154. XII. CHASTITY CANNOT BE PREDICATED OF THOSE WHO BELIEVE MARRIAGES TO BE UNCHASTE. These, like the persons spoken of just above, n. [152], do not know either what chastity is, or even that it exists; and in this respect they are like those who make chastity to consist merely in celibacy, of whom we shall speak presently.
155. XIII. 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. The reason why chastity cannot be predicated of these, is, because after a vow of perpetual celibacy, conjugial love is renounced; and yet it is of this love alone that chastity can be predicated: nevertheless there still remains an inclination to the sex implanted from creation, and consequently innate by birth; and when this inclination is restrained and subdued, it must needs pass away into heat, and in some cases into a violent burning, which, in rising from the body into the spirit, infests it, and with some persons defiles it; and there may be instances where the spirit thus defiled may defile also the principles of religion, casting them down from their internal abode, where they are in holiness, into things external, where they become mere matters of talk and gesture; therefore it was provided by the Lord, that celibacy should have place only with those who are in external worship, as is the case with all who do not address themselves to the Lord, or read the Word. With such, eternal life is not so much endangered by vows of celibacy attended with engagements to chastity, as it is with those who are principled in internal worship: moreover, in many instances that state of life is not entered upon from any freedom of the will, many being engaged therein before they attain to freedom grounded in reason, and some in consequence of alluring worldly motives. Of those who adopt that state with a view to have their minds disengaged from the world, that they may be more at leisure to apply themselves to divine things, those only are chaste with whom the love of a life truly conjugial either preceded that state or followed it, and with whom it remains; for the love of a life truly conjugial is that alone of which chastity is predicated. Wherefore also, after death, all who have lived in monasteries are at length freed from their vows and set at liberty, that, according to the interior vows and desires of their love, they may be led to choose a life either conjugial or extra-conjugial: if in such case they enter into conjugial life, those who have loved also the spiritual things of divine worship are given in marriage in heaven; but those who enter into extra-conjugial life are sent to their like, who dwell on the confines of heaven. I have inquired of the angels, whether those who have devoted themselves to works of piety, and given themselves up entirely to divine worship, and who thus have withdrawn themselves from the snares of the world and the concupiscences of the flesh, and with this view have vowed perpetual virginity, are received into heaven, and there admitted among the blessed to enjoy an especial portion of happiness according to their faith. To this the angels replied, that such are indeed received into heaven; but when they are made sensible of the sphere of conjugial love there, they become sad and fretful, and then, some of their own accord, some by asking leave, and some from being commanded, depart and are dismissed, and when they are out of that heaven, a way is opened for them to their consociates, who had been in a similar state of life in the world; and then from being fretful they become cheerful, and rejoice together.
156. XIV. A STATE OF MARRIAGE IS TO BE PREFERRED TO A STATE OF CELIBACY. This is evident from what has been said above respecting marriage and celibacy. A state of marriage is to be preferred because it is a state ordained from creation; because it originates in the marriage of good and truth; because it corresponds with the marriage of the Lord and the church; because the church and conjugial love are constant companions; because its use is more excellent than all the other uses of the things of creation, for thence according to order is derived the increase of the human race, and also of the angelic heaven, which is formed from the human race: moreover, marriage constitutes the completeness of a man (homo); for by it he becomes a complete man, as will be shewn in the following chapter. All these things are wanting in celibacy. But if the proposition be taken for granted, that a state of celibacy is preferable to a state of marriage, and if this proposition be left to the mind's examination, to be assented to and established by confirming proofs, then the conclusion must be, that marriages are not holy, neither can they be chaste; yea, that chastity in the female sex belongs only to those, who abstain from marriage and vow perpetual virginity: and moreover, that those who have vowed perpetual celibacy are understood by the eunuchs who make themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake, Matt. xix. 12; not to mention other conclusions of a like nature; which, being grounded in a proposition that is not true, are also not true. The eunuchs who make themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake, are spiritual eunuchs, who are such as in marriages abstain from the evils of whoredoms: that Italian eunuchs are not meant, is evident.
[Transcriber's Note: The out-of-order section numbers which follow are in the original text, as are the asterisks which do not seem to indicate footnotes.]
151.* To the above I shall add TWO MEMORABLE RELATIONS. FIRST. As I was going home from the school of wisdom (concerning which, see above, n. [132]), I saw in the way an angel dressed in blue. He joined me and walked by my side, and said, "I see that you are come from the school of wisdom, and are made glad by what you heard there; and as I perceive that you are not a full inhabitant of this world, because you are at the same time in the natural world, and therefore know nothing of our Olympic gymnasia, where the ancient sophi meet together, and by the information they collect from every new comer, learn what changes and successions wisdom has undergone and is still undergoing in your world; if you are willing I will conduct you to the place where several of those ancient sophi and their sons, that is, their disciples, dwell." So he led me to the confines between the north and east; and while I was looking that way from a rising ground, lo! I saw a city, and on one side of it two small hills; that which was nearer to the city being lower than the other. "That city," said he, "is called Athens, the lower hill Parnassus, and the higher Helicon. They are so called, because in the city and around it dwell the wise men who formerly lived in Greece, as Pythagoras, Socrates, Aristippus, Xenophon, with their disciples and scholars." On my asking him concerning Plato and Aristotle, he said, "They and their followers dwell in another region, because they taught principles of rationality which relate to the understanding; whereas the former taught morality which relates to the life." He further informed me, that it was customary at times to depute from the city of Athens some of the students to learn from the literati of the Christians, what sentiments they entertain at this day respecting God, the creation of the universe, the immortality of the soul, the relative state of men and beasts, and other subjects of interior wisdom: and he added, that a herald had that day announced an assembly, which was a token that the emissaries had met with some strangers newly arrived from the earth, who had communicated some curious information. We then saw several persons going from the city and its suburbs, some having their heads decked with wreaths of laurel, some holding palms in their hands, some with books under their arms, and some with pens under the hair of the left temple. We mixed with the company, and ascended the hill with them; and lo! on the top was an octagonal palace, which they called the Palladium, into which we entered; within there were eight hexangular recesses, in each of which was a book-case and a table: at these recesses were seated the laureled sophi, and in the Palladium itself there were seats cut out of the rock, on which the rest were seated. A door on the left was then opened, through which the two strangers newly arrived from the earth were introduced; and after the compliments of salutation were paid, one of the laureled sophi asked them, "WHAT NEWS FROM THE EARTH?" They replied, "This is news, that in forests there have been found men like beasts, or beasts like men: from their face and body they were known to have been born men, and to have been lost or left in the forests when they were two or three years old; they were not able to give utterance to any thought, nor could they learn to articulate the voice into any distinct expression; neither did they know the food suitable for them as the beasts do, but put greedily into their mouths whatever they found in the forest, whether it was clean or unclean; besides many other particulars of a like nature: from which some of the learned among us have formed several conjectures and conclusions concerning the relative state of men and beasts." On hearing this account, some of the ancient sophi asked, "What were the conjectures and conclusions formed from the circumstances you have related?" The two strangers replied, "There were several: but they may all be comprised under the following: 1. That a man by nature, and also by birth, is more stupid and consequently viler than any beast; and that he remains so, unless he is instructed. 2. That he is capable of being instructed, because he has learnt to frame articulate sounds, and thence to speak, and thereby has begun to express his thoughts, and this successively more and more perfectly until he has been able to express the laws of civil society; several of which are nevertheless impressed on beasts from their birth. 3. That beasts have rationality like men. 4. Therefore, that if beasts could speak, they would reason on any subject as acutely as men; a proof of which is, that they think from reason and prudence just as men do. 5. That the understanding is only a modification of light from the sun; the heat co-operating by means of ether, so that it is only an activity of interior nature; and that this activity may be so exalted as to appear like wisdom. 6. That therefore it is ridiculous to believe that a man lives after death any more than a beast; unless perchance, for some days after his decease, in consequence of an exhalation of the life of the body, he may appear as a mist under the form of a spectre, before he is dissipated into nature; just as a shrub raised up from its ashes, appears in the likeness of its own form. 7. Consequently that religion, which teaches a life after death, is a mere device, in order to keep the simple inwardly in bonds by its laws, as they are kept outwardly in bonds by the laws of the state." To this they added, that "people of mere ingenuity reason in this manner, but not so the intelligent:" and they were asked, "How do the intelligent reason?" They said they had not been informed; but they supposed that they must reason differently.