Conjugial Love · §§ 81–120

81. As we were conversing and grieving about these things, a burst of light suddenly appeared, powerfully affecting my eyes. Wherefore I looked up, and lo! the whole heaven above us appeared luminous, and from east to west in long succession a glorification was heard.

And the angel said to me, “This glorification is a glorification of the Lord on account of His advent, which is being celebrated by the angels of the eastern and the western heavens.”

From the southern and the northern heavens only a gentle murmur was heard.

As the angel understood it all he explained to me, First, that the glorifications and celebrations of the Lord are made out of the Word, because they then are made from the Lord; for He is the Word, that is, the very Divine Truth therein.”

And he said, “Now, in particular they are glorifying and celebrating the Lord with these words spoken by Daniel the prophet:-

Thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves by the seed of man, but they shall not cohere. But in those days the God of the heavens shall make to arise a kingdom that in the ages shall not be destroyed. It shall break in pieces and consume all those kingdoms, but itself shall stand for the ages (Dan. ii. 43, 44).”

After this I heard as it were the voice of song again, and more deeply in the east I saw a glittering light more splendid than the former. And I asked the angel, “What are they glorifying there?”

He said, “With these words in Daniel

I saw in the night visions, and behold! with the clouds of heaven came one like unto the Son of man, and unto Him was given dominion and a. kingdom; and all peoples and nations shall worship Him. His dominion is the dominion of an age that shall not pass away, and His kingdom one that shall not be destroyed (Dan. viii. 13, 14).

Besides these words they celebrate the Lord also from the words in the Apocalypse:-

To Jesus Christ be glory and strength. Behold He cometh with the clouds. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. Who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty. I John heard this from the Son of man out of the midst of the seven candlesticks (Rev. i. 6-7, 8, 9, 10-13; xxii. 13; and from Matt. xxiv. 30, 31.”

I looked again towards the eastern heaven and a light shone forth on the right, and this light entered the southern expanse. And I heard a sweet sound, and asked the angel, “What of the Lord are they glorifying there?”

He said, “These words in the Apocalypse:-

I saw a new heaven and a new earth, and I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, descending from God out of heaven prepared as a bride for her husband. And the angel spake with me and said, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife. And he carried me away in the spirit upon a mountain, great and high, and showed me the city, the holy Jerusalem (Rev. xxi. 1, 2, 9, 10).

And with these words:-

I Jesus am the bright and morning Star. And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come. He said, Yea I come quickly. Amen, yea, come, Lord Jesus (xxii. 16, 17, 20).”

After these and many others there was heard one common glorification from the east to the west of heaven, and also from the south to the north. And I asked the angel, “What is it now?” He said, “They are these words from the Prophets:

Let all flesh know that I, Jehovah, am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer (Isa. xlix. 26).

Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Israel, and thy Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts, I am the First and the Last, and beside Me there is no God (Isa. xliv. 6).

It shall be said in that day, Lo, This is our God, whom we have waited for, that He should save us. This is Jehovah, whom we have waited for (Isa. xxv. 9).

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of Jehovah. Behold, the Lord Jehovih shall come in strength. He shall feed His frock like a shepherd (Isa. xl. 3, 6, 10, 11).

Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given. His name shall be Wonderful, Counselor, God, Hero, the Father of Eternity, the Prince of Peace (Isa. ix. 6).

Behold the days come and I will raise unto David a just Branch, who shall reign King. And this is His name, Jehovah our Justice (Jer. xxiii. 5, 6; xxxiii. 15, 16).

Jehovah Zebaoth is His name; and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of the whole earth shall He be called (Isa. liv. 6).

In that day Jehovah shall be for a King over all the earth; in that day there shall be one Jehovah, and His name one (Zech. xiv. 8, 9).”

On hearing and understanding these glorifications my heart exulted, and in joy I went home. And there, from the state of the spirit I returned into that of the body; in which state I wrote down the things that were seen and heard. To which I now add this: That conjugial love will be raised up anew by the Lord after His advent, such as it was with the ancients. For that love is of the Lord alone, and is with those who are made spiritual by Him through the Word.

82. After this a man from the northern quarter ran up to me in a passion, regarded me with a threatening look, and addressing me in an excited tone said, “Are you the man that wishes to seduce the world by establishing a New Church, which you understand by the �New Jerusalem’ that is to descend out of heaven from God? And by teaching that the Lord will grant to those who embrace the doctrinals of that church a love truly conjugial, the delights and felicity of which you exalt even to heaven? Is not this an invention? And do you not adduce this as an enticement and allurement to the acceptance of your novelties? But tell me in brief what are these doctrinals of the New Church? And I will see whether they agree or disagree.”

I replied, “The doctrinals of the Church which is meant by the �New Jerusalem’ are these: (1) That there is one God, in whom is the Divine Trinity, and that He is the Lord Jesus Christ. (2) That saving faith is to believe in Him. (3) That evils must be shunned as sins, because they are of the devil, and from the devil. (4) That goods must be done, because they are of God, and from God. (5) That they are to be done by man as of himself; yet that he must believe they are from the Lord with man, and through him.”

On hearing these, for a few moments his fury abated. But after some deliberation he again looked at me with a fierce aspect and said, “Are these five precepts doctrinals of the faith and charity of the New Church?”

I answered, “They are.”

And then he asked me, harshly, “How can you prove the first, �That there is one God, in whom is the Divine Trinity, and that He is the Lord Jesus Christ?'”

I said, “I prove it thus: Is not God one and indivisible? Is there not a Trinity? If God is one and indivisible, is He not one person? If one person, is not the Trinity in that person? That He is the Lord Jesus Christ, I prove by these teachings; That:-

He was conceived of God the Father (Luke i. 34, 35);

so that as to the soul He is God, and hence, as He Himself says:

The Father and He are one (John x. 30).

That He is in the Father and the Father in Him (John xiv. 10, 11). That He that seeth Him and knoweth Him, seeth and knoweth the Father (John xiv. 7, 9).

That no one seeth and knoweth the Father but He who is in the bosom of the Father (John i. 18).

That all things of the Father are His (John iii. 35; xvi. 15).

That He is the way, the truth, and the life, and that no man cometh to the Father but by Him (John xiv. 6).

Thus He is from Him because He is in Him; and according to the teaching of Paul, that:-

In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily (Col. ii. 9). And besides we are taught that:–

He hath power over all flesh (John xvii. 2);

and that:

He hath all power in heaven and on earth (Matt. xxviii. 18).

from which it follows that He is the God of heaven and earth.” He then asked me, “How do you prove the second, �That saving faith is to believe in Him?'”

I replied, “I prove it by these words of the Lord Himself:-

This is the will of the Father, that all who believe in the Son shall have everlasting life (John vi. 40).

God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John iii. 16).

He that believeth in the Son hath everlasting life; but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the anger of God abideth on him (John iii. 36).”

Then he said, “Prove the third also, and the following ones.” I answered, “What need is there to prove that �evils ought to be shunned because they are of the devil and from the devil?’ And that �goods ought to be done because they are of God and from God?’ And that �these things ought to be done by man as if of himself, yet that he ought to believe that they are done from the Lord with him and through him?’ That these three doctrines are true the whole of the Sacred Scripture confirms from beginning to end. What else does it contain in summary, but admonition to shun evils and do goods, and to believe in the Lord God? And moreover, without these three there is no religion. Is not religion a matter of life? And what is life but the shunning of evils and doing goods? And how can a man do these and believe these except as of himself? Therefore if you take these doctrines away from the church you take from it the Sacred Scriptures, and you also take away religion from it which being removed from the church it is not a church.”

On hearing these things the man withdrew and pondered; and yet he went away in indignation.

83. ON THE ORIGIN OF CONJUGIAL LOVE FROM THE MARRIAGE OF GOOD AND TRUTH.

There are internal and external origins of conjugial love; and the internal are many and likewise the external. But the inmost or universal origin of all is one. That this is the marriage of good and truth is to be shown in what now follows. That no one has hitherto deduced the origin of that love from thence is because it has been unknown that there is any union between good and truth. And the reason why this has been unknown is that good does not, like truth, appear in the light of the understanding; and so knowledge of it conceals itself, and it has eluded investigation. And as from this cause good is among the things unknown, no one could suspect any marriage between it and truth. Nay, more, to the sight of the natural rational mind, good appears a thing so distant from truth as to have no conjunction with it. That this is so can be seen from common speech when they are mentioned. As when one says “This is good” there is no thought about truth; and when one says “This is true” there is no though of good. By many therefore at this day it is believed that truth is absolutely other than good, and good than truth. And many also believe that a man is intelligent and wise, and thus is a man, according to the truths that he thinks, speaks, writes, and believes, and not at the same time according to goods. But it shall now be explained that there is not a good without truth nor a truth without good; consequently, that there is an eternal marriage between them; and that this marriage is the origin of conjugial love. It shall be done in this order:-

(1) That good and truth are the universals of creation, and hence they are in all created things; but that they are in created subjects according to the form of each.

(2) That there is no solitary good nor solitary truth but that everywhere they are conjoined.

(3) That there is the truth of good and the good of truth from that, or the truth from good and good from that truth; and that in these two there is inherent from creation an inclination to conjoin themselves into one.

(4) That in the subjects of the animal kingdom the truth of good, or truth from good, is the masculine; and that the good of truth from that, or good from that truth, is the feminine.

(5) That from the influx of the marriage of good and truth from the Lord, there is the love of the sex, and there is conjugial love.

(6) That the love of the sex is of the external or natural man and hence it is common to all animals.

(7) But that conjugial love is of the internal or spiritual man and is therefore peculiar to man.

(8) That with man conjugial love is within the love of the sex, as a gem in its matrix.

(9) That the love of the sex with man is not the origin of conjugial love but is its first; thus it is as the external natural in which the internal spiritual is implanted.

(10) That while conjugial love is being implanted the love of the sex inverts itself and becomes the chaste love of the sex.

(11) That the male and the female were created to be the very form of the marriage of good and truth.

(12) That two married partners are that form in their inmosts, and hence in the things that follow therefrom, according as the interiors of their mind are opened.

84. (1) That good and truth are the universals of creation, and hence they are in all created things; but that they are in created subjects according to the form of each. Good and truth are the universals of creation because these two are in the Lord God the Creator, yea, are Himself; for He is Divine Good itself and Divine Truth Itself. But this will enter more clearly into the perception of the understanding and so into the idea of the thought if for good we say love, and for truth, wisdom; then, that in the Lord God the Creator are Divine Love and Divine Wisdom, and that these are Himself; that is, that He is Love itself and Wisdom itself. For these two are the same with Good and Truth. The reason is that good is of love and truth is of wisdom; for love consists of goods and wisdom of truths. As these two and those two are the same, in the following pages they will be called sometimes the one way and sometimes the other way, and the same will be meant by either, This preliminary explanation is made here lest hereafter where the terms are used, the understanding should conceive of a difference.

85. Since then the Lord God the Creator is Love itself and Wisdom itself, and the universe was created by Him, which is therefore as a work proceeding from Him,-it cannot be but that in each and all things created there is something of good and of truth from Him. For what is done and goes forth from any one bears a likeness of him. And reason can also see that it is so, from the order in which each and all things were created in the universe, which is that one thing is for another and that therefore one depends upon another, like the links of a chain. For they are all for the sake of the human race, to the end that from this there may be an angelic heaven, through which the creation returns to the Creator Himself from whom it came. Hence there is a conjunction of the created universe with its Creator, and through conjunction perpetual conservation. It is on this account that good and truth are said to be the universals of creation. That it is so is plain to every one who reflects upon the matter from reason. He sees what relates to good and what relates to truth in every created thing.

86. Good and truth in created subjects are according to the form of each, because every subject receives influx according to its form. The conservation of the whole is nothing else than the perpetual influx of Divine good and Divine truth into the forms created by them; for thus subsistence or conservation is perpetual existence or creation. That every subject receives influx according to its form may be illustrated by various phenomena: As by the influx of heat and light from the sun into all kinds of plants. Each, one of these receives it according to its form: every tree according to its form; every shrub according to its form; every herb, and every grass according to its form. The influx is alike into all, but the reception, because it is according to the form, causes that each species continues to be the same species. The same may be illustrated by the influx into all kinds of animals according to the form of each. That influx is according to the form of each thing even a rustic may see if he attends to the various instruments of sound, pipes, flutes, cornets, trumpets, and organs, in the fact that these all sound from a similar breath or inflowing of the air, according to their forms.

87. (2) That there is no solitary good nor solitary truth but that everywhere they are conjoined. He who would acquire an idea of good, from any sense, cannot obtain it unless something be added which presents and manifests it. Without this, good is a nameless entity. That by which it is presented and manifested relates to truth. Say good only, and not at the same time speak of this or that thing with which it is, or define it abstractly and apart from any adjunct connected with it, and you will see that it is not anything; but that with its adjunct it is something. And if you bring the point of reason to bear upon it you will perceive that good without any adjunct is a notion of no predication, and which therefore has no relation, no affection, no state, in a word no quality. It is similar with truth if it is heard without connection. Refined reason can see that its connection has reference to good. But as goods are innumerable, and as each ascends to its greatest and descends to its least as by the steps of a ladder; and as it also varies its name according to its progression and according to its quality, it is difficult for any but the wise to see the relation of good and truth to objects, and their conjunction in them. Yet it is plain from common perception that there is no good without truth nor truth without good, if only it be first acknowledged that each and all things in the universe have a relation to good and truth, as has been shown in the preceding section (n. 84, 85). That there is no solitary good nor solitary truth may be illustrated and at the same time confirmed by various considerations: As that there is no essence without form and no form without an essence; and good is the essence or being of a thing, and truth is that by which the essence is formed and the being comes into existence. Again, in man, there is will and understanding; good is of the will and truth is of the understanding. But the will does nothing alone; it acts only through the understanding. Nor does the understanding do anything alone but acts from the will. Again, there are in man two fountains of the life of the body, the heart and the lungs. The heart cannot produce any sensitive and motory life without the respiration of the lungs; nor can the lungs without the heart. The heart has relation to good and the respiration of the lungs to truth. There is also a correspondence. It is similar with respect to each and all things of the mind, and to each and all things of the body with man. But there is no leisure to offer further confirmations here. These truths may however be seen more fully confirmed in The Angelic Wisdom concerning the Divine Providence, n. 3-26, where they are explained in this order: I. That the universe, with every single created thing of it, is from the Divine Love by the Divine Wisdom, or what is the same from Divine Good by Divine Truth. II. That Divine Good and Divine Truth proceed from the Lord as one. III. That this one, in a certain image, is in every created thing. IV. That good is not good except as it is united with truth; and that truth is not truth except as it is united with good. V. That the Lord does not suffer that anything shall be divided; therefore a man must either be in good and at the same time in truth, or he must be in evil and at the same time in falsity. Besides many other confirmations.

88. (3) That there is the truth of good and the good of truth from that, or the truth from good and good from that truth; and that in these two there is inherent from creation an inclination to conjoin themselves into one. It is necessary that some distinct idea should be acquired respecting these because a knowledge of the essential origin of conjugial love depends upon it. For, as explained below, the truth of good or truth from good is the masculine, and the good of truth or good from that truth is the feminine. But this can be more distinctly comprehended if for good we say love, and for truth, wisdom; for it has been seen above that they are one and the same (n. 84). Wisdom cannot exist with man except by the love of growing wise. If this love be taken away, a man is entirely incapable of becoming wise. Wisdom from this love is meant by the truth of good, or truth from good. But when from that love, man has acquired wisdom and loves that wisdom in himself, or loves himself on account of it, then he forms a love which is the love of wisdom; and this is meant by the good of truth, or good from that truth. There are, then, two loves in man (vir), of which one, which is prior, is the love of becoming wise, and the other, which comes after, is the love of wisdom. But this love if it remains in the man is an evil love and is called conceit, or love of his own intelligence. It will be established in the following pages that it was provided by creation that this love should be taken from the man, that it might not destroy him, and transcribed into the woman, so that it may become conjugial love which restores him to integrity. Something regarding these two loves and the transcription of the latter into the woman may be seen above, n. 32, 33; and in the Preliminaries, n. 20. If, therefore, for love, good is understood, and for wisdom truth, it is evident from what has been said before and now, that there is the truth of good, or truth from good, and from that the good of truth, or good from that truth.

89. That there is inherent in these two from creation an inclination to conjoin themselves into one, is because the one is formed from the other, wisdom, from the love of growing wise, or truth from good; and the love of wisdom from that wisdom, or the good of truth from that truth. It can be seen from this formation that there is a mutual inclination to reunite and to conjoin themselves into one. But this re-union takes place with men who are in genuine wisdom, and with women who are in the love of that wisdom in the husband, who are thus in love truly conjugial. But the wisdom which should be with the man and be loved by the wife is also to be spoken of hereafter.

90. (4) That in the subjects of the animal kingdom the truth of good, or truth from good, is the masculine; and that the good of truth from that, or good from that truth, is the feminine. It has been shown above (n. 84-86) that a perpetual union of love and wisdom, or the marriage of good and truth, flows in from God, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe; and that created subjects receive this, each according to its form. But that from this marriage, or this union, the male receives the truth of wisdom, and to this the good of love is conjoined by the Lord according to reception; and that this reception takes place in the understanding; and that from this the male is born to become intellectual, reason can see by its own light from various things in the male, especially from his affection, his application, his manners, and from his form: From the Affection of the male, in that it is an affection of knowing, of understanding, and becoming wise; the affection of knowing in boyhood; the affection of understanding in youth and early manhood; and the affection of becoming wise from this manhood even to old age. From which it is plain that his nature or innate disposition inclines to the formation of the understanding, consequently that he is born to become intellectual. But as this cannot be effected except from love, therefore the Lord adjoins love to him according to reception, that is, according to the spirit with which he wills to become wise: From his Application, which is to such things as are intellectual, or in which the understanding predominates, very many of which are out of doors and look to uses in public: From his Manners, which all partake of the predominance of the understanding. Hence it is that the actions of his life, which are meant by manners, are according to reason,-or if not, he would have them appear so; and masculine rationality is conspicuous in his every virtue: From his Form, in that it is different and entirely distinct from the female form, respecting which something may also be seen above in n. 33. Add to this that prolification is in him. This is from no other source than from the understanding; for it is by truth from good there. That prolification is from this source will be seen in what follows.

91. On the other hand, that the female is born to be volitional, but volitional from the intellectual of the man, or what is the same, that she is to be the love of man’s wisdom, because she was formed through his wisdom, of which see n. 88, 89 above. This too is evident from the affection of the female, from her application, from her manners, and from her form. From the Affection of the female, in that it is an affection for loving knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom, and yet not in herself but in the man, and so for loving the man. For the man cannot be loved solely on account of his form, because he appears as a man, but on account of the endowment that is in him which makes him a man: From her Application, in that it is to such works as are done with the hands, called netting, embroidery, and by other names, which are of service for ornament, and for the adornment of her person and the enhancement of her beauty; and besides this to the various duties which are called domestic, and adjoin themselves to the duties of the men, which, as was said, are called out-of-door occupations. Women apply themselves to these uses from an inclination to marriage, that they may become wives and so be one with their husbands: That it appears also from her Manners and Form is clear without explanation.

92. (5) That from the influx of the marriage of good and truth from the Lord, there is the love of the sex, and there is conjugial love. It has been shown above in n. 84-87, that good and truth are the universals of creation, and that hence they are in all created subjects; that they are in them according to the form of each; and that good and truth proceed from the Lord not as two but as one. It follows from this that a Universal Conjugial Sphere proceeds from the Lord, and pervades the universe from its first things to its last, thus from angels even to worms. The reason why such a sphere of the marriage of good and truth goes forth from the Lord, is that it is the sphere also of propagation, that is, of prolification and fructification; and this is the same as the Divine Providence for the conservation of the universe by successive generations. Now, as this universal sphere, which is of the marriage of good and truth, flows into subjects according to the form of each (n. 86), it follows that the male receives it according to his form, that is, in the understanding, because he is in an intellectual form; and that the female receives it according to her form, thus in the will, because she is a volitional form from the intellectual of the man. And as this same sphere is the sphere of prolification, it follows that from this comes the love of the sex.

93. Conjugial love is also from this, because that sphere flows into the form of wisdom with men and also with angels; for man can grow in wisdom to the end of his life in the world and afterwards in heaven to eternity. And as he increases in wisdom his form is perfected; and this form receives, not the love of the sex, but the love of one of the sex. For with this one he can be united even to the inmosts in which heaven is with its felicities; and this union is of conjugial love.

94. (6) That the love of the sex is of the external or natural man and hence it is common to all animals. Every man is born corporeal, and becomes more and more interiorly natural; then according as he loves intelligence he becomes rational; and afterwards if he loves wisdom he becomes spiritual. What the wisdom is by which man becomes spiritual will be stated hereafter (n. 130). Now, as man progresses from knowledge to intelligence, and from intelligence to wisdom, so also his mind changes its form; for it is opened more and more, and conjoins itself more closely with heaven, and through heaven with the Lord; and hence he becomes more a lover of truth and more earnest for the good of life. If therefore he stops at the first threshold of his progress towards wisdom, the form of his mind remains natural; and this receives the influx of the universal sphere-which is of the marriage of good and truth-no otherwise than as the lower subjects of the animal kingdom receive it, which are called beasts and birds. And as they are merely natural, such a man becomes like them, and so loves the sex in the same manner as they. This is what is meant by, “The love of sex is of the external or natural man and hence is common to all animals.”

95. (7) But that conjugial love is of the internal or spiritual man and is therefore peculiar to man. The reason why conjugial love is of the internal or spiritual man, is that the more intelligent and wise a man becomes the more he becomes internal or spiritual, and the more perfect becomes the form of his mind, and that form receives conjugial love. For in that love it perceives and feels a spiritual delight which is inwardly beatific; and from this a natural delight which draws from that its soul and life and essence.

96. The reason why conjugial love is peculiar to man is that man alone can become spiritual. For he can elevate his understanding above his natural loves, and from that height see them beneath him, and judge of them as to what quality they are of; and can also amend, chasten, and remove them. This no animal can do, for his loves are altogether united with his connate knowledge; and this knowledge therefore cannot be elevated into intelligence, still less into wisdom. For which reason an animal is borne along by the love implanted in his knowledge, as a blind man through the streets by a dog. This is the reason why conjugial love is peculiar to man. And it may also be called native and germane to man, because in man is the faculty for growing wise with which this love makes one.

97. (8) That with man conjugial love is within the love of the sex, as a gem in its matrix. But as this is only a comparison the subject will be explained in the section which now follows. By this comparison, however, the truth is illustrated that the love of sex is of the external or natural man, and conjugial love of the internal or spiritual man, as was shown just above (n. 95).

98. (9) That the love of the sex with man is not the origin of conjugial love but is its first; thus it is as the external natural in which the internal spiritual is implanted. The subject here treated of is love truly conjugial, and not the common love which is also called conjugal, and with some is no other than a limited love of the sex. But love truly conjugial is with those only who earnestly desire wisdom, and therefore progress in wisdom more and more. The Lord foresees them and provides conjugial love for them; which love begins with them, it is true, from the love of the sex, or rather through that love, but yet it does not originate from that; for it springs up just in proportion as wisdom advances its step and comes forth into the light with him. For wisdom and this love are inseparable companions. That conjugial love begins through the love of the sex, is from the fact that before a consort is found the sex in general is loved and regarded with a fond eye, and is treated with courteous morality: For a young man has his choice to make; and at that time, from an inherent inclination to marriage with one, which lies hidden in the inmost shrine of his mind, there is an agreeable warmth in his external. And from the fact also that decisions with reference to marriage are for various reasons delayed, even to the middle of manhood, and meanwhile the beginning of the love is as lustful desire, which with some actually goes aside into the love of the sex; but even with them its curb is not loosed except just so much as is conducive to health. But these things are said of the male sex, because it has the allurement which actually inflames; but not of the female sex. From this it is clear that the love of the sex is not the origin of love truly conjugial, but that it is first in time though not in end. For what is first in end is first in the mind and its intention, because it is the chief thing. But this first is not attained, except successively through means; and these are not in themselves first but are only things leading to that which is first in itself.

99. (10) That while conjugial love is being implanted the love of the sex inverts itself and becomes the chaste love of the sex. It is said that the love of the sex inverts itself, because while conjugial love is coming to its origin, which is in the interiors of the mind (mens), it sees the love of the sex not before itself but after it, or not above but below itself, and thus as a thing that in passing is left behind. It is similar as when any one by service climbs from office through office up to some supreme dignity, and then looks behind him or below him to the offices through which he has passed: Or as when any one purposes a journey to the court of some king, and after his arrival turns his view back to the things that he saw on the way. That the love of the sex still remains with those who are in love truly conjugial, and becomes chaste and yet sweeter than before, may be seen from the description of it, by those who are in the spiritual world, in the two Relations thence, in n. 44 and 45.

100. (11) That the male and the female were created to be the very form of the marriage of good and truth. The reason is that the male was created to be the understanding of truth, thus truth in form; and the female was created to be the will of good, thus good in form; and to both was imparted from the inmosts an inclination to conjunction into one, as may be seen above, n. 88. The two thus make one form, which emulates the conjugial form of good and truth. It is said that it emulates this, because it is not the same but similar to it. For the good that conjoins itself with truth with the man is from the Lord immediately; but the good of the wife which conjoins itself with truth with the man is from the Lord mediately through the wife. Therefore there are two goods, one internal the other external, which conjoin themselves with truth with the husband; and these effect that the husband is constantly in the understanding of truth and thence in wisdom through love truly conjugial. But more will be said on this subject hereafter.

101. (12) That two married partners are that form in their inmosts, and hence in the things that follow therefrom, according as the interiors of their mind are opened. There are three things of which every man consists, and which follow in order with him, the soul, the mind, and the body. His inmost is the soul (anima); his intermediate is the mind (mens); and his last is the body. All that flows into man from the Lord flows into his inmost which is the soul; and descends thence into his intermediate, which is the mind; and through this into his last, which is the body. In this way the marriage of good and truth flows into man from the Lord, immediately into his soul; and thence it goes on to the things that follow and through these to the extremes; and thus conjoined they make conjugial love. From this conception of the influx it is plain that two married partners are that form in their inmosts, and thence in the things that follow therefrom.

102. The reason why married partners become that form according as the interiors of their mind are opened, is that the mind is opened successively, from infancy to extreme old age. For a man is born corporeal; and as the mind next above the body is opened he becomes rational. And as this rational is purified, and as it were emptied of the fallacies that flow in by the bodily senses, and of the concupiscences that flow in from the allurements of the flesh, in this way the rational is opened, and this is done by wisdom alone. And when the interiors of the rational mind (mens) are opened the man becomes a form of wisdom; and this is the receptacle of love truly conjugial.

“The wisdom which makes this form and receives this love is rational and at the same time moral wisdom. Rational wisdom looks to the goods and truths that appear interiorly in man, not as his own, but flowing in from the Lord; and moral wisdom flees from evils and falsities as leprosies, especially those of lasciviousness, which contaminate his conjugial love.”

103. To the above I will add two Relations. First this:-

One morning before sunrise I was looking towards the east in the spiritual world, and saw four horsemen flying forth as it were out of a cloud resplendent with the flame of dawn. Upon the horsemen’s heads appeared crested helmets; upon their arms, as it were wings; and about their bodies light, orange-colored tunics. Thus clad as for a rapid race they rose, laid the reins upon their horses’ manes, and they sped as with winged feet. I followed their course, or flight, with my eyes, with a mind to know whither they were going. When lo! three of the horsemen scattered in three directions, to the south, to the west, and to the north; and the fourth stopped a brief space to the east.

Wondering at this, I looked up to heaven and asked whither those horsemen were going; and received the answer:

“To the wise in the kingdoms of Europe, who are men of keen reason and acute discernment in the investigation of subjects, and renowned for the fame of their genius among their own; that they may come and solve the mystery of The Origin of Conjugial Love, and of its Virtue or Potency.”

And they said from heaven, “Wait a little and you will see twenty-seven chariots, three with Spaniards in them, three with French or Gauls, three with Italians, three with Germans, three with Batavians or Hollanders, three with English, three with Swedes, three with Danes, and three with Poles.”

And then after two hours the chariots appeared, drawn by small, light bay horses, elegantly caparisoned. They sped swiftly towards a spacious building that was seen on the confines of the east and south; around which all that rode in the chariots alighted and entered in high spirit.

And then it was said to me, “Go also and enter in and you shall hear.”

I went and entered. And looking about the building within I observed that it was square, the sides looking to the four quarters. On each side were three lofty windows of crystalline glass, the frames of which were of olive wood. On either hand, at the side of the frames, were projections from the walls like chambers, vaulted above, with tables in them. The walls of these were of cedar, and the roof of the noble thyine-tree; and the floor was of poplar plank Against the eastern wall, where windows were not seen, was set a table overlaid with gold, whereon was placed a tiara set around with precious stones, which was to be given as a prize or reward to him who should discover the secret about to be propounded to them. As I glanced at the chambered projections, which were as closets next to the windows, I saw in each five men, from each country of Europe, who were ready, waiting for the subject of their judgments.

At that instant an angel stood in the midst of the palace, and said, “The subject of your judgments will be, The Origin of Conjugial Love, and of its Virtue or Potency. Consider it and decide, and write your decision on paper and put it into this silver urn which you see placed beside the golden table; and subscribe the initial letter of the kingdom from which you are; that is for the French or Gallic, F; for the Batavian or Hollandish, B; for the Italian, I; for the English (Anglis), A; for the Polish, P.; for the German, G.; for the Spanish (Hispani), H.; for the Danish, D.; and for the Swedish, S.” With these words the angel departed, saying, “I will come again.”

Then the five compatriots, in each apartment by the windows, turned the proposition over, looked it through, and according to the excellence of their gift of judgment made their decision, wrote it upon paper subscribed with the initial letter of their kingdom, and cast it into the silver receptacle. This done, after three hours the angel returned, and drew the papers in succession out of the urn and read them before the assemblage.

104. From the first paper, which his hand took at random, he read as follows: “We five, compatriots, in our closet, have concluded, that the origin of conjugial love is from the most ancient people in the Golden Age, and with them was from the creation of Adam and his wife. Thence is the origin of marriages, and with marriages the origin of conjugial love. As regards the virtue or potency of conjugial love we derive this from no other source than from climate, or the situation of the sun and the heat therefrom in different lands. It is not by vain conjectures of reason that we have considered the subject, but from the evident indications of experience. That is, from the peoples under the equinoxial line or circle, where the heat of day is as it were burning; and from the peoples who dwell nearer and farther from that circle. Also from the co-operation of solar heat with vital heat with the animals of the earth and the birds of heaven in springtime, when they propagate. Besides, What is conjugial love but heat? which if the supplementary heat of the sun be added to it becomes virtue or potency.” To this was subscribed the letter H, the initial letter of the kingdom they were from.

105. Then the second time he put his hand into the urn and took from it a paper from which he read this: “We compatriots in our apartment have agreed, that the origin of conjugial love is the same as the origin of marriages; which have been sanctioned by laws for the restraint of the innate concupiscences of men for adulteries, which ruin the soul, debase the reason of the mind, defile the morals, and consume the body with wasting disease. For adulteries are not human but bestial, not rational but brutish, and thus not by any means Christian but barbarous. The institution of marriages, and the rise at the same time of conjugial love, was for the condemnation of such evils. And so is it with the virtue or potency of this love, because it depends upon chastity, which is abstinence from roving scortations. The reason is that with him who loves only his married partner, the virtue or potency of his love is reserved for one, and so it is collected, and as it were concentrated; and then it becomes this noble, so to say, quintessence, abstracted from the defilements which otherwise would dissipate and scatter it in every direction. One of us five, who is a priest, adds also predestination as a cause of that virtue or potency, saying, Are not marriages predestinated? And with them, the prolifications from them and what renders efficient thereto is also predestinated.’ He has insisted upon this cause because he had sworn to it.” To this was subscribed the letter B.

On hearing this some one said in a mocking tone, “Predestination! O, what a beautiful apology for defect or impotence!”

106. Presently, the third time, he drew a paper out of the urn from which he read as follows: “We compatriots, in our cell, have meditated upon the causes of the origin of conjugial love, and have seen as the chief of them that it is the same as the origin of marriage. For that love had no existence before, and arises from the fact that when one pines for or desperately loves a virgin with heart and soul, he desires to possess her as a possession lovely above all things. And as soon as she pledges herself he regards her as self regards its own. That this is the origin of conjugial love is very clear from the fury of every one against rivals, and from the jealousy against violators. We afterwards considered the origin of the virtue or potency of that love; and three against two have decided that the virtue or potency with a married partner is from some license with the sex. They said that they know from experience that the potency of the love of the sex surpasses the potency of conjugial love.” This was subscribed with the letter I.

Hearing this there was a cry from the tables, “Put away this paper and take another from the urn.”

107. And in a moment he drew out a fourth, from which he read the following: “We compatriots, under our window, have decided, that the origin of conjugial love and of the love of the sex is the same, because the one is from the other, only that the love of the sex is unlimited, indeterminate, loose, promiscuous, and roving; while conjugial love is limited, determinate, restrained, certain, and constant. And for that reason this love, by the prudence of human wisdom has been sanctioned and established. For otherwise no empire, nor kingdom, nor republic, nor even society could exist, but men in troops and bands would roam in fields and woods, with harlots and ravished women; and would fly from place to place to escape from bloody murders, violations, and rapine, whereby the whole human race would be extirpated. This is our judgment concerning the origin of conjugial love. But the virtue or potency of conjugial love we deduce from soundness of body, continually preserved from birth to old age. For a man kept continuously sound, and possessed of stable health, is not deficient in vigor; his fibers, nerves, muscles, and virile cords do not become torpid, relaxed, and feeble, but continue in the strength of their powers: Farewell.” This was subscribed with the letter A.

108. The fifth time he took a paper from the urn from which he read as follows: We compatriots, at our table, from the rational light of our minds have looked into the origin of conjugial love, and the origin of its virtue or potency, and have seen and confirmed by careful reasonings that the origin of conjugial love is none other than this: That every man, from the cravings and thence incitements concealed in the secret chamber of his mind and body, after various longings of his eyes, at length directs and inclines his mind to one of the female sex, until he inwardly burns towards her. From this time his heat increases from flame to flame until he is all on fire. In this state the love of the sex is banished, and instead of lust there arises conjugial love. A youthful husband in this burning does not know but that the virtue or potency of that love will never cease; for he is without experience and hence without the knowledge of a state of deficiency of his powers, and of the cooling of the love after its delights. The origin of conjugial love therefore is from this first ardor before the nuptials; and from this is its virtue or potency. But after its nuptial torches this changes, decreases, and increases; and yet with stable change-that is, decreasing and increasing-it endures even to old age by prudent moderation, and by the bridling of the lusts, that break forth from the caverns of the mind not yet cleansed. For lust precedes wisdom. This is our judgment respecting the origin and preservation of conjugial virtue and potency.” To this was subscribed the letter P.

109. The sixth time he drew a paper from which he read as follows: “We compatriots, from our fraternity, have considered the causes of the origin of conjugial love and have agreed upon two; one of which is the right education of children, and the other the distinct possession of inheritances. We have assumed these two because they look to and aim at one object, which is the public good. And this is secured by the fact that children conceived and born of conjugial love become its true and very own, and from the love of offspring exalted because they are of legitimate descent, are educated as heirs of all the possessions, spiritual as well as natural, of their parents. That the public good is founded upon the right education of children, and on the distinct possession of inheritances, is evident to reason. There is the love of the sex, and there is conjugial love, and this latter love appears as one with the former, but they are distinctly different. And the one is not by the side of the other, but one is within the other, and what is within is nobler than that which is without. And we have seen that from creation conjugial love is within and concealed in the love of the sex, as an almond in its shell. Therefore when conjugial love is unfolded from its shell, which is the love of the sex, it glitters before the angels like the gem, beryl, and the star-stone. This is so because on conjugial love is inscribed the safety of the whole human race, which is what we mean by the public good. This is our judgment respecting the origin of that love. But the origin of its virtue or potency we conclude, from a consideration of the causes, to be the unfolding and the separation of conjugial love from the love of the sex, which is effected by wisdom on the part of the man, and by love of the man’s wisdom on the part of the wife. For the love of the sex is in common with beasts, but conjugial love is peculiar to man (homo). And therefore in so far as conjugial love is freed from the love of the sex, the man is a man and not a beast, and a man obtains virtue or potency from his own love, and a beast from his.” This was subscribed with the letter G.

110. The seventh time he drew out a paper from which he read this: “We compatriots in the chamber, under the light of our window, have exhilarated our thoughts, and thence our judgments, by meditation upon conjugial love. Who would not be exhilarated by it? For while that love is in the mind it is at the same time in the whole body. We judge of the origin of that love from its delights. Who knows or ever has known a trace of any love except from the delight and pleasure of it? The delights of conjugial love are felt in their origins as states of blessedness, satisfactions, and felicities; and in their derivations as sensations of loveliness and pleasure; and in their ultimates as the delight of delights. The origin of the love of the sex, therefore, is when the interiors of the mind and thence the interiors of the body are opened for the inflowing of these delights; and the origin of conjugial love was when, by betrothal begun, the primitive sphere of that love ideally promoted them. As regards the virtue or potency of that love, that comes from the ability of the love to pass through with its current from the mind into the body; for the mind from the head is in the body, while it is feeling and acting, especially while it is in delight from this love. Hence, we judge, are the degrees of potency and the constancy of its alternations. And besides we deduce the virtue of potency also from the stock. If that be noble in the father it becomes noble also by derivation with the offspring. That this nobility is reproduced, inherited, and descends by derivation, is a fact as to which reason agrees with experience.” To this was subscribed the letter F.

111. The eighth time a paper came forth, from which he read the following: “We compatriots, in our meeting, have not found the very origin of conjugial love, because being stored up in the sanctuaries of the mind it is inmostly concealed. Not the most consummate wisdom even, by any ray of understanding, can reach that love in its origin. We have formed many conjectures, but after in vain revolving the subtleties in our minds, we know not whether we were conjuring up trifles or rational judgments. He therefore who would draw forth the origin of that love from the sanctuaries of the mind, and set it before his eyes, let him go to Delphi. We have contemplated the love below its origin; that in the mind it is spiritual, and is as a fountain of a delicious current whence it flows into the breast, where it becomes delightful and is called bosom love, which considered in itself is full of friendship and full of confidence, from a full inclination to mutuality; and when it has passed beyond the breast it becomes genital love. When a young man revolves these and like things in his thoughts, as he does when he chooses for himself one of the sex, they kindle in his heart the fire of conjugial love; which fire, as it is the primitive of that love is the origin of it. We acknowledge no origin of its virtue or potency other than that love itself, for they are inseparable companions, and yet such that sometimes one goes before and sometimes the other. When love precedes and virtue or potency follows it, each is noble, because the potency then is the virtue of conjugial love. But if the potency precedes and love follows, each then is ignoble because the love is then of carnal potency. We therefore judge the quality of both from the order in which the love descends or ascends, and so proceeds from its origin to its goal.” To this was subscribed the letter D.

112. The last, or ninth time he took up a paper from which he read as follows: “We compatriots, from our assemblage, have exercised our judgments upon the two points of the proposition, the origin of conjugial love, and the origin of its virtue or potency. While discussing the subtleties of the origin of conjugial love, to avoid obscurity in our reasonings, we have distinguished between the spiritual, the natural, and the carnal love of the sex. And by the spiritual love of the sex we mean love truly conjugial, because this is spiritual; and by the natural love of the sex we mean polygamic love, for this is natural; and by the merely carnal love of the sex we mean scortatory love, because this is merely carnal. While looking with our judgments into love truly conjugial, we have seen clearly that it is a love only between one male and one female; and that from creation it is heavenly, inmost, and the soul and father of all good loves, having been inspired into our first parents, and being inspirable into Christians. It is also so conjunctive that by it two minds can become one mind, and two human beings (homo) as one man, which is meant by becoming � one flesh.’ That this love was inspired from creation is plain from these words in the book of Creation:-

And a man shall leave father and mother; and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh (Gen. ii. 24).

That it may be inspired into Christians is plain from these words:-

Jesus said, Have ye not read that He who made them from the beginning made them male and female? And He said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother and shall cleave to his wife, and the twain shall become one flesh; wherefore they are no more twain but one flesh (Matt. xix. 4-6).

This, respecting the origin of conjugial love: But the origin of the virtue or potency of love truly conjugial we conjecture to arise from similarity of minds and unanimity. For when two minds are conjugially conjoined, their thoughts spiritually, mutually kiss each other, and these breathe their virtue or potency into the body.” To this was subscribed the letter S.

113. Behind an oblong partition, erected before the doors in the palace, were standing some aliens from Africa, who called out to the natives of Europe, “Permit some one of us also to offer an opinion concerning the origin of conjugial love, and its virtue or potency.”

And all at the tables gave signal with their hands that it should be permitted.

And then one of them entered and stood at the table whereon the tiara was placed, and said, “You Christians deduce the origin of conjugial love from the love itself. But we Africans deduce it from the God of heaven and earth. Is not conjugial love a chaste love, pure and holy? Are not the angels of heaven in that love? Is not the whole human race and thence the whole angelic heaven the seed of that love? Can a thing so super-eminent spring from any other source than God Himself the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe? You Christians deduce conjugial virtue or potency from various rational and natural causes. But we Africans deduce it from the state of conjunction of man with the God of the universe. This state we call a state of religion, but you a state of the church. For since the love is thence, and is stable and perpetual, it cannot but put forth its virtue, which is of its likeness and so is also stable and perpetual. Love truly conjugial is known only to the few who are near to God; and therefore the potency of that love is known to no others. This potency with that love is described by the angels in the heavens as the delight of perpetual spring.”

114. This having been said all arose; and lo! behind the golden table whereon the tiara lay, a window was made, not seen before, and through the window a voice was heard, “The Tiara shall be for the African;” and it was given by the angel into his hand, but not on his head, and he went home with it. And the natives of the countries of Europe went out, entered their chariots, and returned to their own.

115. The Second Relation:

Awaking from sleep in the middle of the night, I beheld at some height towards the east, an angel holding in his right hand a paper, which by the inflowing light of the sun appeared in shining white; and on the middle of it was a writing in letters of gold. And I saw written: The Marriage of Good and Truth. There flashed forth from the writing a splendor which diffused itself in a wide circle around the paper. The circle or halo from it appeared as the dawn in springtime.

After this I saw the angel descending with the paper in his hand. And as he descended the paper appeared less and less bright, and the writing, which was The Marriage of Good and Truth, changed from the color of gold to silver, then to copper, afterwards to iron, and finally to that of the rust of iron, and the rust of copper. At last the angel was seen to enter an obscure cloud, and to descend through the cloud upon the earth; and there the paper, although still held in the angel’s hand, was not seen. This was in the world of spirits where all men first come together after death.

And then the angel spoke to me, saying, “Ask those that come hither whether they see me or anything in my hand.”

There came a multitude, a company from the east, a company from the south, a company from the west, and a company from the north. And asked those that came from the east and the south who had been in the pursuit of learning in the world, whether they saw any one here with me, and saw anything it his hand. They all said they saw nothing at all. I then asked those that came from the west and the north, who were such as had believed in the words of the learned in the world. They said they did not see anything. But the last of them, who in the world were in simple faith from charity, or in some truth from good, after the others had gone away, said that they saw a man with a paper, a man in becoming apparel, and the paper had letters traced upon it; and when they brought their eyes nearer they said that they read, The Marriage of Good and Truth. And they spoke to the angel, asking him to tell them what it meant.

And he said, “All things that exist in the universal heaven and all that exist in the universal world are nothing but a marriage of good and truth; for each and all things, both those that live and breathe, and those that do not live and breathe, were created from and into the marriage of good and truth. Nothing whatever is created into truth alone and nothing whatever into good alone. Either one of them alone is not anything; but by marriage they exist and become something, of such kind as the marriage is. In the Lord the Creator are Divine Good and Divine Truth in their very substance. The being of His substance is Divine Good, and the Existing (existere) of His substance is Divine Truth. And in Him they also are in their very union; for they infinitely make one in Him. As these two are one in the Creator Himself, they therefore are one also in each and all things created from Him; andthereby also the Creator is conjoined with all things created from Himself in an eternal covenant as it were of marriage.”

The angel said further, that the Sacred Scripture, which proceeded immediately from the Lord, in general and in particular is a marriage of good and truth. And as the church, which is formed by truth of doctrine, and religion, which is formed by the good of life according to the truth of doctrine, are, with Christians, solely from the Sacred Scripture, it is evident that the church is a marriage of good and truth in general and in particular. That it is so may be seen in The Apocalypse Revealed, n. 373, 483. What has been said above respecting the marriage of good and truth, is said also of the Marriage of Charity and Faith, since good is of charity and truth is of faith.

Some of the former, who did not see the angel and the writing, still standing by and hearing these things said in a low tone, “Yes, truly, we comprehend that.” But then the angel said to them, “Turn away a little from me and say the same.” And they turned away and said in a full voice, “It is not so.”

After this the angel spoke of The Marriage of Good and Truth with married partners, saying, that if their minds were in that marriage, the husband truth and the wife its good, they would both be in the delights of the blessedness of innocence, and thence in the happiness in which the angels of heaven are. In that state the generative power of the husband would be in perpetual spring, and thence in the effort and ability to propagate his truth; and the wife would be in perpetual reception of it from love: “The wisdom that is with men from the Lord feels nothing more delightful than to propagate its truths; and the love of wisdom which is in wives feels nothing more pleasing than to receive them, as in the womb, and so to conceive, carry in the womb, and bring them forth. Of such kind are spiritual prolifications among the angels of heaven. And if you will believe it, natural prolifications also are from this origin.”

After a salutation of peace the angel raised himself up from the earth, and passing through the cloud ascended into heaven. And then, according to the degrees of ascent, the paper shone as before; and lo! the circle of light which appeared before, as the dawn, then descended and dispelled the cloud that shed darkness upon the earth, and it became sunny.

116. ON THE MARRIAGE OF THE LORD AND THE CHURCH, AND ITS CORRESPONDENCE.

The marriage of the Lord and the Church, and the correspondence of it, are also treated of here, because without knowledge and understanding as to this, one can scarcely apprehend that conjugial love in its origin is holy, spiritual, and heavenly, and that it is from the Lord. It is indeed said by some in the Church that marriages have a relation to the marriage of the Lord with the Church, but what that relation is is not known. In order therefore that the subject may be so presented as to be seen in some light of the understanding, it is necessary that that holy marriage, which is with and in those that are the Lord’s Church, should be treated of with particularity. With them also, and not with others, there is love truly conjugial. But, for the elucidation of this secret, this treatment is to be divided under the following heads:

(1) That in the Word the Lord is called the Bridegroom and Husband, and the Church, the Bride and Wife; and that the conjunction of the Lord with the Church, and the reciprocal conjunction of the Church with the Lord is called Marriage.

(2) Also that the Lord is called Father and the Church, Mother.

(3) That the offspring from the Lord as Husband and Father, and the Church as Wife and Mother are all spiritual; and are meant in the spiritual sense of the Word by sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, and by other names which are those of generation.

(4) That the spiritual offspring, which are born from the marriage of the Lord with the Church are truths, from which come understanding, perception, and all thought; and goods, from which are love, charity, and all affection.

(5) That from the marriage of good and truth, which proceeds and flows in from the Lord, man receives truth, and to this the Lord conjoins good; and that thus the Church is formed with man by the Lord.

(6) That the husband does not represent the Lord and the wife the Church; because both together, the husband and wife, make the Church.

(7) Therefore, that in the marriages of angels in the heavens and of men on earth, there is not a correspondence of the husband with the Lord and of the wife with the Church.

(8) But that there is a correspondence with conjugial love, with semination, prolification, the love of children, and like things which are in marriages and from them.

(9) That the Word is the medium of conjunction, because it is from the Lord and thus is the Lord.

(10) That the Church is from the Lord, and is with those who come to Him and live according to His commandments.

(11) That conjugial love is according to the state of the Church, because it is according to the state of wisdom with man.

(12) And because the Church is from the Lord conjugial love also is from Him.

The explanation of these now follows.

117. (1) That in the Word the Lord is called the Bridegroom and Husband, and the Church, the Bride and Wife; and that the conjunction of the Lord with the Church, and the reciprocal conjunction of the Church with the Lord is called marriage. That in the Word the Lord is called the Bridegroom and Husband, and the Church, the Bride and Wife, may be seen from the following passages:-

He that hath the bride is the Bridegroom; but the friend of the Bridegroom, who standeth and heareth Him, rejoiceth with joy because of the Bridegroom’s voice (John iii. 29).

This was said concerning the Lord by John the Baptist:

Jesus said, So long as the Bridegroom is with them the sons of the nuptials cannot fast; the days will come when the Bridegroom shall be taken away from them, then will they fast (Matt. ix. 15; Mark ii. 19, 20; Luke v. 34, 35).

I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, prepared as a bride adorned for her Husband (Rev. xxi. 2).

That by the New Jerusalem a new Church of the Lord is meant, may be seen in the Apocalypse Revealed, n. 880, 881. The angel said to John:-

Come and I will shew thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb. And he chewed him the holy city, Jerusalem (Rev. xxi. 9. 10);

The nuptials of the Lamb are come, and His wife hath made herself ready. Blessed are they which are called to the supper of the nuptials of the Lamb (xix. 7, 9).

The Lord is meant by the Bridegroom whom the five virgins that were ready went forth to meet, and with whom they entered in to the marriage, as is plain from verse 13, where it is said: “Watch, therefore, for ye know not the day, nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” There are besides many passages in the Prophets.

118. (2) Also that the Lord is called Father and the Church, Mother. That the Lord is called Father appears from these passages:

Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, God, the Father of eternity, the Prince of peace (Isa. ix. 6).

Thou, O Jehovah, art our Father, our Redeemer, from everlasting is Thy name (Isa. lxiii. 16).

Jesus said, He that seeth Me seeth the Father that hath sent Me (John xii. 44, 45).

If ye had known Me ye should have known My Father also; and from henceforth ye have known Him, and have seen Him (John xiv. 7).

Philip saith, Show us the Father. Jesus saith unto him, He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father. How, then, sayest thou, Show us the Father (John xiv. 8, 9).

Jesus said, The Father and I are one (John x. 30).

All things whatsoever the Father hath are Mine (John xvi. 15; xvii. 10). The Father is in Me, and I am in the Father (John x. 38; xiv. 10, 11, 20).

That the Lord and His Father are one as soul and body are one; and that God the Father descended from heaven and assumed the Human for the redemption and salvation of men; and that His Human is what is called the Son sent into the world, is fully shown in the Apocalypse Revealed.

119. That the Church is called Mother appears from the following passages:-

Jehovah said, Plead with your mother; she is not my wife, and I am not her husband (Hos. ii. 2, 5).

Thou art thy mother’s daughter, that loatheth her husband (Ezek. xvi. 45).

Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement, whom I* have put away? (Is. l. 1).

Thy mother is like a vine, planted by the waters, bearing fruit (Ezek. xix. 10).

These things were said of the Jewish Church.

Jesus stretched forth His hand towards His disciples and said, My mother and my brethern are they that hear the Word of God and do it (Luke viii. 21; Matt. xii. 48, 49; Mark iii. 33-35).

By the disciples of the Lord is meant the church.

There stood by the cross of Jesus, His mother, and Jesus seeing the mother and the disciple standing by whom He loved, said unto His mother, Woman, behold thy son; and He said to the disciple, Behold thy mother. Wherefore from that hour the disciple took her unto his own (John xix. 25-27).

By this is meant that the Lord did not acknowledge Mary as mother, but the Church; for which reason He called her “woman,” and mother of the disciple. He called her the mother of this disciple, or of John, because he represented the Church as to the goods of charity. These are the church in very effect. It is therefore said that he took her unto his own. It may be seen in the Apocalypse Revealed, n. 5, 6, 790, 798, 879, that Peter represented truth and faith; James, charity; and John, the works of charity. And that the twelve disciples together represented the church as to all things of it, n. 233, 790, 903, 915.

* The Latin text has: “Ye have put away.”

120. (3) That the offspring from the Lord as Husband and Father, and the Church as Wife and Mother, are all spiritual; and are meant in the spiritual sense of the Word by sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, and by other names which are those of generation. That no other offspring are borne by the Church from the Lord needs no demonstration, because reason sees it without. For it is the Lord from whom every good and every truth proceeds, and the Church, which receives them and brings them into effect; and all the spiritual things of heaven and of the church relate to good and truth. Hence it is that by “sons and daughters” in the Word, in its spiritual sense, truths and goods are meant; by “sons,” truths conceived in the spiritual man and born in the natural; and by “daughters,” goods in like manner. For that reason they who are regenerated by the Lord are called in the Word “sons of God,” “sons of the kingdom,” “born of Him,” and the Lord called His disciples “sons.” Nothing else is signified by the male child which the woman brought forth, and which was caught up to God, in Rev. xii. 5. See Apocalypse Revealed, n. 543. It is because “daughters” signify the goods of the church that the “daughter of Zion,” “of Jerusalem,” “of Israel,” and “of Judah,” are so often mentioned in the Word, by which no daughter is meant, but affection of good, which is of the church. See Apocalypse Revealed, n. 612. The Lord also calls those who are of His church brethren and sisters in Matt. xii. 49; xxv. 40; xxviii. 10; Mark iii. 35; Luke viii. 21.