185. 1. From infancy to the end of life, and afterwards to eternity, a person's state of life is continually changing. The general states of a person's life are called infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age. People know that every person who continues to live in the world passes in turn from one age to the next, and so progresses from the first one to the last. A person's passing from one age to another is not apparent until a period of time has intervened; nevertheless, reason sees that the transitions are progressive from moment to moment, thus that they are advancing continually. For the case is similar with a person as with a tree, which from the time the seed is cast into the ground keeps on developing and growing every little instant, even the very briefest. These moment-to-moment progressions are also changes of state, for a later progression adds something to the preceding one which perfects the state.

[2] Changes that take place in a person's inner qualities are more perfectly continuous than those that take place in his outward ones. The reason is that a person's inner qualities - by which we mean those that belong to his mind or spirit - are raised up on a higher level than the outward ones; and in things that are on a higher level, thousands of changes occur in the same moment that only one does in the outer elements. The changes that take place in the inner qualities are changes in the state of the will in respect to its affections, and changes in the state of the intellect in respect to its thoughts. Progressive changes in the state of these affections and thoughts are what are particularly meant under this heading.

[3] Changes in the state of these two life forces or faculties in a person are unceasing, continuing from infancy to the end of his life, and afterwards to eternity; and the reason is that there is no limit to knowledge, even less to intelligence, and still less to wisdom. For there is an infinity and eternity in the range of these, arising from the Infinite and Eternal who is their source. Hence the ancient philosophical tenet, that everything is capable of being divided to infinity; to which should be added that everything is similarly capable of being multiplied. The angels assert that they are perfected in wisdom by the Lord to eternity, which means also to infinity, since eternity is an infinity of time.