173. The spirits of that earth, amongst other things, also said that those strangers, who, as has been said, were monkish spirits, used all their endeavours to persuade them to live together in society, and not separate and solitary. For spirits and angels dwell and live together just as they had done in the world. Those who have dwelt together collectively in the world, also dwell collectively together in the other life; and those who have dwelt separated into households and families, also dwell separated there. These spirits, whilst they had lived as men on their earth, had dwelt separated, every household and family, and thus every clan, apart, and therefore knew not what it was to dwell together in society. Wherefore, when it was told them that those strangers wanted to persuade them to this, in order that they might reign and rule over them, and that they could not otherwise subject them to themselves and make them slaves, they replied that they were totally ignorant what was meant by reigning and ruling. That they flee away at the bare idea of rule and domination, was manifest to me from this circumstance, that one of them, who accompanied us on the return journey, when I showed him the city in which I dwelt, at the first sight of it fled away, and was seen no more. 174. I then conversed with the angels who were with me, concerning dominion, that there are two kinds of dominion, one, of love towards the neighbour, and the other, of the love of self; and that the dominion of love towards the neighbour exists among those who dwell separated into households, families, and clans: but the dominion of the love of self among those who dwell together in society. Among those who live separated into households, families, and clans, he who is the father of the clan bears rule, and under him the fathers of families, and under these the fathers of each household. He is called the father of the clan, from whom the families are derived, and the households of which the families are composed. But all these exercise dominion from love, like the love of a father towards his children, who teaches them how they ought to live, provides for their good, and as far as possible gives to them of what is his own. It never enters into his mind to subject them to himself, as subjects or as servants, but he loves that they should obey him as sons obey their father. And since this love, as is known, increases in descending, therefore the father of a clan acts from a more inward love than the father himself from whom the children are immediately descended. Such also is the dominion in the heavens, because such is the Lord's dominion; for His dominion is from Divine Love towards the whole human race. But the dominion of the love of self, which is opposite to the dominion of love towards the neighbour, began when man alienated himself from the Lord; for in proportion as a man does not love and worship the Lord, in that proportion he loves and worships himself, and in