5789. * * * It must be known that all spirits with whom the love of self is inrooted, believe that heaven stands on high. They do not know that it is in the interior, and that the internal is the high; wherefore, they mount upon the rocks higher and higher and believe that thus they are in heaven; and the more so since they are then in the delight of self-love, for thence they are able to look round on all sides, and, by means of the thoughts, to flow into and rule over whomsoever they see below. The scope of their sight is very wide, even to the surrounding mountains to a great distance. They speak with those there, and send forth subjects** to them, through whom they are conjoined and form alliances; they also conjoin themselves [with them] that they may thus prove more powerful. When this is done, they then begin unitedly to lord it over all who are roundabout, and to subject them to themselves; some also they attack openly; and they effect this through punishments and various methods well-known in the other life. I saw some such societies in the highest places, where I, also, supposed the angels of heaven to be; and they ruled all roundabout, and all who were below themselves, whom they see there clearly. The extension of the sight is circumstanced there as in the world, in the respect that the higher the standpoint, the wider it is. There was one who knew better than others how to arrange those societies according to order, so that one could do scarcely anything: he arranged them thus, so that scarcely anyone within [view] was able to do anything from himself, but only from them. Their arrangement was into a form opposite to the form of heaven. Hence all things which were below were disturbed; but they were restored by the Lord. All such ones, however, were cast down, even from the highest [places]; I wondered at this at first, because I supposed that those there were angels, when, yet, they were such ones. The love of self is of such a nature that those who are in it, seem to themselves to be on high, when they are in [the enjoyment of] their phantasy. * The asterisks clearly indicate that no. 5789 is to be read consecutively with the conclusion of 5786b. It is, therefore, placed accordingly. -TR. ** For information respecting "subject-spirits" see no. 4269 above, and many other places. -TR.