2138. From this it follows that the speech of spirits is a universal language, and that from it have arisen, and been born, so to speak, all languages. For it is spiritual mental imagery that makes up their language.
When these images stream into a person's memory, they arouse words the person has in his memory that interact with and resemble them. They also arouse the many associated mental images that usually inhere in the same word, as well as those that have become joined from various adjacent images, and many that cling to it from nearby-all depending on the nature and character of the spirits. For spirits arouse the images and from these the words that suit their nature. So this occurs with all the variety and diversity that exists among spirits, and the states of mind of the spirits.
2138. From this it follows that the speech of spirits is a universal speech, and from it are sprung, and, as it were, born all the languages; for it is spiritual ideas which constitute their speech. When these inflow into man's memory they excite words corresponding to the ideas and the like, which man has in his memory; moreover, they excite ideas which are mixed, or which are many for the same word, as is usually the case, as also such as have been blended with each other from various circumstances, and many which adhere, as it were, round about. All this occurs according to the nature and disposition of spirits, for spirits excite ideas, hence words which suit their nature, thus this occurs according to all that variety and diversity which belongs to spirits and to their states.
2138. Exinde nunc sequitur, quod loquela spirituum, sit loquela universalis, et ex ea ortae et quasi natae omnes linguae; nam sunt ideae spirituales, quae constituunt loquelam eorum; quae dum influunt in hominis memoriam, excitant voces correspondentes ideis, et similes, quas homo in sua memoria habet, tum quoque ideas, quae mixtae sunt, seu quae in eadem voce plures, ut solet esse 1
, ut et quae se admiscuerunt, ex variis contingentibus, et plures quae adhaerent quasi circumcircumm secundum naturam et indolem spirituum, nam spiritus excitant 2
ideas, proinde voces, quae conveniunt eorum naturae, sic secundum omnem istam varietatem et diversitatem quae est spirituum, et tunc status spirituum.
Footnotes:
1. This is how it appears in J.F.I. Tafel's edition; the Manuscript has esset
2. This is how it appears in J.F.I. Tafel's edition; the Manuscript has excitus