While I was thus
deeply engaged in thought, lo! I saw two swans flying towards the north,
and presently two birds of paradise flying towards the south, and also
two turtle doves flying in the east: as I was watching their flight, I
saw that the two swans bent their course from the north to the east, and
the two birds of paradise from the south, also that they united with the
two doves in the east, and flew together to a certain lofty palace
there, about which there were olives, palms, and beeches. The palace had
three rows of windows, one above the other; and while I was making my
observations, I saw the swans fly into the palace through open windows
in the lowest row, the birds of paradise through others in the middle
row, and the doves through others in the highest. When I had observed
this, an angel presented himself, and said, "Do you understand what you
have seen?" I replied, "In a small degree." He said, "That palace
represents the habitations of conjugial love, such as are in human
minds. Its highest part, into which the doves flew, represents the
highest region of the mind, where conjugial love dwells in the love of
good with its wisdom; the middle part, into which the birds of paradise
flew, represents the middle region, where conjugial love dwells in the
love of truth with its intelligence: and the lowest part, into which the
swans flew, represents the lowest region of the mind, where conjugial
love dwells in the love of what is just and right with its knowledge.
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