thoughts of his mind, to be associated with the angels, and thus in
respect to his spiritual or internal man to be conjoined with them.
That there might be such a conjunction of heaven with man the Word
was written wholly by correspondences, each thing and all things in
it being correspondent.{1} If man, therefore, had a knowledge of
correspondences he would understand the spiritual sense of the Word,
and from that it would be given him to know arcana of which he sees
nothing in the sense of the letter. For there is a literal sense and
there is a spiritual sense in the Word, the literal sense made up of
such things as are in the world, and the spiritual sense of such
things as are in heaven. And such a Word, in which everything down to
the least jot is a correspondence, was given to men because the
conjunction of heaven with the world is effected by means of
correspondences.{2}

{Footnote 1} The Word was written wholly by correspondences (n.
8615). By means, of the Word man has conjunction with heaven
(n. 2899, 6943, 9396, 9400, 9401, 10375, 10452).

{Footnote 2} Concerning the spiritual sense of the Word see the
little work on The White Horse referred to in the Apocalypse.

115. I have been taught from heaven that the most ancient men on our
earth, who were celestial men, thought from correspondences
themselves, the natural things of the world before their eyes serving
them as means of thinking in this way; and that they could be in
fellowship with angels and talk with them because they so thought,
and that thus through them heaven was conjoined to the world. For
this reason that period was called the Golden Age, of which it is
said by ancient writers that the inhabitants of heaven dwelt with men
and associated with them as friends with friends. But after this
there followed a period when men thought, not from correspondences
themselves, but from a knowledge of correspondences, and there was
then also a conjunction of heaven with man, but less intimate. This
period was called the Silver Age. After this there followed men who
had a knowledge of correspondences but did not think from that
knowledge, because they were in natural good, and not, like those
before them in spiritual good. This period was called the Copper Age.
After this man gradually became external, and finally corporeal, and
then the knowledge of correspondences was wholly lost, and with it a
knowledge of heaven and of the many things perta