasoning. And the angel said to me, "The
different species of horses, chariots, and stables, seen at a distance,
are appearances of the rational intelligence of the men of that period;
for a horse, by correspondence, signifies the understanding of truth, a
chariot, its doctrine, and stables, instructions: you know that in this
world all things appear according to correspondences.
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