1894. About angelic languages
Today I was allowed to investigate the matter of the angelic languages, which are very difficult to understand for people living in their body, and I would hardly suppose that they could be comprehended in a general way by the human grasp or understanding, and they are certainly not expressible. There is a great deal of higher knowledge that the human mind must imbibe before it can grasp even a general idea of them.
In order to convey only some idea of them, [let me observe] that in one simple mental image of the human mind, there are countless elements, perceived by the person as a certain very general unit. The inward aspects of that mental image are seen by inward angels, the very inward and innermost aspects by very inward and innermost angels. What appears to inward angels as a general unit, or what appears as a least element of their mental image, unfolds into countless elements, understandable by very inward angels, and then by innermost angels.
1894. CONCERNING ANGELIC MODES OF SPEECH.
It was given me today to examine very closely how the case is with angelic modes of speech, which are exceedingly difficult of comprehension to man in the body, so much so indeed that I should scarcely suppose them capable of being generally grasped by the human intellect, as they are virtually inexpressible. There are many knowledges with which the human mind ought to be imbued before it can perceive them even by a general idea. In order to convey somewhat of them I would observe, that in one simple idea of the human mind there are things indefinitely various which are apprehended by man as a kind of most general one or unit, the interiors of this idea being perceived by the interior angels, and the still more interior and inmost things by the more interior and inmost angels. Thus while the general of the idea appears to the interior angels, forming a scarcely appreciable element of their thought, this unfolds itself into indefinite particulars comprehensible by the still more interior angels, and so also by the inmost.
1894. De loquelis angelicis
Hodie mihi datum est, scrutari quomodo se habent loquelae angelicae, quae difficillimae intellectu sunt homini in corpore suo, et vix autumem, quod captu seu intellectu humano communiter comprehendi posse 1
, utique nec expressibiles sunt 2
; sunt cognitiones plures, quibus mens humana imbuenda foret, antequam communi idea eas percipere possit, ut modo aliquam ideam earum tradam, est, quod in una idea simplici mentis humanae indefinita sunt, quae ut quoddam communissimum unum comprehenditur 3
ab homine, interiora ejus ideae percipiuntur ab angelis interioribus, intimiora ac intima, ab angelis intimioribus ac intimis. Sic quod commune sicut unum apparet angelis interioribus, quod sistit minimum eorum ideae, hoc in indefinita se explicat, comprehensibilia ab angelis intimioribus, et sic ab intimis.
Footnotes:
1. sic manuscript; vide praefationem hujus editionis sub capite "Idiosyncrasies"
2. The Manuscript has expressibilis est
3. sic manuscript