When a spirit, especially a newly arrived soul, is speaking, and the Lord allows one to recognize what he is like in general, then it can be heard from the sound of his words, or of his speaking, of what quality he is. One perceives whether the speech is closed, or open, or something else. From the speaking, therefore, it can be known, especially by angels, what he or she is like. The nature of this mental image that enables recognition cannot possibly be described, because this kind of deep knowledge is not granted to people on earth. But it can be compared with the recognition of dispositions from the facial expression, as when a person has a happy expression, it is usually apparent to the wise what kind of happiness it is, and where it comes from-whether there is pretense behind it, or something cunning, or cheerfulness by nature, or bashfulness, friendliness, or insanity, and such things. But still, this is only a comparison.