AC 2759 (Preface) - a heresy

AC 2759 - Preface

I tell you that you are Peter,
and on this rock I will build My Church,
and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven;
and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
(Matt. 16: 15-19)

[2] They who press (rigidly adhere to) the sense of the letter
think that these things were said of Peter,
and that power so great was given him;
although they are fully aware that Peter was a very simple man,
and that he by no means exercised such power;
and that to exercise it is contrary to the Divine.
Nevertheless, owing to the insane and infernal love of self and the world
they desire to arrogate to themselves
the highest power on earth and in heaven,
and to make themselves gods,
they explain this according to the letter, and vehemently defend it;
whereas the internal sense of these words is,
that Faith itself in the Lord has that power,
which exists solely with those who are in love to the Lord
and in charity toward the neighbor:
and yet not faith, but the Lord from whom faith is.
By "Peter" there is meant that faith, as everywhere else in the Word.
Upon this is the Church built,
and against it the gates of hell do not prevail.
This faith has the keys of the kingdom of the heavens,
and it shuts heaven lest evils and falsities should enter in,
and opens heaven for goods and truths.
This is the internal sense of these words.


arrogate - assume or appropriate; to seize without justification
(various sources)

SD 3908

SD 3908
It was observed and said
that those who have enjoyed bodily felicity from wedlock,
and have lived in conjugial love,
that they have felicity also in the other life,
so that the felicity of their life in the world is felicity in the other life;
but that those who have lived in conjugial infelicity,
from holding their partners in contempt, aversion, and hatred,
that they are unhappy in the other life also.
(November 8, 1748)

SD 3894 - concerning spheres

SD 3894
It was observed, that as when the dung of horses was seen,
certain spirits could not endure the sphere arising from it,
[from its corresponding to] that of reasonings with the evil,
and perhaps as being confirmatory of scientifics with good;
so also in other things,
as when I ate butter upon bread,
then certain spirits, or a society of spirits,
were so indignant that they threatened evil to my tongue,
saying that they could not endure it,
for the reason that butter signifies the celestial,
from which arises the sphere of the good
which the evil cannot bear;
wherefore I ought [they said] for a long time to abstain from butter . . ..
So also in regard to many other things which I ate and drank . . ..
(November 6, 1748)

AC 2727,2728,2731,2738 - conjugial or marriage love is completely mutual and reciprocal

AC 2727
What genuine conjugial love is, and where its origin,
few at this day know, for the reason that few are in it.

AC 2728
Conjugial love takes its origin
from the Divine marriage of good and truth,
and thus from the Lord Himself.

AC 2731
From those most ancient people it has been heard
that conjugial love is of such a nature
as to desire to be altogether the other's, and this reciprocally;
and that when this is experienced mutually and reciprocally
they are in heavenly happiness:
also, that the conjunction of minds is of such a nature
that this mutuality and reciprocity is in everything of their life,
that is, in everything of their affection,
and in everything of their thought.
On this account it has been instituted by the Lord
that wives should be affections of good which are of the will,
and husbands thoughts of truth which are of the understanding;
and that from this there should be a marriage
such as there is between the will and the understanding,
and between all things thereof
with one who is in the good of truth and the truth of good.

AC 2738
Mutual love, such as there is in heaven,
is not like conjugial love.
Conjugial love consists in desiring to be in the other's life as a one;
but mutual love consists in wishing better to another than to one's self . . ..

SD 3873 - equilibrium & order

SD 3873
It was perceived that as there is such an equilibrium,
that evil returns upon him who intends and does evil,
so also there is such an order,
that whoever proposes to himself good ends,
thus who intends and does good,
returns to that good . . ..
(November 4, 1748)

AC 2715 - a humble heart

AC 2715 [2]
. . . humiliation . . . is essential in all worship,
and by means of which good can flow in from the Lord;
for an elated heart does not receive at all,
but a humble heart. 

AC 2706 - the Lord's presence

AC 2706
The Lord is indeed present with everyone;
for life is from no other source,
and He governs the most minute things of it,
even with the worst of men, and in hell itself;
but in various ways according to the reception of life.
With those who receive
the life of the love of His good and truth in a wrong manner,
and pervert it into loves of evil and falsity,
the Lord is present,
and overrules their ends as far as possible for good;
but His presence with them is called absence,
and indeed in the same degree
in which evil is distant from good, and falsity from truth.
But with those who receive
the life of the love of the Lord's good and truth,
He is said to be present,
and indeed according to the degree of reception.

SD 3787 - the Lord knows it!

SD 3787
. . . as soon as anyone begins to claim good and truth for himself,
the Lord knows it,
reflection is given him,
and by various lively experiences
he is instructed that it is not from himself,
but from the Lord,
so that he is at length brought into a state of truth,
and thus again enjoys the happiest liberty.
(October 31, 1748) 

AC 2704 - the third state - instruction

AC 2704
And gave the child drink.
(Genesis 21:19)
. . . this signifies instruction in spiritual things . . ..
This state, which is that of instruction . . .
is the third state of those who are coming out of vastation or desolation;
for when they come into a state of enlightenment or of heavenly light
(treated of in the preceding verse 18, see n. 2699),
they are then in the affection of knowing and learning truths;
and when they are in this affection,
they are easily and as it were spontaneously imbued with truths:
those who are on earth,
from the Lord's Word or from doctrine;
but those who are in heaven,
from the angels,
who perceive nothing more blessed and happy
than to teach novitiate brethren,
and imbue them with the truths and goods which are of heavenly order,
and thus lead to the Lord. 

imbue - inspire, permeate

AC 2702 - fountain of water

AC 2702 [5-6]
. . . the doctrine of truth is from Him;
and that when it is from Him,
or what is the same, from His Word,
it is a fountain of water
springing up unto eternal life;
and that truth itself is living water.

Jesus said, If any man thirst,
let him come unto Me, and drink;
whoever believes in Me,
as the Scripture says,
out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
(John 7:37-38)

The Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall feed them,
and shall lead them unto living fountains of water;
and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
(Revelation 7:17)

I will give unto him that is athirst
of the fountain of the water of life freely.
(Revelation. 21:6)

"rivers of living water," and "living fountains of waters,"
denote truths that are from the Lord, or from His Word;
for the Lord is the Word.
The good of love and of charity,
which is solely from the Lord,
is the life of truth.
He is said to be "athirst" who is in the love and affection of truth;
no other can "thirst." 

SD 3756, 3758 - life

SD 3756
. . . life consists in the understanding of what is true
and the willing of what is good.

SD 3758
. . .  a life truly human is one which has respect to eternal life,
and consequently to the soul . . .

AC 2701 - God opened her eyes. (Genesis 21:19)

AC 2701
It is said that "God opens the eyes"
when He opens the interior sight or understanding;
which is effected by an influx into a person's rational,
or rather into the spiritual of his rational.
This is done by the way of the soul,
or the internal way, unknown to the person.
This influx is his state of enlightenment,
in which the truths which he hears or reads are confirmed to him
by a kind of perception interiorly within his intellectual.
This the person believes to be innate in him,
and to proceed from his own intellectual faculty;
but in this he is very much mistaken;
for it is an influx through heaven from the Lord
into what is obscure, fallacious, and seeming with the person,
which by means of the good therein
causes the things which he believes to be similar to truth.
But they only who are spiritual
are blessed with enlightenment in the spiritual things of faith.
It is this which is signified by "God opening the eyes." 

AC 2698 - internal grief

AC 2698
They who are in internal grief,
and in despair from the privation of truth,
are elevated and sustained solely by truth,
because it is for this that they have grief and despair.
With those who are in the affection of good,
their good desires good as one hungers for bread;
but with those who are in the affection of truth,
their good desires truth, as one thirsts for water. 

SD 3740 - communication through the heavens

SD 3740
Spirits wondered that when they 
spoke they immediately received a response.
It was then perceived 
that the response [and] thus the true and the good,
which was in the memory of a person,
was excited solely by the common [or general prompting]
which flows from the Lord through heaven,
so that unless there were influx from the Lord,
no response of true and good would issue from the memory . . ..
So it appeared that all life is from the Lord.
(October 27, 1748)

AC 2689 - those in the life of good

AC 2689 [4]
. . . with those who are in the life of good . . .
truth itself has its own ground and heart,
and has its life from the Lord. 

AC 2682 - how we look at life

AC 2682 [3]
To those who are not being regenerated
it makes no difference whether they know the truth, or do not;
nor whether what they do know be truth or not,
provided they can palm a thing off for truth.
But they who are being regenerated
think much about doctrine and life,
because they think much about eternal salvation;
and therefore if truth be deficient with them,
as it is the subject of their thought and affection,
they grieve at heart.
The state of the one and of the other may be seen from this:
While a person is in the body
he is living as to his spirit in heaven,
and as to his body in the world;
for he is born into both, and has been so created
that as to his spirit he can be actually with the angels,
and at the same time with men by means of what is of the body.
But as there are few who believe
that they have a spirit which is to live after death,
there are few who are being regenerated.
To those who believe it,
the other life is the whole of their thought and affection,
and the world is nothing in comparison;
but to those who do not believe it,
the world is the whole of their thought and affection,
and the other life is in comparison nothing.
The former are they who can be regenerated,
but the latter are they who cannot.

AC 2675, 2678, 2679 - the first state of those who are being reformed and are becoming spiritual

AC 2675
With those who are becoming spiritual,
good and truth are implanted by the Lord
in the affection of memory-knowledges;
and this so that they desire to know and to learn
what is good and true
for the purpose and use
of becoming rational and of becoming spiritual . . ..
The entering of the Lord like this does indeed flow in with all,
but no others receive it for that end and that use
except those who can be reformed;
the rest do it for other ends and other uses,
which are innumerable,
and have regard to themselves and the world.

AC 2678
. . .  the first state of those who are being reformed
and are becoming spiritual . . .
is that they suppose they do good and think truth from themselves,
thus from what is their own, nor do they then know otherwise;
and when told that all good and truth are from the Lord
they do not indeed reject it,
but do not acknowledge it at heart,
because they do not feel it, nor interiorly perceive
that anything flows in from any other source than themselves.
As all who are being reformed are in such a state at first,
they are therefore left by the Lord in what is their own;
nevertheless they are led by means of this without knowing it.

AC 2679
. . . all things
even the least with a person
are foreseen by the Lord,
and are provided for his future state to eternity;
and this for his good insofar as is in any wise possible,
and as he suffers himself to be led by the Lord.

SD 3686 - among good spirits and angels

SD 3686
. . . their life after death is in this respect
extremely similar to their life in the body,
that they see each other, that they are in societies,
that they dwell together, speak together,
that they communicate their ideas and their happinesses,
and indeed they then speak more wisely
than can ever be described,
and with an indefinable feeling of enjoyment.

AC 2665 - very simply, how the Divine & Human united

AC 2665
 . . . Divine truth was the means of which He united the Human to the Divine;
and Divine good was the means of which He united the Divine to the Human;
which unition was reciprocal.

AC 2661 - When the Lord knew He would have to come into the world as a man

AC 2661 [2]
The Lord did not come into the world to save the celestial, but the spiritual.
The Most Ancient Church, called "Man," was celestial;
and if this church had remained in its integrity,
the Lord would have had no need to be born a man.
But as soon as this church began to decline,
the Lord foresaw that the celestial church would wholly perish from the world;
and on that account the prediction was then made
concerning the Lord's coming into the world (Gen. 3:15).
After the time of that church there was no longer a celestial church,
but a spiritual church;
for the Ancient Church which was after the flood was a spiritual church;
and this church, that is, those who were of the spiritual church,
could not have been saved unless the Lord had come into the world.
This is meant by the Lord's words in Matthew:

They that are well have no need of a physician,
but they that are sick;
I came not to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance.
(Matthew 9:12-13)

Also by these words in John:

And other sheep I have which are not of this fold;
them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice,
and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
(John 10:16)

Also by the parable of the hundred sheep, in Matt. 18:11-13.

SD 3687 - love

SD 3687
It was perceived . . .
that it is love alone which . . . is ever the grand determining principle;
to whom love is wanting,
everything appears erratic, vague, confused, and obscure.
Wherefore the Lord alone,
who is love, and from whom is mercy,
determines all things, and according to the differences of love
he disposes societies, and so heaven and heavenly things.
(October 25, 1748)

AC 2657 - Cast out this handmaid and her son. (Genesis 21:10)

AC 2657
[2] With every person who is being regenerated there are two rationals,
one before regeneration, the other after regeneration.
The first, which is before regeneration,
is procured through the experience of the senses,
by reflections upon things of civic life and of moral life,
and by means of the sciences
and the reasonings derived from them and by means of them,
also by means of the knowledges of spiritual things
from the doctrine of faith or from the Word.
But these go no further at that time
than a little above the ideas of the corporeal memory,
which comparatively are quite material . . .

[3] But the rational after regeneration
is formed by the Lord through the affections of spiritual truth and good,
which affections are implanted by the Lord in a wonderful manner
in the truths of the former rational;
and those things in it which are in agreement
and which favor are thus vivified;
but the rest are separated from it as of no use . . ..
.
[5] But as examples aid conviction,
take as an example that which is a person's own before regeneration,
and that which is his own after it.
From the first rational,
which he has procured to himself by the means described above,
the person believes that he thinks truth and does good from himself,
and thus from what is his own.
This first rational cannot apprehend otherwise,
even if it has been instructed
that all the good of love and all the truth of faith are from the Lord.
But when a person is being regenerated,
which takes place in adult age,
then from the other rational with which he is gifted by the Lord
he begins to think that the good and truth are not from himself,
or from what is his own,
but from the Lord
(but that nevertheless he does good and thinks truth as from himself . . .).
The more he is then confirmed in this,
the more is he led into the light of truth respecting these things,
till at last he believes that all good and all truth are from the Lord.
The Own that belongs to the former rational is then successively separated,
and the persoan is gifted by the Lord with a heavenly Own,
which becomes that of his new rational.

[7] But be it known that although a person is being regenerated,
still each and all things of the first rational remain with him,
and are merely separated from the second rational,
and this in a most wonderful manner by the Lord.
But the Lord wholly banished His first rational,
so that nothing of it remained;
for what is merely human cannot be together with the Divine.
So He was no longer the son of Mary,
but was Jehovah as to each essence.

SD 3636 - concerning the rainbow

SD 3636
There appeared to me very beautiful rainbows,
as on former occasions, but still more beautiful,
with a light of the purest white,
in the center of which was an obscure earthy something;
but that most lucid snow-white appearance
was beautifully varied by another lucidity,
and was thus distinguished also by little yellowish points like small stars,
besides other beautiful variations,
and, if I rightly recollect,
with flowers of different colors round about,
and entering into the most lucid part.
This was exhibited before the left eye.
On the right were exceedingly beautiful representations,
distinguished by the blue and its various related colors,
because the right eye represents affections,
and they derive colors not from a white lucidity,
but from that which is flamy. 
(October 21. 1748)

Luke 11:27, 28

But Jesus said,
Blessed are they 
that hear the Word of God,
and keep it.
(Luke 11:27,28)

(How often do we forget that these words aren't just made up by the minister,
but were actually said by the Lord Himself?)

AC 2632 - the purification of the rational

AC 2632 [2]
The Lord's first rational was born in the way it is with others,
that is to say, by means of facts and cognitions.
. . . Because it was born, as with others,
by means of facts and cognitions,
thus by the external way, which is that of the senses,
this rational inevitably included many things that were worldly in origin,
for it is from those things
that the ideas which the rational possesses are acquired.
This was even more so the case with the Lord
on account of the heredity He had from the mother.
It was those worldly things and this heredity
which the Lord gradually cast out of His rational
until it was such that it was able to receive the Divine.
At this point the Lord's Divine Rational,
represented by 'Isaac', was born,
not indeed by the external way, which is that of the senses
 - as was the case with the previous rational -
but by the internal way from the Divine itself.
As this was not accomplished all at once but gradually,
the rational was purified, and constantly so.
It is this purification that is meant by
'Abraham circumcised his son, a son eight days old'.
That the Lord gradually made His Rational Divine
and purified it constantly . . .

Jesus said, Father, glorify Your name.
A voice therefore came from heaven,
I have both glorified it,
and will glorify it again.
(John 12: 28)

'Glorifying' is making Divine, see 1603, 1999.

precept
1: a command or principle intended especially as a general rule of action

2: an order issued by legally constituted authority to a subordinate official
(Wikipedia)
cognitions
things we come to know, worldly knowledges

SD 3619 - foul and filthy water

SD 3619
. . . foul and filthy water
corresponds to that state in which a person is
when he acts on account of his own glory and renown.
(October 20< 1748)

SD 3617 - the fruits of faith in the next life

SD 3617
. . . in the other life
good works or the fruits of faith pre-eminently* exist; 
that, for instance, there could be no felicity in simple repose. . ..
Such a life would be without use or end,
and therefore not an active life,
which is a life of love;
but they there pre-eminently show forth good works or the fruits of faith,
as they perceive nothing more blessed
than to gather spirits from the life of the body,
to inform and teach them,
also to revive those who are at the point of death . . .
then that they may minister to people
and control the spirits that are with them,
and prevent their going beyond proper bounds,
and also that they may inspire good into people;
lastly that they may resuscitate the dead.
In these things [good spirits] have their highest felicity from the Lord,
thus also heaven and the angels,
so that they love the neighbor better than themselves
thus they are images of the Lord.
(October 19, 1748)

*pre·em·i·nent or pre-em·i·nent (pr - m -n nt). adj.
Superior to or notable above all others; outstanding.
(FreeDictionary.com)

AC 2625 - here and there

AC 2625
There are two things which while person lives in the world
appear to be essential, because they are proper to nature,
namely, space and time.
So to live in space and time is to live in the world or in nature.
But in the other life these two things are of no consequence. 
In the world of spirits indeed they do appear to be of some consequence,
for the reason that spirits fresh from the body
still retain the idea of natural things;
yet it is not long before they perceive
that there is no space and time there,
but state instead;
and that in the other life states correspond to spaces and times in nature . . ..

From this anyone can see what kind of an idea a person may have,
while in the world or in nature,
respecting the things of the other life and many arcana of faith;
namely, that he is not willing to believe them
until he understands them by means of the things in the world,
indeed, by sensuous things;
for he must needs suppose
that if he were to put off the idea of space and time,
and still more space and time themselves,
he would become absolutely nothing;
and thus that he would have nothing left from which he could feel and think,
except something confused and incomprehensible;
when yet the case is exactly the reverse.
Angelic life is of such a nature as to be the wisest and happiest of all.

SD 3602 - objections to the knowledges of faith

SD 3602
. . . no objections (of this kind) ought to be formed,
because they are doubts and denials;
for a thousand books may be filled with objections.
Consequently confirmations out to be assumed,
which are insinuated.
Such are those in heaven,
that they love only confirming things,
and reject objections.
(October 17, 1748)

AC 2618 - we cannot know everything

AC 2618
As regards the state of unition
of the Lord's Divine spiritual in His Divine celestial,
this is the very marriage itself of good and truth,
from which comes the heavenly marriage;
and this marriage is the Lord's kingdom in the heavens and on earth.
For this reason the Lord's kingdom is so frequently in the Word
called a "marriage," and is compared to a marriage.
The reason (a secret one) is that all conjugial love
(and through this all celestial and spiritual love)
comes from the marriage of Divine good and truth,
and of Divine truth and good, in the Lord.
What further arcana are enfolded in these words:
that "Jehovah visited Sarah as He had said,"
and that "Jehovah did unto Sarah as He had spoken,"
(Genesis 21:1) cannot be declared, because they are inexpressible;
for they comprise the very state itself
of the union of the Lord's Divine with His Human.
Appearances of this are presented by the Lord
before the angels by means of heavenly lights,
and are illustrated by means of indescribable representations;
but they cannot be presented before men,
because it would have to be done by means of such things
as belong to the light of the world,
into which such arcana do not fall;
 Indeed a description that relies on such things
makes them all the more obscure.

AC 2606-2607 - the Word of the Old Testament

AC 2606-2607
The Word of the Old Testament
was formerly called the "Law and the Prophets."
By the "Law" were meant all the historical books,
which are the five books of Moses,
(Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)
and those of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings:
by the "Prophets" were meant all the prophetical books,
which are those of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel,
Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum,
Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zephaniah, Malachi;
and also the Psalms of David.
The historical books of the Word are also called "Moses;"
so it is occasionally said, "Moses and the Prophets,"
instead of the "Law and the Prophets;"
and the prophetical books are called "Elias" . . ..

As regards the historicals they are all historically true,
except those in the first chapters of Genesis,
which are made up history . . ..
Yet although they are historically true,
they nevertheless have an internal sense;
and in that sense, like the propheticals, treat solely of the Lord.
They do indeed treat of heaven and the church,
and of what belongs to heaven and the church,
but as these are of the Lord,
through these the historicals look to the Lord,
and therefore are the Word. 

SD 3576 - ends, uses, the universe and the Lord

SD 3576
. . . no idea is to be had of use except from effects.
And as uses and ends can never exist 
but from organic substances,
and because uses and ends are the vital principles 
of organic substances,
it consequently appears that the Universe,
as to its contents, from the inmost to the outmost, is organic,
and that the Lord alone is Life,
and thus the Universe is filled by the Lord.
(October 15, 1748)

AC 2606 - the Lord

AC 2606
. . . the Lord from on high sees each and all things.

AC 2588 - order, enlightenment

AC 2588 [8]
. . . when we do that which is according to order
we are enlightened;
but when we do that which is contrary to order,
we are made blind.
All of which shows of how great concern it is
that truths should be known and believed;
for a person is enlightened by truths,
but is made blind by falsities.
By truths there is opened to the rational
an immense and almost unbounded field;
but by falsities comparatively none at all,
although this does not appear to be so.
It is because the angels are in truths
that they enjoy wisdom so great;
for truth is the very light of heaven.

SD 3530 - mutual love

That Mutual Love in Heaven
is to Love the Neighbor Better than One's Self
SD 3530
This may be seen in shadow from true conjugial love,
in that a husband loves his partner better than himself;
that he will undergo death for her;
that he will lay out upon her all his goods;
that he will give to her rather than [take for] himself.
So also from the love of parents towards their children,
as it is known to everyone,
that a mother will suffer hunger herself
rather than that her infant shall go without food.
The beasts and birds, in like manner,
are more solicitous for their offspring than for themselves.
Thus too from true friendships,
when one will die for his friend,
and will serve him in every way before himself.
So likewise from common civility,
which draws its origin from this source,
and in which mutual love is externally indicated
by giving better portions, dishes, etc., to another,
and taking the poorer to one's self.
And finally from deposits and loans,
when those that are upright will guard and preserve
what belongs to their neighbor
more carefully than they do what is their own.
The same thing appears from the nature of love,
which is such that it wishes to give itself to others,
and its joy is to serve another and not itself . . ..
But they cannot receive this who love themselves supremely,
or who are greedy of lucre, least of all the avaricious.
Thus is the Lord [in His love] shadowed forth.
[October 10, 1748]

AC 2584 - from wisdom? or from folly?

AC 2584 [3]
. . . the quality of the doctrine of faith
. . .when it is regarded from Divine truths,
that is, from the Word,
then each and all things,
of both reason and memory,
confirm it;
but this is not the case when it is regarded from human things,
that is, from reason and memory-knowledges;
for then nothing of good and nothing of truth is conceived;
for to regard it from the Word
is to regard it from the Lord,
whereas to regard it from reason and memory-knowledge
is to regard it from man.
From the former comes all intelligence and wisdom;
from the latter all insanity and folly.

SD 3525 - two angels

SD 3525
I was instructed that with every person
there are two angelic spirits at his head,
by whom the Lord protects a person,
whose office it is to moderate and control
the evil spirits who approach him,
besides various other things
pertaining to a person's truth and good.
. . . Thus, too, with the dead who are to be resuscitated,
there are always two angels.
(October 10, 1748)

AC2574 - how precious to angels

AC 2574 [3]
. . . there are angels who, while they were people,
formed ideas of the Lord's Human 
as they did of that of any other person.
In order that these angels may exist together 
with celestial angels in the next life
 - for in that life, 
ideas inspired by an affection for good join people together -
such erroneous ideas as they have had about the Lord
are dispelled by means of the internal sense,
and in this way they are perfected.
This shows how precious to angels
those things are within the internal sense of the Word,
though they may perhaps seem of small importance
 to a person whose idea of such things is so obscure
as to be scarcely any idea at all.