CHAPTER XVI

Delights correspond to odours, and the perception of them corresponds to the sense of smell

393.

Every particular delight corresponds to an odour, and in the spiritual world can be converted into it, and then the general delight in heaven is sensibly perceived as the odour of a garden, with variety according to the fragrances there from the flowers and fruits. (DP 304)

All people have some form of perception

394. The word "perception" is used in the Writings with a range of meanings from mere mental awareness to the Lord's experience of Divine influx during His life on earth.

395. The lowest perception is what every man has, for

there is with every man a capacity of perceiving whether a thing is so or is not so. The capacity of drawing a conclusion within himself, or in his own mind, causes a thing to be perceived. This capacity is quite impossible unless there is influx from the spiritual world…the perception which exists with every man is of worldly things but not at the present day with any one of spiritual things. (AC 5937)

all the good with those who are of the spiritual church is acquired by means of truth, since without truth which is of faith they do not know what spiritual truth is, nor what spiritual good is. They are capable indeed of knowing civil truth, also moral truth, and their goods, because these harmonize with things which are in the world, from which also they have their perception. (AC 7977) (emphasis added)

396. In the next life, even the evil have perception through communication with heaven by means of cognitions of truth and good, but only until these knowledges have been taken away by the processes of vastation.

With spiritual people perception takes the form of conscience

397.Although lacking the higher forms of perception, spiritual men are not devoid of assistance, for they have conscience (AC 104):

which is also a kind of perception…but not from the good which flows in but from the truth which, according to the holy quality of man's worship, has been implanted in the Rational from infancy, and afterwards confirmed; this alone in such a case they suppose to be good. Hence conscience is a species of perception, but…arising from truth of such a nature. (AC 2144)

With celestial people perception is more excellent than can be described

398. The perception of celestial people was of an entirely different nature from the conscience that exists with the spiritual. It is difficult for us to understand celestial perception because it perished from this world when the Most Ancient Church was consummated. However, the Lord clearly expects us to know something about it, for many passages in the Writings comment upon it. Perhaps one of the most useful for our present purposes is AC 521 where we read:

To those who learn by perception the Lord grants to know what is good and true by an inward way; but to those who learn from doctrine, knowledge is given by an external way, or that of the bodily senses; and the difference is like that between light and darkness. Consider also that the perceptions of the celestial man are such as to admit of no description, for they enter into the most minute and particular things, with all variety according to states and circumstances.

The angels of the third or inmost heaven have perception; the angels of the second and the ultimate heaven have enlightenment of the understanding: they are distinguished by this, that perception is full confirmation from influx from the Lord, but enlightenment of the understanding is spiritual sight. Those have the latter who are in charity towards the neighbor and thence in faith; but those have perception who are in love to the Lord. (What perception is may be further seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 135-140.)

399. Three kinds of awareness, which could be called three kinds of perception, have been noted. These are only the most general kinds, for the varieties in heaven are innumerable. In the next life there is yet another kind that belongs to all, "to angels in the highest perfection, and to spirits according to their respective qualities" (AC 1383, see also AC 1388). This form of perception is the ability to know the quality of another on his first approach. It is a result of the particular and characteristic sphere which emanates from each spirit or angel. The ability to become aware of and to assess this sphere enables one to know the quality of another who is approaching. The presence of spheres makes this kind of perception not only possible, but perhaps even inevitable, making spheres an important part of future life. AC 1504 shows that information about spheres may be deduced from the occurrence of this form of perception. It is explained as follows:

It has already been said that it is known in the other life what another is on his first approach, even though he does not speak. From this it may be known that a man's interiors are in a kind of unconscious activity, and that from this the quality of the spirit is perceived. That it is so has been evidenced by the fact that this sphere of the activity not only extends itself to a distance, but that sometimes also, when the Lord permits, it is in various ways made perceptible to the senses.

The perception of personal qualities in the other life is often an awareness of odour

400. Having been informed about the generation of personal spheres by spirits and angels we learn next that such spheres are "made susceptible to sense by odours, which spirits smell," for "odours correspond to spheres" (AC 1514). When it pleases the Lord (which is often (AC 5621)), the spheres of approaching spirits are turned into odours (AC 4626). Even the way the references are listed in this number shows the relationship between spheres, perceptions and odours, for we have the sequence "concerning spheres…concerning perception…and concerning the consequent odours." This indicates that odours are the result of the perception of the spheres of approaching spirits. However, it is probably wise not to subscribe too exclusively to this view, for although it is said very definitely that the sense of smell corresponds to perception, it does not appear to be stated categorically that it corresponds only to the perception of personal spheres, rather than to the other kind, namely, angelic perception. The general delight in heaven referred to above (No. 393; DP 304) may correspond to fragrance produced by the harmonious spheres of the angels, but it can also be a perception of blessings flowing in from the Lord. Indeed, when we read that fragrance corresponds to a pleasing perception like that of truth from good (AC 4748:2), we realize that there may be factors common to both kinds of perception. For example, when the ability to recognize genuine truth is the result of being turned towards the Lord and loving Him. The angel with this ability will surely be keenly aware of the truth "reflected" by another and he will know the extent to which such truth is joined with good (as well as many other details). These considerations, however, do not diminish the distinction between the two kinds of perception, and it is clear that there is often considerable difference between the two. It is thus with spirits who have the second but not the first of the two kinds of
perception mentioned in AC 1383, that is, angelic perception and common perception, respectively.

Awareness of odour reflects the condition of the observer

401. We have just seen that spheres are turned into odours when it pleases the Lord. This seems, at first, like an interference in the normal processes by which spheres manifest themselves, for one tends to imagine that the sphere would have an appropriate odour all the time. We often think in this way about earthly odours, confusing our own sensation with the objective reality. The objective things which I have been rash enough to call reality are various molecules floating about in the air. They can be recognized and measured by chemical and/or physical tests and instruments that give reproducible results which are independent of the sensitivity of the human who observes the instrument. But it cannot be said that there is an odour unless someone can smell it. Thus odour is the response of the living subject. This concept is explained particularly clearly in DLW 41. These ideas make it easy to understand how spheres can be changed into odours without the sphere itself being changed. It
is a matter related to the condition and awareness of the observer (a contingency that often occurs in this life).

402. The dependence of the perception of natural odours on the state of the individual extends even to the effect on the ambient level of the odours. Everyone can confirm for himself that his sense of smell very quickly becomes exhausted, or accustomed to the prevailing level; providing irritation is not also present and providing the level is not being changed by the movement of the air. How long can you continue to sniff a rose and enjoy its scent? When you come home to a house that has been closed you can probably notice an odour if you think about it at the time, but your awareness of it will vanish probably in a few seconds. Thus it is easy to accept that evil spirits are not sensibly aware of the foul odours corresponding to their evil delights until a change due to the approach of a heavenly sphere is noticed. Even those in heaven are not aware of the odours corresponding to their delights, as we read in DP 304:

These delights, because they constitute the life of every one in particular, and of all in general, are not sensibly perceived by those who are in them, but their opposites are sensibly perceived when they come near, especially when they are turned into odours, for every particular delight corresponds to an odour, and in the spiritual world can be converted into it; and then the general delight in heaven is sensibly perceived as the odour of a garden, with variety according to the fragrances there from the flowers and fruits.

Different types of perception are illustrated by correspondences of the nose and of the bronchia

403. We are now in a position to consider what would earlier have appeared as an anomaly: Having read that the organ of the sense of smell corresponds to perception, we next remember that "the branches of the bronchia of the lungs [correspond] to perceptions and thoughts" (DLW 405). Nasal passages and bronchia both belong to the same continuous air ducts and may therefore be regarded as belonging to the same general province. But the perception of an odour is a very different matter from merely inhaling air. The latter is the more essential for the continuance of bodily life. We may therefore think the bronchia correspond to the first, i.e., celestial, type of perception, or to conscience, or to the residues that serve as conscience with the natural man, for these are all means whereby life is received from the Lord. Some details of how the bronchia could be related to perception or conscience or the inflow of life from the Lord were presented above (Nos. 139-141). In these numbers, it was suggested that this kind of perception is the drawing-in of Divine Truth or life from the Lord as the atmosphere is drawn into
the lungs through the bronchia.

404. Such an interpretation leaves us with the nose as corresponding to the perception of the quality of other spirits and angels. This does not exclude a perception of general or composite spheres from many spirits together, nor does it exclude the perception by scent of blessings flowing from the Lord. We may think either of the similarity of breathing and smelling, since it is not too easy to separate them, or of the difference, since they have such different functions. Looking at the question from one point of view and then from the other helps one to appreciate the variety of perceptions (AC 483) and confirms the link between them. The odour of the sphere of a spirit may then be thought of as due to the contamination by the proprium of the inflowing life from the Lord. (A contamination is more or less objectionable as the spirit is less or more regenerated, and not objectionable at all in the case of angels, but still a contamination in the strict sense of the addition of something less pure.)
    With respect to contamination, it is interesting to observe that some of the best scents contain minute traces of substances that smell horrible in larger quantities. It is now some years since it was found that the flavor of good butter is due in part to minute quantities of mercaptans (organic sulphides, smelling like bad eggs, or worse). Mercaptans also contribute to the flavor of cheese.

Correspondences indicate an equivalence between interiors of the nostrils and parts of the brain

405. Those who belong to the province of the sense of smell and of the nostrils are in general perception (AC 4624). "General" can mean "obscure," for in another place we find "conscience is a kind of general dictate, and thus an obscure one" (AC 1919). This suggests that the spirits in question had only an obscure perception. This would agree with their being in the province of the olfactory organ itself which, of course, cannot smell without interpretation by the brain above it. Although these persons relate to the exteriors of the nostrils (AC 4627), the relationship cannot be limited to the skins and cartilage of the nose, for "to these [people] correspond the sense of smell and its organ" (AC 4624). This organ, strictly speaking, is the olfactory mucosa in the nose. See Figure 23. It is interior with respect to the visible nose but it is clearly excluded from "the interiors of the nostrils" treated of in AC 4627:1 and 4627:4.

Olfactory Mucosa (1)

       A sagittal section through the nose just to the right of the median plane and showing the right wall of the right side of the nasal cavity. The superior, middle, and inferior conchae are elevations or protrusions covered with mucous membrane. The conchae are arranged in such a way that the inspired air of breath passes under, over, and between them. The olfactory part of the mucous membrane extends only as far as the superior concha and the opposing surface of the (central) nasal septum. The right olfactory bulb (which is part of the brain, see Figure 16), sends its fibres to the regions just mentioned, and the left bulb to the corresponding structures on its own side. The ethmoid bone is part of the base of the skull, and the plate is called "cribriform" because of its perforations through which the bundles of nerves pass as shown. However, there are about twenty bundles each containing many nerve fibres. They join and re-divide as shown, and it is supposed that interactions can occur. Each bundle is surrounded by extensions of the brain meninges and cerebrospinal fluid.
       With reference to paragraph 417, the olfactory bulb is part of the brain itself, as may be clear from several other figures (eg. Figure 16), and it is within the dura mater and pia mater. These membranes descend around the nerves into the tissues of the nose, though they cannot be conveniently shown here. Obviously the membranes must be much finer here than they are in Figure 15.

Sources: Redrawn from Gardner, Fundamentals of Neurology, fig. 12-5; Clemente, Gray's Anatomy, (CCE) fig. 439; Gardner, Gray and O'Rahilly, Anatomy: A Regional Study of Human Structure, fig. 63-4.

406.

Those however who relate to the interiors of the nostrils are in a more perfect state of perception than those…who relate to their exteriors. Concerning the former I may give the following account. I saw as it were a bath, with long seats or benches, and from it heat exhaled. A woman appeared there who soon vanished into a blackish cloud; and I heard little children saying that they did not desire to be there. Soon afterwards, I observed some angelic choirs, who were sent to me for the purpose of averting the endeavors of certain evil spirits; and then, suddenly, above the front there appeared little apertures, greater or less, through which a beautiful yellow light was shining; and in this light within the apertures I saw some women in a snowy radiance. There afterwards appeared little apertures in a different arrangement, through which the women within were looking out; and again other little apertures through which the light did not so freely pass. (AC 4627)

407. In searching for another meaning for "interiors" we turn again to AC 4627. The female angels were accompanied by little children. Thus three things show that those who related to the interior things of the nostrils were in heaven: (1) a more perfect perception, (2) they were angels and (3) there were little children with them (HH 329, 332). As, therefore, the province of the interior nostrils is in heaven, and as there is a specially close correspondence between heaven and the brain (see Nos. 273-277), we expect correlations between the heavenly province of the interior nostrils and certain parts of the brain.

408. The correspondences of most beauty and interest were not seen until the endeavors of evil spirits had been frustrated. Then little apertures appeared (AC 4627). They remind one irresistibly of the little apertures in the ethmoid bone at the base of the skull. This bone is pierced in about twenty places for the passage of nerve bundles from the olfactory epithelium of the nose. Through them, the brain becomes aware of whatever spheres of odour are drawn into the nostrils. See Figure 24 in which these structures are shown on a much larger scale than in Figure 23. This is like the women looking out of the apertures. However, one cannot be certain of their interpretation, for several other sets of apertures appeared and they are said to be representative rather than correspondential. An aperture is a place where the substance of a wall or partition has been removed to allow something to go through. Hence an aperture may represent communication; the partition, separation and protection. The female angels referred to in this section are accompanied by little children and remind us of the angels who care for little
children (HH 332), although those were in the province of the eyes (HH 333). (We return to this question in a later section.) Protection would be needed for such a community, but not isolation. The two needs can be represented by some kind of partition, with apertures. We are not told what the partitions were like and this may be because there is, or seems to be, no corresponding partition in the physical body. There are indeed other sets of apertures in those structures in the brain that have some connection with the sense of smell, namely, in the anterior and posterior "perforated substances," but in this case the perforations are for the passage of blood vessels and not for nerves.

Olfactory Mucosa (2)

       Schema of olfactory mucosa (on a much larger scale than Figure 23), together with simplified nerve connections in the olfactory bulb. The olfactory receptors are parts of neurons; their axons pass through the perforations in the ethmoid bone as shown on a different scale in the previous figure. Since the axon bundles are each surrounded by the several maters of the brain (see Figure 15), it is easy to understand how the cerebrospi-nal fluid can reach the tissue spaces of the nasal mucosa. Only two axons are shown in each perforation but they represent bundles containing a large number of axons. Of the several neuron types present in the olfactory lobe, only the mitral cells are shown. All the nerve tissues are in color. The glomerulus is a region mainly of synapses, as indicated in the drawing. Above the olfactory bulbs are the frontal lobes of the cerebrum (not shown).

Source: Gardner, op. cit., figs. 12-24, Anatomy Coloring Book, plate 142.

409. If we think that the representative apertures mean communication, we have a possible interpretation. The nerves from the nose pass through the ethmoid bone, as already mentioned, to end in the olfactory lobe which lies just above. Here the incoming nerve impulses are modified and relayed in a complex way before passing along a band of nerves, the olfactory tract, towards higher centres in the brain (see No. 426). We have three additional sets of apertures to account for and it so happens that the olfactory tract splits into three bands just before making connection with other structures. If a single nerve could correspond with the communication represented by an aperture then an arrangement of apertures could relate to a band of nerves. In the natural brain, the different bands are unequal. One of them is sometimes indistinguishable and sometimes seen as fine striae. This could be the set of apertures through which the light did not so freely pass. Figure 25 shows the olfactory lobes and the associated nerve tissue.

Olfactory lobes and associated nerve tissue

     Anterior parts of the base of the brain (compare Figure 15). They are viewed from below and are drawn to show the olfactory bulbs and tracts in color and to emphasize the olfactory trigone and its striae. The latter are not easily seen in photographs of intact brains, being mere surface marks or slight furrows, but it has been shown that the nerves of the olfactory tract do indeed split into medial and lateral bands. (The band in the center, ie. the intermediate stria, is less clear, although shown plainly in the diagram; perhaps it varies.) On the other hand, the anterior perforated substance, (APS), can easily be seen. It contains neurons which make synaptic connections with those fibres from the olfactory bulb which reach the APS through the lateral stria. The medial stria leads to other parts. The APS is hence part of the primary olfactory cortex which, in turn, is part of the limbic system. (See paragraph 406 and 425 end.)

Sources: Gardner, Fundamentals of Neurology, fig. 7-8; Clemente, Gray's Anatomy (CCE), fig. 350.

  410. It should also be mentioned that we are not concerned with the correspondence of the number three (or four), because we are told only that apertures appeared, then others and others.

A spiritual meaning can be deduced from the representatives related to the interiors of the nostrils

411. We have been shown representatives that can be related to anatomical structures, probably in order that we may know that everything human, even down to the body, lives through correspondence with the Grand Man. The system of correspondences is so well ordered that the causes of the representatives can also be deduced. These causes are the spiritual matters that produced the representatives. Although it is but little that we can see, the impression persists that there would be much more if we had a little more wisdom. The representatives we now wish to interpret are seen from AC 4627 quoted above (n. 406).

412. We cannot help wondering why such strange things were seen (AC 4627) before the correspondences of the interiors of the nostrils were revealed, but a view of the collected significances leads to a possible explanation. The blackish cloud signifies falsities of evil; the little children (signifying innocence) are unwilling to remain; and there is a need for an angelic choir to avert endeavors of evil spirits. All of these things indicate that we are looking for significances of the evil and false in those cases where a heavenly or an opposite meaning would each be possible.

413. A bath from which heat exhaled is mentioned in TCR 834 in respect to some Mohammedans, the heat of whose polygamous love was like the heat in baths after bathing. In CL 344 it is said to be "like the foul heat of a bath."

414. The meaning of seats or benches can be deduced from the meaning of sitting, which pertains to the life of the will or love (AE 687:6). The woman vanishing into a blackish cloud (as we are told later (AC 4627:3)) signified "female ensnarers" who relate to the mucus "which infests the nostrils." She can only correspond to an evil affection such as the lust of falsity from evil (AE 555:17). Black(ness) indicates what is not true (AE 372:1) (or falsity of evil; AE 412:30) and dense and dark clouds, falsities of evil (AE 594:19). Children signify innocence and this meaning is given to "little ones" in AE 624:6 and AC 5608.

415. These meanings suggest the following interpretation. The disorderly conjunction of affections with falsities led to a state of will or love in which the lust of falsity from evil drove away innocence so that perception from heaven could no more occur than a nose blocked with mucus from disease can smell. This vision may well have been given as an indication of the state of mankind at that time. It seems, from many other signs, that Swedenborg himself suffered from the sphere of spirits in that state. Because of this, he could not see the angelic spirits corresponding to the sense of smell and to the interiors of the nostrils until angelic choirs had been sent to disperse the evil spirits. This sad state of affairs leads us to an even more dreary consideration, namely, the possibility that thick mucus of the nose could be derived from the brain. Anatomically this seems to be almost possible, but the subject is presented in some detail below.

There is continuity of fluid spaces between the brain and the nose but it is not a route for excretion

416. The continuity of fluid spaces between the brain and the olfactory epithelium, as well as the possibility of leakage from brain cavities into the nose, has been discussed in a former chapter (Nos. 295-298). In the present context some statements from the Spiritual Diary and Arcana Coelestia should be quoted. In the Diary we read:

There are spirits who relate to the phlegmy or viscous excretions, namely those which are excreted from the brain through the meninges and the fasciculated fibres into the nostrils, as well as through the little glands of the nostrils. (SD 1267)

I was instructed that these are they who constitute the pituitary mucus of the brain which is wont to obstruct…whence arise dullnesses and similar insanities. (SD 1793)

418. The reference to pituitary mucus needs separate consideration. In the Arcana Index "phlegm" is given for "pituita," and the reference is AC 5386, the subject being the correspondence of the pituitary glands of the brain. However, there is no mention of what we now call the pituitary gland or hypophysis cerebri, and it would seem a fair supposition from the subject matter of AC 5386 that in those days pituitary meant merely excretory, or producing phlegm. Although mention is made of phlegmy substances being removed from the brain (in AC 5386), when viscid matters are referred to as being present (AC 5717, 5718 and 5724), the corresponding spirits have relation to disease or anxieties and as we have seen (in SD 1793), "pituitary mucus" in the brain causes "dullness and similar insanities." The natural evidence for this may well have been derived from anatomists of the time who may have found thickened cerebrospinal fluid when they examined diseased brains. A
possible connection between those observations and a diseased state of the Church at the time of the Last Judgement was discussed above (No. 299). It is clear that a viscous fluid in the brain is disorderly, as the above numbers of the Arcana also indicate. Neither here, nor in any other part of the Arcana have I so far been able to find any statement that nasal mucus is derived from the brain. It would appear that there is a difference between the private notes which constitute the Spiritual Diary and the works published by Swedenborg himself. Although we would like to think that the private notes are correct in all respects we must accept that the differences are "of the Lord's Divine Mercy." If some of the statements in the Diary are really incorrect we may be pleased to find them omitted from the works published during Swedenborg's lifetime.

The protecting and cleaning effects of mucus may correspond to spiritual refreshment

419. Even the evil have their uses, and this is illustrated by the functions of mucus. The evil spirits mentioned above (411-414) were presumably those who were cast down and who related to the mucus of the nostrils (AC 4627:3). Mucus itself is merely a secretion, and as such is dead. However, it is here said to "infest" the nostrils. This indicates a disease such as a cold, in which mucus production is increased and many harmful microorganisms are entrapped in the mucus. Such germ-laden mucus would fittingly represent dull and stupid spirits who were also devoid of conscience. As is well known, in a healthy individual the mucus is a useful secretion which serves to moisten the inhaled air, to trap dust, and to keep the linings of the air passages and sinuses moist and healthy. Without it the organs of smell would become parched and useless, hence mucus is essential to the body's economy. In the days before bacteriology it may have been difficult to distinguish between mucus, phlegm, and pus. It may well be that any of the terms used in those days would cover the whole range of secretions from the gentle, bland moisture to the acrid, foul, irritating, germ laden product of dying tissues. If so, the correspondences of mucus could be equally varied, and might include many spirits who, not knowing what conscience is, are nevertheless harmless. At the other extreme would be those who ensnare for evil purposes. The ability to ensnare (AC 4627:3) relates obviously to the properties of mucus in entrapping and removing all kinds of particulate matter, especially dust and germs. How can this function relate to spiritual health? Consider how refreshed one sometimes feels after engaging in some perfectly useless activity that has no connection with conscience. Are not many unhealthy impulses such as aggression or self-pity tangled up with such activities and neutralized, eventually to be removed? Recreation has a similar effect, though different in many respects; it is limited to certain times, for example, whereas protection by mucus is continuous. The unbalanced states corresponding to excessive production or inadequate production consequent upon various diseases might deserve further discussion but need not now detain us.

The development of the sense of smell illustrates the Lord's mercy and power in drawing the animal man upwards to heaven

420. Phlegm in the brain seems to represent the lowest state of man's decline. (It would also be the death of his body.) But from this nadir we may at last begin to ascend, starting again with the strange relationship between the olfactory epithelium and the brain. The continuity of fluid spaces already mentioned (No. 416) is especially interesting because the olfactory nerves do not grow down from the brain, but begin in their own place in the embryo and send their filaments towards the brain. What guides them is not known, but the tiny spaces in their sheaths must become continuous with those of the brain during this development. What can it mean correspondentially?

421. In many animals the sense of smell is much more important than it is in man, so that the ability to smell reminds one of man's animal nature. The growth of the nerves from the nasal organ towards the brain suggests the Lord's power of drawing this animal upwards towards Himself. The subsequent connection of the spaces with those of the brain suggests the subsequent descent of Divine influence. We are reminded that ascent came first in the dream of Jacob's ladder.

422. There is another descent from the higher parts of the brain in the form of nerves which control the olfactory lobe, but this type of control happens with other (all other perhaps) organs too so that the nose is not unique in this respect.

423. We have implied that smelling is closer to our animal nature than (say) seeing. We also know that "to smell" corresponds to "to perceive," and that perception was the characteristic of the Most Ancient Church. Dare we follow the argument as far as to suggest that the men of the MAC were more like animals than we are? Perhaps we dare, for the Writings often point out that animals live in the order in which they were created, whereas man has destroyed the order of his life. Moreover, the permission of the fall cannot have been forced on the Lord by man, and the Lord's coming cannot have been a mere rescue operation to remedy a desperate and unforeseen situation. It was all hidden in the Divine Wisdom for the sake of an end more glorious than the beginning. Thus the wisdom and understanding (sight) of the men of the future church may become more blessed than the perception (smell) of the men of the MAC; for the indications of our present study suggest that
such wisdom would not preclude celestial perception, as sight does not preclude scent.

Correspondences show the kind of relationship there is between perception and understanding

424. We have seen the consanguinity there is between perception and celestial qualities (No. 398), and hence the dependence of perception upon love. There is also the relationship between understanding and wisdom. Now since love and wisdom ought to be united as in a marriage, so perception (related to love) should be joined with understanding (related to wisdom). Correspondences give a clear indication of such a joining, for not only does sight not preclude scent, but it lends it more meaning. When we notice a perfume we usually look for the source. The desire to see suggests that perception leads to a desire to understand. Indeed the perception of the angels relating to olfaction has a close connection with sight, for the apertures that were seen in the world of spirits represented the clearsightedness of the angels who relate to the interiors of
the nostrils. We note also that although the apertures were said to be representative, suggesting that they were not really apertures (as a television system would not be an aperture), nevertheless they were a real means by which the angels could see. The rest of the paragraph (AC 4627:3) contains much about what they saw. The close connection with sight is further shown by the presence of little children, all of whom are in the province of the eyes in the Grand Man (HH 333). Besides this, we are shown (AC 4625) that at least some of those who relate to the nostrils were not of that province as a whole in the Grand Man but of a sub-province "in the society to which I was sent." We later learn (AC 4627:2) that this society was of the province of the eye, for every society of heaven is an image of the whole. The society relating to the eye must therefore include a smaller society relating to the nose, and vice versa.

425. Celestial angels who are in perception are averse to discussing matters of faith. There is so much in the Writings about this that it may come as a surprise to realize the close connection between perception and understanding. We are often told that perception is superior to knowledge derived by an external way. The latter is often called faith, and faith is of the understanding. Thus arises the notion that perception has no need of understanding. However, there are innumerable varieties of perception, and possibly some are more closely related to understanding than others. It may be said that there are some that need very little of the understanding. Some aspects of these subjects elude the natural mind. Many things relating to the celestial are of this class and so appear either incomprehensible or contradictory. The fourth posterity of the MAC (AC 283), for example, had become celestial and thus wise and intelligent (AC 298). Nevertheless, they were not allowed to be instructed in the mysteries of faith. Such apparently contradictory matters can sometimes be resolved with the help of correspondences
which point the way for us who need to visualize. In this instance it is appropriate to introduce something about the limbic system, as it includes parts of the brain that are active in responding to odours. It is also the home of primitive emotions and it generates bodily responses which sometimes contradict the main personality. More realistically, we would say that it is more liable than other parts to the influx of those less noble spirits whose uses are close to the body and who include some that are only too ready to sweep a man off his feet.

The interplay between the limbic system and the cerebrum underlines the conflict in man

426. The anatomy of the limbic system is helpful since it gives a physical basis for many human peculiarities, including the constant struggle to behave as human rather than as animal. The region of the brain that gives the name "limbic" to this system was so called because it forms a sort of border (limbus) to the cerebral cortex where this overlies the brain stem in the region of the temporal lobes. The limbic lobe merges with the cerebral cortex in such a way that it is difficult to define it precisely. There are close links with other brain structures of comparatively primitive type, to produce the limbic system as a whole. Altogether the system has a wide range of responsibilities for maintaining the functions of the body that we usually think of as automatic. These include many movements and bodily responses to fear and anger and pleasure and even possibly something of the emotions themselves. (This need not surprise us because in AC 4947 we find a reference to desire being of the body; it is called "external desire.") The nerves of the olfactory tract (called mammillary processes in earlier times, see No. 296) lead into this border region, which is therefore the part of the brain most closely concerned with the sense of smell, and it forms part of the higher centres mentioned above (No. 408).

427. The limbic system is complicated and its actions are only partly understood. It is closely associated with the cerebral cortex but not entirely dependent upon it, so that experimental animals that have been deprived of the cortex continue many of their instinctive activities by means of the limbic system. From this we may be able to understand in a slight degree how it may be possible to live and feel, and perhaps be conscious with very little activity of the understanding. Perhaps this region predominated with the primitive men "who lived like wild creatures but at length became spiritual men" (AC 286), and with, for example, the fourth posterity of the MAC who were on their way back to the ground from which they were taken.

428. The union between the limbic system and the cortex depends upon whether dendrites from certain groups of neurons make contact with groups in the cortex, and to what degree their activities are enhanced or inhibited. The union is therefore flexible, and capable of being modified. If we accept the usual view that the limbic system is more primitive than the cerebral cortex, and note its great importance in the life of animals, we can imagine that in primitive man it may well have been more important than it is to us. The emotional predominance resulting from activities of the limbic system may not then have been subject to so much cerebral (or intellectual) control as it is in man today. In a state of innocence the emotions would have been of love and joy; with fear and hatred of natural hazards and suffering playing their protective part. As ages passed, the influx from the growing cerebrum (memories and imagination) would arouse intense desires that it might hope to control, but if the
cerebrum were not yet dominant it would submit to the influence of the limbus and the man would relapse into an animal nature no longer innocent.

429. Such a process could have occurred as a result of the fall of the Most Ancient Church, and looking at these ultimates helps us to understand those unhappy beings. For it is astounding that they declined from such a blessed state when they knew the quality of the celestial with them (AC 146). As has been pointed out earlier, these changes were not unforeseen, and there can be no doubt that the Lord intended harmony between the limbic system and the cerebrum. In their freedom, men destroyed the harmony and themselves, but Noah was saved in spite of it all.

430. These changes are relatively recent and even today the situation is not all that different. There are often occasions when the limbic system is powerful, though not necessarily disorderly. These occur for example when certain odours arouse tender memories, delightful emotions, or powerful disgust; the last often in spite of knowing that the odour itself is perfectly harmless. In the last case the understanding (sight) often remains in abeyance, and the feelings (smell) drive one to avoidance. Similar neural mechanisms operate with the opposite result in the attraction of the sexes. These kinds of behavior, which correspond to perception having little relation to understanding, have their counterpart in brain structures which were mentioned above. Thus the correspondences help us to understand a little about the quality of celestial man as well as to recognize the vestiges of that quality remaining in us by heredity.