42. To the above, I will subjoin two Memorable Relations from the spiritual world. First:
One morning, looking up to heaven, I beheld above me expanse upon expanse. And I saw that the first expanse, which was near-by, opened, and presently the second, which was higher, and lastly the third, which was the highest; and by enlightenment therefrom, I perceived that upon the first expanse were angels who form the first or lowest heaven; upon the second expanse, angels who form the second or middle heaven; and upon the third expanse, angels who form the third or highest heaven. At first I wondered what this was and why; and presently a voice as of a trumpet was heard from heaven, saying: "We have perceived and do now see that you are meditating on Conjugial Love; and we know that, as yet, no one on earth knows what love truly conjugial is in its origin and in its essence, yet it is important that this be known. Therefore it has pleased the Lord to open the heavens to you, that enlightening light and thence perception may flow into the interiors of your mind. With us in the heavens, especially in the third heaven, our heavenly delights are chiefly from conjugial love. Therefore, by leave given us, we will send down to you a married pair that you may see." [2] And lo, a chariot was then seen descending from the highest or third heaven, and in it was seen a single angel, but as it drew near, two were seen. At a distance, the chariot glittered before my eyes like a diamond. Harnessed to it were young horses, white as snow; and they that sat in the chariot held two turtle-doves in their hands. They then called to me, saying: "You wish us to come nearer, but take heed that the scintillation from our heaven whence we have descended, and which is a flamy scintillation, do not penetrate interiorly. By its influx, the higher ideas of your understanding, which in themselves are celestial, are indeed illumined, but in the world in which you are, these ideas are inexpressible. Therefore, receive rationally what you are about to hear, and in the same way present it to the understanding." I answered, "I will take heed; come nearer." They then drew near, and lo! it was a husband and his wife; and they said: "We are married partners. From the first age, called by you the Golden Age, we have lived happily in heaven and always in the same flower of youth in which you now see us." [3] I observed them both attentively, for I perceived that they represented conjugial love in its life and in its adornment--in its life in their faces, and in its adornment in their apparel. All angels are affections of love in human form. Their ruling affection shines forth from their faces; and from their affection and in harmony with it are their garments appointed. Therefore it is said in heaven that every one is clothed with his own affection. The husband appeared to be of an age midway between adolescence and early manhood. From his eyes beamed a light sparkling from the wisdom of love, from which light his face was as though inmostly radiant, and by this radiation, the surface of his skin was as though refulgent. Thus his whole face was one resplendent comeliness. He was clothed in a long robe reaching to his ankles, and under the robe was a vestment of blue, girded with a golden girdle on which were three precious stones, two sapphires at the sides and a ruby in the middle. His stockings were of shining linen interwoven with threads of silver, and his shoes were of silk. Such was the representative form of conjugial love with the husband. [4] As to the wife, her appearance was as follows: To me, her face was both visible and not visible--visible as beauty itself, and not visible because such beauty is inexpressible; for in her face was a splendor of flaming light like the light with angels of the third heaven, and this light so dulled my sight that I became merely stupified with amazement. Observing this, she spoke to me, saying: "What do you see?" I answered: "I see only conjugial love and its form; but I see and do not see." At this, she turned partly away from her husband, and then I was able to observe her more intently. Her eyes sparkled with the light of her heaven which, as was said, is flamy and therefore partakes of the love of wisdom; for in that heaven, wives love their husbands from their husband's wisdom and in that wisdom; and husbands love their wives from that love towards themselves and in it. Thus they are united. Hence her beauty--a beauty which no painter can emulate and portray in its form, there being no such sparkle in his colors; nor is such beauty expressible by his art. Her hair was gracefully arranged in correspondence with her beauty, and in it were inserted flowers consisting of diamonds.* She wore a necklace of carbuncles, from which hung a rosary of chrysolites; and she had bracelets of pearls. She was arrayed in a flowing robe of scarlet, under which was a stomacher of purple clasped in front with rubies. But what I marveled at, the colors varied according to her aspect towards her husband. According to this aspect, they also sparkled now more, now less, more When they faced each other directly, and less when their glance was somewhat aslant. [5] When I had seen all this, they again spoke with me; and when the husband was speaking, he spoke at the same time as though from his wife, and when the wife, she spoke at the same time as though from her husband, such being the union of the minds from which the speech flowed; and then also I heard the sound of conjugial love, that it was inwardly simultaneous and, moreover, was a sound proceeding from the delights of a state of peace and innocence. At last they said, "We are recalled; we must depart." And then, as before, they again appeared to be conveyed in a chariot, being conveyed along a road laid out between flower beds, from the borders of which rose olive trees and trees laden with oranges. And as they drew near their heaven, maidens came out to meet them and received them and led them in. * The text has diadematibus (of diadems), but the context indicates that this is an error for adamantibus, as is in the translation.