4717. 'And a man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field' means that they had fallen away from general truth known to the Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'wandering in the field' as falling away from general truth known to the Church; for 'a field' means the Church as regards good, 2971, 3196, 3766, and 'a man of the field' means the good of life that has its origin in matters of doctrine, 3310. The word 'men' (vir) is used because 'a man' means the truth which the Church possesses, 3134. People are said to fall away from general truth known to the Church when they acknowledge the Lord but not the Divinity of His Human, and also when they acknowledge faith, not charity, as that which is essential. Each of these - the Lord's Divine Human, and charity - is a general truth known to the Church, and when a member of the Church departs from either one he falls away from general truth. Anyone who falls away from this goes on to fall away from specific truths, which are the subject in what follows. For example, anyone who begins with a false assumption, and makes deductions on the basis of that assumption, thereby produces false ideas; for the basic assumption reigns in all his deductions, and these serve to corroborate the false assumption.
