271. The lower place of damnation is extremely cold, and their life at that time had been miserable

Those who had been in a certain lower place were many, who are so cold that they seem to themselves obliged to acquire heat through labor, and the cutting of wood; for this kind of fantasy stays with them, and they do not know but that it is real, supposing that this work will make them not only warm, but also deserving of salvation. The cold is comparable to cold in the teeth.

Now these are the ones who are represented by the wood-cutters [Deut. 29:11, Josh. 9:23-27]. Who they are that are being held in such an extremely cold prison, may be concluded from [the nature of] their loves in the life of the body, namely, that they had then been cold, not instructed at an early age in any true love, but only enticed by bodily pleasures contrary to true love. So perhaps one may infer that they had come more from the crowd of gentiles, but on this I am not so well informed. These people were exceedingly glad to come into the day, and to see the light, which also shows that they had been in darkness. No one can describe how miserable these crowds are. 1747, the 28th day of November.