[2] "An angel came to me and said, `Do you desire me to accompany you to the peoples who lived in the Silver Era, or Age, that we may hear from them respecting the manners and life of their times?' He also added that they may not be approached, except under the auspices of the Lord. "I was in the spirit and accompanied my leader, and came first to a hill on the confines of the east with the south; and when we were on its slope, he showed me a great stretch of country, and we saw at a distance an eminence like a mountain, between which and the hill on which we stood was a valley, and beyond this a plain, and from this plain a gently-rising acclivity. "We descended the hill to cross the valley, and saw here and there at the sides pieces of wood and stone carved into figures of men, and of various beasts, birds and fishes. And I asked the angel, `What are these? Are they not idols?' "And he replied, `Not at all: they are representative forms of various moral virtues and spiritual truths. The people of that age had the science of correspondences and as a beast, bird and fish correspond to some quality, therefore, each carved figure represents and signifies some particular of virtue, or truth, and many together represent the virtue or truth itself in a certain general extended form these are what in Egypt were called hieroglyphics.' [3] "We proceeded through the valley, and when we entered the plain, lo! we saw horses and chariots the horses were variously caparisoned and harnessed, and the chariots of different forms; some carved out like eagles, some like unicorns, and some like whales: we also saw some carts at the extremity, and stables round about at the sides. But, when we approached, both horses and chariots disappeared, and instead of them we saw men in pairs, walking, conversing and reasoning. And the angel said to me, `The semblances of horses, chariots, and stables, seen at a distance, are appearances of the rational intelligence of the men of that age; for a horse from correspondence signifies the understanding of truth; a chariot its doctrine; and stables places of instruction. You are aware that all things in this world appear according to correspondences.' [4] "But we passed these things, and ascended by the acclivity. At length we saw a city, which we entered; and in walking through it, we noticed its houses, from the streets and public places. In the midst of it were palaces built of marble, having steps of alabaster in front, and at the sides of the steps pillars of jasper. We saw also temples, made of precious stone of a sapphire and azure color. And the angel said to me, `Their houses are of stones because stones signify natural verities, and precious stones spiritual verities; and all those who lived in the silver age, had intelligence from spiritual verities, and thence from natural; for silver has a like signification.' [5] "While exploring the city we saw here and there consorts, both husbands and wives. We expected that we should be invited somewhere; and, while this was in our mind [animus], we were called back by two into their house, which we entered; and the angel, speaking with them for me, explained the reason of our coming into this heaven, that it was `for the sake of instruction concerning the manners of the ancients, of whom you are.' "They replied, `We were from the peoples in Asia, and the study of our age was the study of truths, through which we had intelligence. This study was the study of our soul and mind. But the study of the senses of our bodies was the representations of truths in natural forms; and the science of correspondences conjoined the sensuals of our bodies with the perceptions of our minds, thus natural and corporeal things with spiritual and celestial, and procured for us communication with the angels of heaven.' [6] "On hearing this, the angel asked them to give some account of marriages with them. And the husband said, `There is a correspondence between spiritual marriage, which is that of good and truth, and natural marriage, which is that of a man with his wife; and as we have studied correspondences, we have seen that the church, with its truths and goods, can by no means exist with any others than those who live in truly conjugial love; for the marriage of good and truth is the church with man. Therefore all we who are in this heaven, say that the husband is truth, and the wife the good of his truth; and that good cannot love any other truth than that which is its own, nor truth love in return any other good than that which is its own. If any other were loved, internal or spiritual marriage, which constitutes the Church would perish, and marriage would become only external or natural, to which idolatry and not the church corresponds.' [7] "When he had said these things we were introduced into an ante-chamber, where there were several designs on the walls, and little images as it were molten of silver; and I asked, what these were. They said, `They are pictures and forms representative of the many qualities, properties, and delights of spiritual things;' as were also the cherubim and palm-trees on the walls of the temple at Jerusalem. [8] "After this, there appeared at a distance a chariot drawn by white ponies; on seeing which the angel said,' That chariot is a sign for us to depart.' Then, as we were going down the steps, our host gave us a bunch of white grapes adhering to the vine leaves; and lo! the leaves in our hands became silver, and we brought them away for a sign that we had spoken with the people of the Silver Age."