203. [205] It was said by angels that there can be no such thing as faith alone. Spirits who, in the world, had been in faith alone, being indignant at this, came running up from every direction to where the angelic spirits were, and inquired, "Is there no such a thing as faith alone?" In this manner they ran to ten or fifteen places, and everywhere received the answer, that there is no such thing, because faith without love is mere knowledge, and their faith the mere knowledge of falsity; and if they wish to call mere knowledge faith, because they have persuaded themselves in it, although they do not understand whether it is so, [their belief] is nothing but persuasion because it is so said, and is scarcely different from the belief that corpses and bones and men's graves are holy, when yet they are stercoraceous and signify damnation and hell. When they heard this they ran on and inquired what love was, whether it was not faith alone. Angelic spirits thought them insane, and still more when they said that works were faith, which is as if they had said that thinking was doing. They ran on still further and said, "Is not faith thus a nonentity?" They received the answer that faith separate from charity is a nonentity, because faith is called faith from charity which is its soul; and faith separate from charity is just such an entity as is the body without the soul.