805. A certain person had thought and talked of nothing else but giving phrases and words a clever twist; whatever came up he would bend in such a way that in one phrase or another, something witty would emerge. I wondered who this was, because one could not distinguish him from the other spirits except by the way his speaking and thinking were directed to things of this kind.
But I was informed that these are the kind whose only goal in the life of the body had been studies dealing with their own favorite ideas, which they loved, such as critical analyses, variant readings of classical authors and of the Sacred Scripture; or who had just loved to compile dictionaries, or who in their everyday life had loved nothing more than eloquence with words, double meanings, or plays on words.
I was shown what his, or their, life was like. It was as though I could sense nothing living in them, but only words, and scarcely anything else but words. While they were certainly alert mentally, able to speak at length, still their thought dwelt on the details just mentioned. Of these their speech also consisted, as if it were something lifeless, like something in which none but the very least life was present.
Yet, he was not evil; he could simply not stretch his thought further, but confined it to some special feature of words, as well as to the least characteristics of speech. Consequently he did not look like a living being, but like an artfully carved, talking statue.
805. There was a certain one who had thought and spoken nothing but what was ingenious in expressions or words; whatever came up he bent it so that something ingenious might shine forth in each expression. I wondered who he was, because he could not be distinguished from other spirits except by the determinations of his speech and thoughts towards such things. But I was instructed that such are those who, in the life of the body, have only had as their end, and have loved, studies which treat of particulars, as critical matters and various readings of the classical authors and of the Sacred Scriptures, and who have loved only the compilation of dictionaries; in ordinary life they have loved nothing more than elegance of expression, equivocal speech, and play upon words. I was shown what kind of life he and those like him have. It was such that I could apperceive nothing, as it were, living in them, but it was as if there were words, and scarcely anything else but words. Yet, for all that, they were of a ready mind, and could talk well; still the thought inhered in the single things said, and their speech was composed of such things. It was like something without life, or as a thing in which there was only the very least life. Still, this spirit was not evil because he could have no extension by thought, but there was a general restriction, especially to something in the words, and also to particular little characteristics of speech. Hence he did not appear life-like, but spoke as if he were some artificial carved image.
805. Quidam nihil aliud cogitavit et loquutus est, quam aliquid ingeniosum in vocibus seu verbis, quicquid obvenit flectit eo, ut aliquid in voce aliqua ingeniosum elucesceret, miratus sum quis is esset, quia ab aliis spiritibus non distingui potuit, nisi per terminationes ejus loquelae et cogitationum in similia; sed instructus sum, quod ii tales sint, qui in vita corporis nihil aliud pro fine habuerunt, quam studia quae tractant particularia, et ea amaverint, sicut critica, variantes lectiones autorum classicorum, scripturae sacrae, qui dictionaria modo amaverant concinnare, qui in vita communi nihil prius amaverant, quam elegantiam verborum, et aequivoca, seu lusus verborum. Ostensum mihi est qualis ejus seu eorum vita esset, erat talis ut nihil quasi vitae eis inesse appercipere potuissem, sed quasi voces, et vix quicquam praeter 1
voces. Imo usque praesenti erant animo, potuerunt multum loqui, usque inhaesit cogitatio singulis dictis, et ex similibus concinnabatur loquela, quae similis erat nulli vitae, sed quasi res, cui nihil nisi paucissima vita inesset, sed usque non erat malus, quia non potuit habere extensionem cogitatione, sed erat coarctatio communis ad aliquod praecipuum in verbis, tum quoque ad singulas notulas loquelae, inde apparuit non similis vitae, sed sicut artificiosum quoddam sculptile loqueretur.
Footnotes:
1. The Manuscript has praeterr