d governs in hell those in the world
who are evil._ This is for the reason that the human being as to his
spirit is in the spiritual world and in some society there, in an
infernal society if he is evil, in a heavenly one if he is good. For his
mind, which in itself is spiritual, cannot be anywhere but among
spiritual beings, of whom he becomes one after death. This has also been
stated and demonstrated above. A man is not there, however, in the same
way as a spirit is who has been assigned to the society, for man is
constantly in a state to be reformed, and therefore, if he is evil, is
transferred by the Lord from one infernal society to another according to
his life and the changes in it. But if he permits himself to be reformed,
he is led out of hell and elevated to heaven, and there, too, he is
carried from one society to another until his death, after which this
does not take place as he is then no longer in a state to be reformed,
but remains in the state which is his from his life. When a person dies,
therefore, he is assigned his place.

[3] Thirdly, _the Lord governs the evil who are in the world in this way
as to their interiors, but in another way as to their exteriors._ The
Lord governs the interiors of man's mind in the manner just stated, but
governs the exteriors in the world of spirits, which is between heaven
and hell. The reason is that commonly man is different in externals from
what he is in internals. He can feign outwardly to be an angel of light
and yet inwardly be a spirit of darkness. His external is therefore
governed in one way, and his internal in another; as long as he is in the
world, his external is governed in the world of spirits, and his internal
in either heaven or hell. On death one also enters the world of spirits
first, therefore, and comes into his external, which he puts off there;
having put it off, he is conducted to the place assigned as his. What the
world of spirits is and its nature may be seen in the work _Heaven and
Hell,_ published at London in 1758, nn. 421-535.

XVI. DIVINE PROVIDENCE APPROPRIATES NEITHER EVIL NOR GOOD TO ANYONE, BUT
ONE'S OWN PRUDENCE APPROPRIATES BOTH

308. Almost everyone believes that man thinks and wills, hence speaks and
acts, from himself. Who of himself can believe otherwise? For the
appearance that he does is so strong that it differs not at all from
actually thinking, willing, speaking and acting from oneself, which is
impossible. In _Angeli