Spiritual Meaning of

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By the liver also is signified interior purification, for the liver purifies the blood, but the intestines purify those things from which the blood is derived. That it denotes the good of the external or natural man, is because by the bullock, in which is this caul, is signified the good of innocence and of charity in the external or natural man (AC 9990). Elsewhere by the liver is signified the external good of innocence such as belongs to infants, because before the rest of the viscera have been fully formed for their use, which is the case when the infants are embryos, these are nourished through the liver, for all the nutritious juice is brought there through the placenta and the umbilical cord from the womb of the mother. This juice corresponds to the good of innocence.

[2] That this good is signified by the liver is evident in Jeremiah:--

in this passage is described the grief of the vastated church; grief for destroyed truth is signified by the eyes being consumed by tears; grief for the destroyed truth of innocence, by the inwards being troubled; and grief for the destroyed good of innocence, by the liver being poured forth on the earth. Wherefore the infant and the suckling are said to faint in the streets, and they say to their mothers, Where is grain and wine? The daughter of the people for whose breach is this grief, denotes the church (AC 2362, 3963, 6729); eyes denote the things of the internal sight, thus the truths of faith (AC 4526, 4528, 9051); the inwards denote the truths of innocence (AC 3294); the liver denotes the good of innocence; for the infants and sucklings who faint in the streets, denote those who are in the good of innocence (AC 430, 3183, 4563, 5608); the grain and wine concerning which they say to their mothers, Where are they? denote the good of truth and the truth of good; grain, the good of truth (AC 5959); wine, the truth of good (AC 1071, 1798).

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