2417. When I had grasped and written down these facts, evil spirits who were present said they did not know what mercy and innocence are, being surprised that they exist. They even scorned them to the point where they symbolically strewed them beneath my feet, 1748, 27 June. From their action on me and on the spirits who were present, it was made known what a state society would be in if such spirits mingled with it. Then something like a painful blow was felt, which happens in different ways depending on the nature of those who are unmerciful and those who are merciful, so they cannot be together. This was further portrayed to me by their being aroused out of a compassionate state of mind into one of cruelty, whereby mercy in spirits of that nature is turned into its opposite.