1615. The third general action of heaven was into the dilations and contractions of the heart, an action I felt clearly, but it was gentler than at any other time. Its pulsations resembled the breathing in gentleness, but the periods were regular, like my usual heartbeat, during one breathing interval about three beats, but still ending together with the pulmonic periods and thus somehow controlling them.
The pulmonic periods were the compound of the heartbeats, that is, were composed of them, the ends of the heart-periods coinciding with those of the lungs, their arrangement reminiscent of the whirling motions of the angels, spoken of elsewhere [489-491, 600-608]. However, I was unable to find out how [the heartbeats] begin the pulmonic periods, but was only able to observe how they slip into them at the end of each breathing period. Therefore, since the heart relates to what is heavenly, but the lungs to what is spiritual, these actions resemble the manner in which the heavenly flows into the spiritual. The pulsations of my heart, which were gentle and regular, were so observable that I could count every one of them.
1615. The third common action of heaven was in the systole and diastole of the heart, which was manifestly perceived, but was gentler or softer than at other times. Its pulsations were like the animations [of the lungs] in softness, and within them, but the times regular like those of the heart, being about one- third, yet such that they terminated in the pulmonic movements, and thus in a certain manner governed them. The times of the pulmonic respiration were common to them and to the heart, as composed of those of the heart; the terminations of the heart's times closed in the pulmonic beats, and were related to each other somewhat like the motions of the angelic gyres, concerning which elsewhere. But how it is precisely that the pulmonic motions commenced I could not perceive; but how [the influx] insinuated itself into the lungs at the end of every animation, I could in a measure observe. The heart, therefore, represents the celestial, the lungs the spiritual; the analogy lies in the manner in which the celestial inflows into the spiritual. The pulsations of the heart, which were soft and regular, were so observable that I could count them one by one.
1615. tertia actio coeli communis erat in cordis systole et diastole, quae percipiebatur manifeste, at mollior quam usquam alias, ejus pulsationes erant similes animationibus, in mollitie, sed tempora sicut cordis solita, regularia, intra animationis vices, circiter tria, usque tamen talia, ut desinerent in pulmonica, et sic quodammodo pulmonica regerent: pulmonica tempora erant communia 1
cordis, sic ut composita cordis, fines temporum cordis desinebant in pulmonica, et se quasi habebant sicut motiones gyrorum angelorum, de quibus alias [489-491, 600-608]; at vero quomodo ordiantur pulmonica, non potui percipere, sed quomodo se insinuent in pulmonica, ad finem cujusvis animationis id quodammodo observare potui; quare cor refert coeleste, pulmones 2
autem spirituale, eorum similitudo est, quomodo coeleste influit in spirituale: vices pulsus cordis erant ita observabiles, ut singula numerare possem, molles et regulares;
Footnotes:
1. inclarum in the Manuscript
2. imperfectum in the Manuscript