282. It would have been possible for the Lord to heal the understanding in every man, and so cause him to think not evil but good, and this by means of fears of various kinds, by miracles, by conversations with the dead, and by visions and dreams. But to heal the understanding alone is to heal man outwardly only; for the understanding with its thought is the external of man's life, while the will with its affection is the internal of his life. Therefore, the healing of the understanding alone would be like palliative healing, by which the interior malignity, shut in and prevented from coming out, would destroy first the near and then the remote parts till the whole would become mortified. It is the will itself that must be healed, not by means of an influx into it of the understanding, for that is not possible, but by means of instruction and exhortation by the understanding. If the understanding alone were healed man would become like a dead body embalmed, or covered over with fragrant spices and roses, which would soon draw from the body such a foul odour that they could not be brought near anyone's nostrils. So would it be with heavenly truths in the understanding if the evil love of the will were denied outlet.