600. It ought to be known that the conjunction of man with heaven and with hell is not an immediate conjunction with them, but a mediate conjunction by means of spirits who are in the world of spirits. These spirits, and none from hell itself or from heaven itself, are with man. By means of evil spirits in the world of spirits man is conjoined with hell, and by means of good spirits there he is conjoined with heaven. Because of this the world of spirits is intermediate between heaven and hell, and the equilibrium itself is there. (That the world of spirits is intermediate between heaven and hell may be seen in the section on the world of spirits, n. 421-431; and that the equilibrium itself between heaven and hell is there, may be seen in the preceding section, n. 589-596.) From these things now the source of man's freedom is evident.