11. The angels went on to ask, 'How did you believe your world would perish!' 'By fire,' they said, 'about which we have numerous opinions and prophecies.' Some thought that flames would be hurled down upon the earth from heaven in all directions, as upon the sons of Aaron and on the burnt-offering of Elijah; some that the fire of the sun would spread out, break forth, and set fire to its universe; some that the central fire would cast off a crust all round, and be ejected in all directions, as happens with volcanoes, Etna, Vesuvius, and Hekla; some that a great comet would enter the earth's atmosphere, and set fire to it with its fiery tail; some thought that the universe would not perish by fire, but would collapse and fall to pieces like a house through old age; and others had other ideas. The angels on hearing this said to each other, 'What simple-mindedness, coming entirely from complete ignorance about the spiritual world, about angels and their heavens and lands; and also from complete ignorance about the internal or spiritual sense of the Word. Thus everything which has to do with eternal life has become matters of memory alone, without any use of reason; and if reason plays any part, this is not superior to memory, but inferior to it, where confirmations from fallacies counterfeit the light of reason. This was represented by what we saw just now, when the flame dropped from the priest's head to his shoe, and shone there. This seems to us as if someone took his hat off his head, wrapped it round the soles of his feet, and walked like that.'