7177. Being asked also about the sun of the world, how it appears from their earth, they said that it appears large, and that it appears larger there than from other earths: they said that they can know this from the idea of other spirits about the sun. They said further that they have a medium temperature, neither too hot nor too cold. I was then allowed to tell them that it has been so provided of the Lord in order that they may not be exposed to too much heat, by reason of their earth being nearer the sun than other earths; for heat does not come from nearness to the sun, but from the height and consequent density of the aerial atmosphere, as is evident from the cold on high mountains, even in hot climates. Moreover, heat varies according to the direct or oblique incidence of the sun's rays, as is evident from the seasons of winter and summer in every region. These are the things that have been granted me to know about the spirits and inhabitants of the earth Mercury. At the end of the following chapter I will speak of the spirits of the planet Venus.