322. Among the gentiles, as among Christians, there are both wise and simple. That I might learn about them I have been permitted to speak with both, sometimes for hours and days. But there are no such wise men now as in ancient times, especially in the Ancient Church, which extended over a large part of the Asiatic world, and from which religion spread to many nations. That I might wholly know about them I have been permitted to have familiar conversation with some of these wise men. There was with me a certain one who was among the wiser of his time, and consequently well known in the learned world, with whom I talked on various subjects, and had reason to believe that he was Cicero. Knowing that he was a wise man I talked with him about wisdom, intelligence, order, and the Word, and lastly about the Lord. [2] Of wisdom he said that there is no other wisdom than the wisdom of life, and that wisdom cannot be predicated of anything else; of intelligence that it is from wisdom; of order, that it is from the Supreme God, and that to live in that order is to be wise and intelligent. As to the Word, when I read to him something from the prophets, he was greatly delighted, especially with this, that every name and every word signified interior things; and he wondered greatly that learned men at this day are not delighted with such study. I saw plainly that the interiors of his thought or mind had been opened. He said that he was unable to approach, as he perceived something more holy than he could bear, being affected so interiorly. [3] At length I spoke with him about the Lord, saying that while He was born a man He was conceived of God, and that He put off the maternal human and put on the Divine Human, and that it is He who rules the universe. To this he replied that he knew many things concerning the Lord, and perceived in his way that if mankind were to be saved it could not have been done otherwise. In the meantime certain evil Christians infused various stumbling-blocks; but to these he gave no attention, remarking that this was not strange, since in the life of the body they had imbibed unbecoming ideas on the subject, and until they got rid of these they could not admit such ideas as confirmed the truth, as the ignorant can.