295、我通过以下经历得知天使的思维和世人的思维之间存在这种不同：我请天使以属灵的方式思想一些事，然后告诉我他们所思想的。他们照做了，但当他们想要告诉我时，却怎么也做不到；他们说，这些事无法用话语来表达。他们的属灵语言和著作也是如此；其属灵语言的每一个字都和属世语言的不一样，其属灵著作的每一个部分也都和属世著作的不同，除了字母外，其中每一个字母都包含一个完整的含义。但令人惊奇的是，他们说，他们觉得自己在属灵状态下思考、说话、写作的方式和世人在属世状态下所作的一样；而事实上，没有任何相似之处。由此明显可知，属世事物和属灵事物因高度层级的不同而不同，它们只通过对应互相交流。
295. The following experience taught me what kind of difference there is between angels' thoughts and our thoughts. They were told to think about something spiritually and then to tell me what they had been thinking. Once they had done this and tried to tell me, they could not, and they explained that they could not articulate it. The same thing held true for both their spiritual speech and their spiritual writing. There was not a single word of spiritual speech that resembled a word of earthly speech, no element of spiritual writing that resembled earthly writing except the letters, and each of these contained a complete meaning.
Remarkably enough, though, they told me that they seemed to themselves to be thinking and talking and writing in their spiritual state the same way we do in our earthly state even though there is no similarity whatever. I could see from this that what is earthly and what is spiritual differ as to vertical level, and that they communicate with each other only through correspondences.
295. The existence of such a difference between the thoughts of angels and those of people has been made known to me by the following experiment:
I have told angels to think about something spiritually and after that to tell me what they thought. When they did so and tried to tell me, they could not, saying that they were unable to put it into words.
The same was the case with their spiritual speech and with their spiritual writing. Not a word of their spiritual speech was the same as a word of natural speech, nor was any part of their spiritual writing the same as natural writing, except for the letters, each one of which contained a complete meaning.
On the other hand - surprisingly - they said that they seem to themselves to think, speak and write in their spiritual state in the same way that a person does in his natural state, when in fact nothing is the same.
It was apparent from this that natural and spiritual things differ in accordance with degrees of height, and that they do not communicate with each other except through correspondences.
295. That there is such a difference between the thoughts of angels and those of men was made known to me by this experience. The angels were asked to think spiritually on some subject and afterwards to tell me what they had thought. When they did this and wished to tell me they could not, saying that they cannot utter these things. It was the same with their spiritual language and writing. There was not any word of spiritual language the same as a word of natural language. Neither was there anything of spiritual writing like natural writing, except the letters, each of which contained an entire meaning. But, what is wonderful, they said that they seemed to themselves to think, speak, and write in the spiritual state, just as man does in the natural state, when yet there is no similarity. From this it was plain that the natural and the spiritual differ according to degrees of altitude, and that they communicate with each other only by means of correspondences.
295. That there is such a difference between the thoughts of angels and the thoughts of men was made known to me by this experience: The angels were asked to think spiritually on some subject, and afterwards to tell me what they had thought. This they did; but when they wished to tell me they could not, and said that these things could not be expressed in words. It was the same with their spiritual language and their spiritual writing; there was not a word of spiritual language that was like any word of natural language; nor was there anything of spiritual writing like natural writing, except the letters, each of which contained an entire meaning. But what is wonderful, they said that they seemed to themselves to think, speak, and write in the spiritual state in the same manner that man does in the natural state, when yet there is no similarity. From this it was plain that the natural and the spiritual differ according to degrees of height, and that they communicate with each other only by correspondences.
295. Quod talis differentia inter cogitationes angelorum et hominum sit, per hanc experientiam mihi notum factum est: dictum est illis, ut de aliqua re cogitarent spiritualiter, et postea mihi dicerent quid cogitarunt[;] hoc cum factum est, et mihi dicere voluerunt, non potuerunt, dicentes quod non possent illa effari: simile erat cum spirituali loquela eorum, et simile cum spirituali scriptura illorum[;] non erat ulla vox loquelae spiritualis, quae erat similis voci loquelae naturalis; nec aliquid scripturae spiritualis simile scripturae naturali, praeter literas, quarum unaquaevis continebat integrum sensum. At, quod mirabile est, dixerunt, quod videantur sibi similiter cogitare, loqui et scribere in spirituali statu, sicut homo in naturali, cum tamen nihil simile est: ex quo patuit, quod naturale et spirituale differant secundum gradus altitudinis, et quod non communicent inter se nisi quam per correspondentias.