2557. Spirits perceive completely the thought of a person on earth
This can be established in many ways, but as an example let just this [suffice]: if I speak with them only in these words, "it is so or so," or "it is thus or otherwise," without adding any other words, provided the rest are conveyed by a mental image or symbolic portrayal, they at once grasp the whole idea and thought. So they do in other instances, from only a few words. The rest is displayed to them by idea, thus without words, by a spiritual mental image.
This shows how much there is in the words of the Lord's Word and how complete is the mental imagery, while so few are the words, which are sometimes not at all understandable without mental imagery that is not patent to the eyes of an earthly human.
2557. THAT SPIRITS PERCEIVE VERY FULLY THE THOUGHTS OF MAN
This may be apparent from many things, but I will only [give] this for an example: if I speak with them [using] only these words, it is so or so, or it is thus or otherwise, without adding other words [and] the remainder is only represented by idea or representation, they immediately perceive every idea and thought; thus [all those] in the remainder from only a few words [expressed]. The remainder [is exhibited] by ideas, therefore those which are [not expressed] [ubsque] in words are exhibited to them in [by] spiritual idea. Hence it may be manifest how many things are in the Lord's Word and how full the ideas are when the words [expressed] are so few, which [words] are wholly unintelligible without ideas, and these are not patent to the eyes of men.
2557. Quod spiritus plene satis percipiant cogitationem hominis
Ex multis hoc constare potest, sed modo hoc in exemplum, si modo loquor cum iis his verbis, "est ita vel ita," aut "est sic vel aliter," absque aliis adjectis vocibus, modo caetera repraesentantur vel per ideam vel per repraesentationem, illico omnem ideam et cogitationem percipiunt, ita in caeteris, ex paucis modo vocibus; caetera per ideam, ita quae absque vocibus, iis exhibentur idea spirituali.
Exinde constare potest, quam multa sint in vocibus Verbi Domini, et quomodo ideae sint plenae, cum tam 1
paucae sint voces, quae quandoque prorsus non intelligibiles absque ideis, quae non patent oculis hominum.
Footnotes:
1. nisi legendum tamen