422. (18) Love purified by wisdom in the intellect becomes spiritual and celestial. A person is born natural, but as his intellect is elevated into the light of heaven, and his love is elevated together with it into the warmth of heaven, he becomes spiritual and celestial. He then becomes as though a garden of Eden, in the enjoyment of a springlike light and at the same time a springlike warmth. The intellect does not become spiritual and celestial, but the love does, and when the love does, it makes the intellect, its partner, spiritual and celestial also. Love becomes spiritual and celestial by a life in accordance with the truths of wisdom that the intellect teaches and shows it. Love learns these through its intellect, and not on its own. The fact is that love cannot elevate itself unless it knows truths, and it can know these only through an intellect that has been elevated and enlightened. In the measure that it then comes to love truths by putting them into practice, in the same measure the love, too, is elevated. For it is one thing to understand and another to will, or one thing to speak and another to do. There are people who understand and utter truths of wisdom, and yet do not will them and put them into practice. It is consequently when love puts into practice the truths of light which it understands and utters that it is then elevated. [2] One can see the reality of this in the light of reason alone. For what is a person who understands and utters truths of wisdom while living contrary to them, that is, while willing and behaving contrary to them? Love purified by wisdom becomes spiritual and celestial for the reason that a person has in him three degrees of life, called natural, spiritual and celestial (as discussed in Part Three of this work), and a person can be elevated from one degree into another. Yet he is not elevated by wisdom alone, but by a life in accordance with it, for a person's life is his love. Consequently, to the extent that a person lives in accordance with wisdom, to the same extent he loves it; and he lives in accordance with wisdom to the extent that he purifies himself of pollutions, which are sins. To the extent, then, that he does this, to the same extent he loves wisdom.