29. What I have said so far proves clearly that spirits retain in their memory what they see and hear in the next life, and that they can be taught just as much as when they were human beings in the world; and this applies equally to matters of faith, so that they can become more perfect. The more inward spirits and angels are, the more readily and fully they absorb what they learn and the more exactly they retain it. Since this process continues for ever, it is evident that their wisdom continually increases. In the case of the spirits from Mercury their knowledge of facts continually increases, but this does not cause an increase of wisdom, because they love knowledge, which is a means, rather than the purposes to which it should be put, which are the ends it serves.