394. VII. THIS SPHERE IS ALSO A SPHERE OF INNOCENCE AND PEACE (FROM THE LORD). Innocence and peace are the two inmost principles of heaven; they are called inmost principles, because they proceed immediately from the Lord: for the Lord is innocence itself and peace itself. From innocence the Lord is called a Lamb, and from peace he saith, "Peace I leave you; my peace I give you," John xiv. 27; and he is also meant by the peace with which the disciples were to salute a city or house which they entered; and of which it is said, that if it was worthy, peace would come upon it, and if not worthy, peace would return, Matt. x. 11-15. Hence also the Lord is called the Prince of peace, Isaiah ix. 5, 6. A further reason why innocence and peace are the inmost principles of heaven, is, because innocence is the esse of every good, and peace is the blessed principle of every delight which is of good. See the work on HEAVEN AND HELL, as to the state of innocence of the angels of heaven, n. 276-283; and as to peace in heaven, n. 284-290.
395. VIII. THE SPHERE OF INNOCENCE FLOWS INTO INFANTS, AND THROUGH THEM INTO THE PARENTS, AND AFFECTS THEM. It is well known that infants are innocences; but it is not known that their innocence flows in from the Lord. It flows in from the Lord, because, as was said just above, he is innocence itself; neither can any thing flow in, since it cannot exist except from its first principle, which is IT itself. But we will briefly describe the nature and quality of the innocence of infants, which affects parents: it shines forth from their face, from some of their gestures, and from their first speech, and affects them. They have innocence, because they do not think from any interior principle; for they do not as yet know what is good and evil, and what is true and false, as the ground of their thoughts; in consequence of which they have not a prudence originating in selfhood, nor any deliberate purpose; of course they do not regard any evil as an end. They are free from selfhood acquired from self-love and the love of the world; they do not attribute any thing to themselves; they refer to their parents whatever they receive; content with the trifles which are given them as presents, they have no care about food and raiment, or about the future; they do not look to the world, and immerse themselves thereby in the desire of many things; they love their parents, their nurses, and their infant companions, with whom they play in innocence; they suffer themselves to be guided, they harken and obey. This is the innocence of infancy, which is the cause of the love called storge.
396. IX. IT ALSO FLOWS IN TO THE SOULS OF THE PARENTS, AND UNITES WITH THE SAME SPHERE (AS OPERATIVE) WITH THE INFANTS, AND IT IS PRINCIPALLY INSINUATED BY MEANS OF THE TOUCH. The Lord's innocence flows into the angels of the third heaven, where all are in the innocence of wisdom, and passes through the inferior heavens, but only through the innocences of the angels therein, and thus immediately and mediately flows into infants. These differ but little from graven forms; but still they are receptible of life from the Lord through the heavens. Yet, unless the parents also received that influx in their souls, and in the inmost principles of their minds, they would in vain be affected by the innocence of the infants. There must be something adequate and similar in another, whereby communication may be effected, and which may cause reception, affection, and thence conjunction; otherwise it would be like soft seed falling upon a stone, or a lamb exposed to a wolf. From this ground then it is, that innocence flowing into the souls of the parents, unites with the innocence of the infants. Experience may shew that, with the parents, this conjunction is effected by the mediation of the bodily senses, but especially by the touch: as that the sight is intimately delighted by seeing them, the hearing by their speech, the smelling by their odor. That the communication and therefore the conjunction of innocence is principally effected by the touch, is evident from the satisfaction of carrying them in the arms, from fondling and kissing them, especially in the case of mothers, who are delighted in laying their mouth and face upon their bosoms, and at the same time in touching the same with the palms of their hands, in general, in giving them milk by suckling them at the breasts, moreover, in stroking their naked body, and the unwearied pains they take in washing and dressing them on their laps. That the communications of love and its delights between married partners are effected by the sense of the touch has been occasionally proved above. The reason why communications of the mind are also effected by the same sense is, because the hands are a man's ultimates, and his first principles are together in the ultimates, whereby also all things of the body and of the mind are kept together in an inseparable connection. Hence it is, that Jesus touched infants, Matt, xviii. 2-6; Mark x. 13-16; and that he healed the sick by the touch: and that those who touched him were healed: hence also it is, that inaugurations into the priesthood are at this day effected by the laying on of hands. From these considerations it is evident, that the innocence of parents and the innocence of infants meet each other by the touch, especially of the hands, and thereby join themselves together as by kisses.
397. That innocence produces similar effects with beasts and birds as with men, and that by contact, is well known: the reason of this is, because all that proceeds from the Lord, in an instant pervades the universe, as may be seen above, n. [388-390]; and as it proceeds by degrees, and by continual mediations, therefore it passes not only to animals, but also to vegetables and minerals; see n. [389]; it also passes into the earth itself, which is the mother of all vegetables and minerals; for the earth, in the spring, is in a prepared state for the reception of seeds, as it were in the womb; and when it receives them, it, as it were, conceives, cherishes them, bears, excludes, suckles, nourishes, clothes, educates, guards, and, as it were, loves the offspring derived from them, and so forth. Since the sphere of procreation proceeds thus far, how much more must it proceed to animals of every kind, even to worms! That as the earth is the common mother of vegetables, so there is also a common mother of bees in every hive, is a well known tact, confirmed by observation.
398. X. IN THE DEGREE IN WHICH INNOCENCE RETIRES FROM INFANTS, AFFECTION AND CONJUNCTION ALSO ABATE, AND THIS SUCCESSIVELY EVEN TO SEPARATION. It is well known that the love of infants, or storge, retires from parents according as innocence retires from them; and that, in the case of men, it retires even to the separation of children from home, and in the case of beasts and birds, to a rejection from their presence, and a total forgetfulness of relationship. From this circumstance, as an established fact, it may further appear, that innocence flowing in on each side produces the love called storge.
399. XI. A STATE OF RATIONAL INNOCENCE AND PEACE WITH PARENTS TOWARDS INFANTS, IS GROUNDED IN THE CIRCUMSTANCE, THAT THEY KNOW NOTHING AND CAN DO NOTHING FROM THEMSELVES, BUT FROM OTHERS, ESPECIALLY FROM THE FATHER AND MOTHER; AND THIS STATE SUCCESSIVELY RETIRES, IN PROPORTION AS THEY KNOW AND HAVE ABILITY FROM THEMSELVES, AND NOT FROM OTHERS. That the sphere of the love of infants is a sphere of protection and support of those who cannot protect and support themselves, was shewn above in its proper article, n. [391]: that this is only a rational cause with men, but not the very essential cause of that love prevailing with them, was also mentioned in the same article. The real original cause of that love is innocence from the Lord, which flows in while the man is ignorant of it, and produces the above rational cause; therefore as the first cause produces a retiring from that love, so also does the second cause at the same time; or what is the same, as the communication of innocence retires, so also the persuading reason accompanies it; but this is the case only with man to the intent that he may do what he does from freedom according to reason, and from this, as from a rational and at the same time a moral law, may support his adult offspring according to the requirements of necessity and usefulness. This second cause does not influence animals who are without reason, they being affected only by the prior cause, which to them is instinct.