the Ancient Word were called wise and intelligent, and after that diviners and
magi.” (Warren 134-5) And like the Silver Age keepers of the Popol Vuh, the
people of the Ancient Church used it to regain a form of open communication
with heaven, “but a poorer one than the Golden Age had enjoyed.” (Rose 67)
One final similarity between the Popol Vuh and the theological Writings
of Swedenborg is the mysterious and seemingly contradictory way in which
the two texts refer to the Ancient Word. The Mayan text begins with the words,
“This is the beginning of the Ancient Word,” and ends with the strong indication
that the Ancient Word no longer exists. Here is a final comparison, which –
though both excerpts are reinterpretations – nonetheless adds emphasis to the
many similarities which run through these two disparate texts:
There is the original book and ancient writing owned by the lords, now lost, but even
so, everything has been completed here concerning Quichē. (Tedlock 198) [emphasis
added]
There is a revelation, the Ancient or Early Word, now lost, which contained
profoundly allegorical tales and obscure prophecies of the Messiah to come. (Rose 67)
[emphasis added]
Despite having no apparent historical or anthropological connection,
both the Mayan Popol Vuh and the unique biblical exegesis of Swedenborg
offer insights into the early stages of humanity. Though differing in vocabulary,
both speak of a Golden Age, when early humans could converse directly with
the heavens, and had a form of perfect vision (or insight), beyond the laws of
the current day. By internalizing these gifts, and crediting themselves rather
than praising their maker, they brought on their own demise.
The human beings who emerged from the deluge were of a different
nature, perhaps even on a neurological level. For their own safety, their direct
line of communication with the heavens was severed, and their instinctual
knowledge was limited. But in exchange, they were given an Ancient Word,
which – for those who could understand it – granted access to the Golden
Age wisdom from before the flood. This Ancient Word is now lost, but there
remains ambiguity about its possible recovery.
It was not my intent to identify a universal mythic theme, and I do not
believe that I have done so. Indeed, if universal elements have been discussed,
it is only because they are some of the same motifs which have been written
about for centuries.
Swedenborg himself spoke to the apparent universality of these themes,
well over a century before Műller, Freud, Jung or Campbell: “It is well known
that [there is] a knowledge of paradise, of the flood, of the sacred fire, and of
the four ages – from the first or golden age to the last or iron age.” (Warren
136)
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