400. It should, however, be known that the delight of those who are in the loves of self and of the world, when they draw near to any heavenly society, is the delight of their lust, and thus is directly opposite to the delight of heaven. And such enter into this delight of their lust in consequence of their taking away and dispelling heavenly delight in those who are in such delight. When the heavenly delight is not taken away or dispelled it is different. They are then unable to draw near, for to the extent that they draw near, to that extent they bring upon themselves anguish and pain; and for this reason they do not often venture to come near. This also I have been permitted to learn by repeated experience, something of which I would also add. [2] Spirits who go from this world into the other life desire more than anything else to come into heaven. Nearly all seek to enter, supposing that heaven consists solely in being admitted and received. Because of this desire they are brought to some society of the lowest heaven. But as soon as those who are in the love of self and of the world draw near the first threshold of that heaven they begin to be distressed and so tortured inwardly as to feel in themselves a hell rather than a heaven; and in consequence they cast themselves down headlong therefrom, and do not rest until they come into the hells among their like. [3] It has also frequently occurred that such spirits have wished to know what heavenly joy is, and having heard that it is in the interiors of angels, they have wished to share in it. This therefore was brought about; for whatever a spirit who is not yet in heaven or hell wishes, it is granted if it will benefit him. But as soon as that joy was communicated they began to be so tortured as not to know how to withhold their body from the pain. It was seen that they thrust their heads down to their feet and cast themselves upon the ground, and there writhed into coils like serpents, and this in consequence of their interior agony. Such was the effect produced by heavenly delight upon those who were in the delights of the love of self and of the world. The reason is that those loves are directly opposed one to the other, and when opposite acts against opposite such pain results. And since heavenly delight enters by an inward way and flows into the contrary delight, the interiors which are in the contrary delight are twisted backwards, thus into the opposite direction, and the result is such tortures. [4] They are opposite for the reason given above, that love to the Lord and love to the neighbour wish to share with others all that is their own, for this is their delight, while the loves of self and of the world wish to take away from others what they have, and take it to themselves; and just to the extent that they are able to do this they are in their delight. From this, too, it can be known how it comes about that hell is separate from heaven; for all who are in hell were, while they were living in the world, in the mere delights of the body and of the flesh from the love of self and of the world; while all who are in the heavens were, while they lived in the world, in the delights of the soul and spirit from love to the Lord and love to the neighbour. As these are opposite loves, so the hells and the heavens are entirely separated, and indeed so separated that a spirit in hell does not venture even to put forth a finger from it or raise the crown of his head, for if he does this in the least he is racked with pain and tormented. This, too, I have quite frequently seen.