Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 4657

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4657. There are certain spirits who have spoken to me several times, but in undertones, doing so very close to my left ear, as though they wished to speak in my ear so that no one could hear. But I have been allowed to tell them that this is unacceptable in the next life, because it shows that they were whisperers during their lifetime and so have now acquired a disposition to engage in such whispering. It shows that many of them are the sort who note the vices and failings of others, and when no one else is listening tell their companions about those vices and failings, or if other people are within earshot whisper them in the ear. They see and put a sinister interpretation on everything, and set themselves above others. They cannot therefore by any means be allowed into the company of good spirits, whose nature is such that they do not conceal their thoughts. I have been told that in the next life this kind of speaking sounds louder than the open kind.


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