166.  Moreover, on that earth I saw the dwellings of the inhabitants:  they were lowly houses, extended in length, with windows at the sides, according to the number of the rooms or chambers into which they were divided.  The roof was arched, and there was a door on each side at the end.  They told me that they were built of earth, and covered with turf; and that the windows were formed of filaments of grass woven together in such a manner that the light shone through.  I also saw little children; and the inhabitants told me that their neighbours come to them, especially for the sake of the little children, that they may be in company with other children in the presence and under the direction of their parents.  There also appeared fields becoming white with standing crops that were at that time nearly ripe for harvest.  The seeds or grains of that corn were shown me, and they were like grains of Chinese wheat:  I was also shown some bread made from it, which was in small square loaves.  There also appeared plains of grass adorned with flowers; also trees laden with fruit like pomegranates; also shrubs, which were not vines, but still produced berries from which they prepare wine.

167.  The sun of that earth, which is to us a star, appears there flaming, in size almost a fourth part of our sun.  Their year is about two hundred days, and each day fifteen hours, relatively to the length of days on our Earth.  The earth itself is one of the least in the starry heaven, being scarcely five hundred German miles in circumference.  The angels stated these particulars from a comparison made with things of the like kind on our Earth, which they saw in me, or in my memory.  Their conclusions were formed by angelic ideas, whereby are instantly known the measures of spaces and times, in a just proportion relatively to spaces and times elsewhere.  Angelic ideas, which are spiritual, in such calculations immensely surpass human ideas, which are natural.

THE FIFTH EARTH IN THE STARRY HEAVEN, AND ITS SPIRITS AND INHABITANTS.

168.  I was led to yet another earth in the universe beyond our solar system, and on this occasion also by changes of state continued for nearly twelve hours.  In company with me were several spirits and angels from our Earth, with whom I conversed during this voyage or progression.  I was carried at times obliquely upwards and obliquely downwards, continually towards the right, which in the other life is towards the south.  In two places only did I see spirits, and in one I spoke with them.  During this journey or progression I was permitted to observe how immense was the Lord’s heaven, which is designed for angels and spirits; for from the parts uninhabited I was enabled to conclude that it was so immense that, supposing there were many myriads of earths, and on each earth as great a multitude of human beings as on our own, there would still be a place of abode for them to eternity, and it would never be filled.  This I was enabled to conclude from a comparison made with the [inhabited] extent of the heaven which is about our Earth and designed for it, which extent was so small relatively, as not to equal one ten-thousand-thousandth part of the extent uninhabited.