4531. About the universal genius of spirits
Even the very worst hellish spirits possess the faculty of understanding truth, so as to completely understand it and to recognize into what state they are let from time to time, and I was surprised. They saw most clearly when told about the evil with them, even to the point of confirmation of heart and mind, but still, after that state had passed, they were the same.
4531. CONCERNING THE UNIVERSAL GENIUS OF SPIRITS.
Even the very worst internal spirits have the faculty of understanding truth, so as to apprehend it perfectly, and they know into what state they are everywhere remitted, at which I wondered. They had the most clear perception when they were conversed with respecting evil, amounting even to strong mental confirmation [ad confirmationem animi et mentis]; but yet they were the same after that state as before.
4531. De universali genio spirituum
Spiritus etiam pessimi infernales habent facultatem intelligendi verum, ita ut prorsus capiant, et cognoscant, in quem statum passim mittuntur, et miratus sum, perceperunt clarissime, cum de malo apud eos dictum, usque ad confirmationem animi et mentis; sed usque post eum statum tales erant.