4296. So likewise, when they discuss matters of understanding, and a person on earth has as the object of thought horses, then he speaks about horses, for they correspond. Thus very many, and innumerable things correspond with spiritual qualities. This leads to the conclusion that in heaven, they speak and think about hardly anything else than the Lord, His kingdom, charity and faith, and anything more closely or more remotely pertaining to those subjects, and these things are thus varied in the world of spirits, and then with man in his thought, according to the external objects of sight or hearing, or the internal objects of the memory. I saw horses, and they said that at once, matters of understanding occurred to them. 1749, 4 June. 1
Footnotes:
1. Astrological symbol of the sun, meaning Sunday.
4296. So also when the discourse is about intellectual things, and man has for an object of his thought horses, then he speaks concerning horses; for these correspond [with intellectual things]; thus very many, yea, innumerable [natural] things correspond with spiritual things, from which it may be concluded that in heaven they speak and think of scarcely anything else than the Lord, His kingdom and faith, and whatever nearly or remotely pertains to them - things which are thus varied in the world of spirits and in the thought of man according to external objects of sight and hearing or internal objects of memory. I have seen horses, and spirits remarked that there would immediately occur to them something relative to intellectual things. - 1749, June 4.
4296. Ut et cum de intellectualibus, et homo pro objecto habet equos, tunc loquitur de equis, nam hi correspondent: ita perplura et innumera correspondent rebus spiritualibus, ex his concludi potest, quod in coelo vix aliud quam de Domino, Ipsius regno, charitate et fide, et quae ad illa propius aut remotius pertinent loquantur et cogitent, et haec ita variantur in mundo spirituum, et sic apud hominem in ejus cogitatione secundum objecta externa visus aut auditus, aut objecta interna memoriae. Vidi equos, et dicebant quod illico iis obveniret de intellectualibus. 1749, 4 Junius.