414. I have had various conversations with angels about innocence. They said that innocence is the esse of every good, and that good is good in the measure that innocence is within it; also, that since wisdom pertains to life and thus to good, it is wisdom so far as it partakes of innocence, the same being true of love, charity, and faith; and furthermore, that it is for this reason that no one can enter heaven unless he has innocence, this being what is meant by the Lord's words:
Suffer infants to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of the heavens. Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of the heavens as an infant shall not enter therein. Mark 10:14, 15; Luke 18:16, 17. Here, as also in other places in the Word, by infants are meant those who are in innocence. The reason why good is good according to the measure of the innocence within it, is because all good is from the Lord, and innocence consists in being led by the Lord.
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