413. XXI. THAT IT IS THERE PROVIDED BY THE LORD THAT THE INNOCENCE OF INFANCY WITH INFANTS BECOME THE INNOCENCE OF WISDOM. Many may think that infants remain infants and become angels immediately after death. But it is intelligence and wisdom that make an angel, and therefore, so long as infants do not have these, they are indeed with the angels but are not angels. They first become angels when they become intelligent and wise. Thus, infants are led from the innocence of infancy to the innocence of wisdom, that is, from external innocence to internal innocence, the latter being the end in all their instruction and progression. Therefore, when they come to the innocence of wisdom, the innocence of infancy, which meanwhile has served them as a plane, is adjoined to them. I have seen the nature of the innocence of infancy represented by something woody, almost devoid of life. This is vivified as the infant is imbued with knowledges of truth and affections of good. Later, the nature of the innocence of wisdom was represented by a living and naked infant.
Before the eyes of spirits who are below the heavens, angels of the third heaven, who more than others are in a state of innocence from the Lord, appear as naked infants; and being wise above all others, they are also living. The reason is because innocence corresponds to infancy, and also to nakedness. Therefore it is said of Adam and his wife when they were in the state of innocence, that they were naked and were not ashamed; but after they had lost the state of innocence, they were ashamed of their nakedness and hid themselves (Gen. 2:25; 3:7, 10, 11). In a word, the wiser the angels, the more innocent they are. The nature of the innocence of wisdom may be seen in some measure from the innocence of infancy described above (no. 395), if only, instead of parents, the Lord is assumed as the Father by whom they are led and to whom they ascribe all that they have.