28. Afterwards there was sent me by the spirits of Mercury a long paper of an irregular shape, consisting of several papers stuck together, which appeared as if printed with types such as are used on this Earth. I asked whether they had such among them; but they said they had not, but that they knew that there were such printed papers on our Earth. They were not willing to say more; but I perceived that they thought that the knowledges on our Earth were on papers, and not so much within the man himself, thus derisively insinuating that the papers, so to speak, knew more than the man. But they were instructed as to the real state of the case. After some time they returned, and sent me another paper, which also appeared printed with types like unto the former one; not, however, like it, stuck together and untidy, but symmetrically shaped and neat: they said they had been further informed that on this Earth there were such papers, and books made of them. 29. From the facts that have now been stated, it clearly appears, that spirits retain in the memory the things that they see and hear in the other life, and that they are equally capable of being instructed as when they were men in the world, consequently, of being instructed in those things that are of faith, and thereby of being perfected. The more interior spirits and angels are, the more promptly and fully do they imbibe, and the more perfectly do they retain [what they hear], and as this [capacity remains] for ever, it is evident that wisdom is continually growing with them. With the spirits of Mercury, the science of things is continually growing, yet not therefore wisdom, because they love knowledges, which are means, but not uses, which are ends. 30. Furthermore, the character of the genius of the spirits who are from the planet Mercury may still further appear from the following facts. It must be known that all spirits and angels without exception were once men, for the human race is the seminary of heaven; and that spirits are altogether such as to their affections and inclinations as they had been when they lived as men in the world, for every one's life follows him[n]. This being the case, the genius of the men of every earth may be known from the genius of the spirits who are from it. [Footnote n: Every one's life remains with him and follows him after death, nos. 4227, 7440. The externals of life are kept closed after death, and the internals of life are opened, nos. 4314, 5128, 6495. All things in general and particular of thought are then made manifest, nos. 4633, 5128.] 31. Since the spirits of Mercury in the Grand Man have relation to the memory of things abstracted from material things, therefore when any one speaks to them of terrestrial, corporeal, and merely worldly things, they are absolutely unwilling to hear; and if they are forced to hear of those things, they transmute them into others, and for the most part into contrary things, so as to avoid them.