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Human Prudence and the Love of Offspring
A Compilation of Passages 3 (Concluded)

by Rev. Robert S. Jungé

41. With married partners of disunited soul the conjunction takes place in a middle love.

"The objection may be raised, against the things confirmed above, that still the soul from the father is propagated. although it is not conjoined with the soul of the mother, yea, although cold residing there separates. But the reason why nevertheless souls or offspring are propagated is that the understanding of the man is not closed, but that it can be elevated into the light in which the soul is, although the love of his will is not elevated into the heat correspondent to the light there, except by a life which from natural makes him spiritual. Hence it is that nevertheless the soul is procreated; but in its descent while it is becoming seed, it is covered over by such things as are of his natural love. From this springs hereditary evil. I will add to this a secret which is from heaven: That between the disunited souls of the two, especially of marriage partners, a conjunction is effected in a middle love, and that otherwise with men (homines) conceptions would not take place." (CL 245)

43. This section treats of the life of the embryo or foetus, and its spiritual associations, which any thoughtful New Churchman will want to consider in relation to abortion or abortive methods of birth control. Section 44 treats of the correspondence and use of the ovum. Section 45 of the correspondence and use of the seed. Section 46 of the appropriation by the wife of the husband's vital forces of control either destroy the embryo or foetus, destroy the sperm or egg, or block the reception of the seed by the wife. The Catholic Church has devoted tremendous scientific energy to determining which of these alternatives actually takes place with use of the "pill". The "facts" are of great importance to their doctrinal position, yet definitive information is still lacking.

"That the Lord's Providence is infinite, and regards what is eternal, may be seen from the formation of embryos in the womb, where lineaments are continually projected toward those which are to come, so that one lineament is always a plane for another, and this without any error, until the embryo is formed; and after it has been born, one thing is prepared successively toward another and for another, in order that a perfect man may come forth, and at last such a man as to be capable of receiving heaven. If all the details are thus provided during man's conception, birth, and growth, how much more must this be the case with regard to the spiritual life." (AC 6491)

"There is a likeness and analogy between the formation of man in the womb and His reformation and regeneration. The reformation of man is altogether similar to his formation in the womb,, with this difference only, that for a man to be reformed he must have will and understanding, while in the womb he has not will and understanding; but this difference does not exclude the likeness and analogy." (Div Wis IV)

"Since, then, man is not life, but is a recipient of life, it follows that the conception of a man from his father is not a conception of life, but only a conception of the first and purest form capable of receiving life; and to this, as to a nucleus or starting point in the womb, are successively added substances and matters in forms adapted to the reception of life, in their order and degree." (DLW 6)

"All spirits and angels appear to themselves as men; of such a face and such a body, with organs and members; and this for the reason that their inmost conspires to such a form; just as the primitive of man, which is from the soul of the parent, endeavors toward the formation of the whole man in the ovum and the womb, although this primitive is not in the form of the body, but in another most perfect form known to the Lord alone; and inasmuch as the inmost with every one in like manner conspires and endeavors toward such a form, therefore all there appear as men." (AC 3633) (cf DLW 432)

"While man is an embryo, or while he is yet in the womb, he is in the kingdom of the heart; but when he has come forth from the womb, he comes into the kingdom of the lungs; and if through the truths of faith he suffers himself to be brought into the good of love, he then returns from the kingdom of the lungs into the kingdom of the heart in the Grand Man; for he thus comes a second time into the womb and is born again..." (AC 4931:3)

"...For the 'womb' signifies inmost conjugial love, and thence celestial love in the whole complex; and the embryo in the womb signifies the truth of doctrine from the good of celestial love, for it has a similar signification as 'the son a male' which the woman brought forth, described in the fifth verse, which signifies the doctrine of truth from the good of love, but with the difference that the embryo, being vet in the womb, partakes more from the good of innocence than after it is born, therefore the embryo and the son a male both signify the doctrine of truth, the latter doctrine itself, but the former nascent doctrine..." (AE 710)

"...The 'womb' signifies the inmost good of love, because all the members devoted to generation, both with males and with females, signify conjugial love, and 'the womb' its inmost, because there the foetus is conceived and grows, until it is born; moreover, it is the inmost of the genital organs, and from it is also derived the maternal love that is called storgé. Because the man who is regenerating is also conceived, and as it were carried in the womb and born, and because regeneration is effected by truths from the good of love, so 'to bear in the womb' signifies in the spiritual sense the doctrine of truth from the good of love. There is also a correspondence of the womb with the inmost good of love, since the whole heaven corresponds to all things with man (of which correspondence see in the work on HEAVEN AND HELL, n. 87-102); and thus also the members devoted to generation; these correspond there to celestial love. There is also n influx of the love out of heaven with mothers during the time of gestation, and into the embryos; and from it springs the love of the babe with mothers. and innocence with babes. This shows why the 'womb' signifies the inmost good of love, and 'to bear in the womb' signifies the nascent doctrine of truth from the good of love..." (AE 710:2 )

"...While in this phantasy of an infant lying below (her), the idea assumed a character of cruelty, as if prompting her to kill the infant, because such is their quality that having lasciviousness for an end, they are prone to murder infants, as they do not desire them, but would fain put them to death under the promptings of their lustful passions..." (SD 3924)

"And shall strike a pregnant woman. That this signifies the injuring of the good which is from truth, is evident from the signification of 'to strike' as being to injure; and from the signification of 'a pregnant woman' as being the formation of good from truth. That this is signified by 'a pregnant woman' is because the regeneration of man, which is the generation of the spiritual life in him, is meant in the internal sense of the Word by the generation of his natural life which is from his parents. For when a man is born anew, he is then first conceived, afterward carried as in the womb, and finally is born. And because regeneration, or the generation of spiritual life, is the conjunction of truth and of good, that is, of faith and of charity, therefore by 'carrying in the womb' is signified the initiation of truth into good. From this it is plain what is signified by 'a pregnant women', namely, the state of the formation of good from truths..." (AC 9042)

"...The case herein is that the man who is conceived anew, carried as it were in the womb, and born, that is, who is being regenerated, first learns from the doctrine of the church, or from the Word, the things which are of faith and charity, which he then stores up among the memory-knowledges that are in the memory which belongs to the external or natural man. From this they are called forth into the internal man, and are stored up in its memory (that man has two memories see n. 2469-2494). This is the beginning of spiritual life with the man, but he is not yet regenerated..." (AC 9043)

"The formation of man in the womb by the Lord by means of influx into these two receptacles.
1. The Lord conjoins Himself to man in the womb of the mother from his first conception, and forms man .... That life itself is present from first conception and is what gives form, follows from this, that in order to be the form of life which man is, and in order to be an image and likeness of God, which man also is, and in order to be a recipient of love and wisdom, which are life from the Lord, thus a recipient of the Lord Himself, man must be formed by life itself... While man is in the womb he is in a state of innocence: therefore his first state after birth is a state of innocence; and the Lord dwells in man only in his innocence, consequently He especially dwells in him when he as it were innocence. Likewise, man is then in a state of peace. Man is then in a state of innocence and peace, because the Divine love and Divine wisdom are innocence itself and peace itself .... I foresee that when you read this, some doubts may occur to your mind; but read to the end, and afterwards recollect, and the doubts will disappear . ...it follows that the forming Divine is in (will and understanding) and through them is in their continuations, it is in them spiritually, not materially, for it is in their uses; and uses regarded in themselves are immaterial, while the things necessary for uses to become effects are material. These two receptacles, which are the beginnings of man, are from the father; his formation to the full time of birth is from the mother; for the seed is from the man; his are the spermatic vessels and testicles in which the seed is elaborated and secreted; it is received by the female, hers is the womb wherein the heat by which it is fostered and in which are the little mouths by which it is nourished. In nature nothing exists except from seed, and nothing grows except by means of heat. What kind of form these beginnings have, which belong to man only, will be shown in what follows, As the rudiment of man is seed, and this is a double receptacle of life, it is clear that the human soul is not life from life, that is, life in itself, for there is but one life, and that is God ....

3. Love and wisdom unitedly and harmoniously form each and all things, and yet in these things they may be distinguished .... Nevertheless in the formation of things they do not operate as two but as one... (3) As there are two things, love and wisdom, that form the embryo in the womb, so there are two receptacles one for love and the other for wisdom; so again there are two things in the body throughout, and these likewise are distinct and united...

4. The receptacles are distinguished into three degrees with man, one within the other; and the two higher are dwelling-places of the Lord, but not the lowest... These receptacles are not tubular or hollowed out like little vessels, but they are like the brain, of which they are an exceedingly minute and invisible type, with a delineation resembling a face in front, with no visible appendage .... Thus was seen by me and shown to me the primitive of man, the first or lowest degree of which was the structure first described, and the third or highest degree was the structure thirdly described, thus one was within the other .... With clean beasts these receptacles are not reflected or turned contrary to the order of the flux of the universe, but are conformable to it; therefore from birth, as soon as they are brought forth, they are led into their functions and know them... Will and understanding with man do not begin until the lungs are opened, and this does not take place until after birth; then the will of man becomes the receptacle of love, and the understanding becomes the receptacle of wisdom. They do not become such receptacles until the lungs are opened, because the lungs correspond to the life of understanding, and the heart corresponds to the life of the will, and without the cooperation of the understanding and will, man has no life of his own, as there is no life apart from the cooperation of love and wisdom by means of which the embryo is formed and vivified, as has been said before. In the embryo the heart alone beats, and the liver leaps, the heart for the circulation of the blood and the liver for the reception of nourishment; from these is the motion of the other viscera, and this motion is felt as pulsative after the middle period of gestation, But this motion is not from any life proper to the foetus; one's own life is the life of the will and the life of the understanding; while the life of the infant is the life of commencing will and commencing understanding; from these only do the sensitive and the motor life in the body exist; and this life is not possible from the beating of the heart alone, but is possible from the conjunction of this with the respiration of the lungs .... From all this a conclusion may be formed about the quality of the life of the foetus in the womb, in which only the heart performs its motions, and not yet the lungs, namely, that nothing of the life of the will and nothing of the life of the understanding is present in it; but the formation is effected solely by the life from the Lord by which man afterwards is to live. But about this more may be seen in the following article.

6. There is life in the embryo before birth, but the embryo is not conscious of it. This follows from what has been said above; also that the life from which the embryo in the womb lives is not its life, but the Lord's alone, who alone is life." (Div Wis III)

"...It was further said that it is evident that the all of life is from the Lord from this fact also, that the soul of man can in the womb so wonderfully form a body, and its manifold members and organs in such a connection, and its interiors according to the image of heaven: this could not possibly be done unless all life were from the Lord, and unless heaven were such as has been described." (AC 6467)

"...So long as man remains in the womb he does not have these two faculties; as it has been shown above that nothing whatever of will or of understanding belongs to the foetus in its formation. From this it follows that the Lord has prepared two receptacles one for the will of the future man, and the other for his understanding, the receptacle called the will for the reception of love, and the receptacle called the understanding for the reception of wisdom; also that He has prepared these by means of His love and His wisdom; but these two do not pass into the man until he has been fully formed for birth. Moreover, the Lord has provided means for the more and more full reception in these of love and wisdom from Himself as man matures and grows old ...." (Div Wis V )

"...in man after birth the receptacle of love becomes the will, and the receptacle of wisdom becomes the understanding; for after birth the lungs are opened, and these with the heart inaugurate the active life which pertains to man’s will, and the sensitive life which pertains to his understanding. These lives do not exist from the separate operation of the heart, or from the separate operation of the lungs, but from their cooperation: nor do they exist apart from correspondence, or in a swoon or in cases of suffocation." (Div Wis VI)

"...After conception the efficient (that is the conceived seed) begins to produce the effect which takes place in the womb; when these states have been fulfilled, and the time for bringing forth is near, then the effect commences, and is called the first of the effect, for then the offspring begins to act as of itself, and to exert itself to attain that very state which is called the state of the effect." (AC 3298 )

"That wives have one state of love before conception, and another state after it even to the bringing forth. This is adduced to the end that it may be known, that the love of procreating and the consequent love of what is procreated are with women inherent in conjugial love. And that these two loves in her are divided when the end which is the love of procreating begins its progression. That then the love of storgé is transferred from the wife into the husband; and also that then the love of procreating, which with woman makes one with her conjugial love, as has been said is not similar is manifest from many indications." (CL 403 )

"...All the members devoted to generation in both sexes, especially the womb, correspond to societies of the third or inmost heaven, and for the reason that love truly conjugial is derived from the Lord's love for the church, and from the love of good and truth which is the love of the angels of the third heaven; [NB:] therefore conjugial love, which descends therefrom as the love of the heavens, is innocence, which is the very esse of every good in the heavens. And for this reason embryos in the womb are in a state of peace, and after birth infants are in a state of innocence; so too, is the mother in relation to them. (3) As this is the correspondence of the genital organs of both sexes, it is evident that from creation they are holy, and therefore they are devoted solely to chaste and pure conjugial love, and are not to be profaned by the unchaste and impure love of adultery. by which man converts the heaven with himself into hell .... (AE 985:2-3)

[NB:] "It is by means of the inmost heaven that the Lord insinuates love truly conjugial, the beginning and origin of which is from the inmost heaven; it then proceeds through the medium of the lower heavens. Hence also comes storgé, for the celestial angels of the inmost heaven love infants far more than the parents, or the mothers, do; indeed they are present with infants and have the care of them, yea they are even present with them in the maternal womb, as I was told, and are solicitous in caring for their nourishment; thus they preside over the womb during gestation." (SD 1201)

"The Lord instills marriage love through the inmost heaven, the angels of which are in peace beyond all others. Peace in the heavens may be compared to springtime in the world which renders all things joyous, for in its origin peace is essentially celestial. The angels of the inmost heaven are the wisest of all, and their innocence gives them an infantile appearance, for they love infants much more than do their fathers and mothers. They are present with infants in the womb, and through them the Lord cares for the nutrition and development of the infants therein; thus they have charge over those who are with child." (AC 5052)

"(Those) who most tenderly love infants, so that they only (love) the foetus, and infants (and) are as most tender mothers, so that they can scarce live, but in a state where the tender love of infants prevails, these constitute a province in the quarter (vico) of the testicles, and organs dependent thence: and in woman (the province) of the neck of the womb, and of the womb with the ovaries, and each of its appendages, Those who are in such province, live in the sweetest, most agreeable (and) happy life, that it cannot be described, only (that) its state (is) agreeableness and sweetness. Their province is between the loins." (SD 3152)

"But what and of what quality those heavenly societies are which belong to the several organs of generation, it has not been given me to know; for they are too interior to be comprehended by any one who is in a lower sphere. They bear relation to the uses of these organs, which uses are hidden, and are far from ken, for the reason (which also is of Providence) that such things, in themselves most heavenly, may not suffer injury by filthy thoughts of lasciviousness, of whoredom, and of adultery, which are excited in very many persons at the bare mention of these organs. For this reason I may relate some of the more remote things that I have seen.

"By ends of good, or by good therein, the Lord disposes all things which are in the Natural, for the end is as the soul, and the Natural is as the body of that soul; such as the soul is, such is the body wherewith it is encompassed, thus such as the Rational is as to good, such is the Natural wherewith it is clothed around. It is known that the soul of man begins in the ovum of the mother, and is afterwards perfected in her womb, and is there encompassed with a tender body, and this indeed of such a nature, that by it the soul is enabled to act suitably in the world into which it is born. The case is similar when man is born again,... Hence it is manifest, that an image of the reformation of man is exhibited in his formation in the womb; ...." (AC 3571)

(CL 397 refers to "conceives, as it were, cherishes them, carries them, brings them forth, gives them suck ....)

44. The female organs, the womb and the egg, have beautiful and heavenly correspondences, consistent with their use. (The following passages are a representative sampling)

"There are heavenly communities to which correspond each and all the members and organs of generation in both sexes. These communities are distinct from others, just as this province in man is quite distinct and separate from the rest. The reason why these communities are celestial, is that marriage love is the fundamental love of all loves (n. 686, 2733, 2737, 2738). It also excels the rest in use, and consequently in delight; for marriages are the nurseries of the whole human race, and are also the nurseries of the Lord's heavenly kingdom; for heaven is from the human race. Those who have loved infants most tenderly, as for instance loving mothers, are in the province of the womb and the organs around about, namely, in the province of the neck of the womb and of the ovaries; their life is most sweet and delightful, and they are in heavenly joy beyond all others." (AC 5053-4) (cf AE 985:2)

"...from the signification of the 'womb', as being where good and truth lie conceived, consequently where that is which is of the church. The 'womb' in the genuine sense signifies the inmost of conjugial love in which is innocence, because in the Grand Man the womb corresponds to this love; and as conjugial love has its origin from the love of good and truth which belongs to the heavenly marriage, and as this marriage is heaven itself, or the Lord's kingdom, and as the Lord's kingdom on earth is the church, therefore the church also is signified by the 'womb'; for the church is where the marriage of good and truth is. For this reason it is that 'opening the womb' denotes the derivative doctrines of churches (n. 3856), and also the capacity to receive the truths and goods of the church (n. 3967); and that 'coming forth from the womb' denotes to be reborn or regenerated (see n. 4904), that is, to be made a church, for whoever is reborn or regenerated is made a church ...." (AC 4918)

" …In a word, the interior man, or spirit itself, is from the father; but the outer man, or body itself, is from the mother; which every one can comprehend merely from the fact that the soul itself is implanted by the father, and this begins to clothe itself in a little bodily form in the ovule. Whatever is afterwards added, whether in the ovule or in the womb, is of the mother, for it has no increase from anywhere else ...." (AC 1815)

"...Therefore the first thing that is produced is called holy, and signifies that all things that are afterwards produced are holy. This makes clear that the opening of the womb or matrix signifies the opening of the spiritual mind. This signification of opening the womb or matrix is from correspondence, the womb corresponding to the good of celestial love ...." (AE 865:3)

45. The seed contains the inmost of man's life, is holy, and progresses from his soul throughout his body. It is in a most perfect form known to the Lord alone, and comes from a spiritual origin. Its correspondence of all the organs associated with it are beautiful and pure. A thoughtful reading of the following passages will show how they are consistent ultimates for the marriage of good and truth, and have a real bearing on anything which is harmful to the seed or its use.

"...(2) Since the soul of man is the man himself, and is spiritual in its origin, it is evident why the mind, disposition, nature, inclination, and affection of the father's love dwell in offspring after offspring, and return and display themselves from generation to generation ....For in the semen from which every man is conceived there exists a graft or offshoot of the father's soul in its fullness, within a sort of envelope formed of elements from nature; and by means of this his body is formed in the mother's womb, which body may become a likeness either of the father or of the mother, the image of the father still remaining within it and constantly striving to put itself forth; consequently if it cannot accomplish this in the first offspring it does in those that follow. (3) A likeness of the father in its fullness exists in the semen for the reason, as has been said, that the soul from its origin is spiritual; and the spiritual has nothing in common with space, and is therefore like itself in little compass as in great ...." (TCR 103)

"...He derives it from the father, from whom he has a soul that is clothed with a body in the mother. For the seed, which is from the father, is the first receptacle of life, but such a receptacle as it was with the father; for the seed is in the form of his love, and each one's love is, in things greatest and least, similar to itself; and there is in the seed a conatus to the human form, and by successive steps it goes forth into that form ...." (DLW 269)

"...The seed is the primal form of the love in which the father is; it is the form of his ruling love with its nearest derivations, which are the inmost affections of that love. (4) In every one these affections are encompassed with the honesties that belong to moral life and with the goodnesses that belong partly to the civil and partly to the spiritual life. These constitute the external of life even with the wicked ...." (DP 220)

"...For as before said the 'seed' is the truth of faith, and 'conception' is reception, and reception is effected when truth which is of the understanding passes into good which is of the will, or when truth which is of faith passes into good which is of charity; and when it is in the will, it is in its womb, and is then first produced; and when man is in good in act, that is, when he produces good from the will, thus from delight and freedom, it then goes forth from the womb or is born--which also is meant by being reborn or regenerated .... (AC 4904)

"Various things respecting procreation by seed (n 291-294 (( CL 220, 245)).

The state of the extreme arts in the body is dependent on the state of the mind (n 528-538 ((CL 221, 355)).

The ultimate region where the organs of generation are. The soul and the mind are there in their ultimates. Various things respecting influx and operation (n 539-548 ((CL 183, 310)).

Formation of the seed and thus of man (539-548, 549-560 ((CL 133, 220, 245)).

Whence the seed (n 659-662 ((CL 127, 245))." (First Index on Marriage SEED)

"Those who love infants, and educate them in heaven, constitute the province of the genital members, especially of the testicles and the neck of the womb, and live the most sweet and happy life." (De Conj 99)

"...I was told that such are those in the beginning who are afterwards received among those who constitute the province of the seminal vesicles; for in these vesicles is collected the semen combined with its proper serum and thereby rendered fit, after it has been emitted, to be resolved in the neck of the womb, and thus to be serviceable for conception; and there is in such a substance an endeavor and as it were a longing to perform a use, thus to put off the serum with which it is surrounded. Something similar showed itself in this spirit. He came again to me, but in vile clothing, and said that he was burning to come to heaven, and that he now perceived he was fit for it. I was allowed to tell him that perhaps this was an indication that he would soon be received. He was then told by angels to cast off his garment; and in his longing he cast it off with all imaginable speed. This represented the ardour of the desires of those who are in the province to which the seminal vesicles correspond." (AC 5056)(=EU 79, SD 875, 960, 972, 1138)

"That men have ability according to their love of propagating the truths of wisdom and according to their love of performing uses. That this is so one among the secret things known to the ancients, which at this day are lost. The ancients knew that each and every thing that is done in the body is done from a spiritual origin; as that from the will, which is spiritual actions flow; that from thought, which is also in itself spiritual, speech flows; and that natural sight is from the spiritual sight, which is under standing; natural hearing, from spiritual hearing which is the attention of the understanding and at the same time the compliance of the will; and natural smell, from spiritual smell, which is perception; and so on. The ancients saw that in like manner virile semination is from a spiritual origin. From many proofs,, both of reason and of experience, they concluded that it is from the truths of which the understanding consists. And they said that from the spiritual marriage, which is of good and truth, which flows into all things and into every thing of the universe, nothing is received by males but truth and what relates to truth; and that this in its progress in the body is formed into seed, and that thence it is that seeds, understood spiritually are truths. As regards formation: That as the masculine soul is intellectual so it is truth, for the intellectual is nothing else; therefore while the soul is descending, truth also descends. That this comes to pass through the fact that the soul, which is the inmost of man and of every animal, and in its essence is spiritual, from an inherent impulse to propagate itself follows in the descent and wills to procreate itself, and that while this is being done, the whole soul forms itself and clothes itself and becomes seed; and that this can be done thousands and thousands of times, because the soul is a spiritual substance which has not extension but impletion, and from which there is no taking out of a part but production of the whole without any loss of it. Hence it is that it is just as fully in its least receptacles, which are seeds, as in its greatest receptacle which is the body. As truth of the soul is therefore the origin of seed it follows that men have ability according to their love of propagating the truths of their wisdom. That it is also according to their love of performing uses, is because uses are the goods which truths produce. It is also known to some in the world that the industrious have ability and not the idle. I have asked how the feminine is propagated from a virile soul. I received the answer that it is from intellectual good, because in its essence this is truth. For the understanding can think that this is good, thus that it is a truth that it is good. It is otherwise with the will. This does not think of good and truth, but loves and does them. It may be seen above at 120, that for this reason truths are signified in the Word by sons and goods by daughters; and that truth is signified in the Word by seed may be seen in AR 565)." (CL 220)

[NB:] "That adultery is hell, and consequently an abomination, any one can perceive from the idea of the mixture of diverse seed in the womb of one woman, for in man's seed there lies hidden the inmost of his life, and thus the rudiment of a new life; and for this reason it is holy. To make this common with the inmosts and rudiments of others, as is done in adulteries is profane. This is why adultery is hell, and why hell in general is called adultery. And as from such a mixture nothing but corruption, also from a spiritual origin, can exist, it follows that adultery is an abomination. (3) Consequently in the brothels that are in hell foulnesses of every kind appear; and when light out of heaven is let into them, adulteresses are seen lying with adulterers, like swine in filth itself; and what is wonderful, like swine they are in their delights when they are in the midst of filth. But these brothels are kept closed because when they are opened a stench is exhaled that excites vomiting. It is otherwise in chaste marriages. In these the life of the husband adds itself through the seed to the life of the wife. and from this there is inmost conjunction, by which they become not two, but one flesh. And according to conjunction by means of that conjugial love increases, and with it every good of heaven." (AE 1005:2)

"...Take a tree, or its seed, its fruit, its flower, or its leaf, gather up the wisdom that is in you, examine the object with a good microscope, and you will see wonderful things; while the interiors that you do not see are still more wonderful. Observe the order in its development, how the tree grows from seed even to new seed, and consider whether there is not at every successive step a continual endeavor to propagate itself further; for the final thing to which it aims is seed, in which its reproductive power exists anew. And if you are willing to think spiritually, which you can do if you wish, will you not now see wisdom here? And if you are willing to go far enough in spiritual thought, will you not see also that this power is not from the seed, nor from the sun of the world, which is pure fire, but is in the seed from God the Creator, whose wisdom is infinite; and in it not only at the moment it was created, but continually afterwards? For maintenance involves perpetual creation, as permanence involves a perpetual springing forth ...." (DP 3)

"The soul is in a state of perpetual fructification and multiplication (n 498501 ((CL 220))."

"Various things respecting influx, formation of seed, and the opening of the interiors of the mind (539-548 ((CL n 220))." (First Index on Marriage, SOUL)

"There is an influx from the Lord through heaven into the subjects also of the vegetable kingdom; as into trees of every kind, and into their fructifications; and into plants of various kinds, and their multiplications. Unless a spiritual principle from the Lord within continually acted into their primitive forms, which are in the seeds, they would never vegetate and grow in so wonderful a manner and succession; but the forms therein are such that they do not receive anything of life. It is from this influx that they have within them an image of the eternal and infinite, as is evident from the fact that they are in the continual endeavor to propagate their kind and their species, and thus to live as it were forever, and also to fill the universe:, this endeavor being in every seed. Taut man attributes all these marvelous things to mere nature, nor believes in any influx from the spiritual world, because at heart he denies it; although he might know that nothing can subsist except through that from which it has come forth; that is, that subsistence is a perpetual coming forth; or what is the same, production is continual creation ...." (AC 3648)

46. The ultimate goal confirms the highest ideals, namely, that the vital of the husband may add itself to the vital of the wife, without interference and with innocent willingness to be led by the Lord. In this way they literally become one flesh as she receives his seed - the very off shoots of his soul. Adultery is strongly condemned therefore, on account of the mixing of seed in the wife.

"Adulteries are most filthy may appear only from this, that the seed of the man as to its spiritual, and also as to its interior natural adds itself to the body of the woman, for the man's life is in it; what then, can it be when the lives of several men are introduced at the same time, but filthiness and interior putridity." (De Conj 37)

"Adulteries are the worst of all abominations because the seed of man is his life which is conjoined with the life of the wife, so that they are not two but one flesh; but when the lives of many men are immitted into one woman, there becomes such foulness that on account of the abomination it cannot be described, it becomes such before the angels." (L.J. Post 341)

"...also that it makes men to be loves in form, since consorts can love each other mutually from inmosts, and thus form themselves into loves; while adultery destroys this form, and with it the image of the Lord, and, what is horrible, the adulterer mingles his life with the husbands life in his wife, since a man's life is in his seed ...." (DP 144:2)

"...Moreover they are multiplied with continual increase to eternity. These delights have their origin in the fact that the married pair wish to be united into one as to their minds, and into such a union heaven breathes from the marriage of good and truth from the Lord in heaven. (3) I will here say something about the marriages of angels in heaven. They declare that they are in continual potency, that after the acts there is never any weariness, still less any sadness, but eagerness of life and cheerfulness of mind, that the married pair pass the night in each other's bosoms as if they were created into one, that effects are constantly open, that they are never lacking when they have desire, since without these their love would be like the channel of a fountain stopped up. The effect opens that channel and causes continuance and conjunction that they may become as one flesh; for the vital of the husband adds itself to the vital of the wife and binds together. They declare that the delights of the effects cannot be described in the expressions of any language in the natural world, nor be thought of in any except spiritual ideas, and that even these do not exhaust them. These things have been told me by angels." (AE 992:2-3)

"That the wife is conjoined to the husband by the appropriation of the powers of his manhood; but that this takes place according to their mutual spiritual love. That this is so I have also taken from the mouth of the angels. They said that the prolific gifts imparted by husbands are received by wives in a universal manner and add themselves to their life; and that thus wives lead a life unanimous and gradually more unanimous with their husbands; and that thereby is effectively wrought a union of souls and a conjunction of minds. They said the reason is this, that in the prolific (gift) of the husband is his soul, and his mind also as to its interiors which are conjoined to the soul. They added that this was provided from creation, in order that the wisdom of the man which constitutes his soul may be appropriated to the wife, and that thus they may become, according to the Lord's word, one flesh. And also that this was provided lest after conception the male man should from some fancy leave his wife. But they added, that applications and appropriations of the life of husbands with wives are effected according to their conjugial love, for love which is spiritual union conjoins; and that this too was provided for many reasons. (15) That the wife thus receives into herself the image of her husband, and thence perceives, sees, and feels his affections. From the reasons adduced above it follows as proven that wives receive into themselves the things which are proper to their souls and minds; and thus from virgins they make themselves wives. The reasons from whence this follows are: (1) That the woman was created from the man. (2) That thence there is an inclination in her to unite herself and as it were reunite herself with the man. (3) That from this union with her companion, and for the sake of it, the woman is born the love of the man; and becomes more and more his love by marriage, because then the love continually employs its thoughts about conjoining the man to herself. (4) That she is conjoined to her only one by applications to his life's desires. (5) That they are conjoined by the spheres which encompass them and which unite themselves, universally and singly, according to the quality of conjugial love with the wives, and at the same time according to the quality of the wisdom that receives it on the part of the husbands. (6) That they are conjoined also through appropriations by wives of the powers of the husbands. (7) Whence it is clear that something of the husband is continually transcribed into the wife and is inscribed upon her as her own. From all this it follows, that an image of the husband is formed in the wife; from which image the wife perceives, sees, and feels within herself the things that are in her husband,, and thence as it were herself in him. She perceives by communication, sees by look, and feels by the touch. That she feels the reception of her love by the husband by the touch in the palms, upon her cheeks, arms, hands and breasts, the three wives in a hall and the seven wives in a garden of roses disclosed to me; of which in the relations." (CL 172-3)

"That those who have lived together in love truly conjugial do not wish to marry again unless for reasons apart from conjugial love. Why those who have lived in love truly conjugial do not desire to marry again after the death of their married partner is for these reasons. (1) Because [NB:] they are united as to souls, and thence as to minds and this unition being spiritual is an actual adjunction of the soul and mind of the one to those of the other, which can by no means be dissolved, That such is the nature of spiritual conjunction has been shown here and above. (2) That as to the body also they are united through the reception by the wife of the propagations of the soul of the husband, and thus by the insertion of his life into hers, whereby-the virgin becomes a wife! and on the other hand through the reception of the conjugial love of the wife by the husband, which arranges the interiors of his mind, and at the same time the interiors and exteriors of his body, into a state receptive of love and perceptive of wisdom, which state makes him from a young man into a husband (about which see above n 198) (3) That a sphere of love from the wife and a sphere of understanding from the man flows forth continually, and that this perfects the conjunctions; and that this with its pleasant aroma surrounds them, and unites them, may be seen above at n 223. (4) That married partners thus united in marriage think and breathe what is eternal, and upon this idea their eternal happiness is founded may be seen at n. 216 (5) It is by virtue o-L2' all these realities that they are no more two but one man, that is, one flesh." (CL 321 )

"How the seed is distributed through the body in all directions, is received by the soul (anima) which is in the whole body, thus in the fibres and vessels everywhere, and then delights, gives pleasure to the wife, and fills with delight; (and thus is she formed into the form of the man. This is, Bone and flesh of my bone and flesh. How it produces intelligence in him; and how it produces impregnation.) (SD 6110:63)

"How the husband's life enters the wife, through the thighs, and by means of love. How truth then becomes good, or understanding the will of the wife, and how, finally, the husband's understanding becomes the form of the wife's affection. Thus, how it is to be understood that the wife was formed from Adam’s rib, and that Adam said, Bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; also, that they shall become one flesh, and that a man shall cleave to his wife." (SD 6110:20)

"A wife is actually formed into the love of her husband's wisdom; and this is done by the reception of the offshoots of his soul, together with the delight that arises from her desire to be the love of her husband's wisdom; thus from being a virgin she becomes a wife; thus she becomes a similitude (279-281, CL 172, 173, 198, 199)." (First Index on Marriage, SEX p. 532)

"...This universal marriage is the source of conjugial love between husband and wife. The husband has been so created as to be the understanding of truth, and the wife so created as to be the will of good, and thus the husband to be truth and the wife good; thus that both may be truth and good in form, which form is man, and the image of God. And because it is from creation that truth should be of good, and good of truth, thus mutually and reciprocally, therefore it is impossible for one truth to be united to two diverse goods, or the reverse; neither is it possible for one understanding to be united to two diverse wills, or the reverse; neither for one person who is spiritual to be united to two diverse churches; neither in like manner for one man (vir) to be inmostly united to two women. Inmost union is like that of soul and heart; the soul of the wife is the husband, and the heart of the husband is the wife. The husband communicates and conjoins his soul to the wife by actual love; it is in his seed; and the wife received it in her heart, and from this the two become one, and then each and all things in the body of the one look to their mutual in the body of the other. This is genuine marriage, which is possible only between two. For it is from creation that all things of the husband, both of his mind and of his body, have their mutual in the mind and in. the body of the wife; and thus the most particular things look mutually to each. other and will to be united. From this looking and conatus conjugial love exists. (3) All things in the body, which are called members, viscera, and organs, are nothing but natural corporeal forms corresponding to the spiritual form of the mind; from this each and all things of the body so correspond to each and all things of the mind that whatever the mind wills and thinks the body at its command instantly brings forth into act. When, therefore, two minds act as one their two bodies are potentially so united that they are no more two but one flesh. To will to become one flesh is conjugial love; and such as the willing is, such is that love ...." (AE 1004)

"...When procreations of the human race are effected by marriages in which the holy love of good and truth from the Lord reigns, then it is on earth as it is in the heavens. and the Lord's kingdom on earth corresponds to the Lord's kingdom in the heavens,...There would be a like form on the earth if the procreations there were effected by marriages in which love truly conjugial reigned; for then, however many families might descend in succession from one head of a family, there would spring forth as many images of the societies of heaven in a like variety ...." (AE 988:6)

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