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9. That the entire heaven resembles one man, who is therefore called the Grand or Greatest Man (Maximus Homo), and that all things in general and particular in man, both his exteriors and interiors, correspond to that man or to heaven, is an arcanum as yet unknown in the world; but that it is so has been shown in many passagesi. But to constitute that Grand Man, those who come from our Earth into heaven are insufficient, being comparatively few; they must come from many other earths: and it is provided by the Lord that as soon as there is in any part a deficiency in the quality or quantity of the correspondence, those who may supply it shall be immediately summoned from another earth, in order that the proportion may be preserved, and heaven by this means maintain its consistence.
Footnote i: (^)See note f.
10. It has also been disclosed to me from heaven, what the spirits from the planet Mercury have relation to in the Grand Man, namely, that they have relation to the memory, but to the memory of things abstracted from earthly and merely material things. As, however, it has been given me to speak with them, and this for many weeks, and to learn of what character they are, and to examine how the inhabitants of that earth are circumstanced, I wish to adduce the experiences themselves.
11. Some spirits came to me, and it was stated from heaven that they were from the earth nearest to the sun, which on our Earth is called the planet Mercury. Immediately on their coming they sifted out of my memory the things that I knew. This, spirits can do most skilfully, for when they come to a man they see in his memory all the particulars it containsj. While passing in review the various things, and, among others, the cities and places where I had been, I observed that they had no wish to know the temples, palaces, houses, and streets, but only the [pg 6] things I knew to have been done in them, also the things that related to the government there, and to the genius and manners of the inhabitants, and other similar things; for such matters are closely associated with the places in a man's memory, so that when the places are called to mind, these matters also suggest themselves. I was surprised to find them of such a character, and therefore inquired why they disregarded the magnificent objects of the places, and only inquired into the facts and transactions connected with them. They said that they had no delight in regarding material, corporeal, and terrestrial things, but only things that are real. Hence it was proved that the spirits of that earth, in the Grand Man, have relation to the memory of things abstracted from material and terrestrial things.
Footnote j: (^)Spirits enter into all things of man's memory, and do not [insinuate anything] from their own [memory] into the man's, nos. 2488, 5863, 6192, 6193, 6198, 6199, 6214. The angels enter into the affections and ends, from which and for the sake of which a man thinks, wills, and acts in such or such a manner in preference to every other, nos. 1317, 1645, 5844.
12. I was told that the life of the inhabitants of that earth is such, namely, that they do not concern themselves about terrestrial and corporeal things, but only about the statutes, laws, and governments of the nations there; and also about the things of heaven, which are innumerable. I was further informed, that many of the men (homines) of that earth converse with spirits, and that thence they have knowledges respecting spiritual things and the states of life after death, and that thence also they have a contempt for corporeal and terrestrial things; for those who know for a certainty, and believe, that there is a life after death, are concerned about heavenly things, as being eternal and blessed, but not about worldly things, except so far as the necessities of life require. Such being the character of its inhabitants, such also is that of the spirits who are from itk.
Footnote k: (^)The spirits who are with man are in possession of all things of his memory, nos. 5853, 5857, 5859, 5860.
13. How eagerly they search for and imbibe the knowledges of such things as pertain to the memory raised above the sensual things of the body, was made manifest to me from the circumstance that when they looked into the things which I knew respecting heavenly subjects, they ran over them all, and kept on stating the nature of each. For when spirits come to a man, they enter into the whole of his memory, and call forth from it what suits themselves; nay, what I have often observed, they read its contents as from a bookk. These spirits did this more skilfully and quickly, because they did not linger over such matters as are heavy and sluggish, and confine and consequently impede the internal sight, as is the nature of all terrestrial and corporeal things, when regarded as ends, that is, when alone loved; but they devoted their attention to things themselves; for those matters to which terrestrial things do not cling, carry the mind (animus) upwards, and so introduce it into a wide [pg 7] field [of view], whereas merely material things drag the mind (animus) downwards, and thus limit and imprison it. Their eagerness to acquire knowledges and enrich the memory was further evident from the following circumstances: Once, when I was writing something concerning things to come, and they were at a distance, so that they could not look into those things from my memory; because I was unwilling to read them in their presence, they were very indignant, and, contrary to their usual demeanour, they were disposed to inveigh against me, saying that I was the worst of men, and other like things; and, to show their resentment, they caused a kind of contraction, attended with pain, on the right side of my head as far as the ear; but such treatment did me no harm. As, however, they had done evil, they removed themselves to a still greater distance, yet kept stopping, being desirous of knowing what I had written. Such is their eager desire for knowledges.
14. The spirits of Mercury, more than other spirits, possess the knowledges of things, both of those which are within this solar system, and those which are beyond it in the starry heaven; and whatever things they have once acquired they retain, and recollect them as often as similar ones occur. From this also it may manifestly appear that spirits have memory, and that it is much more perfect than that of men; and further, that spirits retain what they hear, see, and apperceive, and especially such matters as they are delighted with, as these spirits are with the knowledges of things; for things that are matters of delight and love flow in as it were spontaneously, and remain; other things do not enter, but only touch the surface and pass by.
15. When the spirits of Mercury come to other societies, they try to discover from them what they know, and when they have ascertained this, they depart. There is also such a communication among spirits, and especially among angels, that when they are in a society, if they are accepted and loved, they communicate or share all they know.l
Footnote l: (^)In the heavens there is a communication of all goods, inasmuch as heavenly love communicates all its possessions to others; and hence the angels derive wisdom and happiness, nos. 549, 550, 1390, 1391, 1399, 10130, 10723.
16. The spirits of Mercury, on account of their knowledges, are more conceited than others; wherefore they were told that, although they know innumerable things, there is yet an infinity of things which they do not know; and that even were the knowledges with them to increase to eternity, they would still be unable to attain to so much as an acquaintance with the generals of all things. They were told that they were conceited and elated of disposition, and that this character is unbecoming; [pg 8] but they replied, that it is not conceit, but only a glorying on account of the capacity of their memory. Thus they have the art of excusing their faults.
17. They are averse to verbal speech, because it is material; wherefore, when I conversed with them without intermediate spirits, I could only do so by a kind of active thought. Their memory, because it is a memory of things, not of purely material images, brings nearer to the thought its proper objects; for the thought, which is above the imagination, requires for its objects things abstracted from those of matter. But notwithstanding that this is the case, the spirits of Mercury excel but little in the faculty of judgment. They take no delight in the things which pertain to judgment and to conclusions from knowledges; for their delight is in the bare knowledges.
18. It was suggested to them, whether they did not wish to make any use of their knowledges; for it is not enough to be delighted with knowledges, because knowledges have respect to uses, and uses ought to be their ends; that from knowledges alone no use results to themselves, but to others with whom they are willing to share or communicate them; and that it is not at all meet for a man who wants to become wise to stand still in knowledges alone, inasmuch as these are only instrumental causes, meant to be serviceable for the investigation of matters which ought to belong to the life. But they replied that they were delighted with knowledges, and that to them knowledges were uses.
19. Some of them, also, wish to appear, not as men, like the spirits of other earths, but as crystalline globes. Their wanting to appear so, although they do not, arises from the circumstance that the knowledges of immaterial things are in the other life represented by crystals.
20. The spirits of Mercury differ entirely from those of our Earth, for the spirits of our Earth concern themselves not so much about [immaterial] things as about worldly, corporeal, and terrestrial things, which are material. For this reason the spirits of Mercury cannot be together with the spirits of our Earth, and therefore wherever they meet them they flee away, for the spiritual spheres that are exhaled from both are almost contrary. The spirits of Mercury have a common saying, that they do not want to look at the sheath, but at things stripped of their sheath, thus at interior things.
21. There appeared a flame of considerable brightness, which blazed cheerfully, and this for about an hour. That flame signified the advent of some spirits of Mercury who, for penetration, thought, and speech, were prompter than those who preceded them. When they were come, they instantly ran over the things that were in my memory, but, owing to their promptness, I was unable to apperceive what they observed. Immediately afterwards, I heard them say that the matter was thus and thus. With regard to the things which I had seen in the heavens and in the world of spirits, they said that they knew them before. I perceived that a multitude of spirits who were consociated with them, was behind, a little to the left, in the plane of the occiput.
22. At another time I saw a multitude of such spirits, but at some little distance from me, in front a little to the right, and they spoke with me from thence, but through intermediate spirits; for their speech is as quick as thought, which does not fall into human speech, except by means of other spirits; and what surprised me, they spoke in a body, and yet as promptly and rapidly as possible. Their speech, being of many together, was apperceived as undulatory, and, what was remarkable, it glided towards my left eye, although they were to the right. The reason was, that the left eye corresponds to the knowledges of things abstracted from material things, thus to such as belong to intelligence, while the right eye corresponds to such as belong to wisdomm. With the same promptness with which they spoke, they perceived the things that they heard, and formed their judgment upon them, saying of one thing that it was so, and of another that it was not so, their judgment being as it were instantaneous.
Footnote m: (^)The eye corresponds to the understanding, because the understanding is the internal sight, and the sight of things immaterial, nos. 2701, 4410, 4526, 9051, 10569. The sight of the left eye corresponds to truths, consequently to intelligence; and the sight of the right eye corresponds to the goods of truth, consequently to wisdom, no. 4410.
23. There was a spirit from another earth, who was well qualified to converse with them, being a prompt and rapid speaker, but who affected elegance in his discourse. They instantly formed their judgment concerning whatever he spoke, saying of one thing that it was too elegantly, of another that it was too learnedly expressed; so that the only thing they attended to was, whether they heard from him anything which was not known to them before, rejecting thereby such things as obscured the subject, which are chiefly affectations of elegance in expression and of erudition; for these hide the things themselves and in their place substitute expressions, which are the material forms of things; on these the speaker keeps his mind (animus) fixed, and wants to draw attention to his expressions rather than their meaning, by which the ears of his auditors are more affected than their minds (mens).
24. The spirits of the earth Mercury do not tarry in one place, or among assemblies of the spirits of one system, but wander through the universe. The reason is that they have reference to the memory of things, which requires to be continually enriched; therefore it is granted them to wander about, and everywhere acquire knowledges. If, while travelling in this manner, they meet with spirits who love material, that is, corporeal and terrestrial things, they shun them, and betake themselves to where they do not hear such things. From this it may appear that their mind (animus) is elevated above sensual things, and thus that they are in interior light (lumen). This it was also given me actually to perceive when they were near me and were speaking with me. I observed then that I was withdrawn from sensual things to such a degree, that the light (lumen) of my eyes began to grow dull and dim.
25. The spirits of that earth go about by companies and phalanxes, and when assembled together they form as it were a globe. They are joined together in this manner by the Lord in order that they may act as a one, and that the knowledges of each may be communicated to all, and the knowledges of all to each, as is the case in heavenl. That they wander through the universe in quest of the knowledges of things, was made manifest to me also from this fact, that once, when they appeared very remote from me, they spoke with me from thence, and said that they were then gathered together, and were going beyond the sphere of this system into the starry heaven, where they knew there were such as had no concern about terrestrial and corporeal things, but about things elevated above them, with whom they desired to be. It was stated that they themselves do not know whither they are going, but that under the Divine auspices they are conveyed to where they may be instructed concerning such things as they had previously been unacquainted with, and which are in agreement with the knowledges they already possess. It was also stated that they do not know how they meet with the companions with whom they are conjoined, and that this also is effected under the Divine auspices.
26. As they journey through the universe in this manner, and are thus enabled to know more than others about the systems and earths beyond the sphere of our solar system, I have spoken with them on this subject also. They said that in the universe there are very many earths, with human beings upon them; and that they wonder at its being supposed by some, whom they called men of little judgment, that the heaven of the Omnipotent God [pg 1] consists only of the spirits and angels who come from one earth, when these are so few that, relatively to the Omnipotence of God, they are scarcely anything, and this would be the case even if there were myriads of systems with myriads of earths. They said, moreover, that they knew of the existence of earths in the universe exceeding in number some hundreds of thousands; and yet what is this to the Divine, who is Infinite!
27. The spirits of Mercury, when they were with me while I was writing and explaining the Word as to its internal sense, and who perceived what I was writing, said that the things which I wrote were very gross, and that almost all the expressions appeared as material. But it was given to reply, that the men of our Earth nevertheless look upon the things that have been written, as subtle and elevated, and that many things they do not understand. I added, that very many on this Earth do not know that it is the internal man that acts on the external, and causes it to live, and that from the fallacies of the senses they persuade themselves that the body has a life of its own, and that in consequence the evil and unbelieving are in doubt as to a life after death. Also, that that in man which is to live after death they do not call the spirit but the soul; and that they dispute about what the soul is and where its abode is, and believe that the material body, although dispersed to all the winds, must be again conjoined to it, in order that man may live as a man; besides many other things of the same kind. When the spirits of Mercury heard these things, they asked whether such men could become angels. To this it was given to answer that those who have lived in the good of faith and charity become angels, and that then they are no longer in external and material things, but in internal and spiritual things; and that when they come into this state, they are in a light superior to that in which the spirits from Mercury are. In order that they might know that this was so, an angel who had come into heaven from our Earth, and who had been such while he lived in the world, was allowed to speak with them; which circumstance will be detailed below [at no. 37].
28. Afterwards there was sent me by the spirits of Mercury a long paper of an irregular shape, consisting of several papers stuck together, which appeared as if printed with types such as are used on this Earth. I asked whether they had such among them; but they said they had not, but that they knew that there were such printed papers on our Earth. They were not willing to say more; but I perceived that they thought that the knowledges on our Earth were on papers, and not so much within the man himself, thus derisively insinuating that the papers, so to speak, knew more than the man. But they were instructed as [pg 2] to the real state of the case. After some time they returned, and sent me another paper, which also appeared printed with types like unto the former one; not, however, like it, stuck together and untidy, but symmetrically shaped and neat: they said they had been further informed that on this Earth there were such papers, and books made of them.
29. From the facts that have now been stated, it clearly appears, that spirits retain in the memory the things that they see and hear in the other life, and that they are equally capable of being instructed as when they were men in the world, consequently, of being instructed in those things that are of faith, and thereby of being perfected. The more interior spirits and angels are, the more promptly and fully do they imbibe, and the more perfectly do they retain [what they hear], and as this [capacity remains] for ever, it is evident that wisdom is continually growing with them. With the spirits of Mercury, the science of things is continually growing, yet not therefore wisdom, because they love knowledges, which are means, but not uses, which are ends.
30. Furthermore, the character of the genius of the spirits who are from the planet Mercury may still further appear from the following facts. It must be known that all spirits and angels without exception were once men, for the human race is the seminary of heaven; and that spirits are altogether such as to their affections and inclinations as they had been when they lived as men in the world, for every one's life follows himn. This being the case, the genius of the men of every earth may be known from the genius of the spirits who are from it.
Footnote n: (^)Every one's life remains with him and follows him after death, nos. 4227, 7440. The externals of life are kept closed after death, and the internals of life are opened, nos. 4314, 5128, 6495. All things in general and particular of thought are then made manifest, nos. 4633, 5128.
31. Since the spirits of Mercury in the Grand Man have relation to the memory of things abstracted from material things, therefore when any one speaks to them of terrestrial, corporeal, and merely worldly things, they are absolutely unwilling to hear; and if they are forced to hear of those things, they transmute them into others, and for the most part into contrary things, so as to avoid them.
32. In order that I might know for certain that such was their genius, it was allowed to represent to them meadows, fallow-lands, gardens, woods, and streams. To represent such things is to exhibit before another in imagination those things which, in the other life, appear to the life. But they instantly transmuted them; they darkened the meadows and fallow-lands, [pg 3] and by representations filled them with snakes; the streams they turned black, so that the water no longer appeared limpid. When I asked why they did so, they said they did not want to think of such things, but of realities, which are the knowledges of things abstracted from terrestrial things, especially of such as exist in the heavens.
33. I afterwards represented to them birds both large and small, such as exist on our Earth; for in the other life such things can be represented to the life. On seeing those birds represented, they at first wanted to change them, but they afterwards were delighted with them, and became quiet; the reason was, that birds signify the knowledges of things, and the perception of this fact then flowed ino; they therefore abstained from transmuting them, and so from turning away the ideas of their memory. Afterwards it was permitted me to represent before them a very pleasant garden full of lamps and lights; they then paused and their attention was fixed, because lamps with lights signify truths (veritates) which shine from goodp. From this it was evident that they could be detained in the consideration of material things, provided only that the signification of those things in the spiritual sense were insinuated at the same time; for the things which belong to the spiritual sense are not abstracted from material things to the same extent, inasmuch as they are representative of these.
Footnote o: (^)Birds signify rational things, intellectual things, thoughts, ideas, and knowledges, nos. 40, 745, 776, 778, 866, 988, 993, 5149, 7441. And this with variety according to the genera and species of the birds, no. 3219.
Footnote p: (^)Lamps with lights signify truths (veritates) which shine from good, nos. 4638, 9548, 9783.
34. Moreover, I spoke with them about sheep and lambs, but they were not willing to hear of such things, because they were perceived by them as terrestrial things; the reason was, that they did not understand what innocence is, which lambs signify; this was apperceived from the circumstance that, on my saying that lambs, when represented in heaven, signify innocenceq, they said that they did not know what innocence was, but only knew it by name: the reason is, that they are affected with knowledges only, but not with uses, which are the ends of knowledges, consequently they are unable to know, from internal perception, what innocence is.
Footnote q: (^)Lambs in heaven, and in the Word, signify innocence, nos. 3994, 7840, 10132.
35. Some of the spirits of the earth Mercury came to me, being sent by others, in order that they might hear what was going on near me. These were told by one of the spirits of our Earth, to tell their [friends] not to speak anything but what was [pg 4] true, and not, as they were wont, to present opposite things to their questioners; for that if any of the spirits of our Earth were to do so, he would be punished. But immediately the company from which those spirits had been sent forth, and which was at a distance, made answer, that if they must be punished on that account, they must all be punished, inasmuch as, from continual practice, they could not do otherwise. They said that when they speak with the men of their own earth, they also do likewise, not, however, with any intention to deceive, but to inspire the desire of knowing; for when they present opposite things, and conceal things in a certain manner, the desire of knowing is excited, and thus from the zeal of exploring those things, the memory is perfected. I also, on another occasion, spoke with them on the same subject, and, as I knew that they spoke with the men of their earth, I asked in what manner they instructed their inhabitants. They said that they do not instruct them fully as to how a matter is, but keep insinuating some apperception of it, in order that from this the desire of exploring and of acquiring knowledge may be nourished and grow; for if they were to answer all their questions, the desire would perish. They added, that they suggest opposites for this reason also, that the truth (veritas) may afterwards appear the better; for all truth appears from relation to its opposites.
36. It is their custom not to tell another what they know, but still they want to learn from all others what is known to them. With their own society, however, they communicate everything, insomuch that what one knows all know, and what all know each one in the society knowsl.
37. Inasmuch as the spirits of Mercury abound in knowledges, they are in a certain kind of conceit; hence they imagine that they know so much that it is almost impossible to know more. But it was told them by the spirits of our Earth, that they do not know much but little, and that the things which they do not know are comparatively infinite; and that the things which they do not know, are, relatively to those they do know, as the waters of the largest ocean to those of a very small fountain; and further, that the first step towards wisdom consists in knowing, acknowledging, and perceiving that what one knows, is, compared with what one does not know, so little as hardly to be anything. In order that they might know that it is so, it was granted that a certain angelic spirit should speak with them, and tell them generally what they knew and what they did not know, and that there were infinite things which they did not know, and that eternity would not suffice for their acquiring even a general knowledge of things. He spoke by means of angelic ideas much more readily than they did, and as he disclosed [pg 5] to them what they knew and what they did not know, they were struck with amazement. Afterwards I saw another angel speaking with them, who appeared at some height towards the right; he was from our Earth. He recounted very many things which they did not know; and afterwards he spoke with them by means of changes of state, which they said they did not understand. He then told them that every change of state, and also every smallest part of such change, contains infinite things. When they heard this, as they had been conceited on account of their knowledges, they began to humble themselves. Their humiliation was represented by the sinking downwards of the compact body (volumen) which they formed (for that company appeared at the time as a compact body, in front towards the left, at a distance, in the plane of the region below the navel); but the compact body appeared as it were hollowed in the middle, and raised at the sides; an alternating motion was also observed therein. They were also told what that signified, that is, what they thought in their humiliation, and that those who appeared elevated at the sides were not as yet in any humiliation; and I saw that the compact body was separated, and that those who were not in humiliation were sent back towards their earth, the rest remaining.
38. There once came some spirits of Mercury to a certain spirit from our Earth, who, during his life in the world, had been most celebrated for his learning,—he was Christian Wolf—desiring to receive information from him on various subjects. But when they perceived that what he said was not elevated above the sensual things of the natural man, because in speaking he thought of honour, and wanted, as in the world (for in the other life every one is like his former self), to connect various things into series, and from these again and continually to deduce others, and so form several chains of such, which they did not see or acknowledge to be true, and which therefore they declared to be chains which neither cohered in themselves nor with the conclusions, and called them the obscurity of authority, they ceased to question him, inquiring only what this was called and what that. And because he answered these questions also by material ideas, and not by any that were spiritual, they departed from him. For in the other life every one speaks spiritually, or by spiritual ideas, so far as in the world he had believed in God; and materially, so far as he had not believed. As an opportunity here offers, I may relate how the case is, in the other life, with the learned who acquire intelligence by their own meditation kindled by the love of knowing truths for the sake of truths, thus for the sake of uses apart from worldly considerations; and how the case is with those who acquire intelligence from others without any meditation of their own, as [pg 6] is the practice of those who desire to know truths merely for the purpose of acquiring a reputation for learning, and of thereby attaining honour or gain in the world, and consequently not for the sake of uses apart from worldly considerations. I may here relate a certain experience concerning men of this character. There was apperceived a certain sound penetrating from beneath near the left side as far as the left ear: I observed that there were spirits who were attempting to force their way there, but I could not ascertain of what character they were. When they had forced their way, however, they spoke with me, saying that they were logicians and metaphysicians, and that they had immersed their thoughts in such [sciences] without any other end than that of acquiring a reputation for learning, and thus of attaining to honours and wealth: they lamented that they now led a miserable life, because they had studied these sciences for no other end, and thus had not cultivated their Rational by means of them. Their speech was slow and muffled. In the meantime there were two conversing above my head, and when I asked who they were, I was told that one of them was of the highest distinction in the learned world, and it was given me to believe that he was Aristotle. Who the other was, was not stated. He was then let into the state in which he had been when he lived in the world, for every one can easily be let into the state of life which he had had in the world, since every state of his life remains with him. I was surprised to find that he applied himself to the right ear, and he spoke there, hoarsely, indeed, but still sensibly. From the purport of what he said I apperceived that he was of quite a different genius from those Schoolmen who first arose, namely, that he hatched what he wrote from his own thought, and from the same source produced his philosophical system, so that the terms which he invented, and applied to subjects of thought, were forms of expression by which he described interior things; also that he was excited to such pursuits by a delight of the affection, and by a desire of knowing the things that belonged to the thought and the understanding; and that he followed obediently whatever his spirit had dictated. This was the reason he applied himself to the right ear, differently from his followers, who are called Schoolmen, and who do not proceed from thought to terms, but from terms to thoughts, thus by a contrary way; and many of them do not even proceed to thoughts, but stick fast entirely in terms, their application of which, when they make any, being to confirm whatever they want to, and to invest falsities with an appearance of truth, according to their eagerness to persuade. Consequently for them philosophy is rather a means of becoming foolish than a means of becoming wise; and therefore they have darkness instead of light. Afterwards, I conversed with him on analytical science, saying that a little child, in half an hour, speaks more philosophically, analytically, [pg 7] and logically, than he could describe in a volume, because all things of human thought and consequently of human speech are analytical, and the laws thereof are from the spiritual world; and that he who wants to think artificially from terms is not unlike a dancer who wants to learn to dance from a knowledge of the motory fibres and muscles; if he were to keep his mind (animus) fixed on that knowledge whilst dancing, he would hardly be able to move a foot, and yet, without that knowledge, he sets in action all the motory fibres that are scattered throughout the whole of his body, and, in due measure, the lungs, diaphragm, sides, arms, neck, and all the other parts, to describe all which volumes would not suffice; and that the case is just like this with those who want to think from terms. He approved of these observations, and said, that if one learns to think in that way one proceeds in inverted order: adding, that if any one wants to be foolish, he has only to proceed in that way; and that one should constantly think of use, and from what is interior. He next showed me what idea he had had of the Supreme Deity. He had represented Him to himself as having a human face, and encompassed about the head with a radiant circle; but he now knew that the Lord is Himself that Man, and that the radiant circle is the Divine [proceeding] from Him, which inflows not only into heaven but also into the universe, disposing and ruling both. He added, that He who disposes and rules heaven, disposes and rules the universe also, because the one cannot be separated from the other. He also said, that he believed in only one God, whose attributes and qualities men distinguished by names as numerous as the gods they worshipped. A woman appeared to me who stretched out her hand, desiring to stroke his cheek. When I expressed my surprise at this, he said, that while he was in the world such a woman had often appeared to him, and as it were stroked his cheek, and that her hand was beautiful. The angelic spirits said that such women sometimes appeared to the ancients, and that they called them Pallases; and that the one who appeared to him was from spirits who, when they lived as men in the ancient times, were delighted with ideas and indulged in thoughts, but without philosophy; and as such spirits were with him, and were delighted with him because he thought from what is interior, they representatively exhibited such a woman to his view. Lastly, he told me what idea he had had concerning the soul or spirit of man, which he called Pneuma, namely, that it was an invisible vital [principle], like something of the ether. He said that he knew his spirit would live after death, since it was his interior essence, which cannot die, because it can think; and moreover that he could not think clearly concerning it, but only obscurely, because he had not possessed any knowledge on the subject except from himself, with a little also from the [pg 18] Ancients. Aristotle, it may be remarked, is among sane spirits in the other life, but many of his followers are among the foolish.
39. I once saw that some spirits of our Earth were with some spirits of Mercury, and I heard them conversing with one another; and on this occasion the spirits of our Earth asked them, among other things, in whom they believed. They replied that they believed in God. But when they inquired further concerning the God in whom they believed, they would not say, since it is their custom not to give direct answers to questions. Then the spirits from the earth Mercury, in their turn, asked the spirits from our Earth in whom they believed. They said that they believed in the Lord God. The spirits of Mercury then said they perceived that they believed in no God, and that they had contracted a habit of professing belief with the mouth when yet they do not believe. (The spirits of Mercury have an exquisite perception, in consequence of their continually exploring, by means of perception, what others know.) The spirits of our Earth were of the number of those who in the world had made profession of faith according to the doctrine of the church, but still had not lived the life of faith; and those who do not live the life of faith, in the other life have no faith, because it is not in the manr. On hearing this they were silent, because, by an apperception then given them, they acknowledged that the case was so.
Footnote r: (^)They who make profession of faith from doctrine, and do not live the life of faith, have no faith, nos. 3865, 7766, 7778, 7790, 7950, 8094. And their interiors are contrary to the truths of faith, although in the world they do not know this, nos. 7790, 7950.
40. Certain spirits knew from heaven that a promise had once been made to the spirits of the earth Mercury, that they should see the Lord; they were, therefore, asked by the spirits about me whether they recollected that promise. They said that they did recollect it; but that they did not know whether the promise had been made in such a manner as to preclude all doubt respecting it. While they were thus talking together, the Sun of heaven appeared to them. (The Sun of heaven, which is the Lord, is seen only by those who are in the inmost or third heaven; others see the light which proceeds from it.) On seeing the Sun, they said that this was not the Lord God, because they saw no face. Meanwhile the spirits were conversing with each other, but I did not hear what they said. Suddenly, however, the Sun again appeared, and in the midst of it the Lord, encompassed with a solar circle: at this sight the spirits of Mercury humbled themselves profoundly, and bowed down. At that time also, the Lord appeared out of that [pg 9] Sun to certain spirits of our Earth, who, when they were men, had seen Him in the world; and they, one after another, and thus many in succession, confessed that it was the Lord Himself; and they made this confession before the whole assembly. At the same time also the Lord appeared out of the Sun to the spirits of the planet Jupiter, who declared with a clear voice, that it was He Himself whom they had seen on their earth when the God of the universe appeared to thems.
Footnote s: (^)The Lord is the Sun of heaven, from which proceeds all the light there, nos. 1053, 3636, 4060. And the Lord thus appears to those who are in His celestial kingdom, where love to Him reigns, nos. 1521, 1529-1531, 1837, 4696. He appears at a middle height above the plane of the right eye, nos. 4321, 7078. Therefore in the Word the sun signifies the Lord as to the Divine Love, nos. 2495, 4060, 7083. The sun of the world does not appear to spirits and angels, but in its place as it were a dark something behind, opposite to the Sun of heaven or to the Lord, no. 9755.
41. After the Lord had appeared, some were led towards the front parts to the right, and as they advanced, they said that they saw a light much clearer and purer than they had ever seen before, and that a greater light could not possibly be seen: and it was then the time of evening here. Those who said this were manyt.
Footnote t: (^)In the heavens there is great light, which exceeds, by many degrees, the noon-day light on earth, nos. 1117, 1521, 1533, 1619-1632, 4527, 5400, 8644. All light in the heavens is from the Lord as the Sun there, nos. 1053, 1521, 3195, 3341, 3636, 3643, 4415, 9548, 9684, 10809. The Divine Truth proceeding from the Divine Good of the Lord's Divine Love appears in the heavens as light and constitutes all the light there, nos. 3195, 3222, 5400, 8644, 9399, 9548, 9684. The light of heaven illuminates both the sight and the understanding of the angels, nos. 2776, 3138. Heaven being said to be in light and heat, signifies in wisdom and in love, nos. 3643, 9399, 9401.
42. It should be known that the sun of the world does not appear at all to any spirit, nor does anything of the light from it. The light of this sun is, to spirits and angels, like thick darkness. This sun remains in the perception with spirits only from their having seen it when they were in the world, and it is exhibited to them in idea as an exceedingly dark something, and situated behind at a considerable distance, at a little height above the plane of the head. The planets which are within the system of this sun appear according to a fixed situation in respect to the sun: Mercury appears behind, a little towards the right; the planet Venus to the left, a little backwards; the planet Mars to the left in front; the planet Jupiter likewise to the left in front, but at a greater distance; the planet Saturn directly in front, at a considerable distance; the Moon to the left, at a moderate height: the satellites also appear to the left relatively to their own planets. Such is the situation of these planets in the ideas of spirits and angels. Spirits also appear near their own planet, but apart from it. With regard to the spirits of Mercury in particular, they do not appear in any particular quarter, or at any particular distance, but they appear sometimes in front, sometimes to the left, sometimes a little to the back; the reason is, that they are allowed to wander through the universe for the purpose of procuring knowledges.
43. Some spirits of Mercury once appeared to the left in a globe, and afterwards in a compact body (volumen) extending itself lengthwise. I wondered whither they were bent, whether to this or to some other earth, and I soon observed that they turned towards the right, and, rolling along, approached the earth or planet Venus towards the quarter in front. But when they reached it, they said that they would not remain there, because the inhabitants were evil; wherefore they turned round to the back part of that earth, and then said they would remain there, because the inhabitants of that part were good. While this was taking place I was sensible of a remarkable change in the brain, and of a powerful operation from it. From this it was given me to conclude that the spirits of Venus who are from that part of the planet, were in concord with the spirits of Mercury, and that they had relation to the memory of material things which is in concord with the memory of immaterial things, to which the spirits of Mercury have relation; hence a more powerful operation was felt from them when they were there.
44. I was desirous of knowing what kind of face and body the men (homines) on the earth Mercury have, and whether they are like the men (homines) on our Earth. There was then exhibited before my eyes a woman exactly resembling those who are on that earth. Her face was beautiful, but smaller than that of the women of our Earth; she was also more slender in body, but of equal height: her head was covered with some linen stuff, arranged without art but still in a becoming manner. A man (vir) also was exhibited. He, too, was more slender in body than the men (viri) of our Earth; he was clothed in a garment of dark blue fitting closely to his body, without folds or protuberances anywhere. Such, I was told, were the personal form and clothing of the men (homines) of that earth. Afterwards there were exhibited some kinds of their oxen and cows, which did not, indeed, differ much from those on our Earth, except that they were smaller, and approximated in some measure to the stag and hind species.
45. They were also questioned about the sun of the system, how it appears from their earth. They said that it appeared large, and larger there than from other earths; they said that they knew this from the ideas of other spirits respecting the sun. They said further that they enjoyed a middle temperature, neither too hot nor too cold. It was then given me to tell them, that it has been so provided for them by the Lord, in order that they might not be exposed to excessive heat from the circumstance of their earth being in greater proximity to the sun than the other earths, since heat does not arise from nearness to the sun, but from the height and density of the aerial atmosphere, as is evident from the cold on high mountains even in hot climates; also, that heat is varied according to the direct or oblique incidence of the sun's rays, as is evident from the seasons of winter and summer in every region. These are the particulars which it has been given me to know respecting the spirits and inhabitants of the earth Mercury.
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