4316. CONCERNING SPEECH. There was an evil spirit, who, when he said anything good, could only do it in so low a voice, that it scarcely seemed to be speaking at all. The cause was stated to me, viz., that he thought concerning good, and said that he wished to be good, but because such was not his quality, he could not speak distinctly. When one thinks concerning anything that does not agree with his nature, he has not the power of clear utterance. If he speaks at all it is as if he were absent, or at a distance, and the angels perceive just how far distant. Wherefore speech is of the mind or nature; but if they do not think, then they can speak so as to be plainly heard; in that case, however, it is not from the heart or the nature, but only from the mouth. - 1749, July 1.