to grow wise." After this, they entered the Palladium, and with
them the three novitiates, the priest, the politician, and the
philosopher; and immediately the laureled sophi who were seated at the
tables, asked, "WHAT NEWS FROM THE EARTH?" They replied, "This is news;
that a certain person declares that he converses with angels, and has
his sight opened into the spiritual world, equally as into the natural
world; and he brings thence much new information, and, among other
particulars, asserts, that a man lives a man after death, as he lived
before in the world; that he sees, hears, speaks, as before in the
world; that he is clothed and decked with ornaments, as before in the
world; that he hungers and thirsts, eats and drinks, as before in the
world; that he enjoys conjugial delights, as before in the world; that
he sleeps and wakes, as before in the world; that in the spiritual world
there are land and water, mountains and hills, plains and valleys,
fountains and rivers, paradises and groves; also that there are palaces
and houses, cities and villages, as in the natural world; and further,
that there are writings and books, employments and trades; also precious
stones, gold and silver; in a word, that there are all such things there
as there are on earth, and that those things in the heavens are
infinitely more perfect; with this difference only, that all things in
the spiritual world are from a spiritual origin, and therefore are
spiritual, because they are from the sun of that world, which is pure
love; whereas all things in the natural world are from a natural origin,
and therefore are natural and material, because they are from the sun of
that world, which is pure fire; in short, that a man after death is
perfectly a man, yea more perfectly than before in the world; for before
in the world he was in a material body, but in the spiritual world he is
in a spiritual body." Hereupon the ancient sages asked, "What do the
people on the earth think of such information?" The three strangers
replied, "We know that it is true, because we are here, and have viewed
and examined everything; wherefore we will tell you what has been said
and reasoned about it on earth." Then the PRIEST said, "Those of our
order, when they first heard such relations, called them visions, then
fictions; afterwards they insisted that the man had seen spectres, and
lastly they hesitated, and said, 'Believe them who will; we have
hitherto taught that a