Take as an example the animals of the earth, and also the creatures of the sky, the birds. They know everything needed by their loves. These loves are: to feed themselves, to find a safe place to live, to reproduce, to bring up their young, in some cases to build up a store for the winter. They have therefore all the knowledge they need, since this is contained in these loves and is imparted to them, as if to receptors designed for the purpose. In the case of certain animals this knowledge is such as to cause us profound astonishment. Their knowledge is inborn, and we call it instinct, but it belongs to the natural love which is theirs.

[2] If man possessed his proper love, love to God and towards the neighbour (this is man's proper love, a heavenly love distinguishing him from the beasts), then man would have not only all the knowledge he needs, but also all intelligence and wisdom; for these flow into those loves from heaven, that is, from the Deity by way of heaven. But because man does not acquire those loves by birth, but their opposites, self-love and the love of the world, he cannot help acquiring by birth all ignorance and lack of knowledge. Yet by Divine means he is led towards some degree of intelligence and wisdom, though he does not actually acquire any, unless self-love and the love of the world are taken away, thus opening the way to love to God and towards the neighbour.

[3] Love to God and love towards the neighbour contain in themselves all intelligence and wisdom, as may be proved by those who possessed those loves in the world. On coming after death into heaven they have there such knowledge and wisdom as they were previously quite unaware of. In fact, they think and talk there like the rest of the angels, saying ineffable things, which their ears had never heard nor their minds known. The reason is that these loves possess the ability to receive such things into themselves.