2904. Spiritual minds are human beings
The body does not make the human being, but the mind, namely the understanding of truth, and the will for good, which belong to the Lord Alone. To the extent, therefore, that they have [these] from the Lord, to that extent they are human beings. A certain spirit upon hearing these words wanted to say that he still has the ability to reason, and that thereby evil spirits too are human beings and not brutes.
But in thought they were answered that the very ability is the life of the Lord that is poured into them, for without that ability as a gift, they cannot think, and so would perish like the brutes. But the fact that they think falsities and do evils does not belong to the ability, but to them, as when light penetrates a disordered body. 1748, 23 Aug.
2904. THAT SPIRITUAL MINDS ARE MEN. [THAT MEN ARE SPIRITUAL MINDS.]
The body does not constitute the man, but his mind [does]: to wit the understanding of the true, and the will of the good, which belong to the Lord alone: so far therefore as they are [these] from the Lord, so far they are men. A certain spirit, when he heard these things, wished to say, that still they have the reasoning faculty, and that hence evil spirits are also men and not brutes: but it was replied to them in thought, that that faculty is the life of the Lord, which is infused into them, for unless they are endowed with this faculty, they cannot think, thus would perish like brutes: but that the thinking falses and doing evils does not belong to [that] faculty, but to themselves - like as when light penetrates an irregular [inordinatum] body. - 1748, August 23.
2904. Quod mentes spirituales sint homines
Corpus non constituit hominem, sed mens ejus, nempe intellectus veri, et voluntas boni, quae sunt Solius Domini, quantum itaque a Domino habent, tantum sunt homines: quidam spiritus cum haec audivit, voluit dicere, quod usque facultatem habeat ratiocinandi, et quod inde quoque mali spiritus sint homines, non bruta; sed in cogitatione responsum eis {a}, quod facultas illa, sit vita Domini, quae eis infunditur, nam absque facultate illa donata iis non possunt cogitare, sic perirent sicut bruta, sed quod falsa cogitent, et mala agant, id non est facultatis, sed est eorum, sicut dum lux penetrat corpus inordinatum. 1748, 23 Aug.