472. These clothed with the white robes, who are they, and whence came they? signifies respecting those who are now in truths and in the protection of the Lord, of what quality they are and of what they have been. This is evident from the signification of "clothed with the white robes," as being those who are now in truths and in the protection of the Lord (of which above, n. 395, 457); also from the signification of "who are these, and whence came they?" as being of what quality they are and of what they have been. "Who are they and whence came they?" signifies of what quality they are and what they have been, because angels in the spiritual world, when they see and meet others, never inquire who they are and whence they come, but of what quality they are; so this is the spiritual idea signified by these words. Angels inquire only respecting the quality of those they see, because the dwelling places of all in the spiritual world are in accordance with the quality of the affections with them, also because asking "who they are" involves person, and "whence they came" involves place; and in the spiritual thought and consequent spiritual speech of the angels there is no idea of person and of place, but in their stead an idea of the thing and of the state in respect to quality; so, too, everyone there is given a name from his quality. (That angels think abstractedly from person and from place, and that their wisdom is from that, see above, n. 99, 100, 270, 325.) From this it can be seen that "Who are they and whence came they?" signifies in the spiritual sense, of what quality they are and of what they have been; their quality is also described in what follows.