80. 记事五：
有一次，一个撒旦和一个女人被允许从地狱上来，并靠近我所在的房子。一看到他们，我就关上窗户，不过可以透过窗户和他们交谈。我问那撒旦从哪来，他说从自己的同伴那里来。我问那女人从哪来，他作了同样的答复。她属于塞壬那一伙。她们擅长通过幻想变幻各种美丽形像和衣着打扮，时而展现维纳斯的美，时而展现缪斯面容的魅力，时而打扮得象头戴王冠、身披凤袍的女王，并拄着银杖象帝王一样漫步。在灵界，这种女人都是妓女，专门研究幻想。她们通过感官思维诱发幻想，而感官思维会阻碍源于内在思维的观念。我问那撒旦，她是不是他的妻子。“什么是妻子？”他答道，“我和我的社群都不知道这个词，她是我的女人。”然后，她唤起男人的淫欲，这些塞壬精于此道。这个撒旦一收到这个信号，就亲吻她说：“哦，我的阿多尼斯！”
不过，为了做正经事，我问那撒旦的职业是什么，他说：“我的职业就是追求学问，你没看到我头上的桂冠吗？”这桂冠是他的阿多尼斯用魔术变出来的，并从后面戴到他头上。于是，我说：“既然你来自一个流行学问的社群，那请告诉我，你和你的同伴对神是怎么想的。”他回答说：“对我们来说，神就是宇宙，我们也称其为自然。我们社群里头脑简单的人称其为大气，他们所说的大气是指空气。但聪明人所说的大气是指以太。神、天堂、天使等等都是这个世界众多传说的主题，它们全是空话，是从很多人眼前一闪而过的流星引发的幻想。世上可见的一切事物不都是太阳创造的吗？每当它在春天靠近时，有翅无翅的昆虫不就出生吗？难道不是它的热使得鸟类彼此相爱，交配繁殖吗？大地不是被它的热所温暖，使得种子发芽，并结出如同后代的果实吗？这一切不正意味着宇宙就是神，自然就是女神吗？自然作为宇宙的妻子，孕育、生出、抚育并滋养这些事物。”
我接着询问他和他的同伴对宗教的想法。他回答说：“我们所受的是高等教育，在我们看来，宗教无非是盅惑普通老百姓的玩具。它象光环一样围绕他们心智的感官和想象力。在那光环中，虔诚的观念如同空中飞舞的蝴蝶。他们的信仰与这些观念仿佛联成一条链子，类似蚕茧里的蚕蛹，而蝴蝶之王就从中振翅而飞。没有受过教育的普通老百姓热衷于想象超出身体感官和由此而来的思维之物，因为他们渴望飞翔。所以，他们让自己长出翅膀，以便像雄鹰一样翱翔，并向地面上的人夸耀说：‘看看我！’但我们只相信亲眼看到的，亲手摸到的。”说到这里，他碰了碰他的女人，说：“这个我信，因为我看得见、摸得着。至于其它各样垃圾，我们全都从窗户扔出去，用大笑声将它吹走。”
然后，我又询问他和他的同伴如何看待天堂和地狱。他笑着说：“何为天堂？不就是那高处虚无缥缈的天空吗？天使不就是游荡在太阳周围的斑点吗？天使长不就是拖着长尾巴的慧星吗？而他们的同伴就住在其上。何为地狱？不就是遍满青蛙和鳄鱼的沼泽地吗？他们将这些青蛙和鳄鱼想象成了魔鬼。这些就是天堂与地狱的观念，除此之外的其它一切纯粹是教会显要人物为了在无知草民中寻求荣耀而想出的胡言乱语。”他所说的这一切和他在世时所想的一模一样，殊不知他如今正过着死后的生活，完全忘了初到灵人界时所听到的一切事。所以，当被问及死后的生活时，他竟回答说，这是一个臆造的想像，又或许是以人形所埋葬的尸首产生的某种恶臭，或象有些故事中讲述的所谓鬼魂在人的幻想中引入这样的概念。
听到这里，我实在忍不住大笑起来。“撒旦，”我说，“你真是疯了。你现在是什么？难道你现在不是人形？难道你没说话、观看、聆听和行走？回想一下，你曾生活在你已完全忘却的另一个世界，而现在，你正过着死后的生活，甚至刚才还和以前一样说话。”他被赋予回忆，并且一想起来就羞愧万分，大声叫喊：“我疯了，我曾看见上面的天堂，听见那里的天使谈论无法描述的事物。这都是我刚来时的情形。我要把这一切牢记在心，告诉我所来的同伴们，那时，恐怕他们也会和我一样羞愧难当。”他不断重复说，他要叫他们疯子。但随着他下降，遗忘抹去了他的记忆。当到了他的同伴那里时，他变得和他们一样疯狂，并声称我说的话很疯狂。这就是死后撒旦们的思想和交谈的状况。那些确信虚假，直至完全相信的人被称为撒旦，而那些因邪恶的生活而滋生罪孽的人则被称为魔鬼。
80. 第五個經歷:
有一次, 一個撒旦被允許從地獄上來, 有個婦女跟著他, 來到我所在的住處。當看到他們, 我就關上窗, 不過可以透過玻璃和他們談話。我問那撒旦從哪來, 他說從自己的社區那裡來。我問他, 那個女人從哪裡來, 他給了個同樣的答案。
她屬於妖婦那類, 擅長于引人幻想, 使自己變化各樣的容貌,衣著和首飾。一時想像並展現自己美若維納斯女神, 一時裝扮成華貴的面容, 想像成為繆斯女神中的一位。有時還扮成王后, 頭戴王冠,身披鳳袍, 拄著銀杖徐徐漫步。在心靈世界, 這類婦女是專注空想的妓女。她們沉迷肉欲的思想導致幻想連篇, 阻塞了任何更深層次的思想。
我問那撒旦, 她是不是他的妻子。"什麼是妻子？"他回答:"對我和我的社區來講, 沒有這個名詞, 她是我的女人。"然後她面顯淫相, 這是妖婦另一拿手好戲。於是他親她一口, 說:"哦, 我的美人！"
[2]我問那撒旦的職業是什麼, 他回答:"我的職業就是學習, 你沒看到我頭上的桂冠嗎？"那個妖婦施展魔法變了個桂冠, 從後面戴到他頭上。
"那是因為你所在的社區有教育和學校, 請你告訴我, 你和你的同伴對上帝的信仰情況吧。"
"上帝, "他回答:"對我們來說就是宇宙, 我們也稱之為自然。我們社區裡的簡單平民稱之為'氣', 他們的意思指空氣。不過, 有識之士所說的'氣', 指的是靈氣。上帝,天國,天人等等, 這個世界上有很多關於它們的胡言亂語, 都是空話。那些只不是因為空中不正常的天氣現象和事物矇騙了許多人的眼睛而想像出來的。
"地上能看到的所有事物不都是太陽造的嗎？每當太陽在春天撒滿大地時, 有翅無翅的昆蟲不就出生？不是因為太陽的熱, 讓鳥兒相愛交配繁殖？不是大地因為太陽的熱而溫暖令種子發芽結果？這不就意味著宇宙就是上帝嗎？自然就是女神, 是宇宙的配偶, 她孕育,撫持,養育和供給我剛提到的一切事物。"
[3]我接著詢問, 他和他的社區關於宗教方面的信仰如何。"因為我們比一般人受過更高的教育, "他回答:"宗教對我們來說, 只是給普通老百姓的玩具而已。對一般人來講, 宗教就像是圍繞他們的情感和想像的一種氣氛。虔誠的想像在這氣氛中, 如同蝴蝶在空中飛舞。他們的信仰將這些想像串連, 如同桑蠶為自己作繭, 蝴蝶之王由此振翅而出。無知之眾喜歡超出身體感官和思想之上來任意想像。為什麼？因為他們有飛上天的願望。憑著宗教信仰, 他們給自己裝上翅膀, 為的是能像鷹一般展翅高飛, 並且可以向地上居民誇耀, 說:'看我！'而我們只相信我們所見的,愛我們能摸得到的。"
說到這, 他碰了碰他的女人, 說:"這個我信, 因為我看得見,摸得著。至於其它各樣的垃圾, 我會扔出窗外, 嗤之以鼻。"
[4]然後, 我詢問他與他的同伴們如何看待天國和地獄。他笑笑說:"除了那高處的虛無縹緲的天空, 天國還能是別的什麼嗎？天人不就是漫遊在太陽周邊的星星點點嗎？天人長不就是拖著長尾巴的慧星嗎？地獄不就是人們想像出的沼澤地, 佈滿裡面的青蛙和鱷魚被想像成魔鬼嗎？其它任何超過這個概念的天國與地獄, 只不過是教會的領袖為了虛名而杜撰的故事。"
現在, 他所說的所有事情都是他在世時所想的, 沒有認識到他如今正活在死後的生活之中, 完全忘記了他剛進靈界是聽到的一切事情。所以, 當被問到死後的生活時, 他回答:"那只是想像出來的虛構之事。可能是從墳墓死屍有氣體冒上來, 偶然形成人的樣子, 或者人們編造的鬼怪幽靈故事, 讓人們的想像出來生的念頭。"
聽完這些, 我實在忍不住笑出聲來。"撒旦, "我說:"你真的瘋了嗎？你現在是什麼？你不是有人形,像個人樣嗎？你不是能說,能看, 還能聽,能走嗎？記住, 你現在生活在另一個世界, 只不過你忘了而已。你現在過的是死後的生活。回憶一下你之前所講的, 事實上就像你沒死之前所講的一樣。"
他被賜予回憶, 於是他記起以前。然後, 他羞愧難當, 大聲說:"我真是蠢啊！我曾看過上面的天國, 也聽過天人們談論那些我無法用語言表達的事情。不過, 這是我剛到這裡時發生的事。現在我應當再回想一下這些事, 並把它告訴下面的同伴們。他們可能也會像我這樣尷尬。"
他嘴上不停地說他們愚蠢, 可是當他下去時, 他的記性被抹得精光。當他到達時, 變得像之前那樣愚蠢, 並聲稱那些從我聽來的話是胡說八道。
這些內容展示了撒旦在死後如何思想和說話。"撒旦"一名, 是給那些自行確信偽謬,直至完全相信它們的人。而"魔鬼"一名, 則是給那些過邪惡生活來培育惡性的人。
80. The fifth memorable occurrence. On one occasion a satan was allowed to come up from hell. A woman came with him. He came to the house where I was. When I saw them I closed the window, but I did talk to them through the glass. I asked the satan where he came from. He said he came from a group of his own people. I asked him where the woman was from. He gave the same answer.
She was part of a gang of sirens. They have the ability to project images. They can give themselves looks, clothing, and accessories of any kind. On one occasion they give themselves the body of Venus; on another, they give themselves a gorgeous face, as if they were one of the Muses; on yet another, they array themselves as queens with crowns and robes and stride majestically, holding a silver staff. These are the characteristics of sirens in the world of spirits - they are whores who specialize in fantasy.
They project these images by thinking with the senses and shutting off any deeper level of thought.
I asked the satan whether this woman was his wife. He answered, "What is a wife? I don't know what that is. My community doesn't know what that is. She is my whore. "
Then she aroused her man's lust - another thing sirens are very good at. So he gave her a kiss and said, "Ah, my female Adonis. "
[2] But now to something more serious. I asked the satan what his job was. He said, "My job is to be learned. Don't you see the laurel wreath on my head?" His Adonis used her skills to conjure up a laurel wreath, which she put on him from behind.
"Since there is formal education in the community you come from," I said, "tell me what you believe, and what your colleagues believe, about God. "
He replied, "Our God is the universe, which we also call nature. Our simple folk call the universe the atmosphere, which they think of as the air. Our experts also call it the atmosphere, but they include the ether in that. As for God, heaven, angels, and the like - many people in this world have much nonsense to say about them, but they are empty words. Those are imaginary things triggered by unusual weather phenomena and things in the sky that trick the eyes of many people here.
"All the things that are visible on earth were created by the sun. Winged and wingless insects are born every time the sun returns in spring. Because of the sun's heat, birds come together in love and reproduce. Because of the sun's heat, warm earth turns seeds into shoots and then into offspring in the form of fruit. Doesn't this mean that the universe is God? Surely then nature is a goddess, the universes spouse, who conceives, bears, raises, and feeds all the things I just mentioned. "
[3] I went on to ask what his community believes, and what he believes, about religion. He replied, "Because we are more learned than the average person, religion to us is nothing but an evil spell cast on the multitudes. To average people, religion is like an atmosphere surrounding their senses and imaginations. Pious images fly in that atmosphere like butterflies in the air. Their faith hooks these images together into a chain like a silkworm building a cocoon, from which it will then emerge as the king of the butterflies. The ignorant crowd loves images that transcend what can be sensed or thought. Why? Because they wish they themselves could fly. With religion they make themselves wings so they can rise up like eagles and boast to the inhabitants of earth, saying, 'Look at me!' We, on the other hand, believe what we can actually see and love what we can actually touch. "
At that point he touched his whore and said, "I believe in this because I see it and I touch it. Those other charades we toss out our front windows, and we blow them away with our raucous laughter. "
[4] Afterward I asked him what he and his colleagues believe about heaven and hell. With a loud, mocking laugh he replied, "What is heaven but the ethereal firmament at its highest points? What are the angels there but the spots that wander around the sun? What are the archangels but comets with a long tail on which a whole gang of them lives? What is hell but the swamps where people imagine the frogs and crocodiles to be devils? Anything beyond these ideas of heaven and hell is garbage introduced by some church leader to win glory from the ignorant population. "
Now, the satan said all these things just as he had thought them in the world. He was unaware that he was living after death; he had forgotten everything he had heard when he first entered the world of spirits. So when he was asked about life after death he answered, "It is an imaginary thing. Perhaps some vapor rising off a cadaver in a grave in a kind of human shape, or else the idea of ghosts that people make up stories about - something like that brought the idea of life after death into the human imagination. "
At that point I could no longer keep myself from bursting into laughter. I said, "Satan, you are beyond insane! What are you now? You are human in form. You can talk, see, hear, and walk. Call to mind that you once lived in another world that you have forgotten, and that you are now living after death. Recall that the way you talked just now was exactly the way you used to talk. "
He was given recollection and he remembered. Then he felt ashamed and shouted, "I am insane! I saw heaven above and heard angels saying ineffable things, but it happened when I had just arrived here. Now I am going to remember this and go tell it to the colleagues I left behind. Perhaps they will be as embarrassed as I was. "
He kept saying over and over that he would call his colleagues insane, but as he went down, oblivion drove the memory away. When he arrived below he became as insane as they were, and called what he had heard from me insanity.
This shows how satans think and talk after death. People who have made falsity so strong in themselves that it becomes their belief are called "satans. " People who have made evil strong in themselves by living it are called "devils. "
80. The fifth experience.
Once a satan was given leave to come up from hell together with a woman, and he approached the house where I was. On seeing them I shut the window, but carried on a conversation with them through it. I asked the Satan where he came from, and he said from the company of his own people.
I asked where the woman came from, and he made the same reply. She belonged to the crew of sirens. Their skill is by fantasy to put on every appearance of beauty and every adornment of dress. At one time they assume the beauty of Venus, at another the charm of countenance of a Muse, at another they deck themselves like queens in crowns and robes, and pace in regal fashion leaning on silver staves. Such women in the spiritual world are prostitutes and specialise in fantasy. They induce fantasies by thinking sensually, which blocks any ideas from a more inward mode of thinking.
I asked the Satan if she was his wife. 'What is a wife?' he replied. 'This is a term unknown to me and my community; she is my woman.' Then she roused her man's lewdness, a thing these sirens are skilled in doing. On feeling this he kissed her, saying, 'Oh my Adonis!'
[2] But to more serious matters. I asked the Satan what was his calling. 'My calling,' he said, 'is learning; don't you see the laurel wreath on my head? 'This his Adonis had conjured up by her magic arts and put on his head from behind.
'Since you come from a community,' I said, 'where there are schools of learning, tell me what you and your companions believe about God.' 'God,' he replied, 'is for us the universe, which we also call nature. Simple folk in our country call it the atmosphere, by which they mean the air; but the intelligent mean the atmosphere which is also the ether. God, heaven, angels and the like, the subject of many tales in this world, are idle words and fictions inspired by meteors, which many people here have seen flash before their eyes. Is not everything to be seen upon earth the creation of the sun? Every time it approaches in springtime are not insects born, with and without wings? Does not its heat make birds love each other and reproduce? And does not the earth, warmed by its heat, cause seed to sprout and produce fruits as its offspring? Does this not mean that the universe is God, and nature a goddess, and she as the wife of the universe conceives, bears, rears and nurtures these things?'
[3] I went on to ask what he and his community believed about religion. 'We who are educated above the ordinary level,' he replied, 'look on religion as nothing but a toy for the common people. The sensory and imaginative areas of their minds are surrounded with a sort of aura, in which religious ideas flit about like butterflies in the air. Their faith, which links these ideas into a sort of chain, resembles a silk-worm in its cocoon, from which the king of butterflies flutters forth. For the uneducated masses love images which rise above the bodily senses and the thoughts they engender, because they have a longing to fly. So they make themselves wings, so that they can soar like eagles and show off in front of the earth-bound, saying, 'Look at me!' We, however, believe what we see and love what we touch.' At this he touched his woman, saying, 'This I believe, because I see and touch it. But we throw all that sort of rubbish out of our windows of mica, and waft it away on a gale of laughter.'
[4] Then I asked his opinion and that of his companions on heaven and hell. He laughed and said: 'What is heaven but the ethereal firmament on high? What are angels but spots wandering round the sun? What are archangels but comets with their long tails, on which their company lives? What is hell but marshland full of frogs and crocodiles, which their imagination turns into devils? Everything but these ideas of heaven and hell is mere nonsense, thought up by some church dignitary to seek fame among an ignorant populace.'
He said all this exactly as he had thought in the world, unaware that he was living after death, and forgetful of everything he had been told when he first entered the world of spirits. Therefore even when asked about life after death, he replied that it was a figment of the imagination, but there might perhaps be some effluvium given off by the corpse in the grave in shape resembling a person, or something like the ghosts which some tell tales about, and this had led people to fantasise on the subject.
[5] On hearing this I could no longer stop myself bursting out laughing. 'Satan,' I said, 'you really are mad. What are you now? Are you not in shape like a person? Don't you talk, see, hear and walk? Remember that you lived in another world, which you have forgotten, and now you are alive after death, yet have been speaking exactly as you did before you died.'
He was given back his memory, and on remembering he was ashamed and cried: 'I am mad. I have seen heaven up above, and heard angels there speak things beyond description. But this was when I was a recent arrival. Now I shall remember this to tell the companions I left behind, and then perhaps they will be ashamed too.' He had it on the tip of his tongue to call them mad, but as he went down forgetfulness blotted out his memory, so that on arrival he was as mad as they were, and called what I had told him madness.
Such is the state of thought and conversation among satans after death. The name of satans is given to those who have convinced themselves of falsities until they completely believe them, and the name of devils to those who have fostered evils in their characters by living a wicked life.
80. Fifth Memorable Relation:
Once by permission a satan and a woman with him, ascended from hell, and came to the house where I was. Seeing them I closed the window, but talked with them through it. I asked the satan where he came from; and he said from his own companions.
And I asked where the woman came from; and he made the same answer. She was from a crowd of sirens, such as are skilled in assuming by means of fantasies all the modes and forms of beauty and adornment, now putting on the beauty of Venus, and now the chaste features of Parnassian nymphs; and again decking themselves out like queens with crowns and royal robes, and walking majestically leaning on silver canes. Such in the world of spirits are harlots, and study fantasies. Fantasy arises from sensual thought when the ideas springing from any interior thought have been excluded.
I asked the satan if she was his wife. He replied, "What is a wife? I do not know and my society does not; she is my harlot." Then she inspired him with lascivious desire, which sirens can do with great skill; and on receiving it he kissed her, and said, "Ah my Adonis!"
[2] But to proceed to serious things. I asked the satan what his occupation was; and he said, "My occupation is the pursuit of learning; do you not see the laurel on my head?" This his Adonis had created by her art, and put on him from behind.
And I said, "Since you come from a society where learning prevails, tell me what you and your companions believe in regard to God."
He replied, "To us God is the universe, which we also call nature, and which the more simple of our people call the atmosphere, by which they mean the air, but the wise mean by it the ether. God, heaven, angels and the like, about which many in this world have much to say, are empty terms, and fictions taken from the meteors which here play before the eyes of many people. Are not all things that are visible on the earth created by the sun? At its approach every spring are not winged and creeping insects brought forth; and do not birds, moved by its heat, love each other and propagate their species; and does not the earth when warmed by its heat make seeds to sprout and finally yield fruit as offspring? Is not the universe then a god, and nature a goddess; and does she not, as the spouse of the universe, conceive, bear, bring up, and nourish these offspring?"
[3] I asked further what he and his society believed about religion. He replied, "To us, who are more learned than the masses, religion is nothing but a bewitchment of the common people, which encompasses, like an aura, the sensitive and imaginative powers of their minds; and in that aura notions of piety fly about like butterflies in the air; and their faith, which connects these ideas, as it were, in a chain, is like a silkworm in his cocoon, from which he comes forth as king of the butterflies. For the unlearned masses, from a desire to fly, love to imagine things above their bodily senses and their thought therefrom, in this way making wings for themselves, with which they may soar like eagles and cry boastfully to those on the ground, 'Look at me!' But we believe what we see, and we love what we touch." With that he touched his harlot and said, "This is something I believe in because I see and touch it. But we throw that other nonsense out of our windows, and blow it away with a breath of laughter."
[4] I then asked what he and his companions believed about heaven and hell. He replied with a loud laugh, "What is heaven but the ethereal firmament above? And what are its angels but spots wandering about the sun? And what are archangels but comets with long tails, upon which a crowd of them dwell? And what is hell but bogs where, in their imagination, frogs and crocodiles are the devils? Everything beyond these ideas of heaven and hell is mere trumpery brought forth by some prelate for the purpose of winning glory from the ignorant multitude."
All this he said precisely as he had thought upon these subjects in the world, not knowing that he was then living after death, and having forgotten all that he had heard when he first entered the spiritual world. So again he replied to a question about a life after death, that it was a thing of the imagination; and that perchance some effluvium arising from a buried corpse in the shape of a man, or a thing called a ghost, about which some tell stories, had introduced such a notion among men's fancies.
When I heard this I could no longer keep from laughing; and I said, "Satan, you are raving mad. What are you now? Are you not now in the form of a man? Do you not talk, see, hear, walk? Recall to mind that you have lived in another world which you have forgotten, and that you are now living after death, and that you were even now talking just as you formerly did."
And recollection was given him, and he remembered and was ashamed; and he cried out, "I am mad! I saw heaven above, and I heard angels there uttering things ineffable; but that was when I first came here. I will now keep this in mind to tell to my companions from whom I came; and perhaps they too will be ashamed as I am."
And he kept repeating that he would call them madmen; but as he descended forgetfulness expelled remembrance; and when he reached his companions he was as mad as they, and said that what he had heard from me was madness.
In this way do satans think and talk after death. Those are called satans who have confirmed in themselves falsities until they believe them; and those are called devils who have confirmed in themselves evils by their life.
80. The fifth experience. A satan once by permission ascended from hell with a woman and came to the house where I was. When I saw them I closed the window but entered into conversation with them through it. I asked the satan where he came from, and he replied from the company of his associates. I put the same question to the woman, and received a similar reply. She was from the company of sirens, who have the art of assuming the appearance of all modes and forms of beauty and adornment. At one time they put on the beautiful form of a Venus, 1 at another the graceful countenance of a maiden of Parnassus, and at another they adorn themselves in crowns and robes as queens, and walk majestically, leaning on silver staffs. Such are the courtesans in the world of spirits, and they apply themselves to the art of fanciful appearances. These appearances are induced by sensual thought from which all ideas of interior thought are excluded. When I asked the satan if she was his wife, he replied: "What is a wife? I do not know, nor does any one of my society: she is my courtesan." Then she inspired him with lust, which sirens do with great skill, and he thereupon kissed her, saying, "Ah, my love!"
[2] But to proceed to more serious matters. I asked the satan what his vocation was. "My vocation," said he, "is learning. Do you not see the laurel wreath upon my head?" This his love had formed by her art and put on his head from behind. Then I said: "Since you have come from a society where there are schools of learning, tell me, what do you and your companions believe about God?" He replied: "To us God is the universe, which we also call nature. The simple among our people call it the atmosphere, by which they mean the air, while by it our wise men mean the ether also. God, heaven, angels, and such things, about which various fables are invented by many men in this world, are empty words, or fictions, suggested by the meteor-like appearances which play before the eyes of many in this place. Are not all things which appear on the earth, created by the sun? Are not all winged and creeping insects produced at his approach in spring? Do not birds, moved by his heat, love one another and propagate their kind? Does not the earth, warmed by his heat, cause seeds to produce, first plants and then fruits, as her children? Is not the universe, therefore, God and nature a goddess, who, as the spouse of the universe, conceives, brings forth, rears, and nourishes those things?"
[3] I further asked what he and his society believed about religion. He replied: "To us, who are learned above the mass of men, religion is nothing but a bewitchment of the common people, enveloping their feelings and imaginations as a rare atmosphere, in which flit about pious notions like butterflies in the air; and their faith, which connects those ideas into a system, is like a silk-worm in its cocoon, from which it emerges as the king of butterflies. For the illiterate community love imaginary things, transcending the bodily senses and the thoughts that spring from them, from a desire to fly. They even make for themselves wings, that they may soar upward like eagles and boastfully cry to those on the earth, 'Look at me!' We believe what we see, and we love what we touch." Then touching his love he said: "This I believe, because I see and touch her; but as for that other nonsense, we throw it out of the window, casting it from us with a burst of laughter."
[4] After this I asked what he and his associates believed concerning heaven and hell. He replied, with a derisive laugh: "What is heaven but the lofty ethereal firmament, and the angels there but spots, wandering round the sun, and the archangels but comets with long tails, upon which the whole crowd dwells? And what is hell but marshes, where frogs and crocodiles become devils in the imagination of simple people? All other ideas about heaven and hell are mere trumpery, devised by some prelate to win glory from an ignorant multitude." All these things he spoke just as he had thought concerning them in the world, not knowing that he was now living after death, and forgetting all that he had heard when he first entered the spiritual world. Therefore also, when I questioned him regarding the life after death, he replied that it was a figment of the imagination; and that probably some vapor rising from a buried corpse in a form resembling a man, or some so-called spectre, about which people spread fables, had suggested such a thing to the popular imagination.
When I heard this I could no longer refrain from bursting into laughter, and I said: "Satan, you are raving mad. Are you not now in form a man? Do you not talk, see, hear, and walk? Pray recollect that you once lived in another world, which you have forgotten, and that you are now living after death, and have been speaking just as you did before." The power to recollect was restored to him: his memory returned, and thoroughly ashamed he cried out: "I am mad! I have seen heaven above, and have heard angels there uttering things ineffable; but that was when I first came here. However, I will keep this in mind to tell it to my companions whom I have just left, and perchance they also will be ashamed." He kept repeating that he would call them madmen; but as he went down, forgetfulness took the place of recollection. So when he arrived among them, he was as mad as they, and called madness what he had heard from me. Such is the state of thought and conversation of satans after death. Those who have confirmed themselves in belief in falsities are called satans, and devils those who have confirmed themselves in evils of life.
Footnotes:
1. Venus, goddess of love.
80. QUINTUM MEMORABILE.
Quondam unus Satanas 1 cum venia ex Inferno ascendit una cum foemina, et accessit ad domum ubi eram, quibus visis occlusi fenestram, attamen trans illam cum illis loquebar, et quaesivi Satanam unde veniret; dixit, ex consortio suorum, et quaesivi unde foemina; dixit similiter; haec erat ex turba Sirenum, quae callent per phantasias sibi inducere omnes habitus et figuras pulchritudinis et ornatus, nunc figurant pulchritudinem Veneris, nunc decorem oris sicut esset Parnassis, nunc exornant se sicut Reginae coronis et chlamydibus, et super baculo argenteo innixae magnifice ambulant; tales in Mundo Spirituum sunt meretrices, et phantasiis student; phantasia fit per cogitationem sensualem occlusis ideis ex cogitatione aliqua interiore. Quaesivi Satanam, Numeri illa esset ejus Uxor; respondit, quid uxor, hoc nescio, et nescit societas mea, est mea meretrix, et tunc illa inspiravit viro lasciviam, quod etiam Sirenes dextre callent, qua recepta osculatus est illam, et dixit, ah mea Adonis.
[2] Sed ad seria; interrogavi Satanam, quae ejus functio, et ait, functio mea est Eruditio, videsne laurum super capite meo; hanc Adonis ejus per artem suam conflavit, et a tergo imposuit: et dixi, quoniam e societate, ubi magisteria sunt, advenis, dic mihi quid credis et quid credunt consocii tui de Deo; retulit, Deus nobis est Universum, quod etiam vocamus Naturam, et quod simplices nostratium vocant Athmosphaeram, quae illis est aer, at sapientes Athmosphaeram quae etiam est Aether; Deus, Coelum, Angeli, et similia, de quibus multi multa fabulantur in hoc Mundo, sunt vocabula inania, et figmenta capta ex Meteoris, quae ludunt coram oculis plurium hic; suntne omnia, quae super Tellure apparent, a Sole creata; numne omni adventu ejus tempore veris nascuntur Vermes cum alis et absque alis, et ex calore ejus Volucres se mutuo amant et prolificant, et Terra aestu ejus tepefacta semina educit in germina, et tandem in fructus ut proles; annon sic Universum est Deus, et Natura est Dea, et haec ut Universi conjunx concipit, parit, educat, et alit illa.
[3] Porro interrogavi, quid credit Societas ejus, et ille, de Religione; respondit, quod Religio nobis prae vulgo eruditis, non sit nisi quam fascinum plebis, quod circum sensitiva et imaginaria illorum mentis est sicut aura, in qua volant pietatis ideae tanquam papiliones in aere, et fides illorum, quae connectit ideas illas sicut in catenam, tanquam bombyx in volvulo serico, e quo evolat ut rex papilionum; amat enim Communio inerudita imagines supra sensualia corporis et inde cogitationis, propter cupidinem ut volent, ita etiam faciunt sibi alas, ut sicut aquilae elevent se, et se jactent coram terricolis, dicturi, ecce me; nos autem credimus quod videmus, et amamus quod tangimus, et tunc tetigit Meretricem suam, et dixit, hoc credo, quia video et tango; verum nos talia ludibria per speculares nostras fenestras ejicimus, et sufflatu risus abigimus.
[4] Postea quaesivi, quid una cum consociis credit de Coelo et Inferno; respondit cum 2 cachinno, quid Coelum nisi firmamentum aethereum in sua altitudine, et quid Angeli ibi nisi quam maculae errantes circum Solem, et Archangeli nisi quam cometae cum longa cauda, super qua habitat eorum turba; et quid Infernum nisi paludes, ubi ranae et crocodili in phantasia illorum sunt diaboli; praeter has ideas de 3 coelo et inferno, reliqua sunt nugae, a quodam Primate ad capessendum gloriam a populo ignaro introductae; sed haec omnia loquutus est, prorsus ut de illis cogitaverat in Mundo, nesciens quod viveret post mortem, et oblitus omnium, quae, dum primum intravit Mundum Spirituum, audivit; quare etiam ad interrogationem de vita post mortem retulit quod sit ens imaginarium, et quod forte aliquod effluviosum exsurgens ex cadavere in tumulo in forma sicut homo, aut quoddam quod vocatur spectrum, de quo fabulantur aliqui, tale quid in phantasias hominum introduxerat.
[5] His auditis non potui amplius retinere risum, quin erumperet et dixi, Satana, insanis insaniendo; quid tu nunc, esne in forma homo, numne loqueris, vides, audis, gradiris; reminiscere, quod vixeris in alio Mundo, cujus oblitus es, et quod nunc post mortem vivas, et quod loquutus sis prorsus sicut prius; et data est ei reminiscentia, et recordatus est, et tunc puduit illum, et clamavit, insanio, vidi coelum supra, et audivi angelos ibi loquutos ineffabilia, sed hoc quando huc nuper allui; at nunc retinebo hoc narraturus sociis meis, a quibus recessi, et forte tunc pudebit illos similiter; ac tenuit in ore quod illos vocaret insanos, sed sicut descendit, oblivio expulit reminiscentiam, et cum ibi erat, insanivit consimiliter, et vocavit illa, quae a me audivit, 4 insanias. Talis est status cogitationis et sermocinationis Satanarum post mortem: vocantur Satanae illi, qui confirmaverunt apud se falsa usque ad fidem, et Diaboli illi qui confirmaverunt mala apud se per vitam.
Footnotes: