118). This fact that in the
Greatest Man or heaven children are in the province of the eyes is a
proof that they are under the immediate sight and auspices of the
Lord.
334. How children are taught in heaven shall also be briefly told.
From their nurses they learn to talk. Their earliest speech is simply
a sound of affection; this by degrees becomes more distinct as ideas
of thought enter; for ideas of thought from affections constitute all
angelic speech (as may be seen in its own chapter, n. 234-245). Into
their affections, all of which proceed from innocence, such things as
appear before their eyes and cause delight are first instilled; and
as these things are from a spiritual origin the things of heaven at
once flow into them, and by means of these heavenly things their
interiors are opened, and they are thereby daily perfected. But when
this first age is completed they are transferred to another heaven,
where they are taught by masters; and so on.
335. Children are taught chiefly by representatives suited to their
capacity. These are beautiful and full of wisdom from within, beyond
all belief. In this way an intelligence that derives its soul from
good is gradually instilled into them.
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