Page:Heaven Revealed.djvu/162

 may be clearly seen how manifold and various good is; for it is so various that there is no instance of one being in like good with another; yea, if myriads of myriads should be multiplied to eternity, the good of one would not be like that of another, just as the face of one is never like the face of another. Good also in the heavens forms the faces of the angels."—A. C, n. 7236.

And as there are countless degrees of good in heaven, so there is, according to Swedenborg, an endless variety there. And this variety adds greatly to its perfection. It is this which necessitates the distribution of the angels into many distinct societies; for only those who are in a similar kind and degree of good, have a strong affection for each other. There may be a thousand persons—all good; but their good may be so different both in kind and in degree, that they feel no strong attraction toward each other, and would not, if left in perfect freedom, choose each other's society. Being spiritually unlike, they would prefer to live apart; for they are spiritually remote from each other. As Swedenborg says:

"The angelic societies in the heavens are also distant from each other according to the general and specific differences of their goods. For distances in the spiritual world are from no other origin than from a difference in the states of the interiors; consequently, in the heavens, from a difference in the states of love. Those are far apart who differ much, and those are near who differ little. Similarity brings them together."'—H. H. n. 42.

"All in heaven are consociated according to spiritual affinities, which are those of good and truth in their order. So is it in the whole heaven, so in every society,