things of creation, is evident when it is considered that all effects, or ultimate ends, become anew first ends, in a continual series from the Lord the Creator, who is the first, to the conjunction of man with Him, which is the last. That all ultimate ends become anew first ends, is evident from the fact, that there is nothing so inert and dead, but has some efficiency in it; even sand exhales such a principle as contributes assistance in producing something and therefore in effecting something.

PART III.

173. THAT IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD THERE ARE ATMOSPHERES, WATERS, AND EARTHS, AS IN THE NATURAL WORLD; BUT THAT THE FORMER ARE SPIRITUAL, WHEREAS THE LATTER ARE NATURAL. That the spiritual world and the natural world are alike, only that all and every thing of the spiritual world is spiritual, and that all and every thing of the natural world, natural, was mentioned in the preceding pages, and shown in the work ON HEAVEN AND HELL. These two worlds being alike, therefore in both there are atmospheres, waters, and earths, which are the generals, by and from which all and singular things exist with an infinite variety.

174. The atmospheres, which are called æthers and airs, are alike in both the spiritual and natural worlds, only that those in the spiritual world are spiritual, and those in the natural world are natural. The former are spiritual because they exist from the sun, which is the first proceeding of the divine love and divine wisdom of the Lord, and from Him receive in them divine fire which is love, and divine light which is wisdom, and convey these two to the heavens where the angels dwell, and cause the presence of that sun in the greatest and smallest things there. The spiritual atmospheres are discrete substances, or most minute forms, originating from the sun; and as they severally receive the sun, hence its fire, being divided into so many substances or forms, and as it were covered or enclosed in them, and tempered by these coverings, becomes heat, proportioned finally to the love of angels in heaven, and of spirits under heaven; the same may be said of the light of the sun. The natural atmospheres are similar to the spiritual atmospheres, in being also discrete substances of a very minute form, originating from the sun of the natural world; which sun also

they each of them receive, and treasure up in them its fire, and temper it, and convey it as heat to the earth, which is the dwelling-place of men; and in like manner the light.

175. The difference between the spiritual atmospheres and the natural atmospheres, is, that the spiritual atmospheres are receptacles of divine fire and divine light, consequently of love and wisdom, for they contain these within them; whereas the natural atmospheres are not receptacles of divine fire and divine light, but of the fire and light of their own sun, which in itself is void of life, (as was shown above,) and therefore they contain nothing from the sun of the spiritual world, but still they are surrounded by spiritual atmospheres which come from that sun. That this is the difference between the spiritual atmospheres and the natural atmospheres, is learnt from the wisdom of the angels.

176. The existence of atmospheres in the spiritual world, as well as in the natural, may appear from the fact, that angels and spirits breathe, speak, and hear, equally with men in the natural world; and respiration, like speech and hearing, is effected by means of the air or ultimate atmosphere; also from the fact, that angels and spirits see, equally as men in the natural world, and sight is not possible but by means of an atmosphere purer than air; also from this, that angels and spirits think and are affected equally with men in the natural world, and thought and affection do not exist but by means of still purer atmospheres; and lastly from this, that all things belonging to the bodies of angels and spirits, as well external as internal, are held in the proper connection by atmospheres; their externals by an aerial atmosphere, and their internals by æthereal atmospheres were it not for the circumpressure and action of these atmospheres, the interior and exterior forms of the body would evidently be dissolved. Since the angels are spiritual, and their bodies in general and in particular are held in their connection, form, and order, by atmospheres, it follows that those atmospheres are also spiritual; and they are spiritual, because they originate from the spiritual sun, which is the first proceeding of the divine love and divine wisdom of the Lord.

177. That in the spiritual world there are also waters and earths, as in the natural world, but that the waters and earths of the spiritual world are spiritual, was mentioned above, and has been shown in the work ON HEAVEN AND HELL: these, being spiritual, are actuated and modified by the heat and light of the spiritual sun by the atmospheres derived from it, just as the water and the earth in the natural world are acted on and modified by the heat and light of their sun by its atmospheres.

178. Atmospheres, waters, and earths, are here spoken of, as being the generals by and from which all and singular things exist in infinite variety. The atmospheres are active powers,

the waters the intermediate powers, and the earths the passive powers, from which all effects exist. These three are such powers in their series, solely from the life which proceeds from the Lord as a sun and causes them to be active.

179. THAT THERE ARE DEGREES OF LOVE AND WISDOM, AND THENCE DEGREES OF HEAT AND LIGHT, AND DEGREES OF ATMOSPHERES. Unless it be known that there are degrees, and what, and of what nature they are, that which follows cannot be comprehended; for there are degrees in every created thing, consequently in every form; wherefore in this PART of the Angelic WISDOM We shall treat of degrees. The existence of degrees of love and wisdom, may appear manifestly from the angels of the three heavens. The angels of the third heaven excel the angels of the second heaven in love and wisdom, and these last excel the angels of the first heaven, insomuch that they cannot be together; the degrees of love and wisdom distinguish and separate them. Hence it is that the angels of the inferior heavens cannot ascend to the angels of the superior heavens; and if they are allowed to ascend, they do not see the superior angels, nor any thing that is about them; for their love and wisdom is in a superior degree, which transcends the perception of the inferior angels. Every angel is his own love and his own wisdom; and love with wisdom is in its form a man, because God, who is love itself and wisdom itself, is a Man. It has occasionally been given me to see the angels of the ultimate heaven ascend to the angels of the third heaven, and when they have reached that heaven, I have heard them complaining, that they saw no one, although they were in the midst of its angels: afterwards they were instructed, that those angels were invisible to them, because their love and wisdom were imperceptible to them and that love and wisdom are what cause an angel to appear as a man.

180. That there are degrees of love and wisdom, appears still more manifestly from the love and wisdom of the angels, relatively to the love and wisdom of men. It is well known

that the wisdom of the angels is relatively ineffable; that it is also incomprehensible to men when they are in natural love, will be seen in what follows. It appears ineffable and incomprehensible, because it is in a superior degree.

181. Since there are degrees of love and wisdom, there are also degrees of heat and light. By heat and light are meant spiritual heat and light, such as the angels have in the heavens, and such as men have as to the interiors of their minds; for the heat of men's love, and the light of their wisdom, are similar to the heat and light of the angels. In the heavens the case is this: the quality and quantity of love which the angels have, determines the quality and quantity of their heat; and their light has the same relation to their wisdom; because there is

love in their heat, and wisdom in their light, as was shown before. It is the same with men on earth, only that the angels feel that heat, and see that light, whereas men do not, because men are in natural heat and light; and so long as this is the case, they do not feel spiritual heat, save by a certain delight of love, nor do they see spiritual light, save by a perception of truth. Now as a man, whilst in natural heat and light, knows nothing of spiritual heat and light in himself, and as this cannot be known but by experience from the spiritual world, therefore we shall here first speak of the heat and light in which the angels and their heavens are, this being the only source of enlightenment on the subject.

182. The degrees of spiritual heat cannot, however, be described from experience, because love, to which spiritual heat corresponds, does not fall definitely under the ideas of thought; but the degrees of spiritual light may be described, because it does fall under the ideas of thought, for spiritual light is of thought; and from the degrees of light the degrees of spiritual heat may be comprehended, for they are similar in degree. Now as to the spiritual light, in which the angels are, it has been given me to see it with my eyes. The light of the angels of the superior heavens is so bright that it cannot be described, not even by the whiteness of snow, and so glistening, that it cannot be described, even by the flaming rays of this world's sun; in a word, it a thousand times exceeds the sun's meridian light on earth. But the light of the angels of the inferior heavens may in some measure be described by comparisons, yet still it exceeds the greatest light of our world. The light of the angels of the superior heavens cannot be described, because their light makes one with their wisdom; and as their wisdom, relatively to the wisdom of men, is ineffable, so also is their light. From these few considerations it may appear, that there are degrees of light; and as wisdom and love resemble each other in degree, it follows that there are similar degrees of heat.

183. Since atmospheres are the receptacles and continents of heat and light, it follows that there are as many degrees of atmospheres as there are degrees of heat and light, and as there are degrees of love and wisdom. The existence of several atmospheres, distinct from each other by degrees, has been manifested to me from much experience in the spiritual world; especially from the fact, that the angels of the inferior heavens cannot breathe in the region of the superior angels, and that they seem to themselves to gasp for breath, as is the case with animals raised out of air into æther, or out of water into air; the spirits also below the heavens appear to those who are in the heavens as in a mist. That there are several atmospheres, distinct from each other by degrees, may be seen above, n. 176. 184. THAT DEGREES ARE OF TWO KINDS, DEGREES OF ALTI

TUDE AND DEGREES OF LATITUDE.

:

The knowledge of degrees

is as it were the key to open the causes of things, and enter into them without it scarcely any thing of cause can be known; for without it, the objects and subjects of both worlds appear so general (univoca) as to seem to have nothing in them but what is seen with the eye; when nevertheless this, respectively to the things which lie interiorly concealed, is as one to thousands, yea to myriads. The interior things which lie hid can by no means be discovered, unless degrees be understood; for exterior things advance to interior things, and these to inmost, by degrees; not by continuous degrees, but by discrete degrees. Decrements or decreasings from grosser to finer, or from denser to rarer, or rather increments and increasings from finer to grosser, or from rarer to denser, like that of light to shade, or of heat to cold, are called continuous degrees. But discrete degrees are entirely different: they are in the relation of prior, posterior, and postreme, or of end, cause, and effect. They are called discrete degrees, because the prior is by itself, the posterior by itself, and the postreme by itself; but still, taken together, they make a one. The atmospheres which are called æther and air, from highest to lowest, or from the sun to the earth, are discriminated into such degrees; and are as simples, the congregates of these simples, and again the congregates of these congregates, which taken together, are called a composite. These last degrees are discrete, because they exist distinctly; and they are understood by degrees of altitude; but the former degrees are continuous, because they continually increase; and they are understood by degrees of latitude.

185. All and singular the things which exist in the spiritual and natural worlds, coexist at once from discrete continuous degrees, or from degrees of altitude and degrees of latitude. That dimension which consists of discrete degrees is called altitude, and that which consists of continuous degrees, is called latitude: their situation relatively to sight does not change their denomination. Without a knowledge of these degrees nothing can be known of the difference between the three heavens, or of the difference between the love and wisdom of the angels there, or of the difference between the heat and light in which they are, or of the difference between the atmospheres which surround and contain them. Moreover, without a knowledge of these degrees, nothing can be known of the difference of the interior faculties of the mind in men; or, therefore, of their state as to reformation and regeneration; or of the difference of the exterior faculties, which are of the body, as well of angels as of men; and nothing at all of the difference between spiritual and natural, or therefore of correspondence; yea, or of any difference of life between men and beasts, or of the difference between the more perfect and the imperfect beasts; or of the