Coronis, or Appendix,
to True Christian Religion

Emanuel Swedenborg

THIRD PROPOSITION (43 - 45)

43. I will in a few words touch upon the manner in which the representative church with them was turned into an idolatrous one. All the spiritual things which are of heaven and the church were presented before them in visible and tangible forms, as was mentioned just above. Those forms were taken from the subjects of the three kingdoms of nature, animal, vegetable, and mineral, by which were represented such things as are of the heavenly kingdom. They placed these typical forms in their sanctuaries, in the inner chambers of their houses, and in the marketplaces and streets, arranging them according to their significations. But a later age, after the science of correspondences was lost, and consequently the knowledge of the signification of those things had perished, began to look upon and acknowledge those objects as so many deities and holy things; and then they bowed the knee to some, some they kissed, and some they adorned and decorated with wax tapers, boxes of perfumes and ribbons, just as infants do their dolls, and as papists do their images; yea, of some they made household gods, of some guardian demigods, and of some pythons; some, moreover, they carried in miniature form in their hands, some they hugged in their bosoms, stroked, and whispered petitions in their ears; and so on. Thus were heavenly types turned into infernal types, and the Divine things of heaven and the church into idols. On account of this transformation and disfigurement of heavenly things, a new representative church was raised up with the sons of Israel, in which real representations, as was stated above, were instituted; and they were prohibited from celebrating Divine worship by any others, as is evident from these words in the first Commandment of the Decalogue:

Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any figure that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor worship them (Exod. 20:4, 5; Deut. 5:8, 9).

44. It has been said, that from the people of every Church, at its end, is formed a new heaven and a new hell; and, since I have adduced a relation in the preceding article respecting the heaven and hell formed from those who were of the Most Ancient Church, it seems well also to do so respecting these; for access has been granted me to them, inasmuch as I have been allowed to go about and examine the spiritual world, to the end that the New Church truly Christian may not be in thick darkness concerning heaven and hell, and concerning their lot after death according to the actions of their life. These things are likewise in the work on Conjugial Love (n. 76). Concerning the heaven from these:

[2] "An angel came to me and said, `Do you desire me to accompany you to the peoples who lived in the Silver Era, or Age, that we may hear from them respecting the manners and life of their times?' He also added that they may not be approached, except under the auspices of the Lord.

"I was in the spirit and accompanied my leader, and came first to a hill on the confines of the east with the south; and when we were on its slope, he showed me a great stretch of country, and we saw at a distance an eminence like a mountain, between which and the hill on which we stood was a valley, and beyond this a plain, and from this plain a gently-rising acclivity.

"We descended the hill to cross the valley, and saw here and there at the sides pieces of wood and stone carved into figures of men, and of various beasts, birds and fishes. And I asked the angel, `What are these? Are they not idols?'

"And he replied, `Not at all: they are representative forms of various moral virtues and spiritual truths. The people of that age had the science of correspondences and as a beast, bird and fish correspond to some quality, therefore, each carved figure represents and signifies some particular of virtue, or truth, and many together represent the virtue or truth itself in a certain general extended form these are what in Egypt were called hieroglyphics.'

[3] "We proceeded through the valley, and when we entered the plain, lo! we saw horses and chariots the horses were variously caparisoned and harnessed, and the chariots of different forms; some carved out like eagles, some like unicorns, and some like whales: we also saw some carts at the extremity, and stables round about at the sides. But, when we approached, both horses and chariots disappeared, and instead of them we saw men in pairs, walking, conversing and reasoning. And the angel said to me, `The semblances of horses, chariots, and stables, seen at a distance, are appearances of the rational intelligence of the men of that age; for a horse from correspondence signifies the understanding of truth; a chariot its doctrine; and stables places of instruction. You are aware that all things in this world appear according to correspondences.'

[4] "But we passed these things, and ascended by the acclivity. At length we saw a city, which we entered; and in walking through it, we noticed its houses, from the streets and public places. In the midst of it were palaces built of marble, having steps of alabaster in front, and at the sides of the steps pillars of jasper. We saw also temples, made of precious stone of a sapphire and azure color. And the angel said to me, `Their houses are of stones because stones signify natural verities, and precious stones spiritual verities; and all those who lived in the silver age, had intelligence from spiritual verities, and thence from natural; for silver has a like signification.'

[5] "While exploring the city we saw here and there consorts, both husbands and wives. We expected that we should be invited somewhere; and, while this was in our mind [animus], we were called back by two into their house, which we entered; and the angel, speaking with them for me, explained the reason of our coming into this heaven, that it was `for the sake of instruction concerning the manners of the ancients, of whom you are.'

"They replied, `We were from the peoples in Asia, and the study of our age was the study of truths, through which we had intelligence. This study was the study of our soul and mind. But the study of the senses of our bodies was the representations of truths in natural forms; and the science of correspondences conjoined the sensuals of our bodies with the perceptions of our minds, thus natural and corporeal things with spiritual and celestial, and procured for us communication with the angels of heaven.'

[6] "On hearing this, the angel asked them to give some account of marriages with them. And the husband said, `There is a correspondence between spiritual marriage, which is that of good and truth, and natural marriage, which is that of a man with his wife; and as we have studied correspondences, we have seen that the church, with its truths and goods, can by no means exist with any others than those who live in truly conjugial love; for the marriage of good and truth is the church with man. Therefore all we who are in this heaven, say that the husband is truth, and the wife the good of his truth; and that good cannot love any other truth than that which is its own, nor truth love in return any other good than that which is its own. If any other were loved, internal or spiritual marriage, which constitutes the Church would perish, and marriage would become only external or natural, to which idolatry and not the church corresponds.'

[7] "When he had said these things we were introduced into an ante-chamber, where there were several designs on the walls, and little images as it were molten of silver; and I asked, what these were. They said, `They are pictures and forms representative of the many qualities, properties, and delights of spiritual things;' as were also the cherubim and palm-trees on the walls of the temple at Jerusalem.

[8] "After this, there appeared at a distance a chariot drawn by white ponies; on seeing which the angel said,' That chariot is a sign for us to depart.' Then, as we were going down the steps, our host gave us a bunch of white grapes adhering to the vine leaves; and lo! the leaves in our hands became silver, and we brought them away for a sign that we had spoken with the people of the Silver Age."

45. CONCERNING THE HELL FROM THOSE PEOPLES.

The hells of the men of the Noachian, or Ancient Church, consist for the most part of magicians, who have huts and places of entertainment scattered up and down in the desert. They wander about there with rods in their hands, which are of various forms, and some of them stained with magical juices. By these, as in former times, they practise their arts, which are effected by the abuse of correspondences, by fantasies, by persuasive assurances by which there was produced a miraculous faith, and miracles were formerly performed; also by exorcisms, fascinations, enchantments, and sorceries, and several other magical spells, by which they present illusory appearances as real. The greatest delight of their heart is to utter prophecies and prognostications, and to act as pythons. From these especially have arisen the various fanaticisms in the Christian world.