115. I have been taught from heaven that the most ancient peoples on our earth, who were celestial men, thought from correspondences themselves, the natural things of the world before their eyes serving them as the means of thinking in this way. Being of such character, they were in fellowship with angels and spoke with them. Thus, through them heaven was conjoined to the world. For this reason, that period was called the Golden Age, of which it is said by ancient writers that the inhabitants of heaven dwelt with men and associated with them as friends with friends. But, after their times, there succeeded those who thought not from correspondences themselves but from a knowledge of correspondences, and there was then also a conjunction of heaven with man, but not so intimate. Their period is what is called the Silver Age. After this, there followed men who had some knowledge of correspondences but did not think from that knowledge, on account of their being in natural good and not, like those before them, in spiritual good. This period was called the Copper Age. After those times, men gradually became external, and finally corporeal, and then the knowledge of correspondences was completely lost, and with it a true idea of heaven and of the many things pertaining to heaven. It was also from correspondence that these ages were named from gold, silver and copper, because from correspondence# "gold" signifies the celestial good in which were the most ancient people; "silver" signifies the spiritual good in which were the ancient people after them; and "copper" signifies the natural good in which were the next posterity; while "iron" from which the last age was named signifies hard truth apart from good. # "Gold", from correspondence, signifies celestial good (n. 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 9510, 9874, 9881); and "silver" signifies spiritual good, or truth from a celestial origin (n. 1551, 1552, 2954, 5648); but "copper" signifies natural good (n. 425, 1551); and "iron" signifies truth in the ultimate of order, (n. 425, 426).