4. IV. THE WORD IS HOLY, EVEN AS TO SYLLABLES AND POINTS. Once there was sent me from heaven a little paper written over with Hebrew letters, but written as with the most ancient people, with whom the letters which at this day are in some part rectilinear, were at that time curved, with little horns turning upwards. The angel who was with me said that he knew whole meanings from the letters themselves; that every letter had its own meaning, and that they knew that meaning from the curves of the lines in each letter, besides they knew the subject from each letter by itself. He then explained to me what [A] signified, and what _ [H]; what those letters meant separately, and what when combined; that _, which is in ____ [Jehovah], and which was added to the names of Abraham and Sarai, signified what is infinite and eternal. And thus the Word is so written in many places, whereby when it is read by a Jew or a Christian in the Hebrew text, it may be known in the third heaven what the very letters signify. For the angels of the third heaven have the Word written in such letters, and they read it according to the letters. They said that in the sense extracted from the letters, the Word treats of the Lord alone. The reason for this is that the curvatures in the letters derive their origin from the flow of heaven, in which the angels of the third heaven are, above all others. Wherefore these angels are skilled in that writing from what is implanted in them, because they are in the order of heaven, and live altogether according to it. They also explained in my presence the sense of the Word (Ps. 32:2), from the letters or syllables alone, saying that their meaning was, in a summary, that the Lord is merciful, even to those who do evil. They added that the vowels there are for the sake of the sound, which corresponds to the affection, and that they cannot utter the vowels i and e, but for i they pronounce y or eu, and for e pronounce eu, and that the vowels a, o and u are in use with them, because these vowels give a full sound, while i and e have a close sound.* They said further that they do not pronounce any consonants with aspiration, but with a smooth sound, and that the aspirated letters, as _ [dh] and _ [qh] and others, do not mean anything to them, except when uttered with a smooth sound, and that for this reason most aspirated letters have also a point within, which signifies that they are to be uttered with a smooth sound. They added that roughness, or aspiration, in the letters is in use in the spiritual heaven, because there they are in truths, and by means of truths in understanding; but in the celestial heaven all are in the good of love and thence in wisdom, and truth admits of roughness, but not good. From these things it may be evident what is signified by the Lord's saying, that not a jot, tittle, or little curve shall pass from the Law (Matt. 5:18; Luke 16:17); and it is also plain that it was of the Divine providence of the Lord that all the letters of the Word in the Hebrew text were counted by the Masorites. * We are to understand by all these vowels their Continental, not their English sounds.