DEGREES

Selection from
Last Judgment
(posthumous)

Emanuel Swedenborg

There is a natural kingdom, a spiritual kingdom, and a celestial kingdom.

In the natural kingdom are men whilst they live in the world.  In the spiritual kingdom are spiritual angels; in the celestial kingdom are celestial angels; for there are these three universals, the natural, the spiritual, and the celestial.

In each kingdom there are two degrees, in the natural two, in the spiritual two, and in the celestial two; thus in the three kingdoms there are six degrees.

All these degrees are discrete, or discontinuous, and are called degrees of altitude.

Discrete degrees are to each other as thought to speech, or as the affection to gesture, or as the affection of the mind to the countenance; and in the material world as the ether to the air, or as a nerve to the fibers of which it is composed.  All compositions in the whole natural world and in the spiritual world are of this character, and they consist either of two or three degrees of this kind in their order.  These degrees are called prior and posterior, higher and lower, interior and exterior; and, in general, they are as cause and effect, or as a substance and a substantiate, or as the aggregate from substances, or as a principle and the principiates, or the thing formed from principles.

There are also continuous or cohering degrees; each discrete degree has its continuous degree.  The continuous degree of each discrete degree is as light verging to shade, and at length to the obscurity of night; and also as the rational thought which is in light to sensual and, as it were, at length to corporeal thought, which is in a dense shade according as it descends to the body.  In such a degree continually decreasing is the human mind.  In a similar degree, but lower; are man's sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch; in like manner his speech and his singing; for man has a tone like the tone of a lyre, and like the sound of a drum.  It is also similar with harmonies and beauties; for they proceed by continuous degrees from the highest harmony and beauty, to the least.  These degrees are of the cause in itself and of the effect in itself; they are distinguished from the former degrees, because these are of the cause and the effect in themselves.  Continuous degrees are called degrees of what is purer or grosser.  An idea of these degrees can be had chiefly from light and shade, and also from the aerial atmosphere in its lower and higher regions; for in the lower region it is grosser, denser, and more compressed, and in the higher region it is purer, rarer, and more extended.

Unless one procures a knowledge of these two kinds of degrees, he cannot have an idea of the interiors and exteriors of man, thus neither of the soul and the body, nor indeed of causes and effects.  Nor can he have an idea of the distinction between the heavens, nor of the wisdom of the angels in the heavens; nor can he have any idea of correspondences, of representatives, of influx, of order, thus he cannot have an idea of those things which are of order, both in the natural world and in the spiritual world, thus scarcely any just idea of anything.

Few hitherto have had any other idea of degrees than of continuous degrees, which is, as was said, from what is pure to what is gross, or from greatest to least.  From which it follows that only one kind of degrees has been known, and that the natural degree and the spiritual degree are distinguished only as what is pure and gross; in like manner the difference between the heavens, and also in the wisdom of the angels.  Whereas the difference is according to discrete degrees, the nature of which we shall presently show from experience.

There are, therefore, as stated above, six discrete degrees, two in the natural kingdom, two in the spiritual kingdom, and two in the celestial kingdom; but these degrees are those in which men and angels are, as to their thoughts, their affections, and their wisdom therefrom.  Degrees are as follows: Below these six degrees of life, there follow similar degrees, and also material, even to the ultimate, and above those six degrees ascend degrees of the infinite even to the Divine itself.  For the Divine itself cannot flow into any angel or man from itself but by discrete degrees; for if it flowed in immediately, or by what is continuous, both angel and man, from the ardor of the Divine love, and from the light of the Divine wisdom, would be entirely consumed.  This would be as though the sun, of the world, from its fire, were to flow immediately into the objects of the earth, and not mediately through the atmospheres according to distinct discrete degrees.

There are three natural atmospheres arising from the sun of the world, and there are three spiritual atmospheres arising from the sun of heaven, which is the Lord.  The three natural atmospheres arising from the sun of the world are the purer ether, which is universal, from which is all gravitation; the middle ether, which forms the vortex around the planets, in which are the moons and the satellites, from which is magnetism; and the ultimate ether which is the air.  By these three atmospheres all the corporeal and material things of the earth are held together, which are so composed as to be applicable to those three degrees.  The three spiritual atmospheres arising from the sun of heaven, are those in which are the angels of the three heavens.  In the two higher atmospheres are the angels of the Lord's celestial kingdom; in the third and the first natural, which is pure ether, are the angels of the Lord's spiritual kingdom, and in the atmospheres following those two which are the middle and the ultimate ether, which is the air, are men while they are in the natural world.

But it should be known, that the atmospheres arising from the sun of heaven, which is the Lord, properly speaking, are not three, but six, there are three above the sun of the world, and there are three below it.  The three below the sun of the world constantly accompany the three natural atmospheres, and enable a man in the natural world to think and to feel.  For the atmospheres arising from the sun of the world have not life in themselves, because they originate from a sun which is pure fire; but the atmospheres arising from the sun of heaven, which is the Lord, have life in themselves, because they originate in the sun, which is pure love and pure wisdom.  The atmospheres which originate from the sun of the world, which is pure fire, cause those things on the earth, and in the human body, to subsist and be held in connection together, and they are not changed except according to the laws of natural order.  Hence is the difference between things in the natural world and in the spiritual world, concerning which difference more will be said in what follows.

That in the spiritual world which is above the natural world, there are also atmospheres, is evident from the light and heat there, which before the eyes and senses of the angels appear similar to the light and heat before the eyes and senses of men; and angels are spiritual, but men are natural, and there cannot possibly be any light and heat with their differences without atmospheres.  That there are also spiritual atmospheres is evident from many appearances in the spiritual world, as from the appearance of colors there, of meteors, of clouds both thin and thick, of winds, of gravities, pressures, and consequent consistencies, which although they appear entirely similar to such things as are in the natural world, nevertheless, they are spiritual and not natural; although before the angels, because they are spiritual, they appear similar.  That there are spiritual atmospheres, is evident especially from the respiration of angels and spirits.  For angels and spirits breathe in like manner as men in the world; but angels breathe from their atmospheres, and men from theirs.  The angels in the celestial kingdom breathe from their atmosphere which is more pure, but the angels of the spiritual kingdom breathe from their atmosphere which is less pure.

But the things which we have hitherto said concerning degrees and atmospheres are, for the most part, theoretical; but all theoretical things should be drawn and concluded from the facts of experience, and also be confirmed by them.  For unless the facts of experience, as it were, lead the hand of man in coming to conclusions, he may be deceived in theoretical things, and from some imaginary hypothesis, be carried away into false principles entirely opposed to what is true, which he can then confirm by fallacies and appearances of every kind; for false principles may be confirmed by appearances and fallacies to such a degree, that a man may believe that they are truths themselves.  I wish, therefore, now to produce some facts of experience, by which not only what has been said may be confirmed, but also by which everyone who is in the light of the mind or who has natural ability, may draw conclusions as to many other things.

In the natural kingdom in which men are whilst they live in the world, and in the spiritual kingdom where the spiritual angels are, and in the celestial kingdom in which are the celestial angels, similar things appear, so much so that there is scarcely any other difference than that the like things in the spiritual kingdom are more perfect than in the natural kingdom, and in the celestial kingdom still more perfect than in the spiritual kingdom.  A spirit or an angel appears like a man in the world, even so that he knows no otherwise than that he is a man of the world.  He has a similar face and a similar body, and in the face similar eyes, nostrils, ears, lips, mouth, and similar hair; and in the body also a similar breast, abdomen, loins, hands and feet, and also similar organs of generation; in a word, he is a man in external form altogether like a man of the world.  He has similar lungs, because he breathes; and he has a similar heart, because it pulsates.  The other interior viscera of the body are also similar, because there are societies in heaven which equally correspond to these viscera.  There is likewise a ruddiness in the face, hands, arms, and body, as if from blood in the arteries and veins.  There are also similar fibers, nerves, and muscles, because in like manner a spirit moves his limbs like a man in the world.  Moreover, he has similar sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch.  He also has similar speech and singing; he has also a similar power of imagination, thought, intellect, and will, also affection and cupidity.  In a word, an angel or a spirit is so similar to a man of the world, that he himself knows no otherwise than that he is a man of the world.  Conjugial love is also similar with all its effect; moreover there is not propagation, but in place of it unition of minds, and thence an increase of intelligence and wisdom.  Thence it is that in the Word in its spiritual sense by marriage is meant the conjunction of truth and good, and by daughters goods, and by sons truths, and so on.

Their garments also are similar to the garments of men; they have tunics, mantles, breeches, stockings, shoes, caps, tiaras and undergarments like those in the world, with some difference as to colors, especially of the tunics.  The reason is, because colors signify the appearances of truth from good, and garments signify truths, and hence the clothing of the understanding.

They have also similar houses, in which are apartments and chambers with courts as in the world, and within there are tables, benches, utensils, and various decorations.  In heaven there are palaces so magnificent that palaces in the world cannot be compared to them.  These palaces are of a magnitude so great, and of such symmetrical and architectural beauty, both without and within, and are decorated in such forms with gold and precious stones, that no picture painter on earth could possibly express them.  There are also marble houses and houses of a blue color.  The use of every apartment is known from its decorations.

They have also similar food and drink as in the world, and various kinds of food and drink are named.

In the spiritual world are likewise earths, mountains, hills, plains, grassy fields, paradises or gardens, groves and woods.  There are ways everywhere tending to various societies, some are guarded.  These ways then first appear to a spirit when he goes into his own society.  There are also in that world fountains, lakes, and seas.

There appear likewise animals of the earth and all kinds of flying things, greater and smaller.  There also appear compound animals, such as are described in the Word, there are also various insects or worms.

In a word, in the spiritual world there are not only similar things as in the natural world, but innumerable others; and everything exists with infinite variety and harmony, from which there breathes forth delight.  In a word, in heaven there is a heaven in all and in each thing, in general and in every particular.  Thus every external sense has its own heaven, and everything of the internal sense has also its own heaven, and an angel is a heaven in its least form, and each one, as he has heaven in himself, has also heaven outside of himself.

But it must be known that all things, and each now mentioned, are not material but spiritual, or are from a spiritual origin; and yet spirits know no otherwise than that they are material; the reason is, that when what is spiritual touches or tastes what is spiritual, it is altogether like when what is material touches or tastes what is material.  Concerning this appearance I have often had a discussion with spirits, who believe that the things which they see and touch are material.  I have shown them by various methods, and by various reasons even to the life, that nothing in the spiritual world is material, but that everything there is spiritual.  I demonstrated it to them by the houses, which in a moment are formed, and in a moment are destroyed and dissipated; also by their garments, which in a moment are put on, and in a moment are changed; new garments are also given in a moment.  In like manner I have demonstrated it from their dinners and repasts, showing that the tables upon which is the food, exist in a moment, and are afterwards dissipated in a moment; and that the spirits themselves can enter into the houses through the walls, and oftentimes not entering in through the doors.
There was a certain individual known to me, with whom I conversed when his body which he had in the world was being buried, and I told him that he was now being buried, when he replied that he did not know what of him was being buried, because he had all things with him, a similar body as before, and other things similar, for he, like others, did not know otherwise than that he was still material, whereas he was spiritual.  He was soon instructed that his material body, which he carried about with him in the world, and which then clothed his spiritual body, was being buried.

(Last Judgment (posthumous) 303 - 323 )