3499. They came toward the front higher up, and from there they still spoke, striving most eagerly, cleverly and skilfully to see that nothing at all should be disclosed concerning themselves. What kind of stratagem they employed it is needless to tell - only that they wanted to take away from others their vision, besides bringing into play other tricks to prevent them from being exposed. This went on for quite a while and gave me to realize that this was their character in life: not wanting anything to be divulged that they were doing and thinking, putting on a different facial expression and a different manner of speaking so as to enable them cunningly to get possession of the goods of others. This is evident from such cases: due to this habit acquired during their life in the body, in the other life they grab whatever comes their way, concealing everything they are doing and thinking. But still, I do not remember them covering up other things, and then trying to deceive by lies, but only that there was a kind of deceit in letting no one know what they were up to, and then with a false facial expression, misleading whoever they could. For a long time they kept on with this exercise, about 10 or 12 hours, struggling with intense effort to keep these matters concerning them from being divulged. An obvious deception I did not notice. Even now they are taking things.
3499. They came in front above and spoke with the greatest earnestness, striving in the meantime by every cunning art to prevent anything being divulged concerning them. The particular arts they employed it is not necessary to relate, only that they aimed to snatch away the ideas of others, and that they induced a multitude of illusions with a view to prevent their detection, which was continued for a long time. Hence it was given to know that they were of such a quality in their lifetime as made them unwilling that anything they did or thought should be exposed, assuming a counterfeit face and speech, and all with a view to defraud others of their property. As a consequence of this habit, contracted in the life of the body, they fall into a similar practice, in the other life, of seizing whatever comes in their way, and concealing their thoughts and actions, though I do not recollect of their resorting to false pretenses and actual lies, only that they employed a species of craft in concealing their transactions, and by a simulated cast of countenance deceiving all they could. They continued this practice for nearly ten or twelve hours, laboring with all their might to prevent exposure. I did not perceive a manifest fraud, and they now convey themselves stealthily away.
3499. Venerunt antrorsum superius, et inde usque loquuti, id summo studio, calliditate et arte connitentes, ut nihil usque propalaretur de iis, quanam arte usi, non opus est dicere, modo quod surripere aliis voluerint eorum ideas, praeter quod inducerent alia, quae impedirent, ne detegerentur, et hoc satis diu, inde cognoscere datum, quod tales in vita fuerint, ut non voluissent propalari quicquam ex iis quae agebant et cogitabant, aliam faciem et aliam loquelam praeferentes, ex causa ut possent surripere aliis eorum bona, etiam subdole, ut constat ex talibus, ex tali consuetudine in vita tracta, in altera arripiunt quicquid obvium est, ut abscondant ea quae faciunt et cogitant; sed usque, non memini, quod praetexuerint alia, et sic per mendacia decipere vellent, modo quod species doli esset, quod nemo sciret quid agerent, et sic alio vultu fallere alios, quoscunque. Diu id exercebant fere per 10 aut 12 horas, quod omni studio laborarent, ne haec propalarentur de iis: dolum manifestum non percepi, nunc quoque surripiunt.