1950. 1What critics are like in the other life
Certain spirits were with me who during their bodily life had dwelt much, and mostly, not on the meaning of words, but just on the words, thus who had been devoted to the art of criticism. Many of them had also labored on translation of the sacred scripture. But I can declare that while they were present, everything whatever that I wrote and thought was so obscure and confused that I could hardly understand anything. It seemed even as if my thought was being held in a prison, because they were directing all my thinking toward words, drawing it away from the sense of the words.
They made me extremely tired, even indignant, and yet considered themselves on this account wiser than others, when yet others from the lowest class of people, and little children, were much wiser and understood the meanings more wisely.
This shows, therefore, what human learning or wisdom is like and that it is far below the wisdom of the lowest class, and of boys and girls. For these people had closed off the way toward the inward regions.
Footnotes:
1. Paragraph 1949 is placed according to the author's instruction after 1894.
1950. THE CHARACTER OF [MERE] CRITICS IN THE OTHER LIFE.
Certain spirits, who in the life of the body had devoted much labor and time, not to the sense of words, but to the words themselves, and who had consequently devoted themselves to the art of criticism (of whom also several had labored in translating the Sacred Scriptures), were with me; but I can declare, that whilst they were present, all things whatsoever that were written and thought, were rendered [by their sphere] so obscure and confused, that I could scarcely understand anything whatever, - yea, my thought was kept, as it were, in a prison, because they determined all the thought solely to the words, abstracting it from the sense of the expressions, so that they wearied me extremely, even to indignation; whilst, nevertheless, they thus imagined themselves to be wiser than others; whereas, such as are from the lowest class of the people, and even children, are much wiser, and can more wisely understand the sense; - hence of what quality such erudition, or such human wisdom is, abundantly appears, namely, that it is much inferior to that of rustics and of children, inasmuch as they thereby close the way to interior things.
1950. Quales critici in altera vita
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Qui in vita corporis non sensui verborum sed verbis multum et plurimum incubuerunt, sic qui operam dederunt arti criticae, quorum plures quoque in translatione scripturae sacrae laborarunt, apud me fuerunt; sed fateri possum, quod cum ii adessent, omnia quaecunque scriberentur, et cogitarentur, tam obscura et confusa essent, ut vix quicquam intelligere potuissem, imo tenebatur cogitatio quasi in carcere, quia solum determinabant omnem cogitationem ad voces, abstrahendo eam a sensu verborum; sic ut perquam me fatigassent, usque ad indignationem, cum tamen sic sapientiores aliis se putarent; cum tamen alii ex infima plebe, et ex infantibus multo sapientiores essent, ac sapientius intelligerent sensus, sic qualis est eruditio seu sapientia humana inde constat, quod multo inferior sit sapientia infimae plebis, et pueruli, nam clauserunt ii viam ad interiora.
Footnotes:
1. 1949 apparet conformiter indicio auctoris post 1947