21. Affection itself, which belongs to love, is from the father, and this is also a man's very life or soul. The covering, however, is from the mother. Hence it is clear what was the quality of the Lord as to his Soul or Life, that He was the Divine Love. And this cannot exist together with the covering from the mother without His casting it off by stages; for the mother was born into sins, as is every human being. This was the infirm [nature] which He assumed so that He might allow Himself to be tempted, and set in order [everything] in the heavens and in the hells. When this was cast off, He united the Human to the Divine, or glorified the Human. It may be known that according to the quality of a man's affection which belongs to love, such is the man. Everyone bases his estimate of another on that.