554. And their faces as men's faces, signifies that they seem to themselves to be spiritual affections of truth. This is evident from the signification of "faces," as being the interiors of the mind and affection (of which above, n. 412; and from the signification of "man," as being the spiritual affection of truth, and thus intelligence and wisdom (of which above, n. 280; and as the face is a type of man's interiors, "faces" have the same signification as the men themselves, namely, the affections of truth, but here that they seem to themselves to be affections of truth, and thus intelligent and wise, because it is said of the locusts that their faces appeared "as men's faces."

[2] The locusts appeared with such a face because of the strong persuasiveness in which sensual men are who are in falsities from evil, and who are signified by "locusts;" the persuasiveness itself presents such an appearance, but only before themselves and before such others as are also in falsities from evil, but not before the angels of heaven; and for the reason that angels are in the light of heaven, and whatever they see they see from that light, and the light of heaven, being Divine truth, dissipates everything fantastic that comes from persuasiveness. Sensual men appear thus to themselves because sensual men persuade themselves that they are more in truths from good than others are, although they are in falsities from evil; for they are unable to look inwardly from heaven at anything, but only outwardly from the world; those who see from the world alone see only from a delusive light, from which they suppose themselves to be more intelligent and wiser than others, not knowing what intelligence and wisdom are, or what they are from. From this persuasive faith is their belief that they are in the spiritual affection of truth; this therefore is signified by "the faces of the locusts seemed to be as men's faces."

[3] But this must be illustrated by experience in the spiritual world. All who are in the heavens are men in respect both to the face and to the rest of the body, for they are in the spiritual affection of truth, and the spiritual affection of truth is itself a man in form, because that affection is from the Lord, who alone is Man, and because from Him the universal heaven conspires to the human form; consequently angels are forms of their affections, and these also are apparent in their faces. (But these things are fully explained in the work on Heaven and Hell 59-102.) But those who are in hell, where all are external and sensual, because they are in falsities from evil, while they also appear to themselves in respect to the face to be men, so appear only amongst their own; but when they are looked at in the light of heaven they appear like monsters of direful face, and sometimes in place of the face only something hairy, or with a horrible grate-like set of teeth, and sometimes lurid like something dead, in which there is nothing living and human; for such are the forms of hatred, revenge, and cruelty, wherein is spiritual death, because they are in opposition to the life that is from the Lord. That among themselves they appear with a face like men is from fantasy and consequent persuasion. (But respecting these appearances see also in the work on Heaven and Hell 553.)

4221. To enable me to know that this is so I have been allowed to talk to those who have lived in this manner and also to one person whom I had even known during his lifetime. Whatever good he had done to the neighbour during that time he had done for selfish reasons, that is to say, for the sake of his own position and gain. The rest to whom he did not do good he treated with contempt and also hated. He did, it is true, confess God with the lips, but he did not acknowledge Him in his heart. When I was allowed to talk to him there emanated from him a sphere which was so to speak of a bodily and unspiritual nature. His speech was not like that of spirits but of people still living in this world - for the speech of spirits differs from that of men in that it is filled with ideas, that is, it incorporates something spiritual and so a living quality that cannot be described. But the speech of the spirit to whom I spoke was not like this. The sphere emanating from him and which was perceptible in every single thing he said was such as mentioned above. He was to be seen there among those who are base, and I was told that such people gradually become in their thoughts and affections so dull and stupid that no one on earth could be more stupid than they are. They have a place under the buttocks where their hell is situated. From there one had also appeared previously who did not look like a spirit but an extremely bodily-minded man in whom the life of intelligence which is truly human was so minimal that you would call it the embodiment of stupidity. These experiences showed me what kind of spirits those people become who have no love for their neighbour, nor any for the general public, still less any for the Lord's kingdom, but who love only themselves and consider only themselves in every single thing, indeed who adore themselves as gods and also wish to be so adored by others, having this intent in everything they do.