hts of the south are
the falsifications of truth, which are spiritual whoredoms." After this,
he said, "Follow me to our repository of curiosities:" so we followed
him, and he shewed us the writings of the most ancient people, which
were on the tables of wood and stone, and afterwards on smooth blocks of
wood; the writings of the second age were on sheets of parchment; of
these he brought me a sheet, on which were copied the rules of the
people of the first age from their tables of stone, among which also was
the precept concerning marriages. Having seen these and other ancient
curiosities, the angel said, "It is now time for us to take our leave;"
and immediately our host went into the garden, and plucked some twigs
off a tree, and bound them into a little bunch, and gave them to us,
saying, "These twigs are from a tree, which is native of or peculiar to
our heaven, and whose juice has a balsamic fragrance." We brought the
bunch down with us, and descended by the eastern way, which was not
guarded; and lo! the twigs were changed into shining brass, and the
upper ends of them into gold, as a sign that we had been with the people
of the third age, which is named from copper or brass.

78. THE FOURTH MEMORABLE RELATIONS. After two days the angel again
addressed me, saying, "Let us complete the period of the ages; the last
still remains, which is named from IRON. The people of this age dwell in
the north on the side of the west, in the inner parts or breadth-ways:
they are all from the old inhabitants of Asia, who were in possession of
the ancient Word, and thence derived their worship; consequently they
were before the time of our Lord's coming into the world. This is
evident from the writings of the ancients, in which those times are so
named. These same periods are meant by the statue seen by
Nebuchadnezzar, whose head was of gold, the breast and arms of silver,
the belly and thighs of brass, the legs of iron, and the feet of iron
and of clay, Dan. ii. 32, 33." These particulars the angel related to me
in the way, which was contracted and anticipated by changes of state
induced in our minds according to the genius or disposition of the
inhabitants whom we passed; for spaces and consequent distances in the
spiritual world are appearances according to the state of their minds.
When we raised our eyes, lo! we were in a forest consisting of beeches,
chestnut-trees and oaks: and on looking around us, there appeared bears
to