1126. The one thing they think at that point, as they have repeatedly told me, is eternity. I wanted to learn from them how their thought can be fixed upon eternity alone, unless at the same time on life, that is, eternal life; but they said that at that time they could meditate on nothing other than eternity, and that it involves the same thing as eternal life.
They tried to induce their own state of mind, or the state of their society, on my face, as well as my mind, but because I was more filled with thoughts of life than they were, they said, surprised, that they were not able to induce it.
But afterwards, into their general notion [of eternity] are sown, one by one, thoughts of life, what it is, and its qualities. So they are like little children, who take up first general notions, then less general, then more particular ones. In this way a life of joy is imparted. 1748, 3 March.
1126. 1/2.
Those very serious spirits were said to operate in the inward left side of the nose. The septum of the nose is like an axis to the remaining parts of the face as peripheries, on which they suspend.
1126. The one thing they then think about is eternity, as they repeatedly told me. I wanted to know from them how their thought could be fixed upon eternity alone unless it was at the same time upon life, namely, upon eternal life. But they said that they then meditated upon nothing else than eternity, and that it involved the same idea as eternal life. They tried to induce their state, or the state of their society, upon my face and also upon my mind; but because I was more filled with the things of life than they, they said that they were unable to do so, at which they were surprised. Afterwards, those things which are of life what it is and of what quality were successively inserted into the general notion. Thus they are like infants, who first receive general notions, next less general, and then more particular notions. In this manner a life of joy is insinuated. 1748, Mar. 3.
1126 1/2. They, that is, these serious spirits, were said to act upon the left inner part of the nose; for upon the septum of the nose as an axis depend the other parts of the face as peripheries.
1126. Unicum quod tunc cogitant, est aeternitatem 1
; quod mihi saepius repetiverunt, volui ab iis scire, quomodo cogitatio eorum aeternitati soli infixa esse posset, nisi simul vitae, nempe aeternae, sed dixerunt non aliud tunc meditari quam aeternitatem, et quod idem involvat ac vitam aeternam; inducere tentabant statum suum, seu statum suae societatis faciei meae, tum menti, sed quia plenior eram iis quae vitae essent, non potuerunt istum inducere, quod dixerunt, et mirati sunt: sed postea, in communem hanc notionem successive inseruntur ea, quae sunt vitae, et quid et qualia vitae, ita sunt sicut infantes, qui communes primum notiones suscipiunt, dein minus communes tum particulariores, ita insinuatur vita gaudii. 1748, 3 Martius.
1126a. Ii, seu seriosi isti, dicebantur agere in nasi partem interiorem sinistram, nam ex septo nasi ut ex axe, faciei reliqua pendent, ut peripheriae.
Footnotes:
1. sic manuscript