AC 7068 - Bending and Bowing

AC 7068

And they bent themselves and bowed themselves down.
(Exodus 4:31

That this signifies humiliation,
is evident from the signification of
"bending themselves and bowing themselves down,"
as being the effect of humiliation;
but that "bending themselves"
denotes exterior humiliation,
and is that of those who are in truth;
and that "bowing themselves down"
denotes interior humiliation,
and is that of those who are in good . . ..
That this is so, has often been made plain
from those who are in truth
and those who are in good;
those who are in truth are as it were rigid,
and stand erect as if they were hard;
and when they ought to humble themselves
before the Divine,
they only bend the body a little;
but those who are in good
are as it were soft,
and when they humble themselves before the Divine,
they bow themselves down to the earth.
For truth without good is quite rigid,
and when it looks to good as the end,
this rigidity begins to soften;
but good is in itself soft,
and the truth which is being instilled,
as it becomes good there, also grows soft.
The reason is
that truth cannot be ordered
in the heavenly form except by good;
hence it is in itself hard;
for the heavenly form is most free
and makes no resistance;
and from this the good
with which truth has been rightly ordered is like it;
and as above said is soft.