After a troubled sleep, near first awakening, there was shown a vision, so lovely - of green, laurel-like wreathes wound together in a long, double strand with space between them, in a most beautiful arrangement, being linked together and at the same time free to move - that the vision cannot be adequately described on account of its beauty and the feeling of blessedness streaming forth from harmony. The vision was quite visible even to evil spirits. There followed afterwards another vision, even more beautiful and, as I may surmise, most especially lovely because joined with heavenly happiness; but it was not more than rather obscurely visible. There were little children playing heavenly games that no words can describe. These things were exceedingly touching, but they could not be clearly observable and perceptible except to angels in the innermost regions. These things [I saw] in a state of wakefulness. Afterwards I spoke about these visions with the spirits, who admitted that they too, like myself, had seen the first vision clearly, but not the second, which they also intensely wished that they had seen. As a result, an indignation rose up in them and gradually after that, envy; and this their envy I was also allowed to perceive by feeling it, so that nothing would escape me that might be educational. Their envy was such as to cause them not only extreme annoyance, but even very deep grief, for the simple reason that they had not seen that second vision clearly like the former one. Afterwards they were led along by different kinds of envy, until they seemed to ache at heart, as the saying goes. While they were in that state, I spoke about their envy and said among other things, that they could be content because they had seen the first vision, and that they would have been able to see the second one also, if only they had been of upright character. This caused more anger, which in turn increased the envy, to the point where they afterwards could not bear even the recollection of it without being stricken with grief. I am unable to describe the changes that occurred, one after the other, for the purpose of actually showing what kind of envy, and consequent grief, is in store for the wicked; nor can their torments from that one source be described. For I felt that envy not as my own, but as theirs. At given stages that the different types of envy passed through, I spoke with the spirits, but I was unable to comfort them in any way. From all this I was able to learn in some measure what the state of the wicked will be like, specifically in regard to envy, when they see the blessedness of the upright. Many things happened that I could not retain in my memory. Nor did those spirits want them to be revealed, as is usually the case, on which account they are even permitted to snatch away the remembrance of certain matters. 1747, the 25th, 26th days of July.* * Probably for August.