ON LOVE TRULY CONJUGIAL, n. [57-73].
There exists a love truly conjugial, which at this day is so rare, that it is not known what is its quality, and scarcely that it exists, n. 58, 59. This love originates in the marriage of good and truth, n. 60, 61. There is a correspondence of this love with the marriage of the Lord and the church, n. 62, 63. This love, from its origin and correspondence, is celestial, spiritual, holy, pure, and clean, above every other love imparted by the Lord to the angels of heaven and the men of the church, n. 64. It is also the foundation love of all celestial and spiritual loves, and thence of all natural loves, n. 65-67. Into this love are collected all joys and delights from first to last, n. 68, 69. None, however, come into this love, and can remain in it, but those who approach the Lord, and love the truths of the church, and practise its goods, n. 70-72. This love was the love of loves with the ancients, who lived in the golden, silver, and copper ages, n. 73.
ON THE ORIGIN OF CONJUGIAL LOVE AS GROUNDED IN THE MARRIAGE OF GOOD AND TRUTH, n. [83-102].
Good and truth are the universals of creation, and thence are in all created things; but they are in created subjects according to the form of each, n. 84-86. There is neither solitary good nor solitary truth; but in all cases they are conjoined, n. 87. There is the truth of good, and from this the good of truth; or truth grounded in good, and good grounded in that truth; and in those two principles is implanted from creation an inclination to join themselves together into a one, n. 88, 89. In the subjects of the animal kingdom, the truth of good, or truth grounded in good, is male (or masculine); and the good of that truth, or good grounded in that truth, is female (or feminine), n. 90, 91. From the influx of the marriage of good and truth from the Lord, the love of the sex and conjugial love are derived, n. 92, 93. The love of the sex belongs to the external or natural man; and hence it is common to every animal, n. 94. But conjugial love belongs to the internal or spiritual man; and hence this love is peculiar to man, n. 95, 96. With man conjugial love is in the love of the sex as a gem in its matrix, n. 97. The love of the sex with man is not the origin of conjugial love, but its first rudiment; thus it is like an external natural principle, in which an internal spiritual principle is implanted, n. 98. During the implantation of conjugial love, the love of the sex inverts itself, and becomes the chaste love of the sex, n. 99. The male and the female were created to be the essential form of the marriage of good and truth, n. 100. Married partners are that form in their inmost principles, and thence in what is derived from those principles, in proportion as the interiors of their minds are opened, n. 101, 102.
ON THE MARRIAGE OF THE LORD AND THE CHURCH, AND ITS CORRESPONDENCE, n. [116-131].
The Lord in the Word is called the Bridegroom and Husband, and the church the bride and wife; and the conjunction of the Lord with the church, and the reciprocal conjunction of the church with the Lord, is called a marriage, n. 117. The Lord is also called a Father, and the church, a mother, n. 118, 119. The offspring derived from the Lord as a husband and father, and from the church as a wife and mother, are all spiritual; and in the spiritual sense of the Word are understood by sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, and by other names of relations, n. 120. The spiritual offspring which are born from the Lord's marriage with the church, are truths and goods; truths, from which are derived understanding, perception, and all thought; and goods, from which are derived love, charity, and all affection, n. 121. From the marriage of good and truth, which proceeds from the Lord in the way of influx, man receives truth, and the Lord conjoins good thereto; and thus the church is formed by the Lord with man, n. 122-124. The husband does not represent the Lord, and the wife the church; because both together, the husband and the wife, constitute the church, n. 125. Therefore there is not a correspondence of the husband with the Lord, and of the wife with the church, in the marriages of the angels in the heavens, and of men on earth, n. 126. But there is a correspondence with conjugial love, semination, prolification, the love of infants, and similar things which exist in marriages and are derived from them, n. 127. The Word is the medium of conjunction, because it is from the Lord, and thereby is the Lord, n. 128. The church is from the Lord, and exists with those who come to him and live according to his precepts, n. 129. Conjugial love is according to the state of the church, because it is according to the state of wisdom with man, n. 130. And as the church is from the Lord, conjugial love is also from him, n. 131.
ON THE CHASTE PRINCIPLE AND THE NON-CHASTE, n. [138-156].
The chaste principle and the non-chaste are predicated only of marriages and of such things as relate to marriages, n. 139, 140. The chaste principle is predicated only of monogamical marriages, or of the marriage of one man with one wife, n. 141. The Christian conjugial principle alone is chaste, n. 142. Love truly conjugial is essential chastity, n. 143. All the delights of love truly conjugial, even the ultimate, are chaste, n. 144. With those who are made spiritual by the Lord, conjugial love is more and more purified and rendered chaste, n. 145, 146. The chastity of marriage exists by a total renunciation of whoredoms from a principle of religion, n. 147-149. Chastity cannot be predicated of infants, or of boys and girls, or of young men and maidens before they feel in themselves a love of the sex, n. 150. Chastity cannot be predicated of eunuchs so made, n. 151. Chastity cannot be predicated of those who do not believe adulteries to be evils in regard to religion; and still less of those who do not believe them to be hurtful to society, n. 152. Chastity cannot be predicated of those who abstain from adulteries only for various external reasons, n. 153. Chastity cannot be predicated of those who believe marriages to be unchaste, n. 154. Chastity cannot be predicated of those who have renounced marriage by vows of perpetual celibacy, unless there be and remain in them the love of a life truly conjugial, n. 155. A state of marriage is to be preferred to a state of celibacy, n. 156.
ON THE CONJUNCTION OF SOULS AND MINDS BY MARRIAGE, WHICH IS MEANT BY THE LORD'S WORDS,—THEY ARE NO LONGER TWO BUT ONE FLESH, n. [156*-181].
From creation there is implanted in each sex a faculty and inclination, whereby they are able and willing to be joined together as it were into a one, n. 157. Conjugial love conjoins two souls, and thence two minds, into a one, n. 158. The will of the wife conjoins itself with the understanding of the man, and thence the understanding of the man with the will of the wife, n. 159. The inclination to unite the man to herself is constant and perpetual with the wife, but inconstant and alternate with the man, n. 160. Conjunction is inspired into the man from the wife according to her love, and is received by the man according to his wisdom, n. 161. This conjunction is effected successively from the first days of marriage; and with those who are principled in love truly conjugial, it is effected more and more thoroughly to eternity, n. 162. The conjunction of the wife with the rational wisdom of the husband is effected from within, but with his moral wisdom from without, n. 163-165. For the sake of this conjunction as an end, the wife has a perception of the affections of her husband, and also the utmost prudence in moderating them, n. 166. Wives conceal this perception with themselves, and hide it from their husbands for reasons of necessity, in order that conjugial love, friendship, and confidence, and thereby the blessedness of dwelling together, and the happiness of life may be secured, n. 167. This perception is the wisdom of the wife, and is not communicable to the man; neither is the rational wisdom of the man communicable to the wife, n. 168. The wife from a principle of love is continually thinking about the man's inclination to her, with the purpose of joining him to herself; it is otherwise with the man, n. 169. The wife conjoins herself to the man by applications to the desires of his will, n. 170. The wife is conjoined to her husband by the sphere of her life flowing from the love of him, n. 171. The wife is conjoined to the husband by the appropriation of the powers of his virtue; which however is effected according to their mutual spiritual love, n. 172. Thus the wife receives in herself the image of her husband, and thence perceives, sees, and is sensible of his affections, n. 173. There are duties proper to the husband, and others proper to the wife; and the wife cannot enter into the duties proper to the husband, nor the husband into the duties proper to the wife, so as to perform them aright, n. 174, 175. These duties also, according to mutual aid, conjoin the two into a one, and at the same time constitute one house, n. 176. Married partners, according to these conjunctions, become one man more and more, n. 177. Those who are principled in love truly conjugial, are sensible of their being a united man, as it were one flesh, n. 178. Love truly conjugial, considered in itself, is a union of souls, a conjunction of minds, and an endeavour towards conjunction in the bosoms, and thence in the body, n. 179. The states of this love are innocence, peace, tranquillity, inmost friendship, full confidence, and a mutual desire of mind and heart to do every good to each other; and the states derived from these are blessedness, satisfaction, delight, and pleasure; and from the eternal enjoyment of these is derived heavenly felicity, n. 180. These things can only exist in the marriage of one man with one wife, n. 181.