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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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