Myths and Marvels of AstronomyProctor, Richard A. (Richard Anthony)
History
Myths and Marvels of Astronomy
Proctor, Richard A. (Richard Anthony)
Astronomy
Swedenborg's account of a third earth in the star-depths contains a very
pretty idea for temples and churches. The temples in that earth 'are
constructed,' he says, of trees, not cut down, but growing in the place
where they were first planted. On that earth, it seems, there are trees
of an extraordinary size and height; these they set in rows when young,
and arrange in such an order that they may serve when they grow up to
form porticoes and colonnades. In the meanwhile, by cutting and pruning,
they fit and prepare the tender shoots to entwine one with another, and
join together so as to form the groundwork and floor of the temple to be
constructed, and to rise at the sides as walls, and above to bend into
arches to form the roof. In this manner they construct the temple with
admirable art, elevating it high above the ground. They prepare also an
ascent into it, by continuous branches of the trees, extended from the
trunk and firmly connected together. Moreover, they adorn the temple
without and within in various ways, by disposing the foliage into
particular forms; thus they build entire groves. But it was not
permitted me to see the nature of these temples, only I was informed
that the light of their sun is let in by apertures amongst the branches,
and is everywhere transmitted through crystals; whereby the light
falling on the walls is refracted in colours like those of the rainbow,
particularly blue and orange, of which they are fondest. Such is their
architecture, which they prefer to the most magnificent palaces of our
earth.'
Other earths in the starry heavens were visited by Swedenborg, but the
above will serve sufficiently to illustrate the nature of his
observations. One statement, by the way, was made to him which must have
seemed unlikely ever to be contravened, but which has been shown in our
time to be altogether erroneous. In the fourth star-world he visited, he
was told that that earth, which travels round its sun in 200 days of
fifteen hours each, is one of the least in the universe, being scarcely
500 German miles, say 2000 English miles, in circumference. This would
make its diameter about 640 English miles. But there is not one of the
whole family of planetoids which has a diameter so great as this, and
many of these earths must be less than fifty miles in diameter. Now
Swedenborg remarks that he had his information from the angels, 'who
made a comparison in all these particulars with things of a like nature
on our earth, according to what they saw in me or in my memory. Their
conclusions were formed by angelic ideas, whereby are instantly known
the measure of space and time in a just proportion with respect to space
and time elsewhere. Angelic ideas, which are spiritual, in such
calculations infinitely excel human ideas, which are natural.' He must
therefore have met, unfortunately, with untruthful angels.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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