themselves Saints, and who, under penalty of punishment in case of
disobedience, command their servants, of whom they have great numbers,
to address them as lords. They also forbid them to adore the Lord of
the universe, saying that they themselves are mediatory lords, and
that they will convey their supplications to the Lord of the universe.
The Lord of the universe, who is our Lord, they do not call the One
only Lord, as all the others do, but the Supreme Lord, for the reason
that they call themselves lords. They call the sun of the world the
face of the Supreme Lord, and believe that He has His abode there;
wherefore they also adore the sun. The other inhabitants hold them
in aversion, and are unwilling to have intercourse with them, both
because they adore the sun, and because they call themselves lords,
and are worshipped by their servants as mediatory gods. Their
head-dress was shown me by spirits: it was a high crowned hat of a
dark colour. In the other life such appear to the left at some height,
where they sit like idols, and at first are worshipped by the servants
who had formerly been with them; but these, too, afterwards hold them
in derision. What surprised me, their faces there shine as from fire:
this arises from their having believed themselves to be saints; yet,
notwithstanding this fiery appearance of their faces, they are cold,
and intensely desire to become warm. From this it is evident that the
fire from which they shine is the fire of the love of self, and an
_ignis fatuus_. In order to acquire warmth they seem to themselves
to cut wood, and while cutting, under the wood appears something of a
man, whom at the same time they try to strike. This arises from their
attributing merit and holiness to themselves: those who do this in
the world, in the other life seem to themselves to cut wood, as was
likewise the case with some from our Earth, who have been spoken of
elsewhere. To illustrate this subject, I may here adduce my experience
concerning these:[A] "In the lower earth, under the soles of the feet,
are also those who have placed merit in good acts and works. Many of
them appear to themselves to cut wood. The place where they are is
very cold, and they seem to themselves to acquire warmth by their
labour. With these also I have spoken, and it was given me to ask them
whether they had any desire to get out of that place: to this they
replied, that they had not as yet merited it by their labour. But when
this state has been accomplished they are taken out from thence.
These [spirits] are natural, because wishing to merit salvation is not
spiritual, for it comes from the proprium and not from the Lord; and
besides, they prefer themselves to others, and some of them despise
others; and if they do not receive more joy than others in the other
life, they are indignant against the Lord; wherefore when they are
cutting wood, it appears as if something of the Lord were under the
wood. This arises from their indignation."[dd]
[Footnote A: _Arcana_, no. 4943. See also nos. 1110, 8740.--TR.]
[Footnote dd: Merit and righteousness belong to the Lord alone, nos.
9715, 9975, 9979, 9981, 9982. Those who place merit in works, or want
to merit heaven by the good deeds which they do, in the other life
want to be served, and are never contented, no. 6393. They despise
their neighbour, and are angry with the Lord Himself if they do not
receive reward, no. 9976. What their lot in the other life is, nos.
942, 1774, 1877, 2027. They are of those who in the lower earth appear
to cut wood, nos. 1110, 4943.]
71. It is common on that earth for spirits to speak with the
inhabitants, and to instruct them, and also to chastise them if they
have done evil. As many particulars on this subject have been related
to me by their angels, I will recount them in their order. The reason
that spirits there speak with men is, that they think much about
heaven and the life after death, and are comparatively little
solicitous about the life of the world; for they know that they shall
live after their decease, and in a happy state according to the state
of their internal man that has been formed in the world. Speaking with
spirits and angels was common on our Earth also in ancient times, and
for the same reason, namely, that they thought [much] of heaven and
little of the world. But in course of time that living communication
with heaven was closed, in proportion as man, from being internal,
became external, or, what is the same, as he began to think much about
the world and little about heaven, and especially when he ceased to
believe in the existence of heaven and hell, or in the existence in
himself of a spirit-man that lives after death. For at this day it
is believed that the body lives from itself and not from its spirit;
wherefore unless man now cherished the belief that he is to rise again
with his body, he would have no belief in the resurrection.
72. With reference specially to the presence of spirits with the
inhabitants of the earth Jupiter, there are spirits who chastise,
spirits who instruct, and spirits who govern them. The spirits who
chastise apply themselves to the left side, and incline themselves
towards the back; and when there, they draw out of the man's memory
all the things that he has done or thought: this is easy for spirits
to do, for when they come to a man they enter into all his memory[j].
If they find he has done evil, or has thought evil, they reprove him,
and also chastise him with pain in the joints of his feet or hands,
or with pain about the region of the belly; this, too, spirits can do
skilfully when it is permitted. When such spirits come to a man, they
inspire him with a horror accompanied by fear, by which the man is
made aware of their coming. Fear may be excited in any person by evil
spirits on their approach, especially by those who, during their life
in the world, had been robbers. In order that I might know how
these spirits act when they come to a man of their own earth, it was
permitted that such a spirit should approach me. When he was near,
horror accompanied by fear manifestly seized hold of me; yet it was
not inwardly that I shuddered, but outwardly, because I knew it was a
spirit of such a character. He also came in sight, and he appeared as
a dark cloud, in which were wandering stars; wandering stars signify
falsities, but fixed stars signify truths. He applied himself to my
left side towards the back; and he also began to reprove me for deeds
and thoughts which he drew out of my memory, and on which he put
a wrong construction; but he was checked by the angels. When he
apperceived that he was with one who was not a man of his own earth,
he began to speak to me, saying, that when he comes to a man, he
knows all things in general and particular that the man has done and
thought, and that he severely reproves him, and also chastises him
with various pains. At yet another time such a chastising spirit came
to me, and applied himself to my left side below the middle of the
body, as the former spirit had done; he also wanted to punish me;
but he, too, was restrained by the angels. He showed me, however, the
kinds of punishments which they are permitted to inflict on the men
of their earth, if they do evil, or harbour the intention of doing
it. These were, besides the pain of the joints, a painful contraction
about the middle of the belly, which is felt like compression by a
tight belt; a deprivation of respiration at times even to suffocation;
also a prohibition to eat anything but bread for a time; and, lastly,
the threat of death, if they do not discontinue doing such things,
with the deprivation, at the same time, of conjugial, parental, and
social joy; grief on this account is then also insinuated.
73. The spirits who instruct also apply themselves to their left side,
but more in front. They, too, reprove, but mildly, and then teach
them how they ought to live. They also appear dark, yet not, like the
former, as clouds, but as if clothed with sackcloth. These are
called Instructors, but the former, Chastisers When these spirits are
present, angelic spirits are also present, sitting at the head, which
they fill in a peculiar manner: their presence there is also perceived
as a gentle breathing, for they fear lest their approach and influx
should cause man to perceive the least pain or anxiety. They govern
both the chastising and the instructing spirits; the chastisers, lest
they treat the man more hardly than is permitted by the Lord, and
the instructors, that they may teach the truth. While the chastising
spirit was with me, angelic spirits were also present, and kept my
face continually cheerful and smiling, the region about the lips
prominent, and my mouth slightly open. This the angels easily effect
by means of influx, when the Lord permits. They said that they induce
such a countenance on the inhabitants of their earth, when they are
present with them.
74. If a man, after chastisement and instruction, again does evil, or
thinks to do evil, and does not restrain himself in accordance
with the precepts of truth, he is more severely punished when the
chastising spirit returns; but the angelic spirits moderate the
punishment according to the intention in the deeds, and the will in
the thoughts. From these facts it may appear, that their angels who
sit at the head have a kind of judicial power over man, since they
permit, moderate, restrain, and influence. It was said, however, that
it is not they who judge, but that the Lord alone is Judge, and that
all things which they enjoin on the chastising and instructing spirits
inflow into them from Him, and that it appears as if it were from
them.
75. Spirits there speak with man, but man in his turn does not speak
with the spirits, except the words, when instructed, _that he will
do so no more_. Nor is he allowed to tell any one that a spirit has
spoken to him; if he does so, he is punished afterwards. Those spirits
of Jupiter, when they were with me, at first supposed that they were
with a man of their own earth; but when I in my turn spoke with them,
and also when I thought of publishing what passed between us, and so
relating it to others, then, because they were not allowed to chastise
or instruct me, they discovered that they were with a stranger.
76. There are two signs which appear to those spirits when they are
with man (_homo_). They see an old man (_vir_) with a white face; this
is a sign to speak only what is true, and to do only what is just.
They also see a face in a window; this is a sign to them to depart.
This old man has also appeared to me; and a face has also appeared in
a window, on seeing which those spirits immediately departed from me.
77. Besides the spirits who have already been mentioned, there are
spirits who urge contrary things. They consist of those who, during
their life in the world, had been banished from the society of others
because they were evil. When they approach there appears as it were
a flying fire, which descends near the face. They place themselves
beneath at the posterior parts of the man, and from thence they speak
towards the higher parts. They say things that are contrary to what
the instructor-spirit teaches from the angels, namely, that men
should not live according to instruction, but according to their own
inclination, and in licentiousness, with other similar things. They
generally come after the other spirits have departed; but the people
there know who and what those spirits are, and therefore pay no
attention to them. Still, they learn in this way what evil is, and
thereby what good is; for by means of evil one learns what good is,
inasmuch as the quality of good is known from its opposite. Every
perception of a thing is according to reflection relative to its
differences from things that are contrary in various ways and degrees.
78. The chastising and instructing spirits do not come to those who
call themselves saints and mediatory lords, and who have been treated
of above (at no. 70), as they do to others on that earth, because
they do not suffer themselves to be instructed and are not amended
by discipline; they are inflexible, because they act from the love of
self. Spirits say they know such by their coldness, and that when they
apperceive the cold they depart from them.
79. Among the spirits of Jupiter there are also some whom they call
chimney-sweepers, because they appear in garments like those of
chimney-sweepers, and with the face smeared with soot; who and of what
character they are I am also permitted to describe. One such spirit
came to me, and anxiously entreated me to intercede for him, that he
might come into heaven. He said he did not know that he had done evil,
only that he had rebuked the inhabitants of the earth: he added that,
after rebuking, he had instructed them. He applied himself to my left
side under the elbow, and spoke as if with a double voice; he could
also excite pity. But I could only say in reply that I could not
render him any assistance, and that this was possible for the Lord
alone; nor could I intercede for him, because I did not know whether
it would be of any use; but that if he were worthy he might have hope.
He was then sent amongst some well-disposed spirits who were from
his own earth; but they said that he could not be in their company,
because he was not of the same character. But as he still importuned
with intense desire to be let into heaven, he was sent into a society
of well-disposed spirits of this Earth; but they, too, said that he
could not be with them. In the light of heaven he was also of a black
colour, but he said that he was not of a black, but of a murrhine
colour. I was told that of such a character at first are the spirits
who afterwards are received amongst those who constitute the province
of the SEMINAL VESICLES in the Grand Man or Heaven; for in those
vesicles the semen is collected, and is enclosed in a covering of
suitable matter fit to preserve the prolific quality of the seed from
being dissipated but which may be put off in the neck of the uterus,
so that what is reserved within may be serviceable for conception, or
the impregnation of the ovulum. Hence, also, that seminal matter has
an endeavour, and as it were a burning desire, to put itself off, and
leave the semen to perform its use. Something similar to this appeared
with that spirit. He again came to me in mean raiment, and again
said that he had an ardent desire to enter heaven, and that he now
apperceived that he was such that he could go there. It was then given
me to tell him that perhaps this was a sign that he would soon be
received. The angels then told him to cast off his raiment, which,
from the ardency of his desire, he did with a quickness that could
scarcely be surpassed. By this was represented the character of the
desires of those who are in the province to which the seminal vesicles
correspond. It was said that such spirits, when prepared for heaven,
are stripped of their own garments, and clothed with new shining
garments, and become angels. They were likened to caterpillars, which,
having passed through their vile state, are changed into chrysalides
and then into butterflies, when they are given other clothing, and
also wings of a blue or yellow, a silver or golden colour. Then, too,
they are given the freedom to fly in the open air as in their heaven,
to celebrate their marriages, and lay their eggs, and so provide for
the propagation of their kind; then also there are given to them sweet
and pleasant food which they suck from the juices and odours of the
various flowers.
80. In what precedes nothing has been said as to the character of the
angels who are from that earth; for those already mentioned (no.
73), who come to the men of their earth, and sit at the head, are not
angels in their interior heaven, but are angelic spirits or angels
in their exterior heaven. And as it has been disclosed to me what the
character of those [interior] angels is, it is permitted me to relate
what it has been given me to know concerning them. A certain one of
those spirits of Jupiter, who inspire fear, approached my left side
beneath the elbow, and spoke to me from thence. His speech was harsh,
and his expressions were not very distinct and separate from each
other, so that I had to consider a long time before I could gather
the sense; and while he was speaking he inspired some degree of fear,
admonishing me in this way to receive the angels well when they came.
But it was given me to reply that this did not depend on me, but that
with me all were received according to what they themselves were.
Soon after this the angels of that earth came, and it was given me to
perceive from their speech with me that they differed entirely from
the angels of our Earth; for their speech was not effected by means
of words, but by means of ideas which diffused themselves through my
interiors from all sides: and for this reason also they had an
influx into the face, so that the face accorded with each particular,
beginning at the lips, and proceeding towards the circumference in
every direction. The ideas, which were in place of verbal expressions
were discrete from each other, but in a very small degree. Afterwards
they spoke with me by means of ideas still less discrete, so that
hardly any interval was perceived: in my perception it was like the
meaning of words with those who attend only to the sense abstractedly
from the expressions. This speech was more intelligible to me than the
former, and it was also fuller. Like the other, it inflowed into the
face, but the influx was more continuous according to the character of
the speech; it did not, however, like the former, begin at the
lips, but at the eyes. Afterwards they spoke in a manner still more
continuous and full; and now the face could not accord by a suitable
motion; but it was felt that the influx was into the brain, and that
this was acted upon in like manner. Lastly, they spoke in such a
manner that the speech fell only into the interior understanding; its
fluency was like that of rarefied air. I was sensible of the influx
itself, but not distinctly of the particulars. These several kinds of
speech were circumstanced like different fluids--the first kind was
like flowing water; the second like water of less density; the third
like the atmosphere respectively; and the fourth like rarefied air.
The spirit already mentioned, who was on the left side, sometimes
interposed, chiefly admonishing me to behave modestly towards his
angels; for there were spirits present from our Earth who suggested
such things as gave displeasure. He said that he did not [at first]
understand what the angels were speaking about, but that he afterwards
did, when he had moved to my left ear. Then also his speech was not
harsh as before, but like that of other spirits.
81. I afterwards spoke with the angels respecting some of the
remarkable things on our Earth, especially the art of printing, the
Word, and the various doctrinals of the church from the Word; and
I stated that the Word and the doctrinals [of the church] were
published, and were thus learnt. They wondered exceedingly that such
things could be made public by writing and printing.
82. It was given me to see how the spirits of that earth, after having
been prepared, are taken up into heaven, and become angels. On such
occasions there appear chariots and shining horses as of fire, by
which they are carried away like Elijah. The reason why chariots
and shining horses as of fire appear, is that in this way there is
represented that they are instructed and prepared to enter heaven; for
chariots signify the doctrinals of the church, and shining horses, an
enlightened understanding[ee].
[Footnote ee: Chariots signify the doctrinals of the Church, nos.
2760, 5321, 8215. Horses signify the Intellectual, nos. 2760, 2761,
2762, 3217, 5321, 6125, 6400, 6534, 7024, 8146, 8148, 8381. The White
Horse in the Apocalypse signifies the understanding of the Word, no.
2760. By Elijah in the representative sense is meant the Word,
nos. 2762, 5247. And since all the doctrine of the church and the
understanding thereof are from the Word, Elijah is called "the
chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof," no. 2762. On this
account he was taken up by a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, nos.
2762, 8029.]
83. The heaven into which they are carried away appears on the right
towards their earth, consequently separated from the heaven of the
angels of our Earth. The angels who are in that heaven appear clothed
in resplendent blue, spotted with little stars of gold, and this
because they were fond of that colour in the world, and also believed
it to be the most heavenly colour, especially because they are in that
variety of good of love to which this colour corresponds[ff].
[Footnote ff: Blue originating in red or flame corresponds to the good
of celestial love; and blue originating in white or light (_lucidum_)
corresponds to the good of spiritual love, no. 9868.]
84. There appeared to me a bald head, but only the topmost part of it,
which was bony. I was told that such a bald head is seen by those who
are to die within a year, and that they then prepare themselves. They
do not fear death there, except on account of leaving their conjugial
consorts, their children, or their parents, for they know that they
shall live after death, and that they do not quit life because they
go to heaven; wherefore, they do not call death dying, but being
heaven-made. Those on that earth who have lived in truly conjugial
love, and have taken such care of their children as becomes parents,
do not die of disease, but tranquilly as in sleep, and so pass from
the world into heaven. The age of man there is generally thirty years,
according to the years of our Earth. It is of the Lord's Providence
that they die within such a short space of time, lest the number of
men should increase beyond what that earth can support. And as, when
they have completed those years, they do not suffer themselves to be
led by spirits and angels, like those who have not yet completed them,
spirits and angels seldom attend those who have passed that age. They
also come to maturity sooner than on our Earth. They also contract
marriages in the first flower of early manhood, and then their
delights consist in loving their conjugial partners and taking care
of their children. Other delights they indeed call delights, but
relatively external ones.
THE EARTH OR PLANET MARS, AND ITS SPIRITS AND INHABITANTS.
85. Of all the spirits who come from the earths of this solar system,
those of Mars are the best, being for the most part celestial men, not
unlike those who were of the Most Ancient Church on this Earth[gg].
When they are represented as to their quality, they are represented
with the face in heaven and the body in the world of spirits; and
those of them who are angels are represented with the face towards the
Lord and the body in heaven.
[Footnote gg: The first and Most Ancient Church on this earth was a
celestial church, which was the chief of all, concerning which, see
nos. 607, 895, 920, 1121, 1122, 1123, 1124, 2896, 4493, 8891, 9942,
10545. A church is called celestial wherein love to the Lord is the
principal thing, but spiritual wherein the principal thing is charity
towards the neighbour, and faith, nos. 3691, 6435, 9468, 9680, 9683,
9780.]
86. In the idea of spirits and angels, the planet Mars, like the
planets elsewhere, appears constantly in its own place, which is to
the left in front, at some distance, in the plane of the breast, and
thus outside of the sphere where the spirits of our Earth are. The
spirits of one earth are separated from those of another, because the
spirits of each earth have relation to some particular province in the
Grand Man[f]; and are, therefore, in other and different states;
and this diversity of state causes them to appear separate from each
other, either to the right or to the left, at a greater or lesser
distance[hh].
[Footnote hh: Distances in the other life are real appearances, which
are exhibited to the sight by the Lord, according to the states of the
interiors of angels and spirits, nos. 5604, 9104, 9440, 10146.]