745. When they had returned to their apartments this was done. Men invited from the city came to entertain them with conversation on the various joys of the society; and after the usual greetings they conversed with them agreeably, as they walked. But their angelic guide said, "These ten men have been invited into this heaven to behold its joys, and thereby to acquire a new idea of eternal happiness. Recount to them, therefore, some of its joys which affect the bodily senses; afterwards some wise men are to come who will mention some of the things that render those joys satisfactory and delightful."
Hearing this, the men invited from the city mentioned the following: (1) There are days of festivity appointed here by the prince, to relieve the mind of the fatigue which the passion of emulation may have brought upon some. On these days there are musical and vocal concerts in the public squares, and outside of the city there are games and shows; music stands are also raised in the public squares, surrounded by lattice-work of interwoven vines, from which hang clusters of grapes; while within this lattice-work, on three rows of seats, one above another, sit musicians with stringed and wind instruments, high-toned and low-toned, some powerful and some sweet; and at the sides are singers of both sexes, delighting the citizens with the sweetest jubilees and songs, choruses and solos, varied in character at intervals. On these days of festivity all this is continued from morning until noon, and then again until evening. [2] (2) Moreover, every morning there are heard from the houses about the squares the sweetest songs of girls and maidens, with which the whole city resounds. Each morning some one affection of spiritual love is sung, that is, is expressed by modifications or modulations of the voice in singing, and that affection is perceptible in the singing as if it were the affection itself. It flows into the souls of the hearers, and stirs them to a correspondence with it. Such is heavenly singing. The singers say that the sound of their song inspires and animates them from within, as it were, and exalts them with joy in the measure of its reception by their hearers. When the singing ceases, the windows of the houses on the squares are closed, and also those of the houses on the streets, and the doors also, and then the whole city is silent; there is no noise anywhere, and no wandering idlers are seen; all thus prepared then enter upon the duties of their employments. [3] (3) At noon the doors are opened, and in the afternoon in some places the windows also, and the boys and girls are seen playing in the streets, their nurses and teachers sitting in the porches of the houses keeping watch over them. [4] (4) In the outskirts of the city, there are various games of boys and young men; there are foot-races and games of ball, and what is called tennis, with the balls struck back and forth; there are public contests among the boys to determine who is the quicker and who the slower in speaking, acting, and understanding; and to the quicker some laurel leaves are given as a reward, with many other methods of calling out the latent abilities of the boys. [5] (5) And again, outside the city there are theatrical exhibitions, where players represent the various proprieties and virtues of moral life; with players among them of lower parts for the sake of what is relative."
One of the ten asked, "Why for the sake of what is relative?"
They replied, "No virtue with its proprieties and graces can be presented in a living way except by an exhibition of what is relative from its greatest to its least phases. These players represent the least phases even till they become none. But it is provided by law that nothing opposite, which is called improper and unbecoming, shall be exhibited, except figuratively and as it were remotely. It is so provided, because nothing that is proper and good in any virtue can pass by successive steps to what is improper and evil, but only to its least phase until it perishes; and when it perishes the opposite begins. Therefore, heaven, where all things are proper and good, has nothing in common with hell, where all things are improper and evil."