he spiritual, which is from God, in fixing the
things which flow in unceasingly into nature.

345. (5) This is effected by the lowest spiritual separated from what is
above it. It was shown in Part Third that the spiritual flows down from
its sun even to the outmosts of nature through three degrees, which are
called the celestial, the spiritual, and the natural; that these three
degrees are in man from creation, consequently from birth; that they are
opened according to man's life; that if the celestial degree which is the
highest and inmost is opened, man becomes celestial; if the spiritual
degree which is the middle is opened, he becomes spiritual; but if only
the natural degree which is the lowest and outermost is opened, he becomes
natural; that if man becomes natural only, he loves only corporeal and
worldly things; and that so far as he loves these, so far he does not love
celestial and spiritual things, and does not look to God, and so far he
becomes evil. From all this it is evident that the lowest spiritual, which
is called the spiritual-natural, can be separated from its higher degrees,
and is separated in such men as hell consists of. This lowest spiritual
can separate itself from its higher parts, and look to hell, in men only;
it cannot be so separated in beasts, or in soils. From which it follows
that these evil uses mentioned above are effected on the earth by this
lowest spiritual separated from what is above it, such as it is in those
who are in hell. That the noxious things on the earth have their origin
in man, thus from hell, may be shown by the state of the land of Canaan,
as described in the Word; in that when the children of Israel lived
according to the commandments, the earth yielded its increase, likewise
the flocks and herds; but when they lived contrary to the commandments the
ground was barren, and as it is said, accursed; instead of harvests it
yielded thorns and briars, the flocks and herds miscarried, and wild
beasts broke in. The same may be inferred from the locusts, frogs, and
lice in Egypt.

346. (6) There are two forms into which the operation by influx takes
place, the vegetable and the animal form. That there are only two
universal forms produced out of the earth is known from the two kingdoms
of nature, called the animal and the vegetable kingdoms, also that all
the subjects of either kingdom possess many things in common. Thus the
subjects of the animal kingdom have organs of sen