Earths In Our Solar System Which Are Called Planets, and Earths In The Starry Heaven Their Inhabita | Page 8

and as
this [capacity remains] for ever, it is evident that wisdom is continually
growing with them. With the spirits of Mercury, the science of things is
continually growing, yet not therefore wisdom, because they love
knowledges, which are means, but not uses, which are ends.
30. Furthermore, the character of the genius of the spirits who are from
the planet Mercury may still further appear from the following facts. It
must be known that all spirits and angels without exception were once
men, for the human race is the seminary of heaven; and that spirits are
altogether such as to their affections and inclinations as they had been
when they lived as men in the world, for every one's life follows him[n].
This being the case, the genius of the men of every earth may be known
from the genius of the spirits who are from it.
[Footnote n: Every one's life remains with him and follows him after
death, nos. 4227, 7440. The externals of life are kept closed after death,
and the internals of life are opened, nos. 4314, 5128, 6495. All things in
general and particular of thought are then made manifest, nos. 4633,
5128.]
31. Since the spirits of Mercury in the Grand Man have relation to the
memory of things abstracted from material things, therefore when any
one speaks to them of terrestrial, corporeal, and merely worldly things,

they are absolutely unwilling to hear; and if they are forced to hear of
those things, they transmute them into others, and for the most part into
contrary things, so as to avoid them.
32. In order that I might know for certain that such was their genius, it
was allowed to represent to them meadows, fallow-lands, gardens,
woods, and streams. To represent such things is to exhibit before
another in imagination those things which, in the other life, appear to
the life. But they instantly transmuted them; they darkened the
meadows and fallow-lands, and by representations filled them with
snakes; the streams they turned black, so that the water no longer
appeared limpid. When I asked why they did so, they said they did not
want to think of such things, but of realities, which are the knowledges
of things abstracted from terrestrial things, especially of such as exist in
the heavens.
33. I afterwards represented to them birds both large and small, such as
exist on our Earth; for in the other life such things can be represented to
the life. On seeing those birds represented, they at first wanted to
change them, but they afterwards were delighted with them, and
became quiet; the reason was, that birds signify the knowledges of
things, and the perception of this fact then flowed in[o]; they therefore
abstained from transmuting them, and so from turning away the ideas
of their memory. Afterwards it was permitted me to represent before
them a very pleasant garden full of lamps and lights; they then paused
and their attention was fixed, because lamps with lights signify truths
(_veritates_) which shine from good[p]. From this it was evident that
they could be detained in the consideration of material things, provided
only that the signification of those things in the spiritual sense were
insinuated at the same time; for the things which belong to the spiritual
sense are not abstracted from material things to the same extent,
inasmuch as they are representative of these.
[Footnote o: Birds signify rational things, intellectual things, thoughts,
ideas, and knowledges, nos. 40, 745, 776, 778, 866, 988, 993, 5149,
7441. And this with variety according to the genera and species of the
birds, no. 3219.]
[Footnote p: Lamps with lights signify truths (_veritates_) which shine
from good, nos. 4638, 9548, 9783.]
34. Moreover, I spoke with them about sheep and lambs, but they were

not willing to hear of such things, because they were perceived by them
as terrestrial things; the reason was, that they did not understand what
innocence is, which lambs signify; this was apperceived from the
circumstance that, on my saying that lambs, when represented in
heaven, signify innocence[q], they said that they did not know what
innocence was, but only knew it by name: the reason is, that they are
affected with knowledges only, but not with uses, which are the ends of
knowledges, consequently they are unable to know, from internal
perception, what innocence is.
[Footnote q: Lambs in heaven, and in the Word, signify innocence, nos.
3994, 7840, 10132.]
35. Some of the spirits of the earth Mercury came to me, being sent by
others, in order that they might hear what was going on near me. These
were told by one of the spirits of our Earth, to tell their [friends] not to
speak anything but what was true, and not, as