Conjugial Love

prince; in the meantime, I will introduce you into his palace and show you its splendid and magnificent contents."

12. When they arrived at the palace, they first viewed it from the outside. It was large and spacious, built of porphyry original: "porphyry"; a hard, reddish-purple stone highly valued for royal buildings., with a foundation of jasper; and before the gates were six lofty columns of lapis lazuli original: "lapis lazuli"; a deep blue semi-precious stone.. The roof was made of plates of gold, and the lofty windows, made of the most transparent crystal, had frames also of gold. After viewing the outside, they were introduced within and were conducted from one apartment to another. In each of these, they saw ornaments of inexpressible elegance and beauty, and beneath the roof were sculpted decorations of inimitable workmanship. Near the walls were set silver tables overlaid with gold, on which were placed various implements made of precious stones and of entire gems in heavenly forms, along with several other things such as no eye had ever seen on earth, and consequently such as could never be imagined to exist in heaven. While they were struck with astonishment at these magnificent sights, the angel said, "Do not be surprised; the things which you now behold are not the production and workmanship of any angelic hand, but are framed by the Builder of the universe and presented as a gift to our prince. Therefore, the architectonic art The fundamental principles and skill of architecture. is here in its essential perfection, and from here are derived all the rules of that art which are known and practiced in the world." The angel further said, "You may possibly imagine that such objects charm our eyes and infatuate us by their grandeur, so that we consider them as constituting the joys of our heaven. This, however, is not the case; for our affections are not set on such things—they are only contributory to the joys of our hearts. Therefore, so far as we contemplate them as such, and as the workmanship of God, so far we contemplate in them the divine omnipotence and mercy."

13. After this, the angel said to them, "It is not yet noon; come with me into our prince's garden, which is near the palace." So they went with him; and as they were entering, he said, "Behold here the most magnificent of all the gardens in our heavenly society!" But they replied, "How! There is no garden here. We see only one tree, and on its branches and at its top what looks like golden fruit and silver leaves, with their edges adorned with emeralds, and beneath the tree, little children with their nurses." Hereupon the angel, with an inspired voice, said, "This tree is in the midst of the garden; some of us call it the tree of our heaven, and some, the tree of life. But advance nearer, and your eyes will be opened, and you will see the garden." They did so, and their eyes were opened, and they saw numerous trees bearing an abundance of fine-flavored fruit, entwined with young vines whose tops with their fruit inclined toward the tree of life in the center. These trees were planted in a continuous series which, proceeding from a point and being continued into endless circles or gyrations Spirals or circular movements. as of a perpetual spiral, formed a perfect spiral of trees, wherein one species continually followed another, according to...