331. The state of little children in the other life far surpasses their state in the world, for they are not clothed with an earthly body, but with one like that of an angel. The earthly body is in itself gross, and receives its first sensations and motions not from the inner or spiritual world, but from the outer or natural world. In consequence, little children in this world must be taught to walk, to make gestures and to speak; and even their senses, as seeing and hearing, must be opened by use. It is different with little children in the other life. As they are spirits, they act at once in accordance with their interiors, walking without practice, and also talking, though at first from general affections not yet distinguished into ideas of thoughts; but they are quickly initiated into these also, for the reason that their exteriors are homogeneous with their interiors. The speech of angels (as may be seen above, 234-245) so flows forth from affections modified by ideas of thought that their speech completely conforms to their thoughts from affection.
