384. After him the third arose, and spoke to this effect: "It is neither love alone nor wisdom alone, which is the origin of beauty; but it is the union of love and wisdom; the union of love with wisdom in a youth, and the union of wisdom with its love in a maiden: for a maiden does not love wisdom in herself but in a youth, and hence sees him as beauty, and when a youth sees this in a maiden, he then sees her as beauty; therefore love by wisdom forms beauty, and wisdom grounded in love receives it. That this is the case, appears manifestly in Heaven. I have there seen maidens and wives, and have attentively considered their beauties, and have observed, that beauty in maidens differs from beauty in wives; in maidens being only the brightness, but in wives the splendor of beauty. The difference appeared like that of a diamond sparkling from light, and of a ruby shining from fire together with light. What is beauty but the delight of the sight? and in what does this delight originate but in the sport of love and wisdom? This sport gives brilliancy to the sight, and this brilliancy vibrates from eye to eye, and presents an exhibition of beauty. What constitutes beauty of countenance, but red and white, and the lovely mixture thereof with each other? and is not the red derived from love, and the white from wisdom? love being red from its fire, and wisdom, white from its light. Both these I have clearly seen in the faces of two married partners in heaven; the redness of white in the wife, and the whiteness of red in the husband; and I observed that they shone in consequence of mutually looking at each other." When the third had thus concluded, the assembly applauded and cried out, "He has gained the victory." Then on a sudden, a flaming light, which is the light of conjugial love, filled the house with its splendor, and the hearts of the company with satisfaction.
ON THE CONJUNCTION OF CONJUGIAL LOVE WITH THE LOVE OF INFANTS.
385. There are evident signs that conjugial love and the love of infants, which is called storge, are connected; and there are also signs which may induce a belief that they are not connected; for there is the love of infants with married partners who tenderly love each other, and also with married partners who disagree entirely, and likewise with those who are separated from each other, and in some cases it is more tender and stronger with the latter than the former; but that still the love of infants is always connected with conjugial love, may appear from the origin from which it flows in; for although this origin varies with the recipients, still those loves remain inseparable, just as the first end in the last, which is the effect. The first end of conjugial love is the procreation of offspring, and the last, or the effect, is the offspring procreated. That the first end enters into the effect, and is therein as in its origin, and does not withdraw from it, may be seen from a rational view of the orderly progression of ends and causes to effects. But as the reasonings of the generality commence merely from effects, and from them proceed to some consequences thence resulting, and do not commence from causes, and from them proceed analytically to effects, and so forth; therefore the rational principles of light must needs become the obscure principles of cloud; whence come derivations from truth, arising from appearances and fallacies. But that it may be seen that conjugial love and the love of infants are interiorly connected, although exteriorly disjointed, we will proceed to demonstrate it in the following order. I. Two universal spheres proceed from the Lord to preserve the universe in its created State; of which the one is the sphere of procreating, and the other the sphere of protecting the things procreated. II. These two universal spheres make a one with the sphere of conjugial love and the sphere of the love of infants. III. These two spheres universally and singularly flow into all things of heaven, and all things of the world from first to last. IV. The sphere of the love of infants is a sphere of protection and support of those who cannot protect and support themselves. V. This sphere affects both the evil and the good, and disposes every one to love, protect, and support his offspring from his own love. VI. This sphere principally affects the female sex, thus mothers, and the male sex, or fathers, by derivation from them. VII. This sphere is also a sphere of innocence and peace from the Lord. VIII. The sphere of innocence flows into infants, and through them into the parents, and affects them. IX, It also flows into the souls of the parents, and unites with the same sphere (as operative) with the infants; and it is principally insinuated by means of the touch. X. In the degree in which innocence retires from infants, affection and conjunction also abate, and this successively even to separation. XI. A state of rational innocence and peace with parents towards infants is grounded on the circumstance, that they know nothing and can do nothing from themselves, but from others, especially from the father and mother; and that this state also successively retires, in proportion as they know and have ability from themselves, and not from others. XII. The above sphere advances in order from the end through causes into effects and makes periods; whereby creation is preserved in the state foreseen and provided for. XIII. The love of infants descends and does not ascend. XIV. Wives have one state of love before conception and another after, even to the birth. XV. With parents conjugial love is conjoined with the love of infants by spiritual causes, and thence by natural. XVI. The love of infants and children is different with spiritual married partners from what it is with natural. XVII. With spiritual married partners that love is from what is interior or prior, but with natural from what is exterior or posterior. XVIII. In consequence hereof that love prevails with married partners who mutually love each other, and also with those who do not at all love each other. XIX. The love of infants remains after death, especially with women. XX. Infants are educated under the Lord's auspices by such women, and grow in stature and intelligence as in the world. XXI. It is there provided by the Lord, that with those infants the innocence of infancy becomes the innocence of wisdom, and thus the infants become angels. We now proceed to an explanation of each article.
386. I. TWO UNIVERSAL SPHERES PROCEED FROM THE LORD TO PRESERVE THE UNIVERSE IN ITS CREATED STATE; OF WHICH THE ONE IS THE SPHERE OF PROCREATING AND THE OTHER THE SPHERE OF PROTECTING THE THINGS PROCREATED. The divine which proceeds from the Lord is called a sphere, because it goes forth from him, surrounds him, fills both the spiritual and the natural world, and produces the effects of the ends which the Lord predestinated in creation, and provides since creation. All that which flows from a subject, and surrounds and environs it, is named a sphere; as in the case of the sphere of light from the sun around it, of the sphere of life from man around him, of the sphere of odor from a plant around it, of the sphere of attraction from the magnet around it, and so forth: but the universal spheres of which we are here treating, are from the Lord around him; and they proceed from the sun of the spiritual world, in the midst of which he is. From the Lord by means of that sun, proceeds a sphere of heat and light, or what is the same, a sphere of love and wisdom, to produce ends, which are uses; but that sphere according to uses, is distinguished by various names: the divine sphere which looks to the preservation of the universe in its created state by successive generations, is called the sphere of procreating; and the divine sphere which looks to the preservation of generations in their beginnings, and afterwards in their progressions, is called the sphere of protecting the things procreated: besides these two, there are several other divine spheres which are named according to their uses, consequently variously, as may be seen above, n. [222]. The operations of uses by these spheres are the divine providence.
387. II. THESE TWO UNIVERSAL SPHERES MAKE A ONE WITH THE SPHERE OF CONJUGIAL LOVE AND THE SPHERE OF THE LOVE OF INFANTS. That the sphere of conjugial love makes a one with the sphere of procreating, is evident; for procreation is the end, and conjugial love the mediate cause by which (the end is promoted), and the end and the cause in what is to be effected and in effects, act in unity, because they act together. That the sphere of the love of infants makes a one with the sphere of protecting the things procreated, is also evident, because it is the end proceeding from the foregoing end, which was procreation, and the love of infants is its mediate cause by which it is promoted: for ends advance in a series, one after another, and in their progress the last end becomes the first, and thereby advances further, even to the boundary, in which they subsist or cease. But on this subject more will be seen in the explanation of [article XII].