364. To clarify ideas about the distinction between zeal in the good and in the wicked and the difference between them, one needs to form some notion about the inner and outer levels in people. For this purpose we may take a popular example, since it is intended for ordinary people too. Let us take a nut or an almond and the kernels in them. The inner levels in the case of the good are like nuts with their kernels inside completely sound and good, surrounded by their usual, natural shell. It is quite different in the case of the wicked: their inner levels are like kernels which are too bitter to eat, or rotten and worm-eaten, while their outer levels resemble the shells or carapaces which look either natural, or reddish like shells, or coloured like iridescent gems. That is their outward appearance, concealing within the inner levels just described. It is much the same with their two kinds of zeal.