About this subject I have just now also spoken, that is, that there are four grades of faith [see 2474], namely faith by knowledge, when I know matters of faith only by learning, holding them in the memory, and by memory telling and preaching them to others, or for the sake of honor because I know them, that I am learned, accruing merit in society. Thus it is a matter of memory that the person calls faith but does not believe, not in the least. Such are evil pastors and preachers. The second grade is faith by understanding or intellectual faith, when I am convinced mentally, either by the coherence of the material, or by much that is confirmatory, whether this be things in nature or spiritual ones, so that I am mentally convinced. But still it is cast back into the memory, because it does not make an appearance in life so that one lives according to those things-except when this arouses respect for oneself, reputation, and the like. So it is only a crust, of which little if any part is joined to the nucleus, or affection. The third grade is the first conviction, namely, when one is convinced from the Lord that things are as [stated in the Word]: then as often as one is warned that a thing is so, one endeavors to change one's way of living, and thus, conscience dictating, one lives according to faith. The fourth grade is conviction, when we cannot live differently than we believe, realizing now that we are being led by the Lord; so this conviction is joined with the inner sight spoken of earlier [897-902, 1405-9]. 1748, 27 Aug.