Earths In Our Solar System Which Are Called Planets, and Earths In The Starry Heaven Their Inhabitants, And The Spirits And Angels There by Emanuel Swedenborg

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EARTHS IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM

WHICH ARE CALLED PLANETS

AND

EARTHS IN THE STARRY HEAVEN

THEIR INHABITANTS, AND THE SPIRITS AND ANGELS THERE

FROM THINGS HEARD AND SEEN

_FROM THE LATIN_

OF

EMANUEL SWEDENBORG

SWEDENBORG SOCIETY (Incorporated) 20-21 BLOOMSBURY WAY, LONDON, W.C.1
1962

* * * * *

_The issues of this volume in a demy 8vo edition by the Swedenborg
Society have been:--_

_First Edition_ 1860
_Second Edition_ 1875
_Third Edition_ 1894
_Reprinted_ 1909
" 1931
" 1940
" 1962

_For other editions, see "A Bibliography of the Works of Emanuel
Swedenborg"_ (JAMES HYDE).

_Printed in Great Britain by Morrison & Gibb Ltd., London and
Edinburgh_

* * * * *

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

NOS.

EARTHS IN THE UNIVERSE, 1-8

THE PLANET MERCURY, 9-45

THE PLANET JUPITER, 46-84

THE PLANET MARS, 85-96

THE PLANET SATURN, 97-104

THE PLANET VENUS, 105-110

THE MOON, 111, 112

REASONS WHY THE LORD WILLED TO BE BORN ON OUR EARTH, AND NOT ON
ANY OTHER, 113-122

EARTHS IN THE STARRY HEAVEN, 123-126

THE FIRST EARTH IN THE STARRY HEAVEN, 127-137

THE SECOND EARTH IN THE STARRY HEAVEN, 138-147

THE THIRD EARTH IN THE STARRY HEAVEN, 148-156

THE FOURTH EARTH IN THE STARRY HEAVEN, 157-167

THE FIFTH EARTH IN THE STARRY HEAVEN, 168-178

PAGE

INDEX OF SUBJECTS, 101

INDEX OF SCRIPTURE REFERENCES, 106

* * * * *

EARTHS IN THE UNIVERSE.

1. Inasmuch as, by the Divine mercy of the Lord, the interiors which
are of my spirit have been opened in me, and it has thereby been given
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; and since I
had an ardent desire to know whether there were other earths, and to
know their character and the character of their inhabitants; it has
been granted me by the Lord to speak and have intercourse with spirits
and angels who are from other earths, with some for a day, with
some for a week, with some for months; and to be instructed by them
respecting the earths from and near which they were, and concerning
the life, customs, and worship of their inhabitants, besides various
other things there that are worthy of note. And since it has been
given me to become acquainted with these matters in this way, it is
permitted me to describe them from the things which I have heard and
seen. It is necessary that it be known that all spirits and angels are
from the human race[a], and that they are near their own earths[b],
and are acquainted with what is upon them; and that a man may be
instructed by them, if his interiors are so far opened as to enable
him to speak and be in company with them: for man in his essence is
a spirit[c], and is in company with spirits as to his interiors[d];
wherefore he whose interiors are opened by the Lord, is able to speak
with them, as man with man[e]. It has now been granted me to enjoy
this privilege daily for twelve years.

[Footnote: _From the_ ARCANA COELESTIA: _in which work these and
subsequent articles, which are inserted below the line, are explained
and shown._]

[Footnote a: There are no spirits and angels who are not from the
human race, no. 1880.]

[Footnote b: The spirits of every earth are near their own earth,
because they are of its inhabitants, and of a similar genius; and they
are meant to be of service to them, no. 9968.]

[Footnote c: The soul, which lives after death, is the spirit of man,
which in a man is the man himself, and also appears in the other life
in a perfect human form, nos. 322, 1880, 1881, 3633, 4622, 4735, 6054,
6605, 6626, 7021, 10594.]

[Footnote d: Man, even during his abode in the world, is, as to his
interiors, consequently as to his spirit or soul, in the midst of
spirits and angels who are of such a character as he himself is, nos.
2379, 3645, 4067, 4073, 4077.]

[Footnote e: Man is capable of speaking with spirits and angels, and
the ancients on our Earth frequently spoke with them, nos. 67, 68, 69,
784, 1634, 1636, 7802. But at the present day it is dangerous for man
to speak with them, unless he be in a true faith, and be led by the
Lord, nos. 784, 9438, 10751.]

2. That there are many earths, and men upon them, and spirits and
angels from them, is very well known in the other life; for in that
life, every one who from a love of the truth and consequent use
desires it, is allowed to speak with the spirits of other earths, so
as to be convinced that there is a plurality of worlds, and informed
that the human race is not from one earth only, but from numberless
earths; and so as to be informed, besides, of what genius and life
they are, and of what character their Divine worship is.

3. I have sometimes spoken on this subject with the spirits of our
Earth, and it was said that a man of sound understanding may conclude,
from many things which he knows, that there are more earths than one,
and that there are human beings upon them. For it is an inference of
reason, that such huge bodies as the planets are, some of which exceed
this Earth in magnitude, are not empty bodies, created only to be
carried and to rotate around the sun, and to shine with their scanty
light (_lumen_) for the benefit of one earth only; but that they must
needs have a nobler use than this. He who believes, as every one ought
to believe, that the Divine created the universe for no other end
than the existence of the human race, and of a heaven from it (for
the human race is the seminary of heaven), cannot but believe that
wherever there is an earth, there are human beings. That the planets,
which are visible to our eyes, being within the boundaries of this
solar system, are earths, may be clearly seen from the following
considerations. They are bodies of earthy matter, because they reflect
the sun's light (_lumen_), and, when seen through the telescope,
appear, not as stars shining from their flame, but as earths
(_terrae_) variegated with dark spots. Like our Earth, they are
carried round the sun and advance progressively through the path of
the zodiac, which motion causes years, and seasons of the year, which
are spring, summer, autumn, and winter. They likewise rotate upon
their own axis, just as our Earth does, and this rotation causes days,
and times of the day, that is, morning, mid-day, evening, and
night. And moreover, some of them also have moons, which are called
satellites, which perform their revolutions around their globes in
stated times, as the moon does around ours. The planet Saturn, because
it is so very far distant from the sun, has also a great luminous
ring, which supplies that earth with much, although reflected, light.
How is it possible for any one who is acquainted with these facts, and
thinks from reason, to assert that such bodies are uninhabited?

4. I have, moreover, spoken with spirits [to the effect] that men may
be led to believe that there are more earths in the universe than one,
by considering the immensity of the starry heaven with its innumerable
stars, each of which, in its own place, that is, in its own system, is
a sun, and like our sun, but differs in magnitude. Any one who rightly
weighs these facts must conclude that so immense a whole cannot but be
the means to an end which is the final end of creation, and that this
end is a heavenly kingdom, in which the Divine may dwell with angels
and men. For the visible universe, that is, the heaven resplendent
with such an innumerable multitude of stars, which are so many suns,
is merely a means for the existence of earths, and of human beings
upon them, from whom a heavenly kingdom [may be formed]. From these
considerations a rational man cannot but think that a means so immense
to an end so great was not provided for a human race, and a heaven
from them, from one earth only. What would this be to the Divine,
who is infinite, and to whom thousands, yea, myriads, of earths,
all filled with inhabitants, would be but a little thing and almost
nothing!

5. Besides, the angelic heaven is so immense that it corresponds to
each single part in man, myriads [of angels corresponding] to each
member, and organ, and viscus, and to each affection of them; and
it has been given me to know that this heaven, as to all its
correspondences, cannot possibly exist except from the inhabitants of
very many earths[f].

[Footnote f: Heaven corresponds to the Lord, and man, as to all things
in general and particular, corresponds to heaven; and hence heaven,
before the Lord, is a Man in a large effigy, and may be called the
Grand or Greatest Man, nos. 2996, 2998, 3624-3649, 3741-3746, 4625.
Concerning the correspondence of man, and of all things pertaining to
him, with the Grand Man, which is heaven, in general, from experience,
nos. 3021, 3624-3649, 3741-3751, 3883-3896, 4039-4055, 4218-4218-4228,
4318-4331, 4403-4421, 4523-4533, 4622-4633, 4652-4660, 4791-4805,
4931-4953, 5050-5061, 5171-5189, 5377-5396, 5552-5573, 5711-5727,
10030.]

6. There are spirits whose sole study is the acquisition of knowledges
finding in them their only delight. These spirits are therefore
permitted to wander about, and even to pass beyond this solar system
into others, and procure knowledges. They have stated that there are
earths in immense numbers, inhabited by human beings, not only in this
solar system, but in the starry heaven beyond it. These spirits are
from the planet Mercury.

7. With regard, in general, to the Divine worship of the inhabitants
of other earths: all there, who are not idolaters, acknowledge the
Lord to be the One only God; for they adore the Divine, not as an
invisible Divine, but as visible, for this reason, besides others,
that when the Divine appears to them it is in the Human Form, as He
formerly did to Abraham and others on this Earth [g]; and all who
adore the Divine under the Human Form are accepted by the Lord [h].
They also say that no one can worship God rightly, and still less be
conjoined with Him, unless he comprehends Him by some idea, and that
God cannot be comprehended except in the Human Form; and that if He
be not thus comprehended, the interior sight, which is that of the
thought, concerning God, is dissipated, as is the sight of the eye,
when looking into the universe with nothing to limit the view; and
that then the thought cannot but fall into nature, and worship it
instead of God.

[Footnote g: The inhabitants of all the earths adore the Divine Being
under the Human Form, consequently the Lord, nos. 8541-8547, 10159,
10736, 10737, 10738. And they rejoice when they hear that God actually
became Man, no. 9361. It is impossible to think of God except in the
Human Form, nos. 8705, 9359, 9972. Man is able to worship and love
that of which he has some idea, but not that of which he has no idea,
nos. 4733, 5110, 5663, 7211, 9167, 10067.]

[Footnote h: The Lord receives all who are in good, and who adore the
Divine under the Human Form, nos. 9359, 7178.]

8. When they were told that the Lord assumed the Human on our Earth,
they pondered for awhile, and then said that it was done for the
salvation of the human race.

THE EARTH OR PLANET MERCURY, AND ITS SPIRIT AND INHABITANTS

9. That the entire heaven resembles one man, who is therefore called
the Grand or Greatest Man (_Maximus Homo_), and that all things in
general and particular in man, both his exteriors and interiors,
correspond to that man or to heaven, is an arcanum as yet unknown in
the world; but that it is so has been shown in many passages[i].
But to constitute that Grand Man, those who come from our Earth into
heaven are insufficient, being comparatively few; they must come from
many other earths: and it is provided by the Lord that as soon as
there is in any part a deficiency in the quality or quantity of the
correspondence, those who may supply it shall be immediately summoned
from another earth, in order that the proportion may be preserved, and
heaven by this means maintain its consistence.

[Footnote i: See note f.]

10. It has also been disclosed to me from heaven, what the spirits
from the planet Mercury have relation to in the Grand Man, namely,
that they have relation to the memory, but to the memory of things
abstracted from earthly and merely material things. As, however, it
has been given me to speak with them, and this for many weeks, and to
learn of what character they are, and to examine how the inhabitants
of that earth are circumstanced, I wish to adduce the experiences
themselves.

11. Some spirits came to me, and it was stated from heaven that they
were from the earth nearest to the sun, which on our Earth is called
the planet Mercury. Immediately on their coming they sifted out of my
memory the things that I knew. This, spirits can do most skilfully,
for when they come to a man they see in his memory all the particulars
it contains[j]. While passing in review the various things, and, among
others, the cities and places where I had been, I observed that they
had no wish to know the temples, palaces, houses, and streets, but
only the things I knew to have been done in them, also the things that
related to the government there, and to the genius and manners of the
inhabitants, and other similar things; for such matters are closely
associated with the places in a man's memory, so that when the places
are called to mind, these matters also suggest themselves. I was
surprised to find them of such a character, and therefore inquired
why they disregarded the magnificent objects of the places, and only
inquired into the facts and transactions connected with them. They
said that they had no delight in regarding material, corporeal, and
terrestrial things, but only things that are real. Hence it was proved
that the spirits of that earth, in the Grand Man, have relation to the
memory of things abstracted from material and terrestrial things.

[Footnote j: Spirits enter into all things of man's memory, and do
not [insinuate anything] from their own [memory] into the man's, nos.
2488, 5863, 6192, 6193, 6198, 6199, 6214. The angels enter into
the affections and ends, from which and for the sake of which a man
thinks, wills, and acts in such or such a manner in preference to
every other, nos. 1317, 1645, 5844.]

12. I was told that the life of the inhabitants of that earth is such,
namely, that they do not concern themselves about terrestrial and
corporeal things, but only about the statutes, laws, and governments
of the nations there; and also about the things of heaven, which are
innumerable. I was further informed, that many of the men (_homines_)
of that earth converse with spirits, and that thence they have
knowledges respecting spiritual things and the states of life after
death, and that thence also they have a contempt for corporeal and
terrestrial things; for those who know for a certainty, and believe,
that there is a life after death, are concerned about heavenly things,
as being eternal and blessed, but not about worldly things, except so
far as the necessities of life require. Such being the character of
its inhabitants, such also is that of the spirits who are from it[k].

[Footnote k: The spirits who are with man are in possession of all
things of his memory, nos. 5853, 5857, 5859, 5860.]

13. How eagerly they search for and imbibe the knowledges of such
things as pertain to the memory raised above the sensual things of
the body, was made manifest to me from the circumstance that when they
looked into the things which I knew respecting heavenly subjects, they
ran over them all, and kept on stating the nature of each. For when
spirits come to a man, they enter into the whole of his memory, and
call forth from it what suits themselves; nay, what I have often
observed, they read its contents as from a book[k]. These spirits did
this more skilfully and quickly, because they did not linger over such
matters as are heavy and sluggish, and confine and consequently impede
the internal sight, as is the nature of all terrestrial and corporeal
things, when regarded as ends, that is, when alone loved; but they
devoted their attention to things themselves; for those matters to
which terrestrial things do not cling, carry the mind (_animus_)
upwards, and so introduce it into a wide field [of view], whereas
merely material things drag the mind (_animus_) downwards, and thus
limit and imprison it. Their eagerness to acquire knowledges
and enrich the memory was further evident from the following
circumstances: Once, when I was writing something concerning things
to come, and they were at a distance, so that they could not look into
those things from my memory; because I was unwilling to read them in
their presence, they were very indignant, and, contrary to their usual
demeanour, they were disposed to inveigh against me, saying that I
was the worst of men, and other like things; and, to show their
resentment, they caused a kind of contraction, attended with pain, on
the right side of my head as far as the ear; but such treatment did me
no harm. As, however, they had done evil, they removed themselves to
a still greater distance, yet kept stopping, being desirous of knowing
what I had written. Such is their eager desire for knowledges.

14. The spirits of Mercury, more than other spirits, possess the
knowledges of things, both of those which are within this solar
system, and those which are beyond it in the starry heaven; and
whatever things they have once acquired they retain, and recollect
them as often as similar ones occur. From this also it may manifestly
appear that spirits have memory, and that it is much more perfect than
that of men; and further, that spirits retain what they hear, see, and
apperceive, and especially such matters as they are delighted with, as
these spirits are with the knowledges of things; for things that are
matters of delight and love flow in as it were spontaneously, and
remain; other things do not enter, but only touch the surface and pass
by.

15. When the spirits of Mercury come to other societies, they try
to discover from them what they know, and when they have ascertained
this, they depart. There is also such a communication among spirits,
and especially among angels, that when they are in a society, if they
are accepted and loved, they communicate or share all they know.[l]

[Footnote l: In the heavens there is a communication of all goods,
inasmuch as heavenly love communicates all its possessions to others;
and hence the angels derive wisdom and happiness, nos. 549, 550, 1390,
1391, 1399, 10130, 10723.]

16. The spirits of Mercury, on account of their knowledges, are more
conceited than others; wherefore they were told that, although they
know innumerable things, there is yet an infinity of things which they
do not know; and that even were the knowledges with them to increase
to eternity, they would still be unable to attain to so much as an
acquaintance with the generals of all things. They were told that they
were conceited and elated of disposition, and that this character
is unbecoming; but they replied, that it is not conceit, but only a
glorying on account of the capacity of their memory. Thus they have
the art of excusing their faults.

17. They are averse to verbal speech, because it is material;
wherefore, when I conversed with them without intermediate spirits, I
could only do so by a kind of active thought. Their memory, because it
is a memory of things, not of purely material images, brings nearer
to the thought its proper objects; for the thought, which is above the
imagination, requires for its objects things abstracted from those
of matter. But notwithstanding that this is the case, the spirits
of Mercury excel but little in the faculty of judgment. They take no
delight in the things which pertain to judgment and to conclusions
from knowledges; for their delight is in the bare knowledges.

18. It was suggested to them, whether they did not wish to make any
use of their knowledges; for it is not enough to be delighted with
knowledges, because knowledges have respect to uses, and uses ought
to be their ends; that from knowledges alone no use results to
themselves, but to others with whom they are willing to share or
communicate them; and that it is not at all meet for a man who wants
to become wise to stand still in knowledges alone, inasmuch as
these are only instrumental causes, meant to be serviceable for the
investigation of matters which ought to belong to the life. But they
replied that they were delighted with knowledges, and that to them
knowledges were uses.

19. Some of them, also, wish to appear, not as men, like the spirits
of other earths, but as crystalline globes. Their wanting to appear
so, although they do not, arises from the circumstance that the
knowledges of immaterial things are in the other life represented by
crystals.

20. The spirits of Mercury differ entirely from those of our Earth,
for the spirits of our Earth concern themselves not so much about
[immaterial] things as about worldly, corporeal, and terrestrial
things, which are material. For this reason the spirits of Mercury
cannot be together with the spirits of our Earth, and therefore
wherever they meet them they flee away, for the spiritual spheres that
are exhaled from both are almost contrary. The spirits of Mercury have
a common saying, that they do not want to look at the sheath, but at
things stripped of their sheath, thus at interior things.

21. There appeared a flame of considerable brightness, which blazed
cheerfully, and this for about an hour. That flame signified the
advent of some spirits of Mercury who, for penetration, thought, and
speech, were prompter than those who preceded them. When they were
come, they instantly ran over the things that were in my memory,
but, owing to their promptness, I was unable to apperceive what they
observed. Immediately afterwards, I heard them say that the matter
was thus and thus. With regard to the things which I had seen in the
heavens and in the world of spirits, they said that they knew them
before. I perceived that a multitude of spirits who were consociated
with them, was behind, a little to the left, in the plane of the
occiput.

22. At another time I saw a multitude of such spirits, but at some
little distance from me, in front a little to the right, and they
spoke with me from thence, but through intermediate spirits; for their
speech is as quick as thought, which does not fall into human speech,
except by means of other spirits; and what surprised me, they spoke
in a body, and yet as promptly and rapidly as possible. Their speech,
being of many together, was apperceived as undulatory, and, what was
remarkable, it glided towards my left eye, although they were to the
right. The reason was, that the left eye corresponds to the knowledges
of things abstracted from material things, thus to such as belong to
intelligence, while the right eye corresponds to such as belong
to wisdom[m]. With the same promptness with which they spoke, they
perceived the things that they heard, and formed their judgment upon
them, saying of one thing that it was so, and of another that it was
not so, their judgment being as it were instantaneous.

[Footnote m: The eye corresponds to the understanding, because
the understanding is the internal sight, and the sight of things
immaterial, nos. 2701, 4410, 4526, 9051, 10569. The sight of the left
eye corresponds to truths, consequently to intelligence; and the sight
of the right eye corresponds to the goods of truth, consequently to
wisdom, no. 4410.]

23. There was a spirit from another earth, who was well qualified to
converse with them, being a prompt and rapid speaker, but who affected
elegance in his discourse. They instantly formed their judgment
concerning whatever he spoke, saying of one thing that it was too
elegantly, of another that it was too learnedly expressed; so that the
only thing they attended to was, whether they heard from him anything
which was not known to them before, rejecting thereby such things as
obscured the subject, which are chiefly affectations of elegance in
expression and of erudition; for these hide the things themselves and
in their place substitute expressions, which are the material forms
of things; on these the speaker keeps his mind (_animus_) fixed, and
wants to draw attention to his expressions rather than their meaning,
by which the ears of his auditors are more affected than their minds
(_mens_).

24. The spirits of the earth Mercury do not tarry in one place, or
among assemblies of the spirits of one system, but wander through
the universe. The reason is that they have reference to the memory
of things, which requires to be continually enriched; therefore it is
granted them to wander about, and everywhere acquire knowledges.
If, while travelling in this manner, they meet with spirits who love
material, that is, corporeal and terrestrial things, they shun them,
and betake themselves to where they do not hear such things. From this
it may appear that their mind (_animus_) is elevated above sensual
things, and thus that they are in interior light (_lumen_). This it
was also given me actually to perceive when they were near me and were
speaking with me. I observed then that I was withdrawn from sensual
things to such a degree, that the light (_lumen_) of my eyes began to
grow dull and dim.

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