Heaven and Its Wonders and Hell: Drawn from Things Heard and Seen

«When people understand these words according to their literal meaning, they can only believe that all these things are going to happen just as this meaning describes them, at that end of time called the Last Judgment» — Swedenborg abre el §1, su prefacio de autor, objetando la lectura literal de Mateo 24:29 a 31: entendidas así, esas palabras solo pueden creerse como sucesos del fin del tiempo.

«The sun that will be darkened means the Lord in respect to love,e the moon means the Lord in respect to faith.f The stars mean insights into what is good and true, or into love and faith.g The sign of the Human-born One in heaven means the appearing of divine truth. The wailing tribes of earth mean all the elements of what is true and good, or of faith and love.h The Lord’s coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory means his presence in the Word, and revelation.i The clouds refer to the literal meaning of the Wordj and the glory to the Word’s inner meaning.k The angels with a trumpet and a loud voice mean heaven, which is where divine truth comes from» — §1: la traducción, término por término, del pasaje de Mateo al sentido interno, que es la muestra con que el libro exhibe su método de correspondencias; las letras voladitas de las notas del propio autor quedan dentro del tramo porque son letra de la fuente.

«They mean that at the end of the church, when there is no longer any love and therefore no longer any faith, the Lord will open the Word by disclosing its deeper meaning and will reveal the heavenly contents hidden12 within it. The particular hidden contents to be disclosed in the pages that follow have to do with heaven and hell and with our own life after death» — §1: el resultado de esa lectura y el anuncio del asunto del libro, el cielo, el infierno y la vida después de la muerte.

«Church people these days13 know practically nothing about heaven and hell or their life after death, even though there are descriptions of everything available to them in the Word. In fact, many who have been born in the church deny all this. In their hearts they are asking who has ever come back to tell us about it» — §1: el diagnóstico con que el libro justifica su necesidad, y la objeción que pone en boca de los que niegan; la llamada de nota va pegada a la palabra en el troceo y se conserva.

«The reason this kind of direct revelation is taking place today is that this is what the Coming of the Lord means» — §1: el cierre del prefacio, donde Swedenborg identifica su propia revelación con lo que las profecías llaman la venida del Señor.

«FIRST and foremost, we need to know who the God of heaven is, since everything else depends on this. Throughout the whole of heaven, no one is acknowledged as God of heaven except the Lord» — §2: la primera tesis del cuerpo, de la que el libro hace depender todo lo demás.

«I have often talked with angels about this, and their consistent testimony has been that in heaven they cannot divide the Divine17 into three because they both know and perceive that the Divine is one and that this “one” is in the Lord» — §2: el argumento contra la división del Divino en tres, apoyado en el testimonio de los ángeles, que es la forma de prueba característica del libro.

«In heaven people actually speak directly from their thought, so that we have there a kind of thoughtful speech or audible thought» — §2: la razón por la que en el cielo no cabe pensar tres y decir uno, que es la transparencia del habla angélica.

«On the other hand, people who have denied the Lord’s divine nature and have recognized only his human nature (like the Socinians)21 are also excluded from heaven. They are taken a little way forward to the right22 and are let down into the depths, which completely separates them from the Christian realm» — §3: la suerte que el libro asigna a quienes reconocen solo la naturaleza humana del Señor, a los que nombra socinianos.

«Then too, there are people who claim to believe in an invisible Divine called the Being of the Universe and reject any faith in the Lord. When they are examined, it turns out that they do not believe in any god at all, since this invisible Divine of theirs is actually like the first principles of nature. This is incompatible with faith and love, because it eludes [actual] thought.b These people are banished to the company of those called materialists» — §3: la objeción a la deidad invisible llamada el Ser del Universo, que el libro equipara a los primeros principios de la naturaleza y por eso declara incompatible con la fe y el amor.

«All little children (and these make up a third part of heaven) are led first into an acknowledgment and belief that the Lord is their father. Later they are brought into an acknowledgment and belief that he is Lord of all, which means God of heaven and earth» — §4: la cifra con que el libro mide la población infantil del cielo, una tercera parte, y el orden en que se les enseña.

«His “ruling heaven and earth” means our accepting from him everything good that is intrinsic to love and everything true that is intrinsic to faith. It therefore means accepting all intelligence and wisdom, and thus all happiness—in short, eternal life» — §5: la lectura interior del gobierno del cielo y de la tierra, que el libro traduce a la aceptación del bien y de lo verdadero, y de ahí a la vida eterna.

«WHILE we call the total assemblage of angels heaven because they do make it up, what really makes heaven overall and in every specific instance is the divine nature that emanates from the Lord, flowing into angels and accepted by them. The divine nature that emanates from the Lord is the good intrinsic to love and the truth intrinsic to faith. The amount angels accept from the Lord of what is good and what is true determines the extent to which they are angels and are heaven» — §7: la definición del cielo que el libro sostiene: no lo hace el conjunto de los ángeles sino la naturaleza divina que emana del Señor y que ellos aceptan, y en la medida en que la aceptan.

«Everyone in the heavens knows, believes, and even perceives that nothing good is intended and done by the self and that nothing true is thought and believed by the self. Everything comes from the Divine, which means from the Lord» — §8: la negación de todo mérito propio, que en el libro es a la vez doctrina y experiencia declarada de los ángeles.

«They say that it is not just everything good and true that comes from the Lord, but every bit of life as well» — §9: la extensión de esa dependencia de lo bueno y lo verdadero a la vida entera.

«This means that everything has come into being from a First, which they call the essential reality of the life of everything. Everything endures in the same way, too, because enduring is a constant coming into being» — §9: la fórmula ontológica del libro, con la definición de la permanencia como un venir a ser continuo; es el pasaje que Bernhard Lang toma como su capa neoplatónica.

«They add that there is only one single wellspring of life, with human life as one stream flowing from it. If it were not constantly supplied from its wellspring, it would immediately peter out» — §9: la imagen del manantial único y del arroyo con que el libro figura esa dependencia.

«People who accept them into their faith and life are in heaven, while people who reject or stifle them transform them into hell. They actually change what is good into evil and what is true into falsity—life into death» — §9: la tesis que hace del infierno una transformación operada por el que recibe, no un envío: lo mismo que sale del Señor se vuelve mal, falsedad y muerte en quien lo rechaza.

«Because angels believe this, they decline any thanks offered them for the good they do. In fact they feel hurt and withdraw if anyone gives them credit for anything good» — §9: la consecuencia práctica en el trato de los ángeles, que se apartan si se les atribuye el bien.

«Doing good for one’s own sake, in their language, cannot be called “good,” because it stems from self. Doing good for its own sake is what they call “good from the Divine» — §9: la distinción entre hacer el bien por uno mismo y hacerlo por sí mismo, que el libro pone en boca de los ángeles.

«Angels avoid them. They regard them as stupid and as thieves—stupid because they are constantly looking at themselves and not at the Divine, and thieves because they take from the Lord what is actually his» — §10: el juicio que el libro atribuye a los ángeles sobre quienes ponen mérito en sus obras: necios por mirarse a sí mismos y ladrones por tomar lo que es del Señor.

«This allows us finally to conclude that the Lord dwells in angels in what belongs to himself, and therefore that the Lord is the sum and substance of heaven. This is because the good from the Lord is the Lord within and among them, since what comes from him is himself» — §12: el cierre del capítulo, con la identificación de lo que emana con quien emana.

«Divine love and the divine truth that derives from it are like the sun’s fire and the light that comes from it in our world. The love is like the sun’s fire, and the derivative truth is like the light from the sun. By reason of correspondence, fire means love and light means the truth that flows from it» — §13: la correspondencia fundacional del libro, la del fuego y la luz del sol con el amor divino y lo verdadero divino.

«The reason the Divine in heaven (which in fact makes heaven) is love is that love is spiritual union. It unites angels to the Lord and unites them with each other. It does this so thoroughly that in the Lord’s sight they are like a single being» — §14: la definición del amor como unión espiritual, que une a los ángeles con el Señor y entre sí hasta parecer uno solo.

«Anyone who weighs the matter will discover that love is our vital core. We grow warm because of its presence and cold because of its absence, and when it is completely gone, we die» — §14: la prueba por la experiencia común de que el amor es el núcleo vital, medido por el calor y el frío.

«In heaven, “loving the Lord” does not mean loving him for the image he projects36 but loving the good that comes from him. Loving the good is intending and doing it» — §15: la definición operativa de los dos amores, que el libro traslada del objeto a la intención y a la obra.

«However, people who believe such things are not aware of the hidden depths that lie within the details of the Word» — §1: la tesis hermenéutica del libro, que la Palabra guarda profundidades ocultas en cada detalle; el tramo se corta antes de la llamada de nota, releída en el crudo.

«There is in fact spiritual meaning in these details, for they do not intend the outward and earthly events that we find on the literal level; instead they intend spiritual and heavenly events. This holds true not just for the meaning of phrases but even for each word» — §1: continuación de la misma tesis, con el alcance del sentido espiritual extendido a cada palabra y no solo a la frase.

«Questions about the nature of this meaning can be resolved by all the things I have set forth about it in Secrets of Heaven» — §1: Swedenborg remite la doctrina del sentido interno a su obra anterior; el tramo se corta antes de la llamada de nota, releída en el crudo.

«has been granted me to be with angels and to talk with them person to person. I have also been enabled to see what is in heaven and in hell, a process that has been going on for thirteen years. Now I am being allowed therefore to describe what I have heard and seen, in the hopes of shedding light where there is ignorance, and of dispelling skepticism» — §1: la declaración de autoridad del libro, la frase más citada de la obra: trato con ángeles cara a cara, visión del cielo y del infierno durante trece años y permiso de describir lo oído y lo visto; el Translator's Preface cita este mismo parágrafo en la p. 12 con otra redacción, *I have been allowed to be with angels*, y las dos se consignan sin armonizar.

«There are two quite distinguishable loves in heaven—love for the Lord and love for our neighbor. Love for the Lord is characteristic of the third or central heaven, while love for our neighbor is characteristic of the second or intermediate heaven» — §15: los dos amores del cielo y su reparto por cielos, el tercero o central y el segundo o intermedio; el tramo se corta antes de la llamada de nota, releída en el crudo.

«SINCE there are infinite varieties in heaven—since no community and in fact no individual is just like any othera—heaven is therefore divided overall, more specifically, and in detail. Overall, it is divided into two kingdoms, more specifically into three heavens, and in detail into countless communities» — §20: la división del cielo en tres escalas, dos reinos, tres cielos y comunidades incontables, derivada de que no hay dos iguales.

«There are angels who accept the divine nature that emanates from the Lord on a deeper level and angels who accept it less deeply. The ones who accept it more deeply are called heavenly angels, and the ones who accept it less deeply are called spiritual angels. Heaven is therefore divided into two kingdoms, one called the heavenly kingdom44 and the other called the spiritual kingdom» — §21: el criterio de la división en dos reinos es el grado de aceptación, no el rango.

«We use the words “higher” and “lower” as a way of referring to more inward things and more outward things» — §22: la declaración con que el libro traduce su propio vocabulario vertical a uno de interioridad, que es el giro que Bernhard Lang le señala en la p. 34.

«Heavenly love is love for the Lord, and spiritual love is thoughtfulness toward one’s neighbor. Further, since all “good” is a matter of love (since whatever we love is good in our estimation» — §23: la equivalencia entre los dos amores y los dos bienes, con la definición de lo bueno como aquello que se ama.

«The heavenly kingdom is also called the Lord’s priestly kingdom —in the Word, “his dwelling”; and the spiritual kingdom is called his royal kingdom—in the Word, “his throne.” The Lord in the world was called “Jesus” because of his heavenly divine nature, and “the Christ” because of his spiritual divine nature» — §24: el libro reparte los dos nombres del Señor entre los dos reinos, Jesús por lo celestial y Cristo por lo espiritual.

«The reason for their excellence is that they have accepted divine truths directly into their lives and continue to do so, rather than taking them into memory and thought first, the way spiritual angels do» — §25: la diferencia entre los dos reinos está en el modo de recibir, directo a la vida en unos y por la memoria y el pensamiento en otros.

«This means they have them engraved on their hearts and grasp them, virtually see them, within themselves. They never calculate whether or not they are true» — §25: los ángeles celestiales no razonan si algo es verdadero, y por eso el libro los compara con el pueblo de Jeremías 31 que lleva la ley grabada en el corazón.

«The Lord flows directly into our intentions, and indirectly, through our intentions, into our thinking. In other words, the Lord flows directly into what is good within us, and indirectly, through that good, into what is true» — §26: la ruta del influjo, primero a la intención y solo por ella al pensamiento.

«However, as long as any truth is in memory and therefore in thought, it is neither good nor living. It is not assimilated into the person, because a person is a person by virtue of intent primarily and cognitive abilities secondarily» — §26: la jerarquía de las facultades que fundamenta todo lo demás: lo verdadero que se queda en la memoria no es bueno ni vivo, y la persona lo es por su volición.

«The New Century Edition of the Works of Emanuel Swedenborg Jonathan S. Rose Series Editor Stuart Shotwell Managing Editor EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Lisa Hyatt Cooper George F. Dole David B. Eller Robert H. Kirven Sylvia Shaw» — la portadilla de serie declara el marco editorial en que sale el volumen: Jonathan S. Rose como editor de la serie, Stuart Shotwell como editor gerente y un comité en el que están Lisa Hyatt Cooper, George F. Dole, David B. Eller, Robert H. Kirven y Sylvia Shaw.

«Translated from the Latin by George F. Dole With an Introduction by Bernhard Lang And Notes by George F. Dole, Robert H. Kirven, and Jonathan S. Rose SWEDENBORG FOUNDATION West Chester, Pennsylvania» — la portada reparte las voces del volumen: Dole traduce del latín, Bernhard Lang firma la introducción, y las notas son de Dole, Kirven y Rose, con el pie editorial de la Swedenborg Foundation en West Chester, Pensilvania.

«Swedenborg, Emanuel, 1688–1722. [De coelo et ejus mirabilibus. English] Heaven and its wonders and hell : drawn from things heard and seen/Emanuel Swedenborg; translated from the Latin by George F. Dole; with an introduction by Bernhard Lang; and notes by George F. Dole, Robert H. Kirven, and Jonathan S. Rose. p. cm.— (The new century edition of the works of Emanuel Swedenborg) Includes bibliographical references» — la ficha catalográfica de la Library of Congress registra entre corchetes el título latino original y las fechas del autor tal cual las imprime el volumen, *1688–1722*, que discrepan del *1688–1772* con que Bernhard Lang lo data en la p. 23; la discrepancia se consigna sin arbitrar.

«Part I. Heaven and Hell §1 [Author’s Preface] [1] §§2–6 / The Lord Is God of Heaven» — el índice fija la unidad de cita de la obra: cada capítulo se anuncia por su número entre corchetes y por el tramo de parágrafos que abarca, y el §1 es el prefacio del autor.

«Part III. Hell [56] §§536–544 / The Lord Governs the Hells [57] §§545–550 / The Lord Does Not Cast Anyone into Hell: Spirits Cast Themselves In» — la tercera parte arranca en el §536 con el gobierno divino de los infiernos y sigue con la tesis de que nadie es arrojado allí.

«Notes and Indexes Notes Works Cited in the Notes Index to Preface, Introduction, and Notes Index to Scriptural Passages in Heaven and Hell Table of Parallel Passages Index to Heaven and Hell Biographical Note» — el aparato final del volumen se compone de notas, obras citadas en las notas, cuatro índices, una tabla de pasajes paralelos y una nota biográfica; es la parte que esta ficha recorre por muestra.

«HEAVEN and Hell is one of five works that Emanuel Swedenborg published in 1758.1 These works differ markedly from Secrets of Heaven, Swedenborg’s first theological work, which he had published between 1749 and 1756» — Dole sitúa el libro entre los cinco que Swedenborg publicó en 1758 y lo separa de su primera obra teológica.

«It involves both a shift in genre from exegesis to topical theology and a shift in form from the multivolume to the book and even the booklet. Secrets of Heaven belongs on the theologian’s bookshelf. Heaven and Hell might feel at home in the airport book rack» — Dole describe el cambio de rumbo de 1758 como doble, de género y de formato, y lo remata con una comparación que mide el alcance de lector que le atribuye.

«While it was surely unrealistic to expect “people of simple heart and simple faith” to read Latin, the book would be quite accessible to the parish clergy closest to such people. It would be accessible also to “amateur intellectuals,” often in positions of responsibility, who delighted in keeping up with new discoveries. Further, its ideas were vivid and concrete, easy to remember and to communicate, and its Latin simple and accessible. It may be no accident that Heaven and Hell has been far and away the most popular of Swedenborg’s works» — Dole deriva el público del libro de su lengua y de su estilo: el latín simple lo hacía accesible al clero de parroquia y a los aficionados ilustrados, y de ahí, dice, su popularidad.

«In his table of the repeated passages that appear in Swedenborg’s works, John Faulkner Potts identifies just thirty-four of Heaven and Hell’s 603 sections as cited from Secrets of Heaven» — Dole trae el cómputo de John Faulkner Potts para medir cuánto de esta obra viene de la anterior: treinta y cuatro de los seiscientos tres parágrafos.

«The obvious conclusion is that Swedenborg intended Heaven and Hell at least in part as a vehicle for information already published in Secrets of Heaven. As well as demonstrating a striking concern for consistency, the cross-references clearly indicate a hope that it would attract the reader to that larger work» — Dole lee las remisiones internas como propósito editorial declarado: el libro sirve de vehículo a lo ya publicado y de anzuelo hacia la obra mayor.

«The most probable reason is that this diary records specific incidents, while Heaven and Hell usually generalizes from this experience and takes the form of a spiritual guidebook rather than a traveler’s narrative» — Dole explica por qué el diario de experiencias apenas se duplica aquí: este libro generaliza y toma forma de guía espiritual, no de relato de viaje.

«For him personally, that is, experiences of the spiritual world were not an avenue of escape from earthly responsibilities. There is a recurrent emphasis in Heaven and Hell on a generous, honest, and useful life here and now as the only viable foundation for heavenly life hereafter» — Dole señala la preocupación ética que recorre el libro y la ancla en la biografía del autor: para Swedenborg la experiencia del mundo espiritual no era huida de las responsabilidades terrenas.

«The first edition of one thousand copies was printed by John Lewis, 1 Paternoster Row, in London, the proof sheets being read by John Marchant» — Dole toma de James Hyde los datos materiales de la primera edición: mil ejemplares, impresos por John Lewis en Paternoster Row, con pruebas leídas por John Marchant.

«The first English translation of the work, by William Cookworthy and Thomas Hartley, was published in 1778» — Dole abre la serie de traducciones inglesas con la de Cookworthy y Hartley.

«The present translation is a fresh effort and not a revision: I regard myself as responsible for the previous version, but not responsible to it» — Dole declara la relación de esta versión con la suya de 1976 y fija su criterio de traductor con una distinción entre responsabilidad *por* y responsabilidad *ante*.

«The Latin style of the book is remarkable for its simplicity—not really colloquial, but perhaps not far from that of courteous conversation. While there are touches of poetic imagery and phrasing from time to time, there is nothing that could be called sentimental and certainly nothing sensationalist» — Dole caracteriza el latín del original y niega en él lo sentimental y lo sensacionalista.

«It is the effort of the present edition to represent these qualities as faithfully as possible, qualities that the members of the editorial committee feel have too often been slighted in favor of a rather Latinate literalism. If at times the language of the present version seems stilted or obscure, the fault is with the translator, not with Swedenborg» — Dole enuncia el criterio de la New Century Edition frente a las anteriores, que a su juicio sacrificaron claridad y accesibilidad a un literalismo latinizante, y se atribuye a sí mismo cualquier oscuridad del resultado.

«That of the redoubtable John Clowes appeared in 1817 and served as a guide to Samuel Noble for his 1839 version, which became the standard in England until 1899, when J. R. Rendell’s translation was published» — Dole sigue la genealogía inglesa: Clowes en 1817 guía la versión de Samuel Noble de 1839, que fue la estándar en Inglaterra hasta la de J. R. Rendell.

«In the United States, Benjamin Barrett’s translation was published in 1867, and served (with various revisions) until that of John Ager» — la rama estadounidense de la misma genealogía, en la cuenta de Dole; el tramo se corta antes del año entre paréntesis con que el libro fecha la versión de Ager.

«In England, Doris Harley’s revision of the Ager translation succeeded the Rendell version in 1958. My own 1976 translation was intended for the paperback market and omitted the references to Secrets of Heaven» — Dole cierra la serie con la revisión de Doris Harley y con su propia versión de 1976, y declara qué le quitó a aquella: las remisiones a la obra mayor.

«The work has also been translated into Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish» — Dole mide el alcance del libro por la lista de lenguas a las que se ha traducido; el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana y la lista sigue en la p. 15 con *Swedish, Tamil, Ukranian, Welsh, and Zulu*.

«In the sixth and final volume of his Swedenborg Concordance, published in 1902, Potts advised readers to mark in their own copies the “repeated passages” that he had identified, “until such time as an annotated edition of the Writings is made, which will of course contain them» — Dole funda la razón de ser de la New Century Edition en un encargo de Potts de 1902: marcar los pasajes repetidos hasta que existiera una edición anotada.

«The New Century Edition owes its inception to the vision and energy of David Eller. This volume, as the first of the series to be published, although not first in Swedenborg’s bibliography» — Dole adjudica la iniciativa de la serie a David Eller y sitúa este volumen como el primero publicado, aunque no el primero en el orden bibliográfico del autor.

«GEORGE F. DOLE Bath, Maine February, 2000» — la firma y la fecha del prefacio del traductor, que son la fuente del año de esta edición.

«Hyde, who in the nineteenth century gave generously of his time and resources toward the publication of Latin editions of Swedenborg’s theological works. Those volumes are now paying the price of their acid-bleached elegance; they stand as a reminder that we are limited by our times, and can do no more than our best» — Dole cierra su prefacio con una reserva sobre el propio oficio: los volúmenes latinos que costeó Zina Hyde se deshacen por la elegancia de su papel blanqueado, y de ahí saca que toda edición está limitada por su tiempo; el nombre del mecenas queda partido por el cambio de plana y empieza en la p. 15, y la frase sigue *May this edition be good enough for now, and lead in time to something better*, cortada por el límite de chunk.

«1. The other four are New Jerusalem, Last Judgment, White Horse, and Other Planets. (See the list of short titles in this volume for details about the full Latin and English titles of these and other works by Swedenborg» — la primera nota de Dole nombra los otros cuatro libros de 1758; el tramo arranca en el aparato de notas del prefacio, que en este volumen va al pie de la plana.

«Any discussion of the works of 1758 should note that it is difficult to determine in what order they were written or published» — Dole declara el límite de lo que se puede saber del orden de los cinco libros de 1758, y en la misma nota reconstruye el argumento por las remisiones cruzadas entre ellos.

«Another possible reason for the shift from major exegesis to the shorter topical works is Swedenborg’s reaction to the Last Judgment, which he reports as an event he witnessed in the spiritual world in 1757. However, this connection remains speculative, as we have no evidence to support it» — Dole propone el Juicio Final de 1757, que Swedenborg dice haber presenciado, como otra causa posible del cambio a obras breves, y marca la propuesta como especulativa por falta de evidencia.

«5. As is common in Swedenborgian studies, text citations refer not to page numbers but to Swedenborg’s section numbers, which are uniform in all editions» — la convención de cita del campo, declarada por Dole: no se cita por página sino por el número de parágrafo, que es el mismo en todas las ediciones; de ahí que esta ficha conserve el §N en la glosa aunque el locator sea la plana.

«9. His task of making these cross-references was made easier by an index to Secrets of Heaven that he had compiled himself. (There are extant a first and a second draft of this index in his own hand» — Dole explica de dónde salieron las remisiones internas: un índice de la obra mayor que el propio Swedenborg compiló y del que quedan dos borradores de su mano.

«10. Clowes (1743–1831), an Anglican clergyman, accepted Swedenborg’s doctrines in 1773 with such enthusiasm that, without leaving the established church, he devoted the remainder of his life to translating Swedenborg’s theological works, and to teaching and preaching their contents» — la nota biográfica de Dole sobre John Clowes: clérigo anglicano que adoptó las doctrinas de Swedenborg sin dejar la iglesia establecida y dedicó el resto de su vida a traducirlas, enseñarlas y predicarlas.

«Swedenborg, Emanuel. 1758. De Coelo et Ejus Mirabilibus, et de Inferno, ex Auditis et Visis. London» — la lista selecta de ediciones abre con el original latino, con el título completo y el lugar de impresión.

«1817. A Treatise Concerning Heaven and Its Wonders, and Also Concerning Hell: Being a Relation of Things Heard and Seen. Translated by John Clowes» — muestra de la lista de traducciones inglesas: el título con que Clowes vertió la obra en 1817, que traduce *ex auditis et visis* como relación de cosas oídas y vistas.

«On Heaven and Hell A Historical Introduction to Swedenborg’s Most Popular Book BERNHARD LANG» — el encabezado y el firmante de la introducción histórica del volumen, que es la voz del aparato moderno y no la de la obra.

«But I again repeat my conviction, that Swedenborg’s Meaning is the truth—and the duty of his followers is, to secure this meaning to the Readers of his works by collecting from his numerous Volumes those passages, in which this meaning is conveyed in terms so plain as not to be misconceived: an introduction of 50 pages would suffice for this purpose» — el segundo epígrafe es una nota marginal de Samuel Taylor Coleridge en su ejemplar del libro: da por verdadero el sentido de Swedenborg y le encarga a sus seguidores una antología de cincuenta páginas que lo haga claro.

«EMANUEL Swedenborg (1688–1772) was a man of two careers: one in science and one in theology. The first career ended in 1747 when he retired from his position on the Royal Board of Mines in his home country, Sweden» — Lang parte la biografía en dos carreras, la científica y la teológica, y fecha el corte en el retiro de 1747 del Real Colegio de Minas.

«London was the city where in April 1745 he had had a vision of “the Lord God, the Creator of the world and the Redeemer,” who permitted him to see “the worlds of spirits, heaven, and hell» — Lang data en abril de 1745 y en Londres la visión que Swedenborg declaró como origen de su acceso al otro mundo, y cita las palabras del testimonio recogido por Tafel.

«At the express will of the writer, the volumes appeared without indication of authorship» — Lang consigna que la obra mayor previa salió anónima por voluntad del propio autor, dato que vale también para los cinco libros de 1758.

«Swedenborg must have felt that a work of eight huge quarto tomes of biblical exegesis, theological reflection, and reports on the author’s visions would not find many readers, at least not immediately. So he prepared a number of smaller, less forbidding books, some of which were closely based on Secrets of Heaven» — Lang atribuye los libros breves de 1758 a un cálculo de lectoría: ocho tomos en cuarto no encontrarían lectores pronto.