y, hostility, theft,
robbery, cunning, avarice, and unmercifulness. The worst hells of
this kind are in the northern quarter, the milder in the southern.
Their dreadfulness increases as they are nearer to the western
quarter, and also as they are farther away from the southern quarter,
and decreases towards the eastern quarter and towards the southern
quarter. Behind the hells that are in the western quarter there are
dark forests, in which malignant spirits roam like wild beasts; and
it is the same behind the hells in the northern quarter. But behind
the hells in the southern quarter there are deserts, which have been
described just above. This much respecting the situation of the
hells.

588. In regard to the number of the hells, there are as many of them
as there are angelic societies in the heavens, since there is for
every heavenly society a corresponding infernal society as its
opposite. That the heavenly societies are numberless, and are all
distinguished in accordance with the goods of love, charity, and
faith, may be seen in the chapter that treats of the societies of
which the heavens consist (n. 41-50), and in the chapter on the
immensity of heaven (n. 415-420). The like is true, therefore, of the
infernal societies, which are distinguished in accordance with the
evils that are the opposites of those goods. [2] Every evil, as well
as every good, is of infinite variety. That this is true is beyond
the comprehension of those who have only a simple idea regarding
every evil, such as contempt, enmity, hatred, revenge, deceit, and
other like evils. But let them know that each one of these evils
contains so many specific differences, and each of these again so
many specific or particular differences, that a volume would not
suffice to enumerate them. The hells are so distinctly arranged in
order in accordance with the differences of every evil that nothing
could be more perfectly ordered or more distinct. Evidently, then,
the hells are innumerable, near to and remote from one another in
accordance with the differences of evils generically, specifically,
and particularly. [3] There are likewise hells beneath hells. Some
communicate with others by passages, and more by exhalations, and
this in exact accordance with the affinities of one kind or one
species of evil with others. How great the number is of the hells I
have been permitted to realize from knowing that there are hells
under every mountain, hill, and ro