720. In the absence of reflection, spirits do not see by means of the human body they are joined to
I have often walked through the streets of a city among a large crowd, not reflecting on the spirits around me, [supposing] that they, too, would be noticing everything along with me. This reflection happens by my simply looking inward and then tacitly calling things to their attention. Almost on every such occasion and so, quite often, they told me that during that time, they had seen and heard nothing, but had all the while been attending to thought in my mind.
So also, any spirit whatever whom I reflected on was summoned up, so to speak, and this happened very often. From this I was able to infer that the spirits, when present with someone whose inward parts are not opened toward the Lord through faith, absolutely cannot speak with that person, nor see through his or her eyes. They only make use of the person's memory and so of their reasoning power, just as these spirits with me use mine, who have very often confessed that they had not been able to tell otherwise than that they were living my life. This also occurs in a group of many spirits, each one of whom thinks he lives his own life, unaware that the rest also think the same.
720. THAT WITHOUT REFLECTION, SPIRITS DO NOT SEE [OBJECTS IN THE WORLD] THROUGH THE HUMAN BODY TO WHICH THEY ARE ADJOINED
Often as I went through the streets of a city and among a great crowd, I did not reflect upon the spirits around me, that they likewise were attending to those things with me, which reflection is only effected by interior intuition and thus by tacit observation. Almost every time this happened, thus quite frequently, they said to me that in the meantime they saw and heard nothing, but were at the time intent upon the thought of the mind. So also, any spirit upon whom I reflected was aroused as it were, and this very often. Hence I could conclude, that the spirits in a man in whom the interiors are not opened towards the Lord by means of faith, cannot speak with the man nor see through his eyes. They only enjoy the memory of the man and thus his reasoning, as do the same spirits with me, who confessed very frequently that they could not know otherwise than that they were the ones who lived my life. This also comes about from the consociation of many, in which consociation each one supposes that he lives his own life, and does not know that the others also think in like manner.
720. Quod spiritus absque reflexione non videant, per corpus humanum cui adjuncti sunt
Saepius cum per plateas urbis, interque magnam turbam ivi, nec reflecti ad spiritus circum me, quod ea quoque mecum attenderent, quae reflexio solum facta est per intuitionem interiorem, et sic tacitam animadversionem, tunc dixerunt mihi, fere toties, idque sic saepiuscule, quod interea nihil viderint, audiverintque, sed intenti inter cogitationi mentis; sic etiam ad quemcunque spiritu reflecterem, is quasi excitatus est, idque saepissime, in concludere potui, quod spiritus in homine, in quo non interiora 1
aperta sunt versus Dominum per fidem, spiritus eorum 2
nihil loqui possint cum homine, nec videre per oculos ejus, modo quod memoria hominis et sic ejus ratiocinatione fruantur, sicut iidem penes me, qui fassi sunt saepissime, quod aliter scire non potuerint, quam [quod] 3
iidem essent qui viverent, vita 4
mea; quod etiam venit consortio plurium in quo unusquisque sua vita vive autumat, nec scit quod caeteri etiam similiter putent.
Footnotes:
1. The Manuscript has interioria
2. hoc est penes talem hominem
3. sic in J.F.I. Tafel's edition
4. The Manuscript has viverent, vita