203. We speak of children getting from their parents the principle of the marriage of good and truth, because this is placed in each person's soul from creation. For this is what flows into a person from the Lord and allows him to live as a human being. But this principle of marriage carries over into the levels which follow from the soul down to the lowest bodily level. But on the way it is changed in many ways at both these levels by the person himself, sometimes becoming its opposite; this is called the principle of the marriage or pairing of evil and falsity. When this happens the mind is shut off from underneath, and sometimes is twisted in a spiral so as to point the other way. Sometimes there is no shutting off, but it remains half-open above, and in some cases fully open. It is these two principles of marriage which give children the inclinations coming from their parents; but it is different for sons and daughters. The reason this is the result of the principle of marriage is that conjugial love is the foundation of all loves, as was proved above (65).