182、对此，我补充两个记事。记事一：
数周后，我听见从天上有声音说：“看哪，帕尔纳索斯山上又有一场集会。到这里来，我们会指示你道路。”我就朝他们走去，快到的时候，就发现有一个人站在赫利孔山上，手拿号筒，宣告和召集会议。我还看见雅典娜城及其周边地区的居民和以前一样上去，他们当中有三位从世上来的新人。这三人都来自基督教界：一位是牧师，一位是政客，一位是哲学家。在路上，他们与新来的人谈论各种话题，特别谈到提及名字的古代智者。新来的人问可否见到他们，被告知可以；若愿意，就能向他们致敬，因为他们都很平易近人。新来的人打听狄摩西尼、第欧根尼和伊壁鸠鲁，被告知：“狄摩西尼不在这里，而是与柏拉图在一起。第欧根尼与他的门生住在赫利孔山脚，因为他视俗世如虚无，一心研究天上的事。伊壁鸠鲁住在西部边界，不会造访我们，因为我们区分良善与邪恶的情感，并强调良善的情感与智慧为一，而邪恶的情感则与智慧对立。”
他们登上帕尔纳索斯山，那里有些守卫将当地泉源流下来的水接到水晶杯里，说：“这是出自古希腊神话所描述的泉源（即希波克林泉）之水，这泉水是飞马佩加索斯以蹄踏出来的，后来祝圣给缪斯九女神。不过，他们所说的飞马佩加索斯是指对真理的理解，智慧由此而来；马蹄是指经验，属世的聪明由此而来；缪斯九女神是指各种知识和学问。如今，这些故事被视为神话，其实它们原本是对应，是远古之人的一种说话方式。”这三个新来的人被他们的同伴告知：“不要惊讶。守卫们被教导如此说话。我们也将从泉源饮水理解为被教导真理，并通过真理被教导各种良善，从而变得智慧。”
此后，他们进入帕拉斯殿，与他们同行的还有世上来的那三个新人，即牧师，政客和哲学家。然后，坐在桌旁、头戴桂冠的人问他们：“你们从地上带来什么新闻？”他们回答说：“有这样一则新闻，有人声称他能与天使交谈，具有向灵界打开的视觉，如同具有向自然界打开的视觉。他从那里带来许多新奇的观念，其中包括：死后人仍像人一样活着，和之前活在世间一样；他能看，能听，能说，和在之前的世界一样；穿着打扮，和在之前的世界一样；会饥会渴，也吃也喝，和在之前的世界一样；享有婚姻的快乐，和在之前的世界一样；也睡也醒，和在之前的世界一样；灵界有陆地、湖泊、大山、小山、平原、山谷、泉源、河流、花园、树林；还有宫殿、房屋、城镇、村庄，和自然界一样；此外也有各种著作、书籍、职业、贸易，以及宝石、金银。总之，在地上所能找到的一切事物，在灵界都能找到，只是天上的事物无限完美得多。唯一区别在于，灵界的一切事物皆出自一个属灵的源头，因而是属灵的，因为它们源于灵界的太阳，这太阳是纯粹的爱；而自然界的一切事物皆出自一个属世的源头，因而是属世和物质的，因为它们源于自然界的太阳，这太阳是纯粹的火。简言之，死后人依然是完整的人，事实上比在之前的世界更加完美。因为在之前的世界，他在一具肉体中；而在灵界，他在一具灵体中。”
新来的人说完这番话，古智者们问他们：“地上的人对此有什么看法？”这三人回答说:“我们知道这些事都是真的，因为我们就在这里，并且已经检查和探究了个遍。我们就说说世人对它们是怎么说的，又是如何推理的。”牧师第一个发言，他说：“神职人员听说这些事后，起初认为它们是幻觉，后来认为是捏造，再后来则声称他看见了幽灵；最后他们也困惑了，只好说:‘你爱信就信吧，反正我们一贯的教导是，死后，在最后审判日之前，人不会有身体。’”这时，古智者们问他：“难道他们中间就没有一个聪明人，能证明并使他们相信这一真理：死后，人仍像人一样活着吗？”
这位牧师回答说：“有些人提供了证据，但他们不相信。提供证据的人声称，认为在最后审判日之前，人不像人一样活着，并且在此期间，他是一个没有身体的灵魂，这是有违正常理性的。何为灵魂？在此期间它又在哪里？它岂是一缕气？或飞在空中的风一样的东西？或藏在地心的一种实体？它的地府在哪里？难道六千年或六个世纪后，亚当和夏娃，以及他们之后所有人的灵魂还在宇宙中四处飞行？或还被关在地心，等候最后的审判？还有比这样的等候更痛苦、悲惨的吗？他们的命运岂不和监狱中戴着手铐脚链的囚犯有一比吗？如果这就是人死后的命运，那生而为驴岂不比做人还强？再者，认为灵魂能再度披上它的肉体，这岂不违背理性？那时肉体不是被虫子、老鼠和鱼类吃光了吗？已被太阳焚毁或化为尘土的骸骨还能披上新的身体吗？这些枯槁、腐臭的尸体如何聚拢起来，与灵魂联结？但他们听到这样的论据后，却不给予理性的回应，仍执守自己的信仰，说:‘我们要使理性服从信仰。’至于所有尸体如何在最后审判之日从坟墓中被召集，他们说:‘这是全能的作工。’一开始谈论全能和信仰，理性就从窗口飞走了。我能向你们保证，这种时候，正常的理性如无物，有些人则视它为幻觉。事实上，他们能对着正常理性说，你疯了。”
听到这里，希腊智者说：“毫无疑问，这些悖论是自相矛盾的。然而，如今在世上，甚至连正常的理性都无法驳倒它们。还有比关于最后审判的说法更自相矛盾的信仰吗？也就是说，那时宇宙将灭亡，众星从天上坠落到地球上（地球可比这些星星小多了）；人的躯体，也就是尸体，或被人们开膛破肚制成的木乃伊，或那一点点灰尘，将与它们的灵魂再度聚合。我们在世时基于理性向我们提供的推论，相信人的灵魂不朽。我们还为蒙福的灵魂找到一个地方，我们称其为极乐世界（Elysian fields），并相信离世的灵魂就是人的形像或外表，只是很精致，因为它们是属灵的。”
说完这番话，他们转向第二个新来的人，他在世时曾是政客。他承认自己从前不相信死后的生命。关于这生命的新奇事，他倒是听说了，只是觉得它们是虚构和捏造。他说：“当我思想它们时，便说：灵魂怎能是身体？此人的各个部位不都死了，躺在坟墓里吗？在那里，谁还有用来看见的眼睛？谁还有用来听见的耳朵？他哪来说话的嘴巴？如果人死后还有什么东西活着，那必是一种幽灵。幽灵如何吃喝？如何享受婚姻的快乐？又从何处获得衣服、房屋和食物等等？再说了，云雾状的幽灵看似存在，其实并不存在。我在世时对于人死后的生命就持有这些及类似想法。但现在亲眼看到一切事物，亲手摸了一切事物后，我凭自己的感觉确信，我是一个人，和在世时一样，以致我只知道自己仍像以前那样活着；唯一的区别在于，现在我的理性更发达了。我好几次为自己以前的想法感到羞愧。”
哲学家的故事与之类似，不同之处在于：他将所听来的有关死后生命的新奇事归到他从古今思想家那里所搜集来的观点和理论当中。听到这一切，智者们目瞪口呆。属苏格拉底学派的人说，来自地上的这则新闻让他们意识到，世人的心智内层已逐渐关闭，如今虚假的信仰在世上闪耀如真理，愚蠢的聪明则闪耀如智慧；自他们的时代起，智慧之光已从头脑内层下沉到鼻子下面的嘴巴里;在那里，它在世人眼里看似嘴口上的光辉，而嘴口的言语则看似智慧。听到这里，门生中有一位补充说：“如今地上居民的心智何等愚蠢！要是这里有赫拉克利特和德谟克利特的门徒，我们将听到何等大的笑声和何等大的哭声！因为他们能在一切事上找到笑的理由或哭的理由。”会议结束后，他们将自己国家的纪念品，就是刻有象形文字的铜板，送给地上来的三位新人。新来的人便带着它们离开了。
182、在此我要做两段陈述，第一：
一段时间后我听到来自于天国的一个声音说：“ 帕纳谢姆山上还有一个集会，我们带你去。”
我走近那里时看到海力肯涅姆山上有个人手中拿着喇叭，他吹喇叭召集了人们。来自雅典娜城及周边地区的人跟从前一样降临而来。在其中有三个从世间刚刚到的人，这三个人中一个是基督教的牧师，一个是政客，一个是哲学家，一路上这三个人谈论着古代的智者们，他们问自己是否可以见见这些智者，人们告诉他们这些智者很友好，可以见到他们。
来访者问起克里喜伯斯，狄欧坚尼莱遏夏斯，鸠鲁。
人们告诉他克里喜伯斯不在这儿，他和柏拉图在一起，狄欧坚尼莱遏夏斯和他的追随者在海力肯涅姆山上，因为他们不看重尘世之物而是专心于信仰。鸠鲁住在西边边缘地带，他不会来参加我们的集会。因为我们严格区分善的情感和罪恶的情感，善的情感与智者相伴，而恶的情感与智慧相排斥。
当他们来到帕纳谢姆山上后，看守那里的一人拿出水晶杯，里面装着那里的泉水，他们说道：“这水来于老人们故事中所讲的山泉。这泉是珀伽索斯马的蹄子敲出来的”，后来这泉眼成为缪斯九个女神的神泉。这里所说的长有翅膀的珀伽索斯马代表着对真理的理解。马的蹄子代表着通向才智的观察。九个缪斯女神意思是学习及各种知识。如今我们称这些故事为神话，但他们是早期的人类用来表达思想的寓言。”
“别吃惊”，陪着三个来访者的人说。这些人受命来告诉我们他们刚才所讲的一切。向我们解释为什么说喝这泉水就是认识真理，并通过真理认识善，进而变得有智慧。”
他们进入帕拉狄昂，来自世间的曾经是牧师，政治家和哲学家的三个来访者也一起进来了。这时坐在桌旁戴着月桂花环的人问道：“你们从世间带来了什么消息？”
三个新来的人说：“我们在世间时听说有个人曾与天使交谈，还说他能够看到精神世界。他讲了许多那一世界的新鲜的事儿，比如说：“人死后还会象他在世间时一样地活着。能够看、听、说。能与在世间时一样穿着。也会有饥饿感和口干的感觉，也可以吃、喝。也会同世间时一样的婚姻之乐。也要睡觉，也要会清晨醒来，在精神世界中也有大地、湖泊、山脉、平原和峡谷，也有山泉、河流、花园和树丛。人们会在那里看到空殿、房屋、城市和乡村，那里没有文字记载及书籍。也有不同的职业和生意，也有宝石、金银，总而言之，在那里有世间的一切，只是天国中的一切都更完美，唯一的区别是精神世界的事物的来源是精神性的，因为它来自于那里的太阳，这一太阳是一种真正的爱，而世间的一切都来源于自然，因此是自然性的，是物质的，它来自于自然的太阳，这一太阳是一团火。
“这个人说：“人死后仍然是人，只不过是更完美的人，因为在世间时人拥有的是物质的躯体，而在精神世界中人拥有的是精神的躯体。”
来访者说完这些后，古时的智者们问世上的人对这个人所讲的有什么想法。
三个来访者说：“我们知道他们所说的是真的，因为我们在此见到了一切，我们可以告诉你们世间的人人是怎么想的。”
这时牧师首先说道：“我们的信徒首先认为这是幻觉，然后说这是胡编乱造，后来他们又说这个人是见到鬼了，最后他们甩手说：“信不信由你，我们是一直被告知人死后在最后的审判之前是不会有躯体的。”
古时的智者然后问道：“难到他们中没有人能说服他们人死后还会象人一样生活吗？”
牧师回答说有一些人对他们这样讲，但是不能说服他们。他们说人死后不再象人一样生活直到最后的审判到来之时，这是与理性相矛盾的。
他们问：“灵魂是什么，它在死后在哪里呢？”它是一种气息或是一阵风飘荡在空中吗？它是藏在地中心的冥府吗？亚当和夏娃的灵魂以及他们之后六千年来所有的灵魂都在游荡着，等着最后的审判的到来吗？有什么会比那样的等待更可悲呢？他们的命运岂不是在像被关在地狱中戴着锁链的人？如果死后的境界是这个样子，生来是动物岂不是比做为人类要好？
“另外，灵魂能够与躯体再次结合岂不是与理性相背？躯体难道不会被虫、鼠或鱼吃掉吗？躯体难道能重新覆盖被太阳晒干的骨骸吗？这些腐烂变味的元素怎么能够重新组合在一起，并与灵魂相结合呢？
“但是当人们听到这些陈述时，他们并不用理性来应对，而是坚守他们的信仰说：“我们忠于信仰，他们说在最后的审判之日所有的人会脱离坟墓，这是上帝万能的体现。当他们提到信仰和万能一词时，理性就不存在了，对一些人来讲，理性就象是假话一样，他们说理性的陈述是发疯了。”
当希腊的智者听到这些后说：“逻辑上的不一致岂不互相矛盾吗？有什么会比说在最后审判之日，整个宇宙都会死亡，星星会落到地球上更与逻辑相矛盾呢？星星不是比地球大吗？躯体不是变成尘埃了吗？
“我们在世间时相信灵魂不灭，我们还认为受祝福的人的灵魂会到极乐世界。我们相信灵魂是以人形或类似人形的形式存在的，灵魂是精神性的。”
说到这，他们转向第二个来访者，这个人在世间时是政治家。他承认他并不相信死后的生命，他认为所听到的是胡编乱造，“我曾这样想，灵魂怎么会有生命形式，人死后的一切都存在于坟墓中，眼睛在那，那么人怎么还会看到东西？耳朵也在那，人怎么还会听到东西？嘴还是在那，那么人怎么讲话？若人死后还会有什么东西继续活着，那它岂不是象鬼魂一样？鬼怎么会吃喝？怎么会有婚姻之爱？它怎么会得到衣食住行等一切？另外，作为一种气状物，鬼虽然看上去存在，而实际上不存在。
“这就是我在世时对死后状况的思索，但现在见到了一切，我知道我还是象在世间时一样，我感觉是与从前一样地生活着。只是我现在更理性，我有时会因自己在世间时的想法而羞耻。”
哲学家也讲了类似的话，只是他曾对这种新的陈述做了归类。
圣人们听到这些后感到吃惊，他们说道：“世上的人如今是多么愚蠢啊！”
最后，他们给三个来访者发了上面刻着象形图案的铜牌，代表他们的属地，之后他们离开了。
182. At this point I shall add two accounts of experiences, of which this is the first.
Some weeks later 1I heard a voice from heaven saying, 'There is to be another meeting on Parnassium; come and we will show you the way.'
I went towards them, and on coming near I saw standing on Heliconeum a man with a trumpet, which he used to announce and summon a meeting. I also saw people from the city of Athenaeum and its neighbourhood going up as before, and among them three newcomers from the world. All three came from the Christians; one was a priest, one a politician, the third a philosopher. On the way they entertained the newcomers with talk on various subjects, especially about the wise men of antiquity, whom they mentioned by name. The newcomers asked whether they would see them. They were told that they would see them, and be able to greet them if they wished, as they were easy to approach.
They asked about Demosthenes, Diogenes and Epicurus. 2'Demosthenes,' they said, 'is not here, but where Plato lives. Diogenes with his school lives under Heliconeum, because he regards worldly matters as of no consequence, and meditates only on heavenly matters. Epicurus lives on the western boundary, and does not visit us, because we make a distinction between good and evil affections; we assert that good affections go along with wisdom, and evil affections are opposed to wisdom.'
[2] When they had climbed the hill of Parnassium, some guards there brought water from the local spring in crystal goblets, saying, 'This is water from the spring which ancient myths describe as having been struck open by the hoof of the horse called Pegasus, and later dedicated to the Nine Maidens. 3But by the winged horse Pegasus they meant the understanding of truth which leads to wisdom. Its hoofs meant the experiences which give rise to natural intelligence. The Nine Maidens meant knowledge and learning of every kind. These stories are nowadays called myths, but they were correspondences, a manner of expression used by the earliest peoples.'
'Don't be surprised,' the three newcomers were told by their companions; 'the guards are taught to explain this. By drinking water from the spring we too understand being taught about truths, and by means of truths about kinds of good, and so being wise.'
[3] After this they went into the Palladium, and the three newcomers from the world, the priest, the politician and the philosopher, went with them. Then those wearing laurels who were sitting at the tables asked, 'What news from earth?'
'This,' they answered, 'is the news. There is someone who claims to talk with angels and have his sight opened to see into the spiritual world, just as well as he does into the natural world. He reports news from there, among which are the following. A person, he says, lives on as a person after death, just as he had lived before in the world. He can see, hear and speak, as he did before in the world. He wears clothes and ornaments just as he did before in the world. He feels hunger and thirst, eats and drinks, just as he did before in the world. He enjoys the delights of marriage, just as he did before in the world. He goes to sleep and wakes up, just as he did before in the world. That world has lands and lakes, mountains and hills, plains and valleys, springs and rivers, parks and woodland. There are also palaces and houses there, towns and villages, as in the natural world. There is writing there and books, official positions and businesses, precious stones, gold and silver. In short every single thing on earth is to be found there, but in the heavens they are infinitely more perfect. The only difference is that everything in the spiritual world is of spiritual origin, and so is spiritual, because it originates from the sun there, which is undiluted love. Everything in the natural world is of natural origin, and so is natural and material, because it originates from the sun there, which is undiluted fire. In short, a person after death is a complete person, in fact, more complete than he was before in the world. For before in the world he had a body made of matter, but in the spiritual world he has a spiritual body.'
[4] After this speech the wise men of antiquity asked what was thought on earth about this. 'We know,' said the three, 'that these reports are true, because we are here and have examined and investigated everything. So we shall say what statements and deductions have been made about those reports on earth.'
The priest was the first to speak. He said that the clergy on first hearing these things called them visions, then inventions, and then claimed that he was seeing ghosts. Finally they were perplexed and said, 'Believe it if you like. We have up to now taught that a person will not have a body after death until the day of the Last Judgment.' 'Are there not any among them,' they asked, 'intelligent enough to be able to prove and convince them of the truth, that a person lives on as a person after death?'
[5] The priest said that there are some who offer proofs, but they do not carry conviction. 'Those who offer proofs assert that it is contrary to sound reason to believe that a person does not go on living as a person, except on the day of the Last Judgment, being meanwhile a disembodied soul. "What," they say, "is a soul, and where is it in the meanwhile? Surely not a breath or a puff of wind flitting about in the air, or something lodged in the centre of the earth, in what is called its Pu. 4Are the souls of Adam and Eve, and all their descendants, still flitting around in space six thousand years, that is, sixty centuries, later? 5Or are they shut up in the bowels of the earth awaiting the Last Judgment? Is there anything more distressing and pitiful than waiting like that? Surely their fate could be compared with that of prisoners in jails chained hand and foot. If that is the fate that awaits people after death, would it not be better to be born a donkey than a human being? "Surely it is unreasonable to believe that a soul can be clothed again in its body, when the body has been eaten by worms, rats or fish. Or that the new body will be wrapped around a bony skeleton, which has been scorched by the sun or reduced to dust. How could such stinking bits of corpses be gathered together and united with souls?"
'But when they hear such arguments, they do not offer any reasonable answer, but cling to their faith and say, "We keep reason obedient to faith." Their reply to the question about all being gathered from the grave on the day of the Last Judgment is: "This is the task of omnipotence, and when one starts talking about omnipotence and faith, reason flies out of the window. I can assure you that then sound reason is treated as nothing, and some regard it as a mirage." They are actually able to tell sound reason it is crazy.'
[6] On hearing this the wise men of Greece said: 'Surely these paradoxes collapse of their own accord as being self-contradictory. Yet in the world today even sound reason cannot refute them. Is there any more paradoxical belief than what is related about the Last Judgment: that then the universe will come to an end, the stars will fall from the sky onto the earth (which is smaller than the stars), and the bodies of human beings, which are corpses or mummies consumed by people 6or reduced to shreds, will be joined to their souls again? When we were in the world, we believed in the immortality of people's souls because of the deductions which reason offered to us; and we found a place for the blessed souls, which we called the Elysian fields, believing them to be images or appearances of human beings, though delicate because they are spiritual.'
[7] After this speech they turned to the second newcomer, who in the world had been a politician. He admitted that he had not believed in life after death, and had thought the stories he had heard about it were imagination and fiction. 'When I thought about it,' he said, 'I said: "How can souls be bodies? Surely everything a person has lies dead in the grave. Has anyone there an eye to see with? Has anyone there an ear to hear with? How can he have a mouth to speak with? If anything of a person lives on after death, could it be anything but a kind of ghost? How can a ghost eat or drink? How can it enjoy the delights of marriage? Where can it get clothes, houses, food and so on? Ghosts are airy images which appear to exist but don't." When I was in the world, my thoughts about people living after death were these and similar. But now that I have seen everything, and touched everything with my hands, I have been convinced by my very senses that I am a person just as I was in the world. So much so, that I am not aware of living any otherwise than I did before, apart from the fact that my reason is now much more sound. I have several times been ashamed of what I used to think.'
[8] The philosopher gave a similar account of himself, but with the difference that he had put down the news he heard about life after death to the opinions and theories which he had gathered from ancient and modern thinkers.
The wise men were astonished to hear this. Those who belonged to the school of Socrates said that this news from earth allowed them to perceive that the inner regions of men's minds had been progressively closed off. In the world now belief in falsity shone like truth and silly cleverness like wisdom. The light of wisdom had since their time sunk from the interior of the brain to the mouth below the nose; there it looked to men's eyes like a gleam on the lips, and the speech of the mouth sounded like wisdom.
On hearing this one of their recruits said, 'How stupid are the minds of those who dwell on earth today! I wish we had here the disciples of Heraclitus and Democritus, 7who find everything a cause for laughter or for tears. We should hear a mighty roar of laughter and a lot of weeping.'
When the meeting was over, they gave the three newcomers from earth mementoes of their country, copper plates inscribed with some hieroglyphic characters. These they took away with them.
Footnotes:
1. True Christian Religion 160
182. To this I will append two narrative accounts. Here is the first:
Several weeks later 1I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Behold, another assembly is convening on Parnassium hill. Come, we will show you the way."
I went, and as I drew near, I saw on the hill Heliconeum someone with a trumpet, with which he announced and proclaimed the assembly. I also saw people from the city Athenaeum and its bordering regions ascending as before, and in the midst of them three newcomers from the world. The three were Christians, one a priest, the second a politician, and the third a philosopher. On the way the people entertained them with various kinds of conversation, especially concerning the ancient wise men, whom they mentioned by name. The visitors asked whether they would see these wise men. The people said that they would, and that if they wished, they would meet them, since they are friendly and cordial.
The visitors asked about Demosthenes, Diogenes and Epicurus.
"Demosthenes is not here," the people said, "but with Plato. 2Diogenes stays with his disciples at the foot of the hill Heliconeum, because he regards worldly matters as of no importance and occupies his mind solely with heavenly ones. Epicurus lives at the border to the west, and he does not come in to join us either, because we draw a distinction between good affections and evil ones, saying that good affections accompany wisdom and that evil affections are opposed to wisdom."
[2] When they had ascended the hill Parnassium, some of the keepers of the place brought crystal goblets containing water from a spring there; and they said, "The water comes from a spring which the people of old told stories about, saying that it was broken open by the hoof of the horse Pegasus and afterwards became sacred to the nine Muses. 3But by the winged horse Pegasus they meant an understanding of truth which leads to wisdom. By its hooves they meant empirical observations which lead to natural intelligence. And by the nine Muses they meant learning and knowledge of every kind. These stories today are called myths, but they were allegories which the earliest people used to express their ideas."
"Do not be surprised," the people accompanying the three visitors said to them. "The keepers have been told to speak as they did, to explain that what we mean by drinking water from the spring is to be taught about truths and through truths about goods, and thus to become wise."
[3] After this they entered the Palladium, and with them went the three newcomers from the world, the priest, the politician, and the philosopher. Then the people with the laurel wreaths who sat at the tables 4asked, "What news do you have from earth?"
So the newcomers replied, "We have this news. There is someone who maintains that he speaks with angels, having had his sight opened into the spiritual world, as open as the sight he has into the natural world; and he reports from that world many novel ideas, which include, among other things, the following: A person lives, he says, as a person after death, the way he did before in the world. He sees, hears, and speaks as he did before in the world. He dresses and adorns himself as before in the world. He becomes hungry and thirsty, and eats and drinks, as before in the world. He experiences the delight of marriage as before in the world. He goes to sleep and wakes up as before in the world. The spiritual world has lands and lakes, mountains and hills, plains and valleys, springs and rivers, gardens and groves. One finds there palaces and houses, too, and cities and towns, just as in the natural world. They have written documents and books as well, and occupations and businesses, also precious stones, gold and silver. In a word, one finds in that world each and every thing that one finds on earth - things which are infinitely more perfect in heaven. The only difference is that everything in the spiritual world comes from a spiritual origin, and consequently is spiritual, because it originates from the sun there, which is pure love; while everything in the natural world comes from a natural origin, and consequently is natural and material, because it comes from the sun there, which is nothing but fire.
"This person reports, in short, that a person after death is perfectly human, indeed, more perfectly human than before in the world. For before in the world he was clothed in a material body, while here in this world he is clothed in a spiritual one."
[4] When the newcomers had thus spoken, the ancient wise men asked what people on earth thought of these reports.
The three visitors said, "We know that they are true, because we are here and have seen and investigated them all. We will tell you, therefore, what people said and judged concerning them on earth."
At that the priest then said, "When those who are members of our order first heard these reports, they called them hallucinations, then fabrications; later they said he saw ghosts; and finally they threw up their hands and said, believe if you will. We have always taught that a person will not be clothed in a body after death before the day of the Last Judgment."
The ancient wise men then asked, "Are there not any intelligent ones among them who can show them and convince them of the truth that a person lives as a person after death?"
[5] The priest said that there were some who showed it to them, but without convincing them. "The ones who show it say that it is contrary to sound reason to believe that a person does not live as a person until the day of the Last Judgment and meanwhile is a soul without a body.
"What is a person's soul, they ask, and where is it in the meantime? Is it an exhalation or a bit of wind flitting about in the air, or some entity hidden away at the center of the earth where its nether world is located? The souls of Adam and Eve, and of all the people after them, for six thousand years or sixty centuries now - are they still flitting about the universe or still being kept shut up in the bowels of the earth, waiting for the Last Judgment? What could be more distressing or more miserable than having to wait like that? May their fate not be likened to the fate of captives held chained and fettered in prison? If that is to be what a person's fate is like after death, would it not be better to be born a donkey than a human being?
"Moreover, is it not contrary to reason to suppose that a soul can be clothed again with its body? Does the body not get eaten away by worms, mice and fish? And this new body - can it serve to cover a bony skeleton that has been charred by the sun or has fallen into dust? How can these decomposed and foul-smelling elements be gathered together and joined to souls?
"But when people hear arguments like these, they do not use reason to respond to them, but hold to their belief, saying, 'We keep reason in obedience to faith.' As for all people being gathered together from their graves on the day of the Last Judgment, this, they say, is a work of omnipotence. And when they use the terms omnipotence and faith, reason is banished; and I can tell you that sound reason is as nothing then, and to some of them, a kind of hallucination. Indeed, it is possible for them to say in reply to sound reason, 'You are crazy.'"
[6] When the wise men of Greece heard this, they said, "Are logical inconsistencies like that not dispelled of themselves as mutually contradictory? And yet sound reason cannot dispel them in the world today. What can be more logically inconsistent than to believe what they say about the Last Judgment, that the universe will then come to an end and that at the same time the stars of heaven will fall down on to the earth, which is smaller than the stars; and that people's bodies, being then either cadavers, or embalmed corpses other people may have eaten, 5or particles of dust, will come together with their souls?
"When we were in the world, we believed in the immortality of human souls on the basis of inductive arguments which reason supplied us, and we also determined places for the blessed, which we called the Elysian Fields. And we believed these souls to be human forms or likenesses, but ethereal since they were spiritual."
[7] After they said this, they turned to the second visitor, who in the world had been a politician. He confessed that he had not believed in a life after death, and had thought concerning the new reports he began to hear about it that they were fictions and fabrications. "Thinking about it I said, how can souls be corporeal beings? Does not every remnant of a person lie dead in the grave? Is the eye not there? How can he see? Is the ear not there? How can he hear? Where does he get a mouth with which to speak? If anything of a person should live after death, would it be anything other than something ghostlike? How can a ghost eat and drink? And how can it experience the delight of marriage? Where does it get its clothing, housing, food, and so on? Besides, being airy apparitions, ghosts only appear as though they exist, and yet do not.
"These and others like them are the thoughts I had in the world concerning the life of people after death. But now that I have seen it all and touched it all with my hands, I have been convinced by my very senses that I am as much a person as I was in the world, so much so that I have no other awareness than that I am living as I did then, with the difference that I now reason more sensibly. I have sometimes been ashamed of the thoughts I had before."
[8] The philosopher had a similar story to tell about himself, with the difference, however, that he had classed these new reports he heard regarding life after death with other opinions and conjectures he had gathered from ancient and modern sources.
The sages were dumbfounded at hearing this; and those who were of the Socratic school said they perceived from this news from earth that the inner faculties of human minds had become gradually closed, with faith in falsity now shining like truth in the world, and clever foolishness like wisdom. Since our times, they said, the light of wisdom has descended from the inner regions of the brain to the mouth beneath the nose, where it appears to view as a brilliance of the lips, and the speech of the mouth therefore as wisdom.
Listening to this, one of the novices there said, "Yes, and how stupid the minds of earth's inhabitants are today! If only we had here the disciples of Heraclitus who weep over everything and the disciples of Democritus who laugh at everything. What great weeping and laughing we would hear then!"
At the conclusion of this assembly, they gave the three newcomers from earth emblems of their district, which were copper plaques on which some hieroglyphic symbols were engraved. With these the visitors then departed.
Footnotes:
1. I.e., several weeks after the occurrence related in nos. 151[r]-154[r].
2. See no. 151[r]:1.
3. Cf., in Greek mythology, the spring Hippocrene on Mount Helicon, and perhaps also the spring Castalia on Mount Parnassus.
4. See no. 151[r]:2.
5. As late as the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the substances of embalmed corpses, particularly of Egyptian mummies, were used in the preparation of potions and powders prescribed and taken for a variety of supposed medicinal purposes. Cf. True Christian Religion 160[5]; also nos. 693[6], 770.
182. I add two stories to this. Here is the first:
Some weeks later [see no. 151b] I heard a voice from the sky saying "Come on! There is another meeting on Parnassus! We'll show you the way!"
I went, and when I came close I saw someone on Helicon, announcing and advertising the meeting with a trumpet. And as before, I saw people going up from the city of Athens and its outskirts, with three newcomers from Earth among them. The three were Christians - one a priest, another a politician, and the third a philosopher. On the way, these three entertained the others with much talk, mainly about ancient philosophers, whom they named.
"Will we see them?" they asked.
The others said, "You will, and be introduced if you want to, because they are friendly."
They asked about Demosthenes, Diogenes, and Epicurus.
"Demosthenes is not here, but with Plato," they were told.
"Diogenes lives with his students at the foot of Helicon, because he considers worldly matters to be nothing and sets his mind on heavenly things only. Epicurus lives at the border in the west and does not come in to us, because we distinguish between good inclinations and bad, and we say good inclinations are the same thing as wisdom and bad ones are against wisdom."
When they had climbed the hill Parnassus, some attendants brought water from a fountain there in crystal tumblers and said, "This is water from the fountain that the ancient people fabled was broken open by the hoof of Pegasus and was later dedicated to the nine virgins. But to them the winged horse Pegasus meant the comprehension of truth, which wisdom comes from. The hoofs on his feet stood for experiences that lead to worldly comprehension, and the nine virgins stood for all kinds of things one is acquainted with and knows.
"Today these are called myths, but they were correspondences, which was the way the earliest people spoke."
The people accompanying the three newcomers told them, "Don't be surprised. The attendants are taught to talk about this, and for us, drinking water from the fountain stands for being taught about truths, and about varieties of good through truths, and in this way being wise."
After this they went into the Palladium and with them the three newcomers from earth - the priest, the politician, and the philosopher.
Then the laureates who sat at the tables asked, "What's the news from Earth?"
They answered, "This is new. Someone is claiming that he talks with angels and has sight that opens into the spiritual world just the way it opens onto the natural world, and he brings a lot of news from there. Some of the things are that a person lives on as a person after death, just the way he lived before in the world, that he sees, hears, and speaks just as before in the world, that he is clothed and well groomed just as before in the world, that he gets hungry and thirsty, eats and drinks as before in the world, that he enjoys the pleasure of marriage as before in the world, that he sleeps and wakes as before in the world, that there is land there and lakes, mountains and hills, plains and valleys, springs and rivers, gardens and parks. Also that there are palaces and homes and cities and towns, just as in the natural world. And that there are writings and books, and jobs and businesses. And also precious stones, gold, and silver. In a word, he says that each and every thing that exists on earth is there, and the things in heaven are infinitely more perfect. The only difference is that everything in the spiritual world comes from a spiritual source, and therefore is spiritual, because it comes from the sun there, which is pure love.
"And he says that everything in the natural world is from a natural source and therefore is natural and material, because it is from the sun there, which is pure fire. In a word, a person is fully human after death. In fact, more fully human than before in the world. For before, in the world, he was in a material body but in this world he is in a spiritual body."
When all this was said, the ancient sages asked, "What do they think about these things on earth?"
The three said, "We know that they are true because we are here and we have looked into them all and put them to the proof.
So we'll tell what people on earth say and think about these things."
Then the priest spoke. "People of our order called them visions when they first heard it, then fictions. Afterwards they said the man was seeing ghosts. Finally they were at a loss and said, 'Believe it if you want to. We have always taught that a person will not have a body after death until the day of the Last Judgment.'"
They asked him, "Aren't there any intelligent people among them, who can show them and convince them of the truth - that a person lives on as a person after death?"
The priest said, "There are some who show them, but they don't convince them. The ones who do point it out say, 'It is against sane reason to believe that a person does not live on as a person until the Last Judgment Day and is a soul without a body in the meantime. What is a soul, and where is it meanwhile? Is it a breath? Or some kind of wind flitting in the air? Or a being hidden in the middle of the earth? Where is its limbo? Have the souls of Adam and Eve, and everyone since them, been flying around in the universe for six thousand years now, or sixty centuries? Or are they kept closed up in the middle of the earth, waiting for the Last Judgment? What could be more anxious and pitiful than such a wait? You might compare their luck to the luck of people bound with chains and hobbled in prison, mightn't you? If this is the fate of a person after death, wouldn't it be better to be born a donkey than a man? Isn't it against reason to believe that a soul can have its body put back on? Isn't the body eaten up by worms, rats, and fish? Can a skeleton of bones burnt by the sun or collapsed into dust be put into this body again? How can these ghastly and putrid things be brought together and united with souls?'
"But when they hear arguments like that they don't answer them with any rational thought. They stick fast to their faith, saying, 'We hold reason under obedience to faith.'
"About gathering everyone from graves on the day of the Last Judgment they say, 'This is a matter of Omnipotence.' And when they speak of Omnipotence and faith, reason is banished.
And I can tell you that then sound reason is like nothing, and to some it is like an apparition. In fact, they can say to sound reason,
'You're insane!'"
When the wise Greeks heard all this, they said, "Paradoxes as contradictory as those demolish themselves, don't they! Yet sound reason can't demolish them in the world these days! What can be more paradoxical to believe than what they say about the Last Judgment - that then the universe will perish, and that the stars will fall out of heaven onto the earth, which is smaller than the stars! And that then the bodies of people, whether corpses or mummies of people eaten away, or turned to dust, will be united with their souls! When we were in the world we believed in the immortality of people's souls from reasoning by the evidence that reason afforded us. We also assigned the blessed a place that we called the Elysian Fields. We thought that the blessed were human images or likenesses, but rarefied because they were spiritual."
After saying these things, they turned to the second newcomer, who had been a politician in the world. He admitted that he had not believed in life after death, and he had thought that the news he heard about it was fiction and was made up. "Thinking about it I said, 'How can souls be bodies? Doesn't all of the man lie dead in the grave? Aren't his eyes there? How can he see?
Aren't his ears there? How can he hear? Where does he get a mouth to speak with? If something of a person lived after death, could it be anything but some kind of ghost? How can a ghost eat and drink, and how can it enjoy the delight of marriage? Where does it get clothes, a home, a bed, and so forth? And ghosts, which are images in the air, seem to exist and yet they do not.' In the world I thought things like that about the life of people after death. And now that I see all and have touched everything with my own hands I'm persuaded by these very senses that I am a human just as in the world, to the point that I can't tell but what I'm living the way I lived - with the difference that I have sounder reason. Sometimes I'm ashamed of what I used to think."
The philosopher told similar things about himself, but with the difference that he classed the news he had heard about life after death with the opinions and hypotheses that he had gathered from the ancients and the moderns.
The wise men were astonished when they heard these things.
The ones of the Socratic school said that from this news from earth they could tell that the inner minds of people had been gradually closed up, and that now in the world faith in falsity shines like truth, and clever nonsense like wisdom.
And they said, "Since our times the light of wisdom has worked its way down from deep in the brain to the mouth, under the nose, where wisdom seems to be the glitter of language to you, so that mouthed words seem like wisdom."
One of the students there, when he heard this, said, "How stupid the minds of people on earth are today. If only the disciples of Heraclitus and Democritus were here, who laugh at everything and weep at everything. We'd hear great laughing and great weeping."
After the meeting ended they gave the three newcomers from earth souvenirs of their district - small copper plates with some hieroglyphics engraved on them - which they went away with.
182. To the above shall be added two Memorable Relations. First:
Some weeks after (the meeting on Parnassus (no. 156 a)), I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Lo, there is again an assemblage on Parnassus. Come hither, we will show you the way." I went, and when I was close by, I saw upon Helicon a man with a trumpet, with which he proclaimed the assembly and appointed the place where it was to meet. As on the previous occasion, I then saw the inhabitants of the city of Athens and its suburbs going up, and in their midst three new-comers from the world. All three were from Christian societies, one being a priest, another a statesman, and the third a philosopher. On the way the citizens entertained them with varied conversation, especially about wise men of old whom they mentioned by name. The new-comers asked whether they were to see them, and were told that they were, and if they wished they could pay their respects to them, for they were affable men. They asked about Demosthenes, Diogenes, and Epicurus, and were told: "Demosthenes is not here but with Plato. Diogenes sojourns with his scholars at the foot of Helicon, and this because he esteems worldly things as naught, and employs his mind solely with things heavenly. Epicurus lives on the border at the west and does not come among us, because we distinguish between good and evil affections, and say that good affections are one with wisdom while evil affections are contrary to wisdom."
[2] When they had ascended the hill Parnassus, some guards of the place brought water in crystal goblets from a fountain there, and said: "This is water from the fountain of which the ancients fabled that it was broken open by the hoof of the horse Pegasus, and was afterwards consecrated to the nine virgins; but by the winged horse Pegasus they meant the understanding of truth by which comes wisdom; by the hoofs of his feet they meant experience by which comes natural intelligence; and by the nine virgins they meant cognitions and sciences of every kind. At this day, these are called fables, but they were correspondences, it being from correspondences that primeval men spoke."
The companions of the three new-comers said to the latter, "Do not be surprised. The guards have been instructed to speak thus. By drinking water from a fountain, we understand being instructed concerning truths, and, by truths, concerning goods, and thus becoming wise."
[3] After this they entered the Palladium, and with them the three novitiates from the world, the priest, the statesman and the philosopher. The laureates who sat at the table then asked them, "WHAT NEWS FROM EARTH?" They answered: "This is new. A certain man asserts that he speaks with angels and has open sight into the spiritual world, just as he has open sight into the natural world. From there, he brings many new things, among which are these: That after death, man lives as a man just as he lived before in the world; that he sees, hears, speaks, as before in the world; that he is clothed and adorned as before in the world; that he hungers and thirsts, as before in the world, and eats and drinks; that he enjoys conjugial delight as before in the world; that he sleeps and wakes as before in the world; that there are lands and lakes there, mountains and hills, plains and valleys, fountains and rivers, paradises and groves; also that there are palaces and houses there, and cities and villages, just as in the natural world; and furthermore, that there are writings and books; and employments and trades; also precious stones and gold and silver; in a word, that in that world is found everything that is found on earth, and in the heavens things infinitely more perfect, the only difference being that all things in the spiritual world, being from the sun there which is pure love, are from a spiritual origin and are therefore spiritual, while all things in the natural world, being from the sun there which is pure fire, are from a natural origin and are therefore natural and material. In a word, that after death man is perfectly a man, yea, more perfectly a man than he was before in the world; for formerly, in the world, he had been in a material body, but in this world he is in a spiritual body."
[4] When the novitiates had thus spoken, the wise men of old asked them, "What do men on earth think about these things?" The three replied: "We know that they are true because we are here and have examined and explored them all. We will therefore tell you what men on earth have said and how they have reasoned about them."
The priest then said: "Men of our order, when they heard of those things, first called them visions and then inventions. Later they said that he had seen ghosts, and finally they hesitated and said, Believe if you wish; hitherto we have taught that after death man will not be in a body until the day of the Last Judgment."
They then asked him, "Are there not any intelligent men among them who are able to demonstrate the truth and convince them that man lives as a man after death?"
[5] The priest replied: "There are men who demonstrate it, but they do not convince. Those who demonstrate it say, "It is against sound reason to believe that man does not live as a man until after the day of the Last Judgment, and that meanwhile he is a soul without a body. What is the soul? and where is it meanwhile? Is it a breath? or a thing of wind flying about in the air? or an entity hidden away in the center of the earth? Where is its Pu? 1And now, after six thousand years or sixty centuries, are the souls of Adam and Eve and of all who followed them still flying about in the universe? or still being held shut up in the center of the earth? and are they awaiting the Last Judgment? What could be more distressing and miserable than such a waiting? May not their lot be likened to the lot of men in prison, bound with chains and fetters? If such is to be the lot of man after death, would it not be better to be born an ass than a man? Moreover, is it not contrary to reason to believe that a soul can be again clothed with its body? Is not the body eaten up by worms, mice, and fishes? and is the bony skeleton, burned up by the sun or fallen into dust, to be clothed anew with that body? How shall these cadaverous and putrid elements be gathered together and united to their soul?" But to such arguments, when they listen to them, men do not give any answer based on reason but stick to their faith, saying, "We hold reason captive under obedience to faith." As to the gathering of all bodies from their graves at the day of the Last Judgment, they say, This is the work of Omnipotence, and when they name Omnipotence and Faith, reason is banished; and I can say that sound reason is then as nothing, and to some it is a specter; indeed, they can say to sound reason, You are Insane."
[6] Hearing this, the wise men of Greece said: "Are not such paradoxes dissipated of themselves as contradictions? And yet, in the world at this day they cannot be dissipated by sound reason! What greater paradox could be believed than what is said of the Last Judgment that the universe will then perish and the stars fall from heaven upon the earth, which is smaller than the stars; and that the bodies of men, which will then be corpses, or mummies disembowelled by men, or bits of dust, will coalesce with their souls? When we were in the world, we believed in the immortality of men's souls on the basis of inductions furnished us by reason. Moreover, we assigned places of abode for the blessed, which we called the Elysian fields, and we believed departed souls to be human effigies or semblances, but tenuous because spiritual."
[7] Saying this, they turned to the second new-comer, who in the world had been a statesman. He confessed that he had not believed in a life after death. As to the new things concerning that life, he had heard about them but had thought them to be fictions and inventions. "When meditating on them, I said: How can souls be bodies? Does not every part of the man lie dead in the grave? Is not the eye there? How can he see? Is not the ear there? How can he hear? Whence has he a mouth with which to speak? If anything of the man were to live after death, would it be other than the likeness of a ghost? How can a ghost eat and drink? and how can it enjoy conjugial delight? Whence has it clothes, house, food and so on? Moreover, ghosts, which are airy effigies, appear as if they were beings and yet are not. It was such thoughts and the like that I had in the world respecting the life of man after death; but now, having seen all things and touched all with my hands, I am convinced by my own senses that I am a man as in the world, so that I know no other than that I am living as I have lived, the only difference being that now I have sounder reason. Sometimes I have been ashamed of my former thoughts."
[8] The philosopher told a similar story about himself, but with this difference, that he had classed the new things which he had heard concerning the life after death among opinions and hypotheses which the teller had gathered from ancient and modern authors.
On hearing all this, the Sophi were astonished. Those who were of the Socratic School then said, that from this news from earth they perceived that the interiors of men's minds had been successively closed, and that in the world the faith of falsity now shines as truth, and fatuous ingenuity as wisdom; and that, since their times, the light of wisdom has gone down from the interiors of the brain into the mouth under the nose. There it appears before the eyes as a brightness of the lip, and the speech of the mouth therefrom seems like wisdom.
Hearing this, one of the pupils added, "And how stupid are the minds of the inhabitants of earth at this day! If only the disciples of Heraclitus and Democritus were here, who laugh at all things and weep at all, we would hear great laughter and great weeping."
When the meeting was ended, they gave the three new-comers from the earth the insignia of that domain, being small copperplates on which were engraved hieroglyphics; and with these the new-comers departed.
Footnotes:
1. Pu and Ubi are respectively the Greek and Latin words meaning "Somewhere." They were formerly used as theological terms to designate the abode of souls while waiting for reunion with their bodies. Such souls were also said to be "in limbo" (in the border land).
182. To the above, two Memorabilia shall be appended.
I. Some weeks later 1I heard a voice from heaven, saying, "There is another meeting on Parnassus. Come, we will show you the way." I went, and drawing near, I saw a trumpeter on Helicon, announcing and proclaiming the assembly.
People were going up from the city of Athens and its neighborhood as before, and in the midst of them three newcomers from the world. These three were from among Christians, one a priest, another a politician, and the third a philosopher. Along the way they were entertained with varied talk, especially about ancient wise men who were mentioned by name. They asked whether they would see these wise men, and were told that they might and would be presented to them if they wished, for they were affable. They asked about Demosthenes, Diogenes and Epicurus. They were informed, "Demosthenes is not here, but is with Plato. Diogenes dwells with his pupils at the foot of Helicon, because he puts no store by the mundane, but occupies his mind solely with the heavenly. Epicurus lives near the western border and does not associate with us, for we distinguish between good and evil affections, and hold that good affections are one with wisdom and evil affections contrary to wisdom."
[2] When the company had climbed the hill Parnassus, some custodians brought water in crystal goblets from a fountain there, and said, "This is water from that fabulous fountain which the ancients said was broken open by the hoof of the horse Pegasus and later consecrated to the nine virgins. By the winged horse Pegasus they meant the understanding of truth, whence is wisdom; by its hoofs, the experiences through which comes natural intelligence; and by the nine virgins, knowledge and information of every kind. These things are called myths today, but they are correspondences, in the terms of which the early peoples spoke."
The companions of the three newcomers remarked, "Do not wonder. The custodians have been instructed to make this speech. We understand that to drink water from a fountain means to be instructed about truths, and by the truths about goods, and thus to become wise."
[3] Thereupon they entered the Palladium, and with them the three novitiates from the world, the priest, the politician, and the philosopher. The laurelled ones seated at the table asked the newcomers, "What news from the earth?" They answered, "This! A certain man asserts that he speaks with angels and that his sight is opened into the spiritual world, just as it is open into the natural world. Thence he brings much which is new, among other things these: That man lives as a man after death, as he did before in the world; that he sees, hears and speaks as before in the world; that he is clothed and adorned as before in the world; that he hungers and thirsts, eats and drinks, as before in the world; that he enjoys marital delight as before in the world; that he sleeps and wakes as before in the world; that there are lands and lakes there, mountains and hills, plains and valleys, fountains and rivers, gardens and groves; palaces and houses, too, and cities and villages, just as in the natural world; writings, also, and books, occupations and business; so also precious stones and gold and silver; in a word, that every thing which exists on earth is there, but in the heavens infinitely more perfect, with the sole difference that all things in the spiritual world have a spiritual origin and are therefore spiritual, being from the sun there which is pure love; while all things in the natural world have a natural origin and hence are natural and material, being from the sun there which is pure fire. In a word, that man is perfectly a man after death, in fact, more perfectly a man than he was before in the world; for previously, in the world, he was in a material body, but in this he is in a spiritual body."
[4] Being told this the ancient sages asked, "What do the people on earth think about all this?"
The three replied, "We ourselves know that these things are true, because we are here, and have viewed and tested them all. We will relate what people on earth have said about them and how they have reasoned."
The priest then said, "Members of our order, on first hearing these things, called them visions, then fabrications; afterwards they declared that the man saw ghosts; and finally, at a loss, they said, 'Believe them if you wish; we have always taught that after death man will not be in a body until the last judgment-day."
But the sages asked, "Are none of them intelligent enough to show and convince others of the truth that man lives as a man after death?"
[5] The priest replied, "Some do demonstrate it, but fail to convince. They argue, 'It is contrary to sound reason to believe that a man does not live as a man until after the last judgment-day, and meanwhile is a soul without a body. What is a soul? Where is it meanwhile? Is it a breath? Or a windy something flying in the air? Is it an entity hidden at the earth's center? Just where is it? Are the souls of Adam and Eve and of all since their day, six thousand years or sixty centuries ago, still flying about in the universe? Or are they kept confined in the bowels of the earth, awaiting the Last Judgment? What could be more distressing and miserable than such suspense? Is their lot not like the lot of men bound hand and foot in prison? If this is man's lot after death, would it not be better to be born an ass than a man? Is it not also contrary to reason to believe that a soul can be reclothed with its body? Has the body not been consumed by worms, mice and fish? Can the bony skeleton, burnt with the sun or fallen into dust, be placed in a new body? How can cadaverous and decaying bodies be assembled and united to the soul?' But on hearing such arguments people reply with no attempt at reason, but cling to their belief, saying,
"We hold reason bound under obedience to faith. As for assembling all bodies out of the sepulchres at the judgment-day, they say that that is the work of omnipotence. And when they name omnipotence or faith, reason is exiled. I may truly say that sound reason is as nothing then, and to some a mere spectre; indeed, they can say to sound reason, 'You are insane.'"
[6] Hearing these things the Greek sages said, "Are these paradoxes not so contradictory that they are dissipated of themselves? And yet in the world at this day they cannot be dissipated even by sound reason! What could one believe more paradoxical than their declarations about the Last Judgment? The universe is to perish then, they say, the stars are to fall from heaven upon the earth, which is smaller than the stars, and men's bodies - corpses then or mummies eaten by men. 2or bits of dust - are to be reunited with their souls! When we were in the world we believed in the immortality of the human soul from inductions which the reason supplied us; we also assigned places of abode to the blessed, which we called Elysian Fields; and we believed souls had human shape or semblance, but were subtle because spiritual."
[7] After saying this they turned to the other newcomer, who in the world had been a politician. He confessed that he had not believed in a life after death; and he had thought the news which he had heard of it was fiction and invention. "Meditating on the life after death, I used to say, 'How can souls be bodies? Does not the whole man lie dead in the tomb? Is not the eye there? How can he see? Is not the ear there? How can he hear? Whence has he a mouth with which to speak? If man lived at all after death would it not have to be as a spectre? But can a spectre eat and drink? Can it enjoy marital delight? Whence has it raiment, house and food? and so on. Spectres, which are airy shapes, only seem to be, but are not. So I thought in the world about the life of man after death. But now that I have seen all things and touched things with my hands, I am convinced by my very senses that I am a man as I was in the world. I know no otherwise than that I am living just as I did, with the difference that I now have sounder reason. Many a time have I been ashamed of my former thoughts."
[8] The philosopher gave much the same account of himself, with this difference, however, that he had put the news which he heard of the life after death in the same category with opinions and hypotheses which he had collated from ancient and modern thinkers.
The sophi were astounded at hearing these things. Those of the Socratic school said that they perceived in this news from the earth that the interiors of men's minds had been gradually closed and that belief in what is false now shines like truth in the world, and futile cleverness like wisdom; and that since their own times the light of wisdom has sunk from the interiors of the brain to the mouth under the nose, where it appears before the eyes as a verbal glamour, making what is said seem like wisdom.
On hearing these things, a neophyte there exclaimed, "How stupid the minds of men on earth are at this day! If only disciples of Heraclitus and of Democritus were here, who laugh or weep at everything! What laughter and lamenting we should hear!"
When the meeting was concluded the three newcomers from the earth received as badges from that domain bronze platelets on which hieroglyphics were engraved. With these they departed.
Footnotes:
1. These Memorabilia occur again in True Christian Religion 693.
2. In explanation see True Christian Religion 160[5].
182. To this will be added two Relations. First:
After some weeks I heard a voice from heaven, saying, 'Lo! there is an assemblage again in Parnassium, come, we will show you the way.' I went, and as I came near I saw one upon Heliconeum with a trumpet, with which he announced and proclaimed the assembly.
And I saw them going up from the city of Athenaeum and its neighborhood, as before, and in the midst of them three that were newly arrived from the world. The three were from among Christians, one a priest, another a politician, and the third a philosopher. They entertained them with various conversation on the way, especially about ancient sages whom they named. They asked whether they should see them, and were told that they would, and would be presented to them if they wished, as they were affable. They asked about Demosthenes, Diogenes, and Epicurus. They were told, 'Demosthenes is not here, but with Plato; Diogenes dwells with his pupils at the foot of Heliconeum, for the reason that he esteems worldly things as naught, and employs his mind only with heavenly things; Epicurus lives on the border at the west, and does not come among us, because we distinguish between good and evil affections, and say that good affections are one with wisdom and evil affections are contrary to wisdom.'
When they had ascended the hill Parnassium some attendants brought water from a fountain, in crystal goblets, and said, 'This is water from the fountain of which the ancients fabled that it was broken open by the hoof of the horse Pegasus, and which afterwards was consecrated to the nine virgins, but the winged horse Pegasus meant the understanding of truth, whence comes wisdom; the hoofs of his feet meant the experiences through which comes natural intelligence; and the nine virgins meant cognitions and knowledges of every kind. At this day these are called fables, but they were correspondences, from which the primitive peoples spoke.'
The companions of the three new-corners said to them, 'Do not be surprised. The attendants have been instructed to speak thus. We understand that to drink water from a fountain means to be instructed concerning truths, and by truths concerning goods, and thus to become wise.'
After this they entered the Palladium, and with them the three new-comers from the world, the priest, the politician, and the philosopher. Then the laureates who sat at the table asked them, 'What news from the earth?' They answered, 'This is new, that a certain man asserts that he speaks with angels, and has his sight opened into the spiritual world, just as it is open into the natural world; and he brings many new things from there, among which are these: That man lives as a man after death, just as he lived before in the world; that he sees, hears, and speaks as before in the world; that he is clothed and adorned as before in the world; that he hungers and thirsts, eats and drinks, as before in the world; that he enjoys conjugial delight as before in the world; that he sleeps and wakes, as before in the world; that there are lands and lakes there, mountains and hills, plains and valleys, fountains and rivers, paradises and groves; and that there are palaces and houses there, and cities and villages, just as in the natural world; and also that there are writings and books; and that there are employments and business; so also precious stones, and gold and silver; in a word that each and everything is there that exists on earth, but that in the heavens they are infinitely more perfect, with the only difference that all things in the spiritual world are of spiritual origin and are therefore, spiritual, because they are from the sun there which is pure love; and all things in the natural world are of natural origin and hence are natural and material, because from the sun there which is pure fire. In a word, that man after death is perfectly a man, yea, more perfectly a man than he was before in the world; for before, in the world, he was in a material body, but in this he is in a spiritual body.'
Being told this the ancient sages asked, 'What do they think about these things on earth?'
The three replied, 'We know that they are true, because we are here, and have gone about and examined them all. We will therefore, tell what they have said and how they reasoned about them on earth.'
The priest then said, 'Those who are of our order when first they heard of these things called them visions, then fictions; afterwards they declared that the man saw ghosts; and finally they hesitated, and said, 'Believe them if you will; hitherto we have taught that man is not to be in a body after death until the day of the last judgment.''
But the sages asked, 'Are there not some intelligent men among them who are able to show and convince them of the truth that man lives as a man after death?'
The priest replied, 'There are men who can show this, but they do not convince. Those who show it say, 'It is against sound reason to believe that man does not live as a man until after the last judgment day, and that meanwhile he is a soul without a body. What is a soul? And where is it meanwhile? Is it a breath? Or a something vaporous floating in the air? Or an entity hidden away in the center of the earth? Where is its Pu (somewhere)? Are the souls of Adam and Eve, and of all after them, for now six thousand years, or sixty centuries, still flitting about in the universe? Or are they kept confined in the center of the earth, and awaiting the last judgment? What could be more distressing and miserable than such a state of waiting? May not their lot be likened to the lot of those that are bound with chains and fetters in prisons? If such is to be the lot of man after death would it not be better to be born an ass than a man? And is it not also contrary to reason, to believe that a soul can be clothed again with its body? is not the body eaten up by worms, rats, and fishes? and can the bony skeleton, burnt with the sun or fallen into dust, be introduced into that new body? How are these cadaverous and putrid elements to be brought together and united to the soul?' But they answer such considerations when they hear them with nothing whatever of reason, but cleave to their faith, saying, 'We hold reason under obedience to faith.' As to the gathering of all out of the sepulchers at the judgment day, they say, 'This is a work of Omnipotence.' And when they name omnipotence and faith, reason is banished; and I can say, that sound reason is then as nothing, and to some is a specter, yea, they can say to sound reason, 'You are insane.''
Hearing these things, the Grecian sages said, 'Are not these so contradictory paradoxes dissipated by themselves? And yet in the world at this day they cannot be dissipated by sound reason! What could be believed that is more paradoxical than this that they tell about the last judgment? That then the universe will perish, and the stars fall from heaven upon the earth, which is less than the stars? and that the bodies of men, then corpses or mummies, consumed by men, or fragments, will be united again with their souls? When we were in the world we believed in the immortality of the souls of men from inductions which reason furnished us; and we also assigned places of abode for the blessed, which we called Elysian Fields; and we believed them to be human forms or appearances, yet subtle because spiritual.'
After saying this they turned to the other new-comer, who in the world had been a politician. He confessed that he had not believed in a life after death; and that he had thought, respecting the new things which he had heard about it, that they were imaginations and inventions. 'Meditating upon these things' said he, ‘I said, 'How can souls be bodies? Does not the whole of a man lie dead in the sepulcher? Is not the eye there? How can he see? Is not the ear there? How can he hear? Whence has he a mouth with which to speak? If anything of man lives after death would it be other than as a specter? How can a specter eat and drink? And how can it enjoy conjugial delight? Whence has it raiment, house, food? and so on. And specters, which are aerial phantoms, appear to be and yet are not.' These and similar thoughts I had in the world, respecting the life of man after death. But now, when I have seen all things, and touched everything with my hands, I am convinced by my very senses that I am a man just as in the world, so that I know no otherwise than that I am living just as I have lived, with the difference that now I have sounder reason. I have sometimes been ashamed of my former thoughts.'
The philosopher told a similar story about himself, with this difference, however, that he had set down the new things he heard about the life after death among the opinions and hypotheses that he had gathered from the ancients, and from men of the present time.
The sophi were astonished at hearing these things; and those that were of the Socratic school said that they perceived by this news from the earth that the interiors of the minds of men had been gradually closed and that now in the world belief in what is false shines as the truth, and fatuous ingenuity as wisdom; and that since their times the light of wisdom has let itself down from the interiors of the brain into the mouth under the nose, where that light appears to the eyes as splendor of the lips, and the speech of the mouth therefrom as wisdom.
One of the tyros there, on hearing these things said, 'And how stupid are the minds of men on earth at this day. Would that disciples of Heraclitus who bemoan and of Democritus who laugh at everything were here. We should hear great laughter and much wailing.'
When this meeting was ended they gave to the three newcomers from the earth the insignia of their domain, which were little thin plates of copper whereon certain hieroglyphics were engraved, with which they went away.
182. His adjicientur duo Memorabilia; Primum hoc. Post aliquot Septimanas audivi vocem e Coelo dicentem, "en iterum Conventus in Parnassio; accede, monstrabimus viam;" accessi, et cum prope eram, vidi quendam super Heliconeo cum tuba, qua annuntiavit et indixit Conventum. Et vidi ex Urbe Athenaeo et confiniis ejus ascendentes ut prius, et in medio illorum tres Novitios e Mundo; erant illi tres ex Christianis, unus Sacerdos, alter Politicus, et tertius Philosophus; hos in via vario sermone oblectabant, imprimis de Sapientibus Antiquis, quos nominabant; quaesiverunt num illos visuri sint; dixerunt quod visuri, et si vellent, salutaturi, quoniam sunt affabiles; quaesiverunt de Demosthene, Diogene et Epicuro; dixerunt, "Demosthenes non hic est, sed apud Platonem; Diogenes cum suis scholaribus sub Heliconeo commoratur, ex causa quia mundana sicut nihili reputat, et modo coelestia animo volvit; Epicurus ad occidentem in termino habitat, nec intrat ad nos, quia nos distinguimus inter affectiones bonas et affectiones malas, et dicimus affectiones bonas una esse cum sapientia, et affectiones malas esse contra sapientiam."
[2] Quando ascenderunt collem Parnassium, aliqui custodes ibi apportabant aquam ex fonte ibi in schyphis chrystallinis, et dicebant, "est aqua ex fonte, de quo vetusti confabulati sunt, quod perruptus sit ab ungula Equi Pegasi, et postea consecratus novem Virginibus; at per Equum alatum Pegasum, intellexerunt Intellectum veri per quem sapientia; per ungulas pedis ejus, intellexerunt experientias per quas intelligentia naturalis; et per novem Virgines, intellexerunt cognitiones et scientias omnis generis; haec vocantur hodie Fabulae, sed fuerunt Correspondentiae, ex quibus Primaevi loquuti sunt:" comites dixerunt ad tres Advenas, "ne miremini, custodes ita loqui instructi sunt, et nos per bibere aquam ex fonte intelligimus instrui de veris, et per vera de bonis, et sic sapere."
[3] Post haec intraverunt Palladium, et cum illis tres Novitii e Mundo, Sacerdos, Politicus, et Philosophus; et tunc Laureati, qui sedebant ad mensas, quaesiverunt, Quid novi e terra; et responderunt, "hoc novum est, quod quidam perhibeat se loqui cum Angelis, ac visum habere apertum in Mundum spiritualem, aeque sicut apertum habet in Mundum naturalem, et ille nova inde affert plura, inter quae sunt haec, 1quod homo vivat homo post mortem, sicut vixit prius in Mundo; quod videat, audiat, loquatur sicut prius in Mundo; quod vestiatur et ornetur sicut prius in Mundo; quod esuriat et sitiat, edat et bibat, sicut prius in Mundo; quod delitio conjugiali fruatur sicut prius in Mundo; quod dormiat et evigilet sicut prius in Mundo; quod ibi sint terrae et lacus, montes et colles, planities et valles, fontes et fluvii, paradisi et luci; tum quod ibi sint palatia et domus, ac urbes et villae, sicut in Mundo naturali; ut et quod sint scripturae et libri, et quod sint functiones et negotiationes, tum lapides pretiosi, aurum et argentum; verbo quod ibi sint omnia et singula quae in terris, et illa in Coelis infinite perfectiora, cum sola differentia, quod omnia quae in Mundo spirituali sunt, ex origine spirituali sint, et inde spiritualia, quia sunt ex Sole ibi qui est purus amor; et quod omnia quae in Mundo naturali sunt, ex origine naturali sint, et inde naturalia et materialia, quia sunt ex Sole ibi qui est purus ignis; verbo, quod homo post mortem sit perfecte homo, imo perfectius homo quam prius in Mundo; prius enim in Mundo fuit in corpore materiali, in hoc autem est in corpore spirituali."
[4] His dictis, quaesiverunt Sapientes antiqui, quid de illis cogitant in terra; dixerunt illi tres, "nos scimus quod vera sint, quia hic sumus, ac lustravimus et exploravimus omnia, quare dicemus quid de illis loquuti et ratiocinati sunt in terra:" et tunc Sacerdos dixit, quod "illi qui ex nostro ordine sunt, primum dum audiverunt illa, vocaverint visiones, dein commenta, postea quod viderit larvas, et demum haeserint, et dixerint, 'crede si vis: nos hactenus docuimus, quod homo non futurus sit in corpore post mortem, prius quam die ultimi judicii:'" et quaesiverunt, "annon aliqui Intelligentes inter illos sint, qui possunt demonstrare et convincere illos de veritate, quod homo vivat homo post mortem;"
[5] dixit Sacerdos, quod sint qui demonstrant, sed non convincunt; "illi qui demonstrant, dicunt, quod contra sanam rationem sit credere, quod homo non vivat homo nisi quam die ultimi Judicii, et quod interea sit Anima absque corpore; 'quid anima, et ubi illa interea; num halitus, aut aliquid venti volitans in aere, vel ens reconditum in medio terrae, ubi est Pu ejus: num animae Adami et Evae, et omnium post illos, nunc per sex millia annorum seu sexaginta saecula adhuc volitent in universo, aut teneantur inclusae in meditullio terrae, et exspectent ultimum judicium; quid anxius et miserabilius tali exspectatione; nonne sors illorum potest comparari sorti vinctorum catenis et pedicis in carceribus; annon si talis sors homini post mortem foret, satius foret nasci asinus quam homo; numne 2etiam contra rationem est credere, quod anima possit reindui suo corpore; estne corpus exesum a vermibus, muribus, et piscibus; ac isti novo corpori induci sceleton osseum exustum sole, vel dilapsum in pulverem; quomodo cadaverosa et putida illa colligentur, et animabus unientur.' Sed ad talia, cum audiunt, non quicquam ex ratione respondent, sed inhaerent fidei suae, inquientes, 'captamus rationem sub obedientia fidei;' ad collectionem omnium ex sepulchris die ultimi Judicii, dicunt, 'hoc Omnipotentiae opus est;' et cum nominant Omnipotentiam et Fidem, exulat ratio, et possum dicere, quod tunc sana ratio sit sicut nihil, et quibusdam sicut spectrum; imo possunt dicere ad sanam rationem, 'insanis.'"
[6] His auditis dixerunt Sapientes Graeciae, "nonne illa paradoxa sicut contradictoria dissipantur a seipsis; et tamen hodie in Mundo non dissipari possunt a sana ratione; quid paradoxius credi potest quam id quod narratur de Ultimo Judicio, quod tunc Universum periturum sit, et quod tunc Stellae coeli delapsurae sint super terram, quae minor stellis est; et quod corpora hominum tunc vel cadavera, vel mumia ab hominibus exesa, vel flocci, coalitura sint cum suis animabus; nos dum fuimus in Mundo, credidimus immortalitatem animarum hominum, ex inductionibus quas ratio nobis subministravit, et quoque designavimus pro beatis loca, quae vocavimus Campos Elysios, et credidimus illas esse effigies seu species humanas, sed tenues quia spirituales."
[7] Postquam haec dicta sunt, converterunt se ad alterum Advenam, qui in Mundo fuerat Politicus; hic confessus est, quod non crediderit vitam post mortem; et quod cogitaverit de novis quae audiverat de illa, quod essent figmenta et inventa; "meditans de illa dixi, quomodo possunt animae corpora esse; annon omne hominis jacet mortuum in sepulchro; estne oculus ibi; quomodo potest videre; estne auris ibi; 3quomodo potest audire; unde illi os quo loquatur; si aliquid hominis viveret post mortem, num foret id aliud quam simile larvae; quomodo potest larva edere et bibere, et quomodo potest delitio conjugiali frui; unde ei vestes, domus, cibi, et sic porro; et larvae, quae sunt effigies aereae, apparent sicut sint, et tamen non sunt: haec et similia de vita hominum post mortem cogitavi in Mundo; at nunc cum vidi omnia, ac tetigi manibus meis omnia, convictus sum per ipsos sensus, quod sim homo sicut in Mundo, adeo ut non sciam aliud, quam quod vivam sicut vixi, cum differentia, quod ratio nunc mihi sanior sit; aliquoties puduit me cogitationum priorum."
[8] Similia de se narravit Philosophus; attamen cum hac differentia, quod retulerit nova illa, quae audiverat de vita post mortem, inter opiniones et hypotheses, quas ex Antiquis et Hodiernis collegerat. His auditis obstupuerunt Sophi; et illi qui e Schola Socratica erant, dixerunt, quod ex Novis his e terris percipiant, quod interiora mentium humanarum successive occlusa sint, et quod nunc in Mundo fides falsi luceat sicut veritas, ac ingeniositas fatua sicut sapientia, et quod lux sapientiae a nostris temporibus se demiserit ab interioribus Cerebri in os sub nasum, ubi illa coram oculis apparet sicut splendor labri, ac loquela oris inde sicut sapientia. His auditis quidam ex tyronibus ibi dixit, "et quam stupidae mentes terricolarum hodie; utinam adessent discipuli Heracliti et Democriti, qui rident ad omnia, et qui flent ad omnia, et audiremus magnum risum et magnum fletum." Postquam peractus est hic conventus, dederunt tribus Novitiis e terra suae ditionis insignia, quae erant lamellae cupreae, super quibus aliqua Hieroglyphica exarata sunt, cum quibus abiverunt. 4
Footnotes:
1. Prima editio: haec;
2. Prima editio: numme
3. Prima editio: ibi (absque puncto)
4. Prima editio: abiverunt,