Page:Miscellaneous Theological Works of Emanuel Swedenborg.djvu/413

 THE EARTHS IN THE UNIVERSE 1. Since, from the Divine mercy of the Lord, the interiors, which are of my spirit, have been opened to me, and thereby it has been granted me to speak with spirits and angels, not only with those who are near our earth, but also with those who are near other earths; because I had a desire to know whether there are other earths, and what their nature is, and the quality of their inhabitants, therefore it has been granted me by the Lord to speak and converse with spirits and angels who are from other earths, with some for a day, with some for a week, and with some for months; and to be instructed by them concerning the earths, from which and near which they were; and concerning the lives, customs, and worship of the inhabitants thereof, and of various other things worthy to be related : and because in this manner it has been granted me to know these things, it is permitted to describe them from what has been heard and seen. It is to be known that all spirits and angels are from the human race;i and that they are near their own earths ;2 and that they know what is there ; and that by them man may be instructed, if his interiors are so far opened that he can speak and converse with them; for man in his essence is a spirit,^ and he is together with spirits as to his interiors ;4 wherefore he whose interiors are opened by the FROM THE ARCANA CCELESTIA; Where These and the Following Notes are Explained and Shown. iThere are no spirits and angels who are not from the human race (n. 1880). 2 The spirits of every earth are near to their own earth, because they are from the inhabitants of that earth, and of a similar genius; and they are serviceable to those inhabitants (n. 9968). 3 The soul, which lives after death, is the spirit of man, which is the real man in him, and also appears in the other life in a perfect human form (n. 322, 1880, 1881, 3633, 4622, 4735, 6054, 6605, 6626, 7021, 10,594). <Man, even when he is in the world, as to his interiors, thus as to his spirit or soul, is in the midst of spirits and angels, of a quality such as he is himself (n. 2379, " 3645,4067, 4073,4077). 26 401