264.还有些灵人不断将他们的注意力引向那些反对真理与良善的事物上，研究如何扭曲这些真理与良善。他们做这种事如此隐蔽、巧妙，以至于若要说出来，几乎没人相信。当发现真理与良善被灵人如此转化为乖谬的东西时，我有时感到惊讶。但这些灵人比其他人更会隐蔽自己，更让人看不见，以致我几乎认为发现不了他们。然而，他们终究还是被发现了，其中一些灵人受到惩罚，并被赶了出去。惩罚是对他们犯罪企图的报应。（1747年11月23日）
264. There are also spirits who are unceasingly intent upon things contrary to truths and goodness, seeking to distort them in ways so evasive of our consciousness, that if we were told we would hardly be able to believe it. This has surprised me at times, when I noticed truths and goodness being thus compromised by spirits.
But these spirits conceal themselves more than others and are more invisible, so that I was at the point of believing they could not be found. Still, they were found, and some of them were punished and cast out, the punishment being of a kind to fit their criminal attempts. 1747, 23 November (old calendar).
264. There are also spirits who continually direct their attention to those things which are against truths and goods, studying how they can pervert these truths and goods: and they do this sensibly and so subtly, that if it were related it could scarcely be believed: I have sometimes marveled when I have observed truths and goods to be thus turned by spirits into what is perverse. But those spirits hide themselves more than others, and are more invisible, so that I almost believed that they could not be found; but yet they were found, and some of them were punished and cast out. The punishment is such as answers to their criminal attempts. 1747, Nov. 23, o.s.
264. Sunt etiam spiritus, qui continue intendunt iis quae 1
contra vera et bona, quomodo ea pervertant, et ad sensum tam subtiliter, ut si narraretur, [quis] vix credere potuisset, quod miratus quandoque, cum animadverterem ita vera et bona, a spiritibus, in sinistrum trahi; sed ii spiritus se occultant prae aliis, suntque magis invisibiles 2
, ita ut credidisse 3
fere, quod inveniri non potuissent, sed usque inventi, et quidam eorum puniti sunt, et ejecti, punitio talis est, ut respondeat 4
eorum facinorosis tentaminibus. 1747, 23 Nov. st. v.
Footnotes:
1. The Manuscript has qui
2. The Manuscript has invisibilees
3. sic manuscript; vide praefationem hujus editionis sub capite "Idiosyncrasies"
4. This is how it appears in J.F.I. Tafel's edition; the Manuscript has respondeant