[Footnote bbb: Loving the Lord means living according to His commandments, nos. 10143, 10153, 10310, 10578, 10645.]
[Footnote ccc: Loving the neighbour consists in doing what is good, just, and right, in every work and in every function, from the affection of what is good, just, and right, nos. 8120, 8121, 8123, 10310, 10336. A life of love towards the neighbour is a life according to the Lord"s precepts, no. 3249.]
170. The spirits with whom I had now spoken were from the northern part of their earth. I was afterwards led to others who were on the western part. These also, wishing to examine who and what I was; immediately said that there was nothing in me but evil, thinking that thus I might be deterred from approaching nearer. I apperceived that this was their manner of accosting all who come to them. But it was given me to reply that I well knew it to be so, and that in them likewise there was nothing but evil, by reason that every one is born into evil, and therefore whatever comes from man, spirit, or angel, as from what is his own, or from his proprium, is nothing but evil; inasmuch as all the good that is in every one, is from the Lord.
Hence they apperceived that I was in the truth, and I was admitted to converse with them. They then showed me their idea concerning evil in man, and concerning good from the Lord, how they are separated from each other. They placed one near the other, almost contiguous, but still distinct, yet as if bound in an inexpressible manner, so that the good led the evil, and restrained it, insomuch that it was not allowed to act at pleasure; and that thus the good bent the evil in whatever direction it desired, without the evil knowing anything of it. In this manner they exhibited the dominion of good over evil, and at the same time a state of freedom. They then asked how the Lord appeared amongst the angels from our Earth. I said that He appeared in the sun as a Man, encompa.s.sed therein with a fiery solar [sphere], from which the angels in the heavens derive all light; and that the heat which proceeds thence is the Divine Good, and that the light which proceeds thence is the Divine Truth, both from the Divine Love, which is the fiery [sphere] appearing around the Lord in that sun; but that that sun only appears to the angels in heaven, and not to the spirits who are beneath, since the latter are more remote from the reception of the good of love and of the truth of faith, than the angels who are in the heavens (see above, no. 40). It was given them thus to inquire concerning the Lord, and concerning His appearance before the angels from our Earth, because it pleased the Lord then to become present among them, and to reduce into order the things which had been disturbed there by the evil spirits of whom they complained.
The reason also why I was led thither, was in order that I might be an eye-witness of these things.
171. There was then seen a dark cloud towards the east descending from on high, which in its descent appeared by degrees full of light and in the human form. At length this [human form] appeared in a flaming radiance, encompa.s.sed with small stars of the same colour. Thus the Lord presented Himself before the spirits with whom I was conversing.
At His presence all the spirits who were there were instantly gathered together from every side; and when they were come, they were separated, the good from the evil, the good to the right and the evil to the left, and this in an instant as of their own accord. Those on the right were arranged in order according to the quality of the good, and those on the left according to the quality of the evil, with them: they who were good remained to form among themselves a heavenly society; but the evil were cast into the h.e.l.ls. Afterwards I saw that that flaming radiance descended to the lower parts of the earth there to a considerable depth, and then it appeared at one time in a flaming [l.u.s.tre] verging to luminosity, at another time in a luminosity verging into obscurity, and at another in obscurity: and I was told by the angels that that appearance is according to the reception of truth from good, and of falsity from evil, with those who inhabit the lower parts of that earth, and that the flaming radiance itself was subject to no such variations. They also said, that the lower parts of that earth were inhabited both by the good and by the evil; but that they were thoroughly separated, to the end that the evil might be ruled by the Lord through the good. They added, that the good are by turns elevated thence into heaven by the Lord, and that others succeed in their place, and so on perpetually. In that descent, the good were separated from the evil in like manner, and all things were reduced to order; for the evil, by various arts and cunning contrivances, had intruded themselves into the dwellings of the good there, and had infested them; and this was the cause of the present visitation. That cloud, which in descending appeared by degrees full of light and in the human form, and afterwards as a flaming radiance, was an angelic society, in whose midst the Lord was. From this it was given me to know what is meant by the Lord"s words in the Gospels, where, speaking of the Last Judgment, He says, "_That He would come with the angels in the clouds of heaven, with glory and power_" [(Matt. xxiv. 30; Mark xiii. 26; Luke xxi. 27)].
172. After this were seen some monkish spirits, those, namely, who have already been spoken of as having been travelling monks or missionaries in the world; and there was also seen a crowd of spirits who were from that earth, most of them evil, whom they had drawn over to their side, and led astray. These were seen on the eastern quarter of that earth, from whence they had driven away the good, who betook themselves to the northern side of the earth, and of whom we have spoken above. That crowd, together with their seducers, were collected together to the number of some thousands, and were separated; the evil of that crowd were cast into the h.e.l.ls. It was also given me to speak with one spirit who was a monk, and to ask him what he did there.
He replied that he taught them concerning the Lord. I asked, what besides. He said, concerning heaven and h.e.l.l. I asked, what further.
He said, concerning faith in all that he should say. I asked again, if he taught anything else. He said, concerning the power of remitting sins, and of opening and shutting heaven. He was then examined as to what he knew concerning the Lord, the truths of faith, the remission of sins, man"s salvation, and heaven and h.e.l.l; and it was discovered that he knew scarcely anything, that he was in obscurity and falsity concerning all and each of these subjects, and that he was possessed solely by the l.u.s.t of acquiring gain and dominion, which he had contracted in the world and brought with him from thence. He was therefore told that as he had, prompted by that l.u.s.t, travelled thus far, and as he was such in regard to doctrine, he could not but deprive the spirits of that earth of heavenly light, and inflict on them the darkness of h.e.l.l, and thus cause h.e.l.l, and not the Lord, to have dominion with them. Moreover, he was cunning in seducing, but stupid as to the things relating to heaven. As he was of such a character, he was afterwards cast into h.e.l.l. Thus the spirits of that earth were freed of them.
173. The spirits of that earth, amongst other things, also said that those strangers, who, as has been said, were monkish spirits, used all their endeavours to persuade them to live together in society, and not separate and solitary. For spirits and angels dwell and live together just as they had done in the world. Those who have dwelt together collectively in the world, also dwell collectively together in the other life; and those who have dwelt separated into households and families, also dwell separated there. These spirits, whilst they had lived as men on their earth, had dwelt separated, every household and family, and thus every clan, apart, and therefore knew not what it was to dwell together in society. Wherefore, when it was told them that those strangers wanted to persuade them to this, in order that they might reign and rule over them, and that they could not otherwise subject them to themselves and make them slaves, they replied that they were totally ignorant what was meant by reigning and ruling. That they flee away at the bare idea of rule and domination, was manifest to me from this circ.u.mstance, that one of them, who accompanied us on the return journey, when I showed him the city in which I dwelt, at the first sight of it fled away, and was seen no more.
174. I then conversed with the angels who were with me, concerning dominion, that there are two kinds of dominion, one, of love towards the neighbour, and the other, of the love of self; and that the dominion of love towards the neighbour exists among those who dwell separated into households, families, and clans: but the dominion of the love of self among those who dwell together in society. Among those who live separated into households, families, and clans, he who is the father of the clan bears rule, and under him the fathers of families, and under these the fathers of each household. He is called the father of the clan, from whom the families are derived, and the households of which the families are composed. But all these exercise dominion from love, like the love of a father towards his children, who teaches them how they ought to live, provides for their good, and as far as possible gives to them of what is his own. It never enters into his mind to subject them to himself, as subjects or as servants, but he loves that they should obey him as sons obey their father. And since this love, as is known, increases in descending, therefore the father of a clan acts from a more inward love than the father himself from whom the children are immediately descended. Such also is the dominion in the heavens, because such is the Lord"s dominion; for His dominion is from Divine Love towards the whole human race. But the dominion of the love of self, which is opposite to the dominion of love towards the neighbour, began when man alienated himself from the Lord; for in proportion as a man does not love and worship the Lord, in that proportion he loves and worships himself, and in that proportion also he loves the world. Then it was that, from the necessity for self-preservation, clans consisting of families and households gathered themselves into one body, and established governments under various forms. For in proportion as that love increased, in the same proportion evils of every kind, as, enmity, envy, hatred, revenge, cruelty and deceit, increased with it, being directed against all who opposed that love; for from the proprium, in which those are who are in the love of self, nothing but evil springs, inasmuch as man"s proprium is nothing but evil, and, as the proprium is evil, it is not receptive of good from heaven: therefore the love of self, when it is the reigning love, is the father of all such evils[ddd]; and that love is also of such a nature, that in proportion as it is left without restraint, it rushes on until at length each one who is of such a character wants to have dominion over all others in the whole globe, and wishes to possess all the goods of the others; nay, it is not even content with this, but would have dominion over the whole heaven; as may appear from the case of modern Babylon. Such then is the dominion of the love of self, from which the dominion of love towards the neighbour differs as much as heaven does from h.e.l.l.
But notwithstanding that the dominion of the love of self is such in societies, or in kingdoms and empires, there nevertheless exists even in these a dominion of love towards the neighbour among those who are wise from faith in and love to G.o.d, for these love the neighbour. That in the heavens also these dwell distinguished into clans, families, and households, although in societies together, but according to spiritual affinities which have relation to the good of love and the truth of faith, will, by the Lord"s Divine mercy, be stated elsewhere.
[Footnote ddd: Man"s proprium, which he derives from his parents, is nothing but dense evil, nos. 210, 215, 731, 874, 876, 987, 1047, 2307, 2308, 3518, 3701, 3812, 8480, 8550, 10283, 10284, 10286, 10731. Man"s proprium consists in loving himself more than G.o.d, and the world more than heaven, and in holding his neighbour of no account in respect to himself, except it be for the sake of himself, consequently [in making much of] himself; thus it consists of the love of self and of the world, nos. 694, 731, 4317, 5660. All evils flow from the love of self and of the world, when these predominate, nos. 1307, 1308, 1321, 1594, 1691, 3413, 7255, 7376, 7488, 8318, 9335, 9348, 10038, 10742. These evils are contempt of others, enmity, hatred, revenge, cruelty, deceit, nos. 6667, 7372-7374, 9348, 10038, 10742. And from these evils all falsity flows, nos. 1047, 10283, 10284, 10286.]
175. I afterwards questioned those spirits concerning various things in the earth from which they were; and first, concerning their Divine worship, and concerning revelation. Concerning the Divine worship, they said that clans, with their families, meet together every thirtieth day, in one place, and hear preaching; and that on these occasions the preacher, from a pulpit raised a little from the ground, teaches them the Divine truths which lead to the good of life.
Concerning revelation, they said that it is made early in the morning in a state midway between sleeping and wakefulness, when they are in an interior light not as yet interfered with by the bodily senses and worldly things; that on such occasions they hear the angels of heaven speaking concerning Divine truths, and a life according to them; and that when they are quite awake, an angel in a white garment appears to them by the bed, and then suddenly disappears from their sight; and that by this they know that what they have heard is from heaven. Thus a Divine vision is distinguished from a vision which is not Divine; for in a vision which is not Divine no angel appears. They added, that in such a manner revelations are made with their preachers, and sometimes also with others.
176. On questioning them concerning their houses, they said that they are lowly, built of wood, with a flat roof, having a cornice sloping downwards; and that in front dwell the husband and wife, in the next chamber the children, and the maid-servants and men-servants at the back. With regard to food, they said that they drink milk with water; and that they get the milk from cows, which are woolly like sheep.
Concerning their [mode of] life, they said that they go naked, and that to them nakedness is not a matter of shame; also that their habitual a.s.sociation is with those who are within their own families.
177. Concerning the sun of that earth, they related that it appears to the inhabitants of a flame-colour; that the time of their year is two hundred days, and that a day equals nine hours of our time, which they could conclude from the length of the days of our Earth perceived in me; and further, that they have a perpetual spring and summer, and consequently that the fields are ever blooming, and the trees are ever bearing fruit: the reason why the case is thus is, that their year is so short, being equal to the time of only seventy-five days of our year; and when the years are so short, the cold does not continue long in winter nor the heat in summer, and the ground in consequence is in a continual state of verdancy.
178. Concerning betrothals and marriages on that earth, they related that a daughter, when she approaches a marriageable age, is kept at home, nor is she allowed to go out till the day she is to be married; and that she is then conducted to a certain connubial house, where several other marriageable young women are also brought; that they are there placed behind a screen, which reaches as high as the middle of the body, so that they appear naked as to the breast and face; that on such occasions the young men come there to choose for themselves a wife; and that when a young man sees a young woman suitable for him, and to whom his mind (_animus_) draws him, he takes her by the hand. If she then follows him, he leads her to a house that has been prepared, and she becomes his wife. For they see from the faces whether they agree in disposition (_animus_), since on that earth every one"s face is an index of the disposition (_animus_), and disguises and counterfeits nothing. In order that everything may be done with decency and without lasciviousness, an old man is seated behind the young virgins, and an elderly woman at their side, to watch. There are many such places to which the young women are conducted; and there are also stated times for the young men to make their choice; for if they do not find a girl to suit them at one place, they go to another; and if not at one time, they return again at another. They said further, that a husband has only one wife, and never more than one, because this is contrary to Divine order.