607、下面会详细描述该教会的性质，但为了获得对它的某种概念，现在我先予以简要说明。如前所述，上古教会是属天的，而古教会是属灵的。上古教会拥有对良善和真理的感知，而该教会没有感知，取而代之的是一种不同的指示，这种指示可称作良心。
但世人尚不知道，或许还难以相信的是，上古教会成员拥有内呼吸，并且只有无声的外呼吸。因此，他们不像后来和现在那样通过发声说话，而是像天使一样通过观念说话。他们能用眼神、表情，尤其嘴唇的无数变化表达这些观念。唇部有无数肌肉纤维，这些纤维如今都打成了结，但在那些时代是可以自由活动的。他们以这种方式能在一分钟之内提出、表示并代表如今借助发音吐字需要一个小时才能表达清楚的观念。他们向在场的人传达他们的信息时，能让这些人理解和领悟得更充分、更清晰，胜过词句所能达到的效果。这看似难以置信，却是真的。也有许多不是来自地球的人曾以这种方式说话，并且现在仍这样说话。关于他们，蒙主的神性怜悯，容后再述。
我还得以知道这种内呼吸是何性质，并且随着时间推移，它又是如何发生改变的。由于这些上古之人拥有诸如天使所拥有的那种呼吸，所以深邃的观念构成他们的思维，并且他们能拥有这种无法形容的感知。因此，即便这种感知被勉为其难地描述出来，人们也不会相信，因为他们不明白。但这种内呼吸在他们的后代中逐渐消失，对那些痴迷于可怕的说服和幻想的人来说，它变成了这样：除了极其荒诞、最为低下的外，他们再也无法提出任何构成思维的观念。其结果就是，他们无法存活，因而都灭绝了。
New Century Edition
Cooper(2008,2013)
[NCE]607. What follows will lay out that church's nature in detail; for now I will present just a glimpse of it through these brief remarks.
The earliest church was heavenly, as already noted.{*1} The church under discussion here, on the other hand, became spiritual. The earliest church had enjoyed a perception of goodness and truth. This church (the ancient) did not have perception but another kind of inner voice instead that can be called conscience.
[2] But what the world does not yet know and may have difficulty believing is that the people of the earliest church breathed internally; any external breathing was silent. As a result, they also spoke less with words than people afterward did and still do. Instead, like the angels, they spoke in ideas or mental images, which they could communicate by endless changes in facial expression, especially around the lips. This part of the face has countless series of muscle fibers that today cannot work separately but in those times were independent of each other. Using these muscles, they were able to display, signal, and represent their ideas in such a way that what we would now need an hour to express in articulated sounds (that is, words) would have taken them a minute. And they conveyed their message to the grasp and real comprehension of those present much more fully and clearly than words or sentences could ever do. This may seem impossible, and yet it is true.
There are also many others, not from this planet, who spoke and still speak in the same way, as will be described below [6814, 7359-7360, 7745-7746, 8022-8026, 8247-8248, 10587-10588, 10708-10710], with the Lord's divine mercy.
[3] In fact I have been able to learn about this internal breathing of theirs — what it was like and how it changed over time. Since their respiration was like the respiration of the angels, who breathe in a similar way, they had access to the deeper concepts involved in thought and were capable of a kind of perception that could never be described. If its nature were described, no one would understand it, and therefore no one would believe it.
This internal breathing vanished little by little among their descendants. In those consumed by horrendous delusions and fantasies, such breathing lost the ability to present any thoughts to them that were not hideously ugly. The effect of this change was [so powerful] that the people themselves could no longer survive, and so they were all wiped out.
Footnotes:
{*1} On the heavenly nature of the earliest church, see, for example, 85, 201-202. [LHC]
Potts(1905-1910) 607
607. But the character of this church will be described hereafter. That an idea of it may be presented here, it shall be briefly said that the Most Ancient Church was celestial, as already shown, but this church became spiritual. The Most Ancient Church had a perception of good and truth; this, or the Ancient Church, had not perception, but in its place another kind of dictate, which may be called conscience. [2] But what is as yet unknown in the world, and is perhaps difficult to believe, is that the men of the Most Ancient Church had internal respiration, and only tacit external respiration. Thus they spoke not so much by words, as afterwards and as at this day, but by ideas, as angels do; and these they could express by innumerable changes of the looks and face, especially of the lips. In the lips there are countless series of muscular fibers which at this day are not set free, but being free with the men of that time, they could so present, signify, and represent ideas by them as to express in a minute's time what at this day it would require an hour to say by articulate sounds and words, and they could do this more fully and clearly to the apprehension and understanding of those present than is possible by words, or series of words in combination. This may perhaps seem incredible, but yet it is true. And there are many others, not of this earth, who have spoken and at this day speak in a similar manner; concerning whom, of the Lord's Divine mercy hereafter. [3] It has been given me to know the nature of that internal respiration, and how in process of time it was changed. As these most ancient people had a respiration such as the angels have, who breathe in a similar manner, they were in profound ideas of thought, and were able to have such perception as cannot be described; and even if it could be described such as it really was, it would not be believed, because it would not be comprehended. But in their posterity this internal respiration little by little came to an end; and with those who were possessed with dreadful persuasions and phantasies, it became such that they could no longer present any idea of thought except the most debased, the effect of which was that they could not survive, and therefore all became extinct.
Elliott(1983-1999) 607
607. The character of that Church is described later on, but in order that some notion of it may be gained at this point let a brief description be given here. The Most Ancient Church, as has been stated, was celestial whereas this Ancient Church became spiritual. Whereas the Most Ancient Church possessed perception of good and truth this Church had instead of perception a different kind of dictate, which may be called conscience.
[2] Something as yet unknown to the world and perhaps hard to believe is that the member of the Most Ancient Church possessed internal breathing, but no external breathing except that which was soundless. Consequently people spoke not so much by means of vocal utterances, as they did in later times and as they do nowadays, but like angels, by means of ideas. They were able to express ideas by means of countless alterations in their facial expressions and in their looks, and especially by means of alterations of the lips where there are innumerable threads of muscular fibres which are all knotted up nowadays but which had freedom of movement in those times. They were in this way able to present, mean, and represent inside a minute things which nowadays take an hour by the use of articulated sounds or utterance. And they did so far more fully and more clearly to the comprehension and understanding of those present than can possibly be done with words or sentences. This is perhaps hard to believe but is nevertheless the truth. There are also many others who do not originate from this earth who spoke and still do so today in this manner. These in the Lord's Divine mercy will be dealt with later on.
[3] I have been given to know also the nature of that internal breathing and how in course of time it was changed. And because their manner of breathing resembled that of angels who breathe in that kind of way, profound ideas constituted their thought, and they were able to have perception, such as defies description. Consequently if such a description were attempted it would not be comprehended nor therefore believed either. Among their descendants however that internal breathing gradually passed away, and with those who were obsessed with dreadful persuasions and delusions it became such that they were incapable any longer of presenting any idea comprising thought except the very grotesque. The outcome of this was their inability to survive, and so all of them were wiped out.
Latin(1748-1756) 607
607. Sed qualis illa Ecclesia fuit, in sequentibus describitur; ut hic sistatur idea ejus, breviter dicendum: Antiquissima, ut dictum, caelestis fuit, haec autem facta spiritualis: Antiquissima perceptionem boni et veri habuit; haec seu Antiqua non perceptionem, sed loco ejus aliud quoddam dictamen quod vocari potest conscientia. [2] Sed quod orbi adhuc ignotum est et forte incredibile; Antiquissimae Ecclesiae homo respirationem habuit internam, nec externam nisi tacitam; quare nec ita per voces sicut postea et hodie locuti sunt, sed per ideas, sicut angeli; quas exprimere potuerunt per innumeras mutationes vultus et faciei, imprimis per labiorum, in quibus innumerabiles muscularium fibrarum hodie non extricatarum series sunt: per quas tunc exsolutas, ita ideas sistere, significare et repraesentare potuerunt ut quae hodie debent per horae tempus sonis articulatis seu vocibus, tunc intra minutum potuerunt, et multo plenius et evidentius ad captum et intellectum praesentium quam usquam potest vocibus et vocum combinatarum seriebus; hoc forte incredibile est sed usque verum. Sunt etiam plures alii qui non ex hac tellure, qui similiter locuti et hodie loquuntur, de quibus, ex Divina Domini Misericordia, in sequentibus. [3] Respiratio illa interna qualis fuit et quomodo temporis successu mutata est, etiam scire datum; et qiaa talem respirationem habuerunt qualem angeli qui similiter respirant; in profundis cogitationis ideis fuerunt, et perceptionem potuerunt habere talem quae describi nequit; quare si describeretur qualis fasset, quia non caperetur, etiam nec crederetur. Sed in posteris eorum respiratio illa interna paullatim evanescebat; et apud eos qui diris persuasionibus et phantasiis occupati, talis facta ut nullam cogitationis ideam sistere amplius potuissent nisi deformissimam; cujus effectus fuit ut non supervivere possent, quare omnes illi exstincti sunt.