14.A Memorable Fancy , Plates 17-20
An Angel came to me and said O pitiable foolish young man! O
horrible! O dreadful state! consider the hot burning dungeon
thou art preparing for thyself to all eternity, to which thou
art going in such career.
I said, perhaps you will be willing to shew me my eternal lot ＆
we will contemplate together upon it and see whether your lot or
mine is most desirable.
So he took me thro' a stable ＆ thro' a church ＆ down into the
church vault at the end of which was a mill：thro' the mill we
went, and came to a cave, down the winding cavern we groped our
tedious way till a void boundless as a nether sky appear'd
beneath us, ＆ we held by the roots of trees and hung over this
immensity, but I said, if you please we will commit ourselves to
this void, and see whether providence is here also, if you will
not, I will？ but he answer'd, do not presume O young-man but as
we here remain behold thy lot which will soon appear when the
darkness passes away.
So I remain'd with him sitting in the twisted root of an oak; he
was suspended in a fungus, which hung with the head downward
into the deep.
By degrees we beheld the infinite Abyss, fiery as the smoke of a
burning city; beneath us at an immense distance was the sun,
black but shining; round it were fiery tracks on which revolv'd
vast spiders, crawling after their prey; which flew or rather
swum in the infinite deep, in the most terrific shapes of
animals sprung from corruption, ＆ the air was full of them, ＆
seem'd composed of them; these are Devils, and arc 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, blackning 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 clouds ＆ the 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 tygers
forehead： soon we saw his mouth ＆ red gills hang just above the
raging foam tinging the black deep with beams of blood,
advancing toward 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 arose, 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 laugh'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 earths shadow; then I flung myself with him
directly into the body of the sun; here I clothed myself in
white, ＆ taking in my hand Swedenborgs 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 the void,
between saturn ＆ the fixed stars.
Here, said I! is your lot, in this space, if space it may be
call'd. Soon we saw the stable and the church, ＆ I took him to
the altar and open'd the Bible, and lo! it was a deep pit, into
which I descended driving the Angel before me; soon we saw seven
houses of brick; one we enter'd; in it were a number of monkeys,
baboons, ＆ all of that species, chain'd by the middle, grinning
and snatching at one another, but witheld by the shortness of
their chains; however I saw that they sometimes grew numerous,
and then the weak were caught by the strong, and with a grinning
aspect, first coupled with ＆ then devour'd, by plucking off
first one limb and then another till the body was left a
helpless trunk; this after grinning ＆ kissing it with seeming
fondness they devour'd too; and here ＆ there I saw one savourily
picking the flesh off of his own tail; as the stench terribly
annoy'd us both we went into the mill, ＆ I in my hand brought
the skeleton of a body, which in the mill was Aristotles
Analytics.
So the Angel said： thy phantasy has imposed upon me ＆ thou
oughtest to be ashamed.
I answer'd： we impose on one another, ＆ it is but lost time to
converse with you whose works are only Analytics.
Opposition is true Friendship.
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