The Sphere

Abstract

‘Behold, a wonderful thing!’ With a mixture of terror and rapture, Swedenborg descends into the Falun mine in 1716: The subterranean beings toiled in the mine, rolling rocks, sweating in the dusty air, throwing wood down the shaft, carrying torches. One went into a recess, another came out of a hole with his face scorched. Some climbed up quivering ladders, others were lowered, huddling in baskets that held only half their body. They followed winding veins through the ground.