brought up from the soil by the wood and its bark, and so on. Thus
comparatively, as has been said, the purer senses of the Word are drawn
and called forth from the sense of the letter. (A.E., n. 1084.)

VII. The Sense of the Letter

As there are three senses in the Word, a natural, a spiritual, and a
celestial, and as its natural sense, which is the sense of the letter,
is a containment of the two senses, the spiritual and celestial, it
follows that the sense of the letter of the Word is the basis of those
senses. And as the angels of the three heavens receive their wisdom
from the Lord through the Word that they have, and as their Words make
one with our Word by correspondences, it also follows that the sense of
the letter of our Word is the basis, support, and foundation of the
wisdom of the angels of heaven. For the heavens rest upon the human
race as a house rests upon its foundation; so the wisdom of the angels
of heaven rests in like manner upon the knowledge, intelligence, and
wisdom of men from the sense of the letter of the Word; for, as has been
said above, communication and conjunction with the heavens are effected
through the sense of the letter of the Word. For this reason, as a
result of the Lord's Divine providence, there has been no mutilation of
the sense of the letter of the Word from its first revelation, not even
in a word or letter in the original text; for each word, and in some
measure each letter, is a support.

From all this it is clear what a profanation it is to falsify the truths
and adulterate the goods of the Word, and how infernal it is to deny or
to weaken its holiness. As soon as that is done, for that man of the
church heaven is closed. The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which
cannot be forgiven, is the blasphemy of the Word by those who deny its