3015. About speech in mental imagery during sleep
A symbolic vision of the Quakers
I was spoken with while in a state midway between sleep and wakefulness, and in fact by a kind of mental imagery that can never be expressed. For as I had heard at other times, they attach their speech to anything whatever that cannot afterwards be called to mind, even though in that state I grasped it plainly. This speech is that of evil spirits of the inward world, or of inward evil spirits, during sleep, thus is also inexpressible. But it is absolutely without content, so it was portrayed to me later as rubbish and other like things that were poured out of a certain container, for they were incoherent and worthless, even though inexpressible.
Therefore, the intellect of those who [engage] in this speech is portrayed by the hind parts of a horse, which I saw plainly, for a horse came whose front parts did not appear, but when it turned its rear parts, these plainly appeared to me. Then I heard it said that the understanding of those who engage in this speech of mental imagery during sleep is portrayed in this way, for there is no truth in their understanding. Such perhaps is also the intellect of those spirits who are Quakers and imagine that only they are led by the holy spirit [3013].
3015. CONCERNING THE IDEAL SPEECH OF SLEEP. A REPRESENTATIVE VISION CONCERNING THE QUAKERS.
Speech was held with me in a state midway between sleep and waking, yea, by means of such ideas as cannot at all be expressed; for like as I have heard at other times [alioquin], they bind [alligant] [their] speech to anything whatever, which [speech] cannot afterwards be described, although I perceived it plainly in that state. This speech of sleep belongs to evil spirits of the interior world (or to interior evil spirits in sleep, therefore is also inexpressible, but it never contains anything in itself. Wherefore it was afterwards represented to me by rubbish and many like things, which were poured out from a certain vessel, for they illy cohered, and [pertained] to no thing, although [the speech is] inexpressible. The intellectual [principle] of the things which [are] in this speech is also represented by the rear parts of a horse, which I plainly saw; for there came a horse whose anteriors did not appear, but when he turned his rear parts, these plainly appeared to me, and it was perceived or said, that the intellectuals of those who are in this ideal speech of sleep, are thus represented, for they have no true intellectual [principle]. Such, perhaps, is also the intellectual principle of those spirits who are Quakers and suppose themselves alone to be led by the Holy Spirit.)
3015. De loquela ideali somni De Quakeris repraesentativa visio
Loquutum est mecum in statu inter somnum et vigiliam medio, et quidem per tales ideas, quae nequaquam possunt exprimi, nam sicut alioquin audivi, cuicunque rei alligant loquelas, quae non postea possunt memorari, tametsi in statu isto manifeste percepi: quae loquela somni est spirituum malorum interioris mundi, seu spirituum interiorum malorum in somno, sic quoque est inexpressibilis, sed nihil usquam in se continet: quare repraesentata mihi postea per quisquilias et plura similia, quae effusa ex quodam vase, nam male cohaerentia [continet], et [quae] nullius rei, quamvis inexpressibilis: intellectuale eorum qui 1
in hac loquela quoque repraesentatur per equi posteriora, quae manifeste vidi, nam equus venit, cujus anteriora non apparebant, sed cum posteriora vertebat, ea mihi apparebant manifeste, et perceptum seu dictum, quod intellectualia eorum, qui in hac loquela ideali somni sunt, ita repraesententur, nam nihil intellectuale verum; tale forte est quoque intellectuale eorum spirituum, qui Quakeri sunt, et putant se a spiritu sancto solos duci.
Footnotes:
1. The Manuscript has quae sed vide mox infra ut et indicem ad Equus, Excrementum et Idea