Page:The New View of Hell.djvu/136

 each other like the horrid monsters they are, but like a very respectable class of people. In their own light, and to each other's eyes, they look not hideous but quite human. Their bitter and fiendish tones have in them nothing harsh or grating to each other's ears; on the contrary they seem quite agreeable and even musical to them. Accordingly Swedenborg, after describing the loathsome appearance of the devils as seen by himself in the clear light of heaven, adds:

"It is, however, to be observed, that such is the appearance of infernal spirits when seen in the light of heaven; but among themselves they appear like men. This is of the Lord's mercy, that they may not appear as loathsome to each other as they do to the angels. But this appearance is a fallacy; for as soon as a ray of light from heaven is let in, their human forms are turned into monstrous ones, such as they are in reality, as described above; for in the light of heaven everything appears as it really is."—Ibid.

Again he says:

"Among the wonderful things which exist in the other life, this also is one: that, when the angels of heaven look into evil spirits, these latter have a totally different appearance from what they have when seen among themselves. Among themselves and in their own fatuous light, which is like that of a coal fire, as before remarked, they appear to themselves in a human form, and also, according to their fantasies, not without beauty;