80# 第五段可供记述之灵中经历，其事如下。
某日，有一位撒但蒙准，偕同一女子自地狱上升，行至我居所屋前。我望见二人，便将窗户关上，却仍隔窗与彼等交谈，询问那撒但来自何处。
他言道：“从我同伴的群体中来。”
我又问那女子来自何方。
他答：“亦是出自那一处。”
此女子属于海妖一类；这类灵擅长借幻想，为自身幻化各样华美仪态与装饰形貌：时而显露出维纳斯般绝美容貌，时而化作帕尔纳索斯山间众女神那般清丽容颜，时而又头戴冠冕、身披长斗篷，装扮得如同女王，倚靠银杖，步履威严。
在灵界之中，这般女子皆是沉溺虚妄幻想的娼妓。幻想由感官化的思虑生成，同时内里深层思想的认知全然封闭隔绝。
我问那撒但，此女子可是他的妻子。
他答道：
“何为妻子？我全然不知，我所属群体亦无人知晓；她只是我的娼妓。”
话音未落，那女子向这男子吹送淫荡欲念 —— 这本是海妖极为擅长的事；撒但接纳这份欲念后，上前亲吻她，叹道：
“啊，我的阿多尼斯。”
【2】今且转而论庄重事理。
我询问那撒但，他所执掌的职分是什么。
他言道：
“我的职分乃是学问。你不见我头上的月桂枝冠吗？”
这花冠乃是他口中的阿多尼斯凭自身幻化之能编织，自后方为他戴上。
我言道：
“你出自专务学识的群体，不妨告知我：关于上帝，你与一众同伴持何种信念？”
他答道：
“于我等而言，上帝便是宇宙，我等亦将宇宙称作自然。群体中心智浅陋之人称其为大气，在他们眼中，大气便是寻常空气；而自认有智慧之人，则称其为高层大气，也就是以太。
至于世人常大肆谈论的上帝、天堂、天使，以及同类种种说法，尽是空泛名号，不过由流星异象衍生出的虚造说辞；这般流星常在此地无数灵众眼前变幻嬉戏。
大地之上显现的万物，难道不皆是太阳所造？
每至春日太阳回归之时，有翅与无翅的虫豸岂不尽数滋生？
飞鸟岂不皆因太阳的温热彼此爱慕、繁衍后代？
大地岂不也因太阳温热而回暖，使种子抽芽，最终结出果实，如同孕育子嗣一般？
由此观之，宇宙便是至高之神，自然便是女神；自然如同宇宙的配偶，怀胎、生育、抚育、滋养世间一切存有。”
【3】随后我又问，他与所属群体信奉何种宗教。
他答道：
“我等这般比凡俗众人更有学识之人眼中，宗教不过是迷惑民众的幻术；它如一层薄雾，笼罩众人心中感官与幻想之物，各类敬虔的念想如同蝴蝶，在这片薄雾之中四处纷飞。
世人的信仰将这些念想串联成锁链，如同蚕虫封于丝茧之内；而后自茧中挣脱，仿佛化作蝶中之王。
无知的群体偏爱超越肉身感官、进而脱离思虑的幻象，只因心中存有向上腾飞的欲望。故此他们也为自己造出双翼，好似雄鹰凌空升高，在地上凡人面前夸耀：‘看我！’
但我等只信亲眼所见之物，只爱亲手触碰之物。”
说罢，他伸手抚弄身旁娼妓，言道：
“我笃信此物，因我亲眼看见、亲手触碰。至于那些惑人虚谈，我等尽数自窗前抛却，以嘲弄的气息将其吹散。”
【4】之后我又问及，他与一众同伴对天堂、地狱持何种见解。
他放声大笑，答道：
“天堂不过是高处以太构成的苍穹；所谓天使，不过是环绕太阳游走的光斑；大天使便是拖着长尾的彗星，他们所属的群体便栖身在彗尾之上。
地狱不过是一片沼泽；沼泽之中的青蛙、鳄鱼，在他们的幻想里便是魔鬼。
除却这般对天堂与地狱的粗浅想象，其余尽数是空谈废话，乃是某位主教为博取无知民众的尊崇，刻意编造流传。”
而这一番言辞，全然是照搬他在世时心中的妄念；他全然不知自己离世之后依旧存活，也遗忘了初入灵界之时听闻的一切真理。
是以当我问及死后生命之时，他答道那不过是幻想出来的事物；或许是自坟墓尸身散发出、形似人形的雾气，或是世人口中所说的幽灵 —— 总有人传讲这类故事，便是这般幻影扰动人的幻想。
我听完这番妄论，再也按捺不住笑意，开口言道：
“撒但啊，你已然癫狂至极。你当下不是保有完整人形吗？你岂不是能够言语、观望、听闻、行走？
你当回想，你从前活在另一重世界，只是如今全然遗忘；此刻你正是离世之后存续于此，方才一番谈吐，与你在世之时毫无二致。”
于是主赐下回忆的能力，他方才恍然记起前事，顿时满心羞愧，高声喊道：
“我真是疯了！我曾亲眼望见天堂居于上方，也曾听闻国中天使述说难以言传的真理；只是那是我初到此地之时。如今我必牢牢记住这番事理，回去讲给我离开的一众同伴，或许他们也会心生羞愧。”
他口中反复念叨，要称那些同伴为癫狂之人。
可待他一路向下沉降，遗忘便席卷而来，抹去方才的回忆；归回所属群体之后，他依旧持守从前的妄见，还将从我这里听闻的真理称作疯言妄语。
这便是撒但离世之后思虑、言谈的常态。
凡在内心中将伪谬笃定、升为自身信仰的灵，便称作撒但；凡借一生行径，在内心中笃定邪恶的灵，便称作魔鬼。
80# 记事五：
有一次，经允许，一个撒但带着一个女人从地狱升上来，来到我所在的房子。一看到他们，我就关上窗户，但通过窗户与他们交谈。我问那撒但是从哪里来的；他说来自他自己的同伴。我又问那个女人是从哪里来的，并得到了同样的回答。她来自一群塞壬，这群塞壬擅长通过幻想来呈现美丽和妆饰的一切样式和形式；她们时而披上维纳斯的美，时而披上帕纳索斯少女优雅端庄的面容，时而打扮得像头戴王冠、身披长袍的女王，拄着银杖威严地行走。这些人就是灵人界的妓女，她们专门研究幻想。幻想源于一切内在思维观念被排除在外时的感官思维。我问撒但她是不是他的妻子。他回答说：“什么是妻子？我不知道，我的社群也不知道；她是我的妓女。”然后，她激发了这个男人的淫欲，这是塞壬非常擅长的事。一感觉到这种淫欲，他就亲吻她说：“啊，我的女阿多尼斯！”
但言归正传。我问撒但他的职业是什么；他说：“我的职业就是追求学问，你没看见我头上的桂冠吗？”这桂冠是他的女阿多尼斯用艺术形成的，并从后面戴到他头上。我说：“既然你来自一个学术盛行的社群，那么请告诉我，你和你的同伴对神有何看法。”他回答说：“对我们来说，神就是宇宙，我们也称之为自然。我们的人当中的简单人称之为大气，他们所说的大气是指空气，而智者所说的大气是指以太。神、天堂、天使等等，即这个世界许多故事的主题，都是空洞的词语，是此处在许多人眼前划过的流星引发的虚构故事。出现在地上的一切事物不都是太阳创造的吗？春天来临，一切有翅膀和爬行的昆虫，或说有翅和无翅的昆虫不都出生了吗？鸟类不是被它的热促使相互爱慕、繁殖后代吗？大地不是被它的热温暖，使种子生根发芽，最后结出如同后代的果实吗？因此，宇宙不就是神，自然不就是女神吗？自然作为宇宙的配偶，孕育、生产、抚育并滋养这些后代。”
我进一步问他和他的社群对宗教有何看法。他回答说：“对我们这些学识超群的人来说，宗教无非是对普通民众的盅惑，它像一层稀薄的大气一样包裹着他们心智的感觉和想象力；在这层大气中，虔诚的观念像蝴蝶一样在空中飞来飞去；他们的信仰将这些观念连成一条链子，就像蚕茧里的蚕，它作为蝴蝶之王从中振翅而出。因为文盲群体出于飞翔的渴望，喜欢想象的事物胜过身体感官和由此而来的思维；他们甚至为自己装上翅膀，以便像雄鹰一样展翅高飞，向地上的人夸耀地叫喊：‘看看我！’但我们相信我们所看到的，我们喜欢我们所摸到的。”说完，他摸了摸他的妓女，说：“这个我信，因为我看得见、摸得着。至于其它的胡言乱语，我们都扔出窗外，用一阵笑声将其吹走。”
之后，我问，他和他的同伴对天堂和地狱有何看法。他哈哈大笑，回答说：“天堂不就是上面那虚无缥缈的天空吗？天使不就是游荡在太阳周围的斑点吗？天使长不就是拖着长尾巴的慧星，整个人群都住在其上吗？地狱不就是沼泽吗？在简单人的想象中，在那里，青蛙和鳄鱼变成了魔鬼。除了这些观念外，关于天堂和地狱的其它一切观念都只是某些教会领袖为了在无知大众中博取荣耀而引入的垃圾。”他所说的这一切和他在世上关于这些主题所想的一模一样，殊不知，他现在正过着死后的生活，已经忘了他初入灵界时所听到的一切。因此，对于死后的生活，他回答说，这是一个想象的东西；可能是从形似人的被葬尸体中散发的某种臭气，或被称为幽灵（有些人会讲述关于幽灵的故事）的东西，在人们的幻想中引入这样的观念。听到这话，我再也忍不住大笑起来，说：“撒但，你真是疯了。你现在是什么？你在形式上不就是一个人吗？你不是会说话、会看、会听、会走吗？请回想一下，你曾生活在另一个世界，但你已经忘记了，你现在正过着死后的生活，说话和以前一样。”他被赋予回忆的能力，他的记忆回来了，他羞愧万分，大声喊道：“我疯了！我曾看见上面的天堂，听见那里的天使们诉说不可言喻的事；但那是我刚来这里的时候。然而，我会把这一切牢记在心，告诉我所来自的同伴们；或许他们也会和我一样羞愧难当。”他不断重复说，他要叫他们疯子；但随着他下去，忘却取代了回忆。当到达同伴身边时，他变得和他们一样疯狂，并说他从我这里听到的都是疯狂。撒但死后就是这样思考和说话的。那些确认虚假，直到相信它们的人被称为撒但，而那些确认生活邪恶的人被称为魔鬼。
80. The fifth memorable occurrence. On one occasion a satan was allowed to come up from hell. A woman came with him. He came to the house where I was. When I saw them I closed the window, but I did talk to them through the glass. I asked the satan where he came from. He said he came from a group of his own people. I asked him where the woman was from. He gave the same answer.
She was part of a gang of sirens. They have the ability to project images. They can give themselves looks, clothing, and accessories of any kind. On one occasion they give themselves the body of Venus; on another, they give themselves a gorgeous face, as if they were one of the Muses; on yet another, they array themselves as queens with crowns and robes and stride majestically, holding a silver staff. These are the characteristics of sirens in the world of spirits - they are whores who specialize in fantasy.
They project these images by thinking with the senses and shutting off any deeper level of thought.
I asked the satan whether this woman was his wife. He answered, "What is a wife? I don't know what that is. My community doesn't know what that is. She is my whore. "
Then she aroused her man's lust - another thing sirens are very good at. So he gave her a kiss and said, "Ah, my female Adonis. "
[2] But now to something more serious. I asked the satan what his job was. He said, "My job is to be learned. Don't you see the laurel wreath on my head?" His Adonis used her skills to conjure up a laurel wreath, which she put on him from behind.
"Since there is formal education in the community you come from," I said, "tell me what you believe, and what your colleagues believe, about God. "
He replied, "Our God is the universe, which we also call nature. Our simple folk call the universe the atmosphere, which they think of as the air. Our experts also call it the atmosphere, but they include the ether in that. As for God, heaven, angels, and the like - many people in this world have much nonsense to say about them, but they are empty words. Those are imaginary things triggered by unusual weather phenomena and things in the sky that trick the eyes of many people here.
"All the things that are visible on earth were created by the sun. Winged and wingless insects are born every time the sun returns in spring. Because of the sun's heat, birds come together in love and reproduce. Because of the sun's heat, warm earth turns seeds into shoots and then into offspring in the form of fruit. Doesn't this mean that the universe is God? Surely then nature is a goddess, the universes spouse, who conceives, bears, raises, and feeds all the things I just mentioned. "
[3] I went on to ask what his community believes, and what he believes, about religion. He replied, "Because we are more learned than the average person, religion to us is nothing but an evil spell cast on the multitudes. To average people, religion is like an atmosphere surrounding their senses and imaginations. Pious images fly in that atmosphere like butterflies in the air. Their faith hooks these images together into a chain like a silkworm building a cocoon, from which it will then emerge as the king of the butterflies. The ignorant crowd loves images that transcend what can be sensed or thought. Why? Because they wish they themselves could fly. With religion they make themselves wings so they can rise up like eagles and boast to the inhabitants of earth, saying, 'Look at me!' We, on the other hand, believe what we can actually see and love what we can actually touch. "
At that point he touched his whore and said, "I believe in this because I see it and I touch it. Those other charades we toss out our front windows, and we blow them away with our raucous laughter. "
[4] Afterward I asked him what he and his colleagues believe about heaven and hell. With a loud, mocking laugh he replied, "What is heaven but the ethereal firmament at its highest points? What are the angels there but the spots that wander around the sun? What are the archangels but comets with a long tail on which a whole gang of them lives? What is hell but the swamps where people imagine the frogs and crocodiles to be devils? Anything beyond these ideas of heaven and hell is garbage introduced by some church leader to win glory from the ignorant population. "
Now, the satan said all these things just as he had thought them in the world. He was unaware that he was living after death; he had forgotten everything he had heard when he first entered the world of spirits. So when he was asked about life after death he answered, "It is an imaginary thing. Perhaps some vapor rising off a cadaver in a grave in a kind of human shape, or else the idea of ghosts that people make up stories about - something like that brought the idea of life after death into the human imagination. "
At that point I could no longer keep myself from bursting into laughter. I said, "Satan, you are beyond insane! What are you now? You are human in form. You can talk, see, hear, and walk. Call to mind that you once lived in another world that you have forgotten, and that you are now living after death. Recall that the way you talked just now was exactly the way you used to talk. "
He was given recollection and he remembered. Then he felt ashamed and shouted, "I am insane! I saw heaven above and heard angels saying ineffable things, but it happened when I had just arrived here. Now I am going to remember this and go tell it to the colleagues I left behind. Perhaps they will be as embarrassed as I was. "
He kept saying over and over that he would call his colleagues insane, but as he went down, oblivion drove the memory away. When he arrived below he became as insane as they were, and called what he had heard from me insanity.
This shows how satans think and talk after death. People who have made falsity so strong in themselves that it becomes their belief are called "satans. " People who have made evil strong in themselves by living it are called "devils. "
80. The fifth experience.
Once a satan was given leave to come up from hell together with a woman, and he approached the house where I was. On seeing them I shut the window, but carried on a conversation with them through it. I asked the Satan where he came from, and he said from the company of his own people.
I asked where the woman came from, and he made the same reply. She belonged to the crew of sirens. Their skill is by fantasy to put on every appearance of beauty and every adornment of dress. At one time they assume the beauty of Venus, at another the charm of countenance of a Muse, at another they deck themselves like queens in crowns and robes, and pace in regal fashion leaning on silver staves. Such women in the spiritual world are prostitutes and specialise in fantasy. They induce fantasies by thinking sensually, which blocks any ideas from a more inward mode of thinking.
I asked the Satan if she was his wife. 'What is a wife?' he replied. 'This is a term unknown to me and my community; she is my woman.' Then she roused her man's lewdness, a thing these sirens are skilled in doing. On feeling this he kissed her, saying, 'Oh my Adonis!'
[2] But to more serious matters. I asked the Satan what was his calling. 'My calling,' he said, 'is learning; don't you see the laurel wreath on my head? 'This his Adonis had conjured up by her magic arts and put on his head from behind.
'Since you come from a community,' I said, 'where there are schools of learning, tell me what you and your companions believe about God.' 'God,' he replied, 'is for us the universe, which we also call nature. Simple folk in our country call it the atmosphere, by which they mean the air; but the intelligent mean the atmosphere which is also the ether. God, heaven, angels and the like, the subject of many tales in this world, are idle words and fictions inspired by meteors, which many people here have seen flash before their eyes. Is not everything to be seen upon earth the creation of the sun? Every time it approaches in springtime are not insects born, with and without wings? Does not its heat make birds love each other and reproduce? And does not the earth, warmed by its heat, cause seed to sprout and produce fruits as its offspring? Does this not mean that the universe is God, and nature a goddess, and she as the wife of the universe conceives, bears, rears and nurtures these things?'
[3] I went on to ask what he and his community believed about religion. 'We who are educated above the ordinary level,' he replied, 'look on religion as nothing but a toy for the common people. The sensory and imaginative areas of their minds are surrounded with a sort of aura, in which religious ideas flit about like butterflies in the air. Their faith, which links these ideas into a sort of chain, resembles a silk-worm in its cocoon, from which the king of butterflies flutters forth. For the uneducated masses love images which rise above the bodily senses and the thoughts they engender, because they have a longing to fly. So they make themselves wings, so that they can soar like eagles and show off in front of the earth-bound, saying, 'Look at me!' We, however, believe what we see and love what we touch.' At this he touched his woman, saying, 'This I believe, because I see and touch it. But we throw all that sort of rubbish out of our windows of mica, and waft it away on a gale of laughter.'
[4] Then I asked his opinion and that of his companions on heaven and hell. He laughed and said: 'What is heaven but the ethereal firmament on high? What are angels but spots wandering round the sun? What are archangels but comets with their long tails, on which their company lives? What is hell but marshland full of frogs and crocodiles, which their imagination turns into devils? Everything but these ideas of heaven and hell is mere nonsense, thought up by some church dignitary to seek fame among an ignorant populace.'
He said all this exactly as he had thought in the world, unaware that he was living after death, and forgetful of everything he had been told when he first entered the world of spirits. Therefore even when asked about life after death, he replied that it was a figment of the imagination, but there might perhaps be some effluvium given off by the corpse in the grave in shape resembling a person, or something like the ghosts which some tell tales about, and this had led people to fantasise on the subject.
[5] On hearing this I could no longer stop myself bursting out laughing. 'Satan,' I said, 'you really are mad. What are you now? Are you not in shape like a person? Don't you talk, see, hear and walk? Remember that you lived in another world, which you have forgotten, and now you are alive after death, yet have been speaking exactly as you did before you died.'
He was given back his memory, and on remembering he was ashamed and cried: 'I am mad. I have seen heaven up above, and heard angels there speak things beyond description. But this was when I was a recent arrival. Now I shall remember this to tell the companions I left behind, and then perhaps they will be ashamed too.' He had it on the tip of his tongue to call them mad, but as he went down forgetfulness blotted out his memory, so that on arrival he was as mad as they were, and called what I had told him madness.
Such is the state of thought and conversation among satans after death. The name of satans is given to those who have convinced themselves of falsities until they completely believe them, and the name of devils to those who have fostered evils in their characters by living a wicked life.
80. Fifth Memorable Relation:
Once by permission a satan and a woman with him, ascended from hell, and came to the house where I was. Seeing them I closed the window, but talked with them through it. I asked the satan where he came from; and he said from his own companions.
And I asked where the woman came from; and he made the same answer. She was from a crowd of sirens, such as are skilled in assuming by means of fantasies all the modes and forms of beauty and adornment, now putting on the beauty of Venus, and now the chaste features of Parnassian nymphs; and again decking themselves out like queens with crowns and royal robes, and walking majestically leaning on silver canes. Such in the world of spirits are harlots, and study fantasies. Fantasy arises from sensual thought when the ideas springing from any interior thought have been excluded.
I asked the satan if she was his wife. He replied, "What is a wife? I do not know and my society does not; she is my harlot." Then she inspired him with lascivious desire, which sirens can do with great skill; and on receiving it he kissed her, and said, "Ah my Adonis!"
[2] But to proceed to serious things. I asked the satan what his occupation was; and he said, "My occupation is the pursuit of learning; do you not see the laurel on my head?" This his Adonis had created by her art, and put on him from behind.
And I said, "Since you come from a society where learning prevails, tell me what you and your companions believe in regard to God."
He replied, "To us God is the universe, which we also call nature, and which the more simple of our people call the atmosphere, by which they mean the air, but the wise mean by it the ether. God, heaven, angels and the like, about which many in this world have much to say, are empty terms, and fictions taken from the meteors which here play before the eyes of many people. Are not all things that are visible on the earth created by the sun? At its approach every spring are not winged and creeping insects brought forth; and do not birds, moved by its heat, love each other and propagate their species; and does not the earth when warmed by its heat make seeds to sprout and finally yield fruit as offspring? Is not the universe then a god, and nature a goddess; and does she not, as the spouse of the universe, conceive, bear, bring up, and nourish these offspring?"
[3] I asked further what he and his society believed about religion. He replied, "To us, who are more learned than the masses, religion is nothing but a bewitchment of the common people, which encompasses, like an aura, the sensitive and imaginative powers of their minds; and in that aura notions of piety fly about like butterflies in the air; and their faith, which connects these ideas, as it were, in a chain, is like a silkworm in his cocoon, from which he comes forth as king of the butterflies. For the unlearned masses, from a desire to fly, love to imagine things above their bodily senses and their thought therefrom, in this way making wings for themselves, with which they may soar like eagles and cry boastfully to those on the ground, 'Look at me!' But we believe what we see, and we love what we touch." With that he touched his harlot and said, "This is something I believe in because I see and touch it. But we throw that other nonsense out of our windows, and blow it away with a breath of laughter."
[4] I then asked what he and his companions believed about heaven and hell. He replied with a loud laugh, "What is heaven but the ethereal firmament above? And what are its angels but spots wandering about the sun? And what are archangels but comets with long tails, upon which a crowd of them dwell? And what is hell but bogs where, in their imagination, frogs and crocodiles are the devils? Everything beyond these ideas of heaven and hell is mere trumpery brought forth by some prelate for the purpose of winning glory from the ignorant multitude."
All this he said precisely as he had thought upon these subjects in the world, not knowing that he was then living after death, and having forgotten all that he had heard when he first entered the spiritual world. So again he replied to a question about a life after death, that it was a thing of the imagination; and that perchance some effluvium arising from a buried corpse in the shape of a man, or a thing called a ghost, about which some tell stories, had introduced such a notion among men's fancies.
When I heard this I could no longer keep from laughing; and I said, "Satan, you are raving mad. What are you now? Are you not now in the form of a man? Do you not talk, see, hear, walk? Recall to mind that you have lived in another world which you have forgotten, and that you are now living after death, and that you were even now talking just as you formerly did."
And recollection was given him, and he remembered and was ashamed; and he cried out, "I am mad! I saw heaven above, and I heard angels there uttering things ineffable; but that was when I first came here. I will now keep this in mind to tell to my companions from whom I came; and perhaps they too will be ashamed as I am."
And he kept repeating that he would call them madmen; but as he descended forgetfulness expelled remembrance; and when he reached his companions he was as mad as they, and said that what he had heard from me was madness.
In this way do satans think and talk after death. Those are called satans who have confirmed in themselves falsities until they believe them; and those are called devils who have confirmed in themselves evils by their life.
80. The fifth experience. A satan once by permission ascended from hell with a woman and came to the house where I was. When I saw them I closed the window but entered into conversation with them through it. I asked the satan where he came from, and he replied from the company of his associates. I put the same question to the woman, and received a similar reply. She was from the company of sirens, who have the art of assuming the appearance of all modes and forms of beauty and adornment. At one time they put on the beautiful form of a Venus, 1 at another the graceful countenance of a maiden of Parnassus, and at another they adorn themselves in crowns and robes as queens, and walk majestically, leaning on silver staffs. Such are the courtesans in the world of spirits, and they apply themselves to the art of fanciful appearances. These appearances are induced by sensual thought from which all ideas of interior thought are excluded. When I asked the satan if she was his wife, he replied: "What is a wife? I do not know, nor does any one of my society: she is my courtesan." Then she inspired him with lust, which sirens do with great skill, and he thereupon kissed her, saying, "Ah, my love!"
[2] But to proceed to more serious matters. I asked the satan what his vocation was. "My vocation," said he, "is learning. Do you not see the laurel wreath upon my head?" This his love had formed by her art and put on his head from behind. Then I said: "Since you have come from a society where there are schools of learning, tell me, what do you and your companions believe about God?" He replied: "To us God is the universe, which we also call nature. The simple among our people call it the atmosphere, by which they mean the air, while by it our wise men mean the ether also. God, heaven, angels, and such things, about which various fables are invented by many men in this world, are empty words, or fictions, suggested by the meteor-like appearances which play before the eyes of many in this place. Are not all things which appear on the earth, created by the sun? Are not all winged and creeping insects produced at his approach in spring? Do not birds, moved by his heat, love one another and propagate their kind? Does not the earth, warmed by his heat, cause seeds to produce, first plants and then fruits, as her children? Is not the universe, therefore, God and nature a goddess, who, as the spouse of the universe, conceives, brings forth, rears, and nourishes those things?"
[3] I further asked what he and his society believed about religion. He replied: "To us, who are learned above the mass of men, religion is nothing but a bewitchment of the common people, enveloping their feelings and imaginations as a rare atmosphere, in which flit about pious notions like butterflies in the air; and their faith, which connects those ideas into a system, is like a silk-worm in its cocoon, from which it emerges as the king of butterflies. For the illiterate community love imaginary things, transcending the bodily senses and the thoughts that spring from them, from a desire to fly. They even make for themselves wings, that they may soar upward like eagles and boastfully cry to those on the earth, 'Look at me!' We believe what we see, and we love what we touch." Then touching his love he said: "This I believe, because I see and touch her; but as for that other nonsense, we throw it out of the window, casting it from us with a burst of laughter."
[4] After this I asked what he and his associates believed concerning heaven and hell. He replied, with a derisive laugh: "What is heaven but the lofty ethereal firmament, and the angels there but spots, wandering round the sun, and the archangels but comets with long tails, upon which the whole crowd dwells? And what is hell but marshes, where frogs and crocodiles become devils in the imagination of simple people? All other ideas about heaven and hell are mere trumpery, devised by some prelate to win glory from an ignorant multitude." All these things he spoke just as he had thought concerning them in the world, not knowing that he was now living after death, and forgetting all that he had heard when he first entered the spiritual world. Therefore also, when I questioned him regarding the life after death, he replied that it was a figment of the imagination; and that probably some vapor rising from a buried corpse in a form resembling a man, or some so-called spectre, about which people spread fables, had suggested such a thing to the popular imagination.
When I heard this I could no longer refrain from bursting into laughter, and I said: "Satan, you are raving mad. Are you not now in form a man? Do you not talk, see, hear, and walk? Pray recollect that you once lived in another world, which you have forgotten, and that you are now living after death, and have been speaking just as you did before." The power to recollect was restored to him: his memory returned, and thoroughly ashamed he cried out: "I am mad! I have seen heaven above, and have heard angels there uttering things ineffable; but that was when I first came here. However, I will keep this in mind to tell it to my companions whom I have just left, and perchance they also will be ashamed." He kept repeating that he would call them madmen; but as he went down, forgetfulness took the place of recollection. So when he arrived among them, he was as mad as they, and called madness what he had heard from me. Such is the state of thought and conversation of satans after death. Those who have confirmed themselves in belief in falsities are called satans, and devils those who have confirmed themselves in evils of life.
Footnotes:
1. Venus, goddess of love.
80. QUINTUM MEMORABILE.
Quondam unus Satanas 1 cum venia ex Inferno ascendit una cum foemina, et accessit ad domum ubi eram, quibus visis occlusi fenestram, attamen trans illam cum illis loquebar, et quaesivi Satanam unde veniret; dixit, ex consortio suorum, et quaesivi unde foemina; dixit similiter; haec erat ex turba Sirenum, quae callent per phantasias sibi inducere omnes habitus et figuras pulchritudinis et ornatus, nunc figurant pulchritudinem Veneris, nunc decorem oris sicut esset Parnassis, nunc exornant se sicut Reginae coronis et chlamydibus, et super baculo argenteo innixae magnifice ambulant; tales in Mundo Spirituum sunt meretrices, et phantasiis student; phantasia fit per cogitationem sensualem occlusis ideis ex cogitatione aliqua interiore. Quaesivi Satanam, Numeri illa esset ejus Uxor; respondit, quid uxor, hoc nescio, et nescit societas mea, est mea meretrix, et tunc illa inspiravit viro lasciviam, quod etiam Sirenes dextre callent, qua recepta osculatus est illam, et dixit, ah mea Adonis.
[2] Sed ad seria; interrogavi Satanam, quae ejus functio, et ait, functio mea est Eruditio, videsne laurum super capite meo; hanc Adonis ejus per artem suam conflavit, et a tergo imposuit: et dixi, quoniam e societate, ubi magisteria sunt, advenis, dic mihi quid credis et quid credunt consocii tui de Deo; retulit, Deus nobis est Universum, quod etiam vocamus Naturam, et quod simplices nostratium vocant Athmosphaeram, quae illis est aer, at sapientes Athmosphaeram quae etiam est Aether; Deus, Coelum, Angeli, et similia, de quibus multi multa fabulantur in hoc Mundo, sunt vocabula inania, et figmenta capta ex Meteoris, quae ludunt coram oculis plurium hic; suntne omnia, quae super Tellure apparent, a Sole creata; numne omni adventu ejus tempore veris nascuntur Vermes cum alis et absque alis, et ex calore ejus Volucres se mutuo amant et prolificant, et Terra aestu ejus tepefacta semina educit in germina, et tandem in fructus ut proles; annon sic Universum est Deus, et Natura est Dea, et haec ut Universi conjunx concipit, parit, educat, et alit illa.
[3] Porro interrogavi, quid credit Societas ejus, et ille, de Religione; respondit, quod Religio nobis prae vulgo eruditis, non sit nisi quam fascinum plebis, quod circum sensitiva et imaginaria illorum mentis est sicut aura, in qua volant pietatis ideae tanquam papiliones in aere, et fides illorum, quae connectit ideas illas sicut in catenam, tanquam bombyx in volvulo serico, e quo evolat ut rex papilionum; amat enim Communio inerudita imagines supra sensualia corporis et inde cogitationis, propter cupidinem ut volent, ita etiam faciunt sibi alas, ut sicut aquilae elevent se, et se jactent coram terricolis, dicturi, ecce me; nos autem credimus quod videmus, et amamus quod tangimus, et tunc tetigit Meretricem suam, et dixit, hoc credo, quia video et tango; verum nos talia ludibria per speculares nostras fenestras ejicimus, et sufflatu risus abigimus.
[4] Postea quaesivi, quid una cum consociis credit de Coelo et Inferno; respondit cum 2 cachinno, quid Coelum nisi firmamentum aethereum in sua altitudine, et quid Angeli ibi nisi quam maculae errantes circum Solem, et Archangeli nisi quam cometae cum longa cauda, super qua habitat eorum turba; et quid Infernum nisi paludes, ubi ranae et crocodili in phantasia illorum sunt diaboli; praeter has ideas de 3 coelo et inferno, reliqua sunt nugae, a quodam Primate ad capessendum gloriam a populo ignaro introductae; sed haec omnia loquutus est, prorsus ut de illis cogitaverat in Mundo, nesciens quod viveret post mortem, et oblitus omnium, quae, dum primum intravit Mundum Spirituum, audivit; quare etiam ad interrogationem de vita post mortem retulit quod sit ens imaginarium, et quod forte aliquod effluviosum exsurgens ex cadavere in tumulo in forma sicut homo, aut quoddam quod vocatur spectrum, de quo fabulantur aliqui, tale quid in phantasias hominum introduxerat.
[5] His auditis non potui amplius retinere risum, quin erumperet et dixi, Satana, insanis insaniendo; quid tu nunc, esne in forma homo, numne loqueris, vides, audis, gradiris; reminiscere, quod vixeris in alio Mundo, cujus oblitus es, et quod nunc post mortem vivas, et quod loquutus sis prorsus sicut prius; et data est ei reminiscentia, et recordatus est, et tunc puduit illum, et clamavit, insanio, vidi coelum supra, et audivi angelos ibi loquutos ineffabilia, sed hoc quando huc nuper allui; at nunc retinebo hoc narraturus sociis meis, a quibus recessi, et forte tunc pudebit illos similiter; ac tenuit in ore quod illos vocaret insanos, sed sicut descendit, oblivio expulit reminiscentiam, et cum ibi erat, insanivit consimiliter, et vocavit illa, quae a me audivit, 4 insanias. Talis est status cogitationis et sermocinationis Satanarum post mortem: vocantur Satanae illi, qui confirmaverunt apud se falsa usque ad fidem, et Diaboli illi qui confirmaverunt mala apud se per vitam.
Footnotes: