2548. The faculties of spirits surpassing the faculties of earthly humans
Besides the fact that spirits put on everything pertaining to the human memory, are skilled in human languages, and discern human thoughts, there are also those who discern the inward thoughts. They see at once whatever is portrayed to them and understand in a moment things that would require a long period of time to express, and yet could never be seen and understood like those seen in the world. These are matters abstract from bodily elements and things of the world, and when portrayed by a spiritual idea together with their symbolic ideographs - conveying only imaginatively what they symbolize, what is faintly or secretly within them - they at once quite fully understand, thus instantaneously, things that cannot be expressed in an hour of speaking.
2548. THE FACULTIES OF SPIRITS [ARE] SUPERIOR TO THE FACULTIES OF MEN.
Besides that spirits are endued with all things belonging to man's memory, are skillful in his languages, and perceive his thoughts; there are also those who see even on the spot [his] interior thoughts which are represented to them and comprehend in a moment, but things are to be declared requiring [per] a considerable time, and yet such as never can be so seen and comprehended as those things which are seen in the world. These belong to things abstracted from corporeals and [the things] of the world. These, when represented in spiritual idea with their representative ideas, and only represent what the idea signifies, it may be obscurely or secretly therein, they comprehend fully enough on the spot; thus in a moment things which cannot be expressed by speech of an hour's duration.
2548. Facultates spirituum prae facultatibus hominum
Praeter quod spiritus induant omnia quae sunt memoriae hominis, ejus linguas calleant, et cogitationes ejus percipiant, etiam sunt qui interiores cogitationes [percipiunt], etiam illico vident quae iis repraesentantur, et comprehendunt momento, quae per multum temporis eloquenda essent--et 1
tamen nusquam ita videri, et comprehendi [possent], sicut quae visa sunt in mundo--quae 2
sunt rerum abstractarum a corporeis et [iis quae] mundi, quae dum idea spirituali repraesentantur, cum suis ideis repraesentativis, modo repraesentantibus 3
idea quid significent 4
, [quid] obscure seu clam insit, illico satis plene comprehendunt, sic momento, quae non loquela horae exprimi possunt.
Footnotes:
1. The Manuscript has essent, et
2. The Manuscript has mundo, quae
3. The Manuscript has repraesentantes
4. The Manuscript has significet