1454. Spirits of the planet Mercury, who are the interior sense, or they who constitute it, do not remain in one place or within the sphere of the spirits of one planet, but wander throughout the Universe, not knowing whither they are being carried. Whenever they meet spirits who love material, earthly and corporeal things, they shun them, and betake themselves to where they do not hear such things, as the interior sense regarded in itself does not love the things of the external sense, for it is evident that it must be removed from the senses of the body in order that it may operate; without the removal of these senses from the body the interior sense cannot operate. Therefore the external senses and the memory of material ideas obscure, yea, extinguish the powers of operating of the interior sense. For this reason the spirits of Mercury cannot remain around this earth which they shun. When they were talking with me I also perceived in myself that the internal sense was, as it were, withdrawn from the senses of the body, so that I was almost deprived of those senses, even to the extent that the light vanished from my eye, so that whilst I was writing I could scarcely see for a few moments. Such is their effect.