called powers of the air. I now asked my companion which was my eternal
lot? He said: 'Between the black & white spiders' but now, from between
the black & white spiders, a cloud and fire burst and rolled thro' the
deep. Black'ning all beneath, so that the nether deep grew black as a
sea,& rolled with a terrible noise; beneath us was nothing now to be seen
but a black tempest, till looking east between the cloudes & waves, we saw
a cataract of blood mixed with fire, and not many stones' throw from us
appear'd and sunk again the scaly fold of a monstrous serpent; at last, to
the east, distant about three degrees, appear'd a fiery crest above the
waves; slowly it reared like a ridge of golden rocks, till we discover'd
two globes of crimson fire, from which the sea fled away in clouds of
smoke; and now we saw it was the head of Leviathan; his forehead was
divided into streaks of green & purple like those on a tyger's forehead:
soon we saw his mouth & red gills hung just above the raging foam, tinging
the black deep with beams of blood, advancing towards us with all the fury
of a spiritual existence. My friend the angel climb'd up from his station
into the mill; I remain'd alone;& then this appearance was no more, but I
found myself sitting on a pleasant bank beside a river by moonlight
hearing a harper, who sung to the harp;& his theme was: 'The man who never
alters his opinion is like standing water,& breeds reptiles of the mind. '
But I apose and sought for the mill,& there I found my angel, who,
surprised asked me how I escaped? I answer'd: 'All that we saw was owing
to your metaphysics; for when you ran away, I found myself on a bank by
moonlight hearing a harper. But now we have seen my eternal lot, shall I
shew you yours? ' He lugh'd at my proposal; but I by force suddenly caught
him in my arms,& flew westerly thro' the night, till we were elevated
above the earth's shadow; then I flung myself with him directly into the
body of the sun; here I clothed myself in white & taking in my hand
Swedenborg's volumes, sunk from the glorious clime, and passed all the
planets till we came to Saturn: here I staid to rest,& then leap'd into