aturally from their very thoughts, and this so easily that the
thought puts itself forth, as it were, and the hand never hesitates
in the choice of a word, because both the words they speak and those
they write correspond to the ideas of their thought; and all
correspondence is natural and spontaneous. There are also writings in
the heavens that exist without the aid of the hand, from mere
correspondence with the thoughts; but these are not permanent.

263. I have also seen writings from heaven made up of mere numbers
set down in order and in a series, just as in writings made up of
letters and words; and I have been taught that this writing is from
the inmost heaven, and that their heavenly writing (spoken of above,
n. 260, 261), when the thought from it flows down, is set forth
before the angels of the lower heavens in numbers, and that this
numerical writing likewise involves arcana, some of which can neither
be comprehended by thought nor expressed by words. For all numbers
correspond, and have a meaning, the same as words do, in accordance
with the correspondence;{1} yet with the difference that in numbers
generals are involved, and in words particulars; and as one general
involves innumerable particulars, so more arcana are involved in
numerical writing than in literal writing. From this I could see that
in the Word numbers as well as words signify things. What the simple
numbers signify, as 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, and what the
compound numbers, as 20, 30, 50, 70, 100, 144, 1000, 10,000, 12,000,
and others, may be seen in the Arcana Celestia, where they are
treated of. In this writing in heaven, a number is always prefixed on
which those following in a series depend as on their subject; for
that number is as it were an index to the matter treated of, and from
it is the determination of the numbers that follow to the particular
point.

{Footnote 1} All numbers in the Word signify things (n. 482,
487, 647, 648, 755, 813, 1963, 1988, 2075, 2252, 3252, 4264,
6470, 6175, 9488, 9659, 10217, 10253). Shown from heaven (n.
4495, 5265). Composite numbers have the same signification as
the simple numbers from which they result by multiplication (n.
5291, 5335, 5708, 7973). The most ancient people possessed
heavenly arcana expressed in numbers forming a kind of
computation of states of the church (n. 575).

264. Those who know nothing about heaven, and who are unwilling to
have any other idea o