Spiritual Experiences (Odhner) n. 1073

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1073. Evil spirits forced him, by the method of dismemberment, first to the province of the generative members, afterwards lower and lower down. Especially the regions of his mouth, of his gums, were severely torn apart, then that of his head, and indeed, so severely that he was miserably torn to pieces. He was driven into back-and-forth vibrations, then into spiral motions, the usual ones, but always with resistance on his part every least interval and moment. Resistance was rendered constantly, causing the pain to increase, and meanwhile, nothing was detracted from his mental clarity, so he could think just as well as he could outside of the punishment; hence the feeling of pain. Neither was he given the ability to say something contrary to his true feeling, so he could not attempt to deceive by falsehoods. Moreover, he was not permitted to go to his knees too quickly, that is, to come around and repent because of the punishment; but to struggle the more obstinately, and feel [the pain] by degrees, so that the punishment would last longer. Thus this dismemberment process differed from other punishments inflicted by this method. They are varied according to the character and nature of the evil acquired.


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