152. They went on to say that the inhabitants do not make their dwellings in lofty places, though, but instead in lowly huts on the ground, because lofty places are for the Lord who is in heaven and lowly places are appropriate for people in the physical world. They showed me their huts. They were rectangular. Inside, there was a long bed along the wall where they lay head to toe. Opposite the door was a circular area with a table at the front and a fireplace at the back that lit up the whole room. 1 No flames burned on the hearth, though; instead there was some luminous wood that gave as much light as the fire on any hearth. They said that in the evening these logs look as though they have burning embers within them.
Footnotes:
1. Swedenborg drew a floor plan of one of these houses in Spiritual Experiences 1679. For a reproduction, see figure 3. Although the sketch is very rough, it indicates the rounded end of the building, the hearth there, and a dotted line that apparently corresponds to the long bed against the wall. [SS]
