556. In a word, although they live in such simplicity, they are, nevertheless, much wiser than those spirits and souls who want to be learned, for they perceive of themselves what is good; evil they are unwilling even to mention. On two occasions I wanted to say evil, but they were averse to it. I can profess that they are much wiser [than the others]. The particulars in which our people place wisdom, they reject and call worthless, because they say there is nothing of wisdom in them, but they obstruct the way to wisdom. This also is most evident as can be much better perceived by spirits than by man. It is also perceived by the men of our earth who have not become learned from philosophies, terms, particulars, and lowest things, and who cannot but laugh in themselves that any should suppose that they are wise from these things, when such things are as it were dense clouds which overshadow and darken all truly intellectual light. For these things not only conceal and take away the light, but they also blind men, for thence come all doubts which cannot be described, as they are so far distant from the truth. 1748, Jan. 26.