hown me, one of their angels appeared
behind a bright white cloud, and gave permission. Two faces were then
shown. They were like the faces of the men of our Earth, fair and
beautiful; sincerity and modesty shone forth from them. When the
spirits of Jupiter were with me, the faces of the men of our Earth
appeared smaller than usual: this was owing to the circumstance that
there inflowed from those spirits the idea they had that their own
faces were larger. For when they live as men on their earth they
believe that after their decease their faces will be larger, and round
in form; and this idea, being impressed upon them, remains; and when
they become spirits, they appear to themselves to have larger faces.
The reason why they believe that their faces will be larger is that
they say the face is not the body, because they see, hear, speak,
and manifest their thoughts by means of it, and because the mind thus
shines through it; hence they have an idea of the face as the mind in
form. And as they know that they will become wiser after their life in
the world, they believe that the form of the mind, that is, the face,
will become larger. They also believe that after their decease they
shall perceive a fire which will communicate warmth to their faces.
This belief arises from a knowledge possessed by the wiser amongst
them that fire, in the spiritual sense, signifies love, that love is
the fire of life, and that from that fire the angels have life[x].
Such of them as have lived in heavenly love also have their wish
gratified, and feel their face grow warm, and then the interiors of
their minds are kindled with love. For this reason the inhabitants of
that earth frequently wash and clean their face, and also carefully
protect it from the sun's heat. They have a covering made of the inner
or outer bark of a tree, which is of a bluish colour, and with this
they encircle the head, and thus protect the face. With respect to the
faces of the men of our Earth, which they saw through my eyes[y], they
said that they were not beautiful, and that such beauty as they had
consisted in the outward skin, but not in the fibres from within. They
were surprised to see that the faces of some were covered with warts
and pustules, or otherwise disfigured, and said that no such faces
are ever to be seen among them. Yet there were some faces that pleased
them, such, namely, as were cheerful and smiling, and such as were
slightly prominent about the