spiritual angels are in the good of charity towards
the neighbor, which in its essence is truth (n. 215),
and therefore speak from intelligence, for wisdom is
from good, and intelligence is from truth. For
this reason the speech of celestial angels is like
a gentle stream, soft, and as it were continuous;
but the speech of spiritual angels is slightly vibratory
and divided. The speech of celestial angels has
much of the tones of the vowels u and o; while the
speech of spiritual angels has much of the tones of
e and i;{1} for the vowels stand for tone, and in the
tone there is affection, the tone of the speech of
angels corresponding to their affection, as has been
said above (n. 236); while the vocal articulations,
which are words, correspond to the ideas of thought
which spring from affection. As the vowels are
not essential to a language, but serve by means of
tones to elevate the words to the various affections
according to each one’s state, so in the Hebrew
tongue the vowels are not expressed, and are also
variously pronounced. From this a man’s
quality in respect to his affection and love is known
to the angels. Also in the speech of celestial
angels there are no hard consonants, and it rarely
passes from one consonant to another without the interposition
of a word beginning with a vowel. This is why
in the Word the particle “and” is so often
interposed, as can be seen by those who read the Word
in the Hebrew, in which this particle is soft, beginning
and ending with a vowel sound. Again, in the
Word, in Hebrew, it can in some measure be seen from
the words used whether they belong to the celestial
class or the spiritual class, that is, whether they
involve good or truth. Those involving good partake
largely of the sounds of u and o, and also somewhat
of a, while those involving truth partake of the sounds
of e and i. Because it is especially in tones
that affections express themselves, so in human speech,
when great subjects are discussed, such as heaven
[caelum] and God [Deus], those words are preferred
that contain the vowels u and o; and musical tones,
whenever such themes are to be expressed, rise to
the same fullness; but not when less exalted themes
are rendered. By such means musical art is able
to express affections of various kinds.
{Footnote 1} [As these vowels are pronounced
in European
language. — Tr.]
242. In angelic speech there is a kind of symphony that cannot be described;{1} which comes from the pouring forth and diffusion of the thoughts and affections from which speech flows, in accordance with the form of heaven, and all affiliation and all communication in heaven is in accordance with that form. That angels are affiliated in accordance with the form of heaven, and that their thoughts and affections flow in accordance with it may be seen above (n. 200-212).
{Footnote 1} In angelic speech there is
a symphony with
harmonious cadence (n. 1648, 1649, 7191).


