[2] The warmth which was communicated to me of those who had taken even greater delight in the Word of the Lord and its inner contents which the Lord Himself had taught was more interior. Starting in the breast, it went up from there towards the chin, and also down towards the loins. The warmth of those who have taken still greater delight in it and have been stirred by still greater affection for it was even more inwardly delightful and spring-like. Beginning indeed in the loins it rose upwards towards the breast, and from there it spread by way of the left arm to the hands. I was informed by the angels that this is what actually happens and that when those spirits draw near, such varieties of warmth are felt, though the spirits themselves do not feel them because they are within them, just as infants, children, and young people do not usually feel their own warmth - which they possess in greater measure than adults and elderly persons, because they are within that warmth.

[3] I have also felt the warmth of those who, it is true, have taken delight in the Word but who have not been anxious to have an understanding of it. This warmth was confined to the right arm. As regards such warmth, evil spirits as well are able by their devices to produce a warmth which counterfeits delight and which they can communicate to others. But it is a purely external warmth having no origin in things that are internal. This warmth is such as cools off and becomes something utterly disgusting, as does the warmth of adulterers and that of people who have become engrossed in filthy pleasures.