2936. THAT THE DECEITFUL SEND SUBJECTS, WHEREBY THEY PERFORM THEIR DECEITS, SO THAT THEY MAY BE HID, AND THE SUBJECTS SUBSTITUTED. This also happened now, that certain who were known to hold me in low esteem, were sent forth to me by the deceitful, whereby they performed their deceits, to wit, that they might disparage, and so obscure, all the good and true things which I have written. This also happened, to wit, that those things which were of much worth seemed to me so trivial, as to be esteemed as nothing at all, and almost rejected. When it was given to observe that there were such spirits with me, and at the same it was also granted to observe that others [who were] deceitful [spirits) used them as subjects: the deceitful did not despise me, but substituted these [subjects] so as to obscure [my writings], that they might seem worthless, whereof, because it was detected, I spoke with them, and they confessed: thus of what quality are the deceitful can hence be apparent.
2936 1/2. When I spoke with them, it was confirmed, that the like occurs in general life, while they live in the body, therefore that the like exists in the other life, but with greater shrewdness and adaptation to the states which differ in the other life. Wherefore when the states of spirits are known in the other life, the quality in the life of the body can be known, for similar things occur, with the difference of other states and life. - 1748, August 26.
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