295. The subject of betrothings and nuptials, and also of the rites and
ceremonies attending them, is here treated of principally from the
reason of the understanding; for the object of this book is that the
reader may see truths rationally, and thereby give his consent, for thus
his spirit is convinced; and those things in which the spirit is
convinced, obtain a place above those which, without consulting reason,
enter from authority and the faith of authority; for the latter enter
the head no further than into the memory, and there mix themselves with
fallacies and falses; thus they are beneath the rational things of the
understanding. From these any one may seem to converse rationally, but
he will converse preposterously; for in such case he thinks as a crab
walks, the sight following the tail: it is otherwise if he thinks from
the understanding; for then the rational sight selects from the memory
whatever is suitable, whereby it confirms truth viewed in itself. This
is the reason why in this chapter several particulars are adduced which
are established customs, as that the right of choice belongs to the men,
that parents ought to be consulted, that pledges are to be given, that
the conjugial covenant is to be settled previous to the nuptials, that
it ought to be performed by a priest, also that the nuptials ought to be
celebrated; besides several other particulars, which are here mentioned
in order that every one may rationally see that such things are assigned
to conjugial love, as requisite to promote and complete it. The articles
into which this section is divided are the following; I. _The right of
choice belongs to the man, and not to the woman._ II. _The man ought to
court and intreat the woman respecting marriage with him, and not the
woman the man._ III. _The woman ought to consult her parents, or those
who are in the place of parents, and then deliberate with herself,
before she consents._ IV. _After a declaration of consent, pledges are
to be given._ V. _Consent is to be secure and established by solemn
betrothing._ VI. _By betrothing, each party is prepared for conjugial
love._ VII. _By betrothing, the mind of the one is united to the mind of
the other, so as to effect a marriage of the spirit previous to a
marriage of the body._ VIII. _This is the case with those who think
chastely of marriages: but it is otherwise with those who think
unchastely of them._ IX. _Within the time of betrothing, it is not
allowable to be connected corporeally._ X. _When the time of betrothing
is completed, the nuptials ought to take place._ XI. _Previous to the
celebration of the nuptials, the conjugial covenant is to be ratified in
the presence of witnesses._ XII. _The marriage is to be consecrated by a
priest._ XIII. _The nuptials are to be celebrated with festivity._ XIV.
_After the nuptials, the marriage of the spirit is made also the
marriage of the body, and thereby a full marriage._ XV. _Such is the
order of conjugial love with its modes from its first heat to its first
torch._ XVI. _Conjugial love precipitated without order and the modes
thereof, burns up the marrows and is consumed._ XVII. _The states of the
minds of each of the parties proceeding in successive order, flow into
the state of marriage; nevertheless in one manner with the spiritual and
in another with the natural._ XVIII. _There are successive and
simultaneous orders, and the latter is from the former and according to
it._ We proceed to an explanation of each article.
296. I. THE RIGHT OF CHOICE BELONGS TO THE MAN, AND NOT TO THE WOMAN.
This is because the man is born to be understanding, but the woman to be
love; also because with the men there generally prevails a love of the
sex, but with the women a love of one of the sex; and likewise because
it is not unbecoming for men to speak openly about love, as it is for
women; nevertheless women have the right of selecting one of their
suitors. In regard to the first reason, that the right of choice belongs
to the men, because they are born to understanding, it is grounded in
the consideration that the understanding can examine agreements and
disagreements, and distinguish them, and from judgement choose that
which is suitable: it is otherwise with the women, because they are born
to love, and therefore have no such discrimination; and consequently
their determinations to marriage would proceed only from the
inclinations of their love; if they have the skill of distinguishing
between men and men, still their love is influenced by appearances. In
regard to the other reason, that the right of choice belongs to the men,
and not to the women, because with men there generally prevails a love
of the sex, and with women a love of one of the sex, it is grounded in
the consideration, that those in whom a love of the sex prevails, can
freely look around and also determine: it is otherwise with women, in
whom is implanted a love for one of the sex. If you wish for a proof of
this, ask, if you please, the men you meet, what their sentiments are
respecting monogamical and polygamical unions; and you will seldom meet
one who will not reply in favor of the polygamical; and this also is a
love of the sex: but ask the women their sentiments on the subject, and
almost all, except the vilest of the sex, will reject polygamical
unions; from which consideration it follows, that with the women there
prevails a love of one of the sex, thus conjugial love. In regard to the
third reason, that it is not unbecoming for men to speak openly about
love, whereas it is for women, it is self-evident; hence also it
follows, that declaration belongs to the men, and therefore so does
choice. That women have the right of selecting in regard to their
suitors, is well known; but this species of selection is confined and
limited, whereas that of the men is extended and unlimited.
297. II. THE MAN OUGHT TO COURT AND INTREAT THE WOMAN RESPECTING
MARRIAGE WITH HIM, AND NOT THE WOMAN THE MAN. This naturally follows the
right of choice; and besides, to court and intreat women respecting
marriage is in itself honorable and becoming for men, but not for women.
If women were to court and entreat the men, they would not only be
blamed, but, after intreaty, they would be reputed as vile, or after
marriage as libidinous, with whom there would be no association but what
was cold and fastidious; wherefore marriages would thereby be converted
into tragic scenes. Wives also take it as a compliment to have it said
of them, that being conquered as it were, they yielded to the pressing
intreaties of the men. Who does not foresee, that if the women courted
the men, they would seldom be accepted? They would either be indignantly
rejected, or be enticed to lasciviousness, and also would dishonor their
modesty. Moreover, as was shewn above, the men have not any innate love
of the sex; and without love there is no interior pleasantness of life:
wherefore to exalt their life by that love, it is incumbent on the men
to compliment the women; courting and intreating them with civility,
courtesy, and humility, respecting this sweet addition to their life.
The superior comeliness of the female countenance, person, and manners,
above that of the men, adds itself as a proper object of desire.
298. III. THE WOMAN OUGHT TO CONSULT HER PARENTS, OR THOSE WHO ARE IN
THE PLACE OF PARENTS, AND THEN DELIBERATE WITH HERSELF, BEFORE SHE
CONSENTS. The reason why parents are to be consulted is, because they
deliberate from judgement, knowledge, and love; from _judgement_,
because they are in an advanced age, which excels in judgement, and
discerns what is suitable and unsuitable: from _knowledge_, in respect
to both the suitor and their daughter; in respect to the suitor they
procure information, and in respect to their daughter they already know;
wherefore they conclude respecting both with united discernment: from
_love_, because to consult the good of their daughter, and to provide
for her establishment, is also to consult and provide for their own and
for themselves.
299. The case would be altogether different, if the daughter consents of
herself to her urgent suitor, without consulting her parents, or those
who are in their place; for she cannot from judgement, knowledge, and
love, make a right estimate of the matter which so deeply concerns her
future welfare: she cannot from _judgement_, because she is as yet in
ignorance as to conjugial life, and not in a state of comparing reasons,
and discovering the morals of men from their particular tempers; nor
from _knowledge_, because she knows few things beyond the domestic
concerns of her parents and of some of her companions; and is
unqualified to examine into such things as relate to the family and
property of her suitor: nor from _love_, because with daughters in their
first marriageable age, and also afterwards, this is led by the
concupiscences originating in the senses, and not as yet by the desires
originating in a refined mind. The daughter ought nevertheless to
deliberate on the matter with herself, before she consents, lest she
should be led against her will to form a connection with a man whom she
does not love; for by so doing, consent on her part would be wanting;
and yet it is consent that constitutes marriage, and initiates the
spirit into conjugial love; and consent against the will, or extorted,
does not initiate the spirit, although it may the body; and thus it
converts chastity, which resides in the spirit, into lust; whereby
conjugial love in its first warmth is vitiated.
300. IV. AFTER A DECLARATION OF CONSENT, PLEDGES ARE TO BE GIVEN. By
pledges we mean presents, which, after consent, are confirmations,
testifications, first favors, and gladnesses. Those presents are
_confirmations_, because they are certificates of consent on each side;
wherefore, when two parties consent to anything, it is customary to say,
"Give me a token;" and of two, who have entered into a marriage
engagement, and have secured it by presents, that they are
pledged, thus confirmed. They are _testifications_, because those
pledges are continual visible witnesses of mutual love; hence also they
are memorials thereof; especially if they be rings, perfume-bottles or
boxes, and ribbons, which are worn in sight. In such things there is a
sort of representative image of the minds (_animorum_) of the bridegroom
and the bride. Those pledges are _first favors_, because conjugial love
engages for itself everlasting favor; whereof those gifts are the first
fruits. That they are the _gladnesses_ of love, is well known, for the
mind is exhilarated at the sight of them; and because love is in them,
those favors are dearer and more precious than any other gifts, it being
as if their hearts were in them. As those pledges are securities of
conjugial love, therefore presents after consent were in use with the
ancients; and after accepting such presents the parties were declared to
be bridegroom and bride. But it is to be observed that it is at the
pleasure of the parties to bestow those presents either before or after
the act of betrothing; if before, they are confirmations and
testifications of consent to betrothing; if after it, they are also
confirmations and testifications of consent to the nuptial tie.
301. V. CONSENT IS TO BE SECURED AND ESTABLISHED BY SOLEMN BETROTHING.
The reasons for betrothings are these: 1. That after betrothing the
souls of the two parties may mutually incline towards each other. 2.
That the universal love for the sex may be determined to one of the sex.
3. That the interior affections may be mutually known, and by
applications in the internal cheerfulness of love, may be conjoined. 4.
That the spirits of both parties may enter into marriage, and be more
and more consociated. 5. That thereby conjugial love may advance
regularly from its first warmth even to the nuptial flame. Consequently:
6. That conjugial love may advance and grow up in just order from its
spiritual origin. The state of betrothing may be compared to the state
of spring before summer; and the internal pleasantness of that state to
the flowering of trees before fructification. As the beginning and
progressions of conjugial love proceed in order for the sake of their
influx into the effective love, which commences at the nuptials,
therefore, there are also betrothings in the heavens.
302. VI. BY BETROTHING EACH PARTY IS PREPARED FOR CONJUGIAL LOVE. That
the mind or spirit of one of the parties is by betrothing prepared for
union with the mind or spirit of the other, or what is the same, that
the love of the one is prepared for union with the love of the other,
appears from the arguments just adduced. Besides which it is to be
noted, that on love truly conjugial is inscribed this order, that it
ascends and descends; it ascends from its first heat progressively
upwards towards the souls of the parties, with an endeavour to effect
their conjunction, and this by continual interior openings of their
minds; and there is no love which strives more intensely to effect such
openings, or which is more powerful and expert in opening the interiors
of minds, than conjugial love; for the soul of each of the parties
intends this: but at the same moments in which that love ascends towards
the soul, it descends also towards the body, and thereby clothes itself.
It is however to be observed, that conjugial love is such in its descent
as it is in the height to which it ascends: if it ascends high, it
descends chaste; but if not, it descends unchaste: the reason of this
is, because the lower principles of the mind are unchaste, but its
higher are chaste; for the lower principles of the mind adhere to the
body, but the higher separate themselves from them: but on this subject
see further particulars below, n. 305. From these few considerations it
may appear, that, by betrothing, the mind of each of the parties is
prepared for conjugial love, although in a different manner according to
the affections.
303. VII. BY BETROTHING THE MIND OF ONE IS UNITED TO THE MIND OF THE
OTHER, SO AS TO EFFECT A MARRIAGE OF THE SPIRIT, PREVIOUS TO A MARRIAGE
OF THE BODY. As this follows of consequence from what was said above, n.
301, 302, we shall pass it by, without adducing any further
confirmations from reason.
304. VIII. THIS IS THE CASE WITH THOSE WHO THINK CHASTELY OF MARRIAGES;
BUT IT IS OTHERWISE WITH THOSE WHO THINK UNCHASTELY OF THEM. With the
chaste, that is, with those who think religiously of marriages, the
marriage of the spirit precedes, and that of the body is subsequent; and
these are those with whom love ascends towards the soul, and from its
height thence descends; concerning whom see above, n. 302. The souls of
such separate themselves from the unlimited love for the sex, and devote
themselves to one, with whom they look for an everlasting and eternal
union and its increasing blessednesses, as the cherishers of the hope
which continually recreates their mind; but it is quite otherwise with
the unchaste, that is, with those who do not think religiously of
marriages and their holiness. With these there is a marriage of the
body, but not of the spirit: if, during the state of betrothment, there
be any appearance of a marriage of the spirit, still, if it ascends by
an elevation of the thoughts concerning it, it nevertheless falls back
again to the concupiscences which arise from the flesh in the will; and
thus from the unchaste principles therein it precipitates itself into
the body, and defiles the ultimates of its love with an alluring ardor;
and as, in consequence of this ardor, it was in the beginning all on
fire, so its fire suddenly goes out, and passes off into the cold of
winter; whence the failing (of power) is accelerated. The state of
betrothing with such scarcely answers any other purpose, than that they
may fill their concupiscences with lasciviousness, and thereby
contaminate the conjugial principle of love.
305. IX. WITHIN THE TIME OF BETROTHING IT IS NOT ALLOWABLE TO BE
CONNECTED CORPOREALLY. For thus the order which is inscribed on
conjugial love, perishes. For in human minds there are three regions, of
which the highest is called the celestial, the middle the spiritual, and
the lowest the natural. In this lowest man is born; but he ascends into
the next above it, the spiritual, by a life according to the truths of
religion, and into the highest by the marriage of love and wisdom. In
the lowest or natural region, reside all the concupiscences of evil and
lasciviousness; but in the superior or spiritual region, there are no
concupiscences of evil and lasciviousness; for man is introduced into
this region by the Lord, when he is re-born; but in the supreme or
celestial region, there is conjugial chastity in its love: into this
region a man is elevated by the love of uses; and as the most excellent
uses are from marriages, he is elevated into it by love truly conjugial.
From these few considerations, it may be seen that conjugial love, from
the first beginnings of its warmth, is to be elevated out of the lowest
region into a superior region, that it may become chaste, and that
thereby from a chaste principle it may be let down through the middle
and lowest regions into the body; and when this is the case, this lowest
region is purified from all that is unchaste by this descending chaste
principle: hence the ultimate of that love becomes also chaste. Now if
the successive order of this love is precipitated by connections of the
body before their time, it follows, that the man acts from the lowest
region, which is by birth unchaste; and it is well known, that hence
commences and arises cold in regard to marriage, and disdainful neglect
in regard to a married partner. Nevertheless events of various kinds
take place in consequence of hasty connections; also in consequence of
too long a delay, and too quick a hastening, of the time of betrothing;
but these, from their number and variety, can hardly be adduced.
306. X. WHEN THE TIME OF BETROTHING IS COMPLETED, THE NUPTIALS OUGHT TO
TAKE PLACE. There are some customary rites which are merely formal, and
others which at the same time are also essential: among the latter are
nuptials; and that they are to be reckoned among essentials, which are
to be manifested in the customary way, and to be formally celebrated, is
confirmed by the following reasons: 1. That nuptials constitute the end
of the foregoing state, into which the parties were introduced by
betrothing, which principally was a state of the spirit, and the
beginning of the following state, into which they are to be introduced
by marriage, which is a state of the spirit and body together; for the
spirit then enters into the body, and there becomes active: wherefore on
that day the parties put off the state and also the name of bridegroom
and bride, and put on the state and name of married partners and
consorts. 2. That nuptials are an introduction and entrance into a new
state, which is that a maiden becomes a wife, and a young man a husband,
and both one flesh; and this is effected while love by ultimates unites
them. That marriage actually changes a maiden into a wife, and a young
man into a husband, was proved in the former part of this work; also
that marriage unites two into one human form, so that they are no longer
two but one flesh. 3. That nuptials are the commencement of an entire
separation of the love of the sex from conjugial love, which is effected
while, by a full liberty of connection, the knot is tied by which the
love of the one is devoted to the love of the other. 4. It appears as if
nuptials were merely an interval between those two states, and thus that
they are mere formalities which may be omitted: but still there is also
in them this essential, that the new state above-mentioned is then to be
entered upon from covenant, and that the consent of the parties is to be
declared in the presence of witnesses, and also to be consecrated by a
priest; besides other particulars which establish it. As nuptials
contain in them essentials, and as marriage is not legitimate till after
their celebration, therefore also nuptials are celebrated in the
heavens; see above, n. 21, and also, n. 27-41.
307. XI. PREVIOUS TO THE CELEBRATION OF THE NUPTIALS, THE CONJUGIAL
COVENANT IS TO BE RATIFIED IN THE PRESENCE OF WITNESSES. It is expedient
that the conjugial covenant be ratified before the nuptials are
celebrated, in order that the statutes and laws of love truly conjugial
may be known, and that they may be remembered after the nuptials; also
that the minds of the parties may be bound to just marriage: for after
some introductory circumstances of marriage, the state which preceded
betrothing returns at times, in which state remembrance fails and
forgetfulness of the ratified covenant ensues; yea, it may be altogether
effaced by the allurements of the unchaste to criminality; and if it is
then recalled into the memory, it is reviled: but to prevent these
transgressions, society has taken upon itself the protection of that
covenant, and has denounced penalties on the breakers of it. In a word,
the ante-nuptial covenant manifests and establishes the sacred decrees
of love truly conjugial, and binds libertines to the observance of them.
Moreover, by this covenant, the right of propagating children, and also
the right of the children to inherit the goods of their parents, become
legitimate.
308. XII. MARRIAGE IS TO BE CONSECRATED BY A PRIEST. The reason of this
is, because marriages, considered in themselves, are spiritual, and
thence holy; for they descend from the heavenly marriage of good and
truth, and things conjugial correspond to the divine marriage of the
Lord and the church; and hence they are from the Lord himself, and
according to the state of the church with the contracting parties. Now,
as the ecclesiastical order on the earth administer the things which
relate to the Lord's priestly character, that is, to his love, and thus
also those which relate to blessing, it is expedient that marriages be
consecrated by his ministers; and as they are then the chief witnesses,
it is expedient that the consent of the parties to the covenant be also
heard, accepted, confirmed, and thereby established by them.
309. XIII. THE NUPTIALS ARE TO BE CELBRATED WITH FESTIVITY. The reasons
are, because ante-nuptial love, which was that of the bridegroom and the
bride, on this occasion descends into their hearts, and spreading itself
thence in every direction into all parts of the body, the delights of
marriage are made sensible, whereby the minds of the parties are led to
festive thoughts and also let loose to festivities so far as is
allowable and becoming; to favor which, it is expedient that the
festivities of their minds be indulged in company, and they themselves
be thereby introduced into the joys of conjugial love.
310. XIV. AFTER THE NUPTIALS, THE MARRIAGE OF THE SPIRIT IS MADE ALSO
THE MARRIAGE OF THE BODY, AND THEREBY A FULL MARRIAGE. All things which
a man does in the body, flow in from his spirit; for it is well known
that the mouth does not speak of itself, but that it is the thinking
principle of the mind which speaks by it; also that the hands do not act
and the feet walk of themselves, but that it is the will of the mind
which performs those operations by them; consequently, that the mind
speaks and acts by its organs in the body: hence it is evident, that
such as the mind is, such are the speech of the mouth and the actions of
the body. From these premises it follows as a conclusion that the mind,
by a continual influx, arranges the body so that it may act similarly
and simultaneously with itself; wherefore the bodies of men viewed
interiorly are merely forms of their minds exteriorly organized to
effect the purposes of the soul. These things are premised, in order
that it may be perceived why the minds or spirits are first to be united
as by marriage, before they are also further united in the body; namely,
that while the marriages become of the body, they may also be marriages
of the spirit; consequently, that married partners may mutually love
each other from the spirit, and thence from the body. From this ground
let us now take a view of marriage. When conjugial love unites the minds
of two persons, and forms them into a marriage, in such case it also
unites and forms their bodies into a marriage; for, as we have said, the
form of the mind is also interiorly the form of the body; only with this
difference, that the latter form is outwardly organized to effect that
to which the interior form of the body is determined by the mind. But
the mind formed from conjugial love is not only interiorly in the whole
body, round about in every part, but moreover is interiorly in the
organs appropriated to generation, which in their region are situated
beneath the other regions of the body, and in which are terminated the
forms of the mind with those who are united in conjugial love:
consequently the affections and thoughts of their minds are determined
thither; and the activities of such minds differ in this respect from
the activities of minds arising from other loves, that the latter loves
do not reach thither. The conclusion resulting from these considerations
is, that such as conjugial love is in the minds or spirits of two
persons, such is it interiorly in those its organs. But it is
self-evident that a marriage of the spirit after the nuptials becomes
also a marriage of the body, thus a full marriage, consequently, if a
marriage in the spirit is chaste, and partakes of the sanctity of
marriage, it is chaste also, and partakes of its sanctity, when it is in
its fulness in the body; and the case is reversed if a marriage in the
spirit is unchaste.
311. XV. SUCH IS THE ORDER OF CONJUGIAL LOVE WITH ITS MODES FROM ITS
FIRST HEAT TO ITS FIRST TORCH. It is said from its first heat to its
first torch, because vital heat is love, and conjugial heat or love
successively increases, and at length as it were into a flame or torch.
We have said "to its first torch," because we mean the first state after
the nuptials, when that love burns; but what its quality becomes after
this torch, in the marriage itself, has been described in the preceding
chapters; but in this part we are explaining its order from the
beginning of its career to this its first goal. That all order proceeds
from first principles to last, and that the last become the first of
some following order, also that all things of the middle order are the
last of a prior and the first of a following order, and that thus ends
proceed continually through causes into effects, may be sufficiently
confirmed and illustrated to the eye of reason from what is known and
visible in the world; but as at present we are treating only of the
order in which love proceeds from its first starting-place to its goal,
we shall pass by such confirmation and illustration, and only observe on
this subject, that such as the order of this love is from its first heat
to its first torch, such it is in general, and such is its influence in
its progression afterwards; for in this progression it unfolds itself,
according to the quality of its first heat: if this heat was chaste, its
chasteness is strengthened as it proceeds; but if it was unchaste, its
unchasteness increases as it advances, until it is deprived of all that
chasteness which, from the time of betrothing, belonged to it from
without, but not from within.
312. XVI. CONJUGIAL LOVE PRECIPITATED WITHOUT ORDER AND THE MODES
THEREOF, BURNS UP THE MARROWS AND IS CONSUMED. So it is said by some in
the heavens; and by the marrows they mean the interiors of the mind and
body. The reason why these are burnt up, that is, consumed, by
precipitated conjugial love is, because that love in such case begins
from a flame which eats up and corrupts those interiors, in which as in
its principles conjugial love should reside, and from which it should
commence. This comes to pass if the man and woman without regard to
order precipitate marriage, and do not look to the Lord, and consult
their reason, but reject betrothing and comply merely with the flesh:
from the ardor of which, if that love commences, it becomes external and
not internal, thus not conjugial; and such love may be said to partake
of the shell, not of the kernel; or may be called fleshly, lean, and
dry, because emptied of its genuine essence. See more on this subject
above n. 305.
313. XVII. THE STATES OF THE MINDS OF EACH OF THE PARTIES PROCEEDING IN
SUCCESSIVE ORDER, FLOW INTO THE STATE OF MARRIAGE; NEVERTHELESS IN ONE
MANNER WITH THE SPIRITUAL AND IN ANOTHER WITH THE NATURAL. That the last
state is such as that of the successive order from which it is formed
and exists, is a rule, which from its truth must be acknowledged by the
learned; for thereby we discover what influx is, and what it effects. By
influx we mean all that which precedes, and constitutes what follows,
and by things following in order constitutes what is last; as all that
which precedes with a man, and constitutes his wisdom; or all that which
precedes with a statesman, and constitutes his political skill; or all
that which precedes with a theologian, and constitutes his erudition; in
like manner all that which proceeds from infancy, and constitutes a man;
also what proceeds in order from a seed and a twig, and makes a tree,
and afterwards what proceeds from a blossom, and makes its fruit; in
like manner all that which precedes and proceeds with a bridegroom and
bride, and constitutes their marriage: this is the meaning of influx.
That all those things which precede in minds form series, which collect
together, one next to another, and one after another, and that these
together compose a last or ultimate, is as yet unknown in the world; but
as it is a truth from heaven, it is here adduced for it explains what
influx effects, and what is the quality of the last or ultimate, in
which the above-mentioned series successively formed co-exist. From
these considerations it may be seen that the states of the minds of each
of the parties proceeding in successive order flow into the state of
marriage. But married partners after marriage are altogether ignorant of
the successive things which are insinuated into, and exist in their
minds (_animis_) from things antecedent; nevertheless it is those things
which give form to conjugial love, and constitute the state of their
minds; from which state they act the one with the other. The reason why
one state is formed from one order with such as are spiritual, and from
another with such as are natural, is, because the spiritual proceed in a
just order, and the natural in an unjust order; for the spiritual look
to the Lord, and the Lord provides and leads the order; whereas the
natural look to themselves, and thence proceed in an inverted order;
wherefore with the latter the state of marriage is inwardly full of
unchasteness; and as that unchasteness abounds, so does cold; and as
cold abounds so do the obstructions of the inmost life, whereby its vein
is closed and its fountain dried.
314. XVIII. THERE ARE SUCCESSIVE AND SIMULTANEOUS ORDER, AND THE LATTER
IS FROM THE FORMER AND ACCORDING TO IT. This is adduced as a reason
tending to confirm what goes before. It is well known that there exist
what is successive and what is simultaneous; but it is unknown that
simultaneous order is grounded in successive, and is according to it;
yet how things successive enter into things simultaneous, and what order
they form therein, it is very difficult to present to the perception,
since the learned are not in possession of any ideas that can elucidate
the subject; and as the first idea respecting this arcanum cannot be
suggested in few words, and to treat this subject at large would
withdraw the mind from a more comprehensive view of the subject of
conjugial love, it may suffice for illustration to quote what we have
adduced in a compendium respecting those two orders, the successive and
the simultaneous, and respecting the influx of the former into the
latter, in THE DOCTRINE OF THE NEW JERUSALEM RESPECTING THE SACRED
SCRIPTURE, where are these words: "There are in heaven and in the world
successive order and simultaneous order. In successive order one thing
follows after another from the highest to the lowest; but in
simultaneous order one thing is next to another from the inmost to the
outermost. Successive order is like a column with steps from the highest
to the lowest; but simultaneous order is like a work cohering from the
centre to the surface. Successive order becomes in the ultimate
simultaneous in this manner; the highest things of successive order
become the inmost of simultaneous, and the lowest things of successive
order become the outermost of simultaneous; comparatively as when a
column of steps subsides, it becomes a body cohering in a plane. Thus
what is simultaneous is formed from what is successive; and this in all
things both of the spiritual and of the natural world." See n. 38, 65,
of that work; and several further observations on this subject in the
ANGELIC WISDOM RESPECTING THE DIVINE LOVE AND DIVINE WISDOM, n. 205-229.
The case is similar with successive order leading to marriage, and with
simultaneous order in marriage; namely, that the latter is from the
former, and according to it. He that is acquainted with the influx of
successive order into simultaneous, may comprehend the reason why the
angels can see in a man's hand all the thoughts and intentions of his
mind, and also why wives, from their husbands' hands on their bosoms,
are made sensible of their affections; which circumstance has been
occasionally mentioned in the MEMORABLE RELATIONS. The reason of this
is, because the hands are the ultimates of man, wherein the
deliberations and conclusions of his mind terminate, and there
constitute what is simultaneous: therefore also in the Word, mention is
made of a thing's being inscribed on the hands.
* * * * *
315. To the above I shall add TWO MEMORABLE RELATIONS. FIRST. On a
certain time I saw not far from me a meteor--a cloud divided into
smaller clouds, some of which were of an azure color, some opaque, and
as it were in collision together. They were streaked with translucent
irradiations of light, which at one time appeared sharp like the points
of swords, at another, blunt like broken swords. The streaks sometimes
darted out forwards, at others they drew themselves in again, exactly
like combatants; thus those different colored lesser clouds appeared to
be at war together; but it was only their manner of sporting with each
other. And as this meteor appeared at no great distance from me, I
raised my eyes, and looking attentively, I saw boys, youths, and old
men, entering a house which was built of marble, on a foundation of
porphyry; and it was over this house that the phenomenon appeared. Then
addressing myself to one that was entering, I asked, "What house is
this?" He answered, "It is a gymnasium, where young persons are
initiated into various things relating to wisdom." On hearing this, I
went in with them, being then in the spirit, that is, in a similar state
with men of the spiritual world, who are called spirits and angels; and
lo! in the gymnasium there were in front a desk, in the middle, benches,
at the sides round about, chairs, and over the entrance, an orchestra.
The desk was for the young men that were to give answers to the problem
at that time to be proposed, the benches were for the audience, the
chairs at the sides were for those who on former occasions had given
wise answers, and the orchestra was for the seniors, who were
arbitrators and judges: in the middle of the orchestra was a pulpit,
where there sat a wise man, whom they called the head master, who
proposed the problems to which the young men gave their answers from the
desk. When all were assembled, this man arose from the pulpit and said,
"Give an answer now to this problem, and solve it if you can, WHAT IS
THE SOUL, AND WHAT IS ITS QUALITY?" On hearing this problem all were
amazed, and made a muttering noise; and some of the company on the
benches exclaimed, "What mortal man, from the age of Saturn to the
present time, has been able by any rational thought to see and ascertain
what the soul is, still less what is its quality? Is not this subject
above the sphere of all human understanding?" But it was replied from
the orchestra, "It is not above the understanding, but within it and in
its view; only let the problem be answered." Then the young men, who
were chosen on that day to ascend the desk, and give an answer to the
problem, arose. They were five in number, who had been examined by the
seniors, and found to excel in sagacity, and were then sitting on
couches at the sides of the desk. They afterwards ascended in the order
in which they were seated; and every one, when he ascended, put on a
silken tunic of an opaline color, and over it a robe of soft wool
interwoven with flowers, and on his head a cap, on the crown of which
was a bunch of roses encircled with small sapphires. The first youth
thus clad ascended the desk, and thus began: "What the soul is, and what
is its quality, has never been revealed to any one since the day of
creation, being an arcanum in the treasuries of God alone; but this has
been discovered, that the soul resides in a man as a queen; yet where
her palace is, has been a matter of conjecture among the learned. Some
have supposed it to be in a small tubercle between the cerebrum and the
cerebellum, which is called the pineal gland: in this they have fixed
the soul's habitation, because the whole man is ruled from those two
brains, and they are regulated by that tubercle; therefore whatever
regulates the brains, regulates also the whole man from the head to the
heel." He also added, "Hence this conjecture appeared as true or
probable to many in the world; but in the succeeding age it was rejected
as groundless." When he had thus spoken, he put off the robe, the tunic,
and the cap, which the second of the selected speakers put on, and
ascended the desk. His sentiments concerning the soul are as follows:
"In the whole heaven and the whole world it is unknown what the soul is,
and what is its quality; it is however known that there is a soul, and
that it is in man; but in what part of him is a matter of conjecture.
This is certain, that it is in the head, since the head is the seat
where the understanding thinks, and the will intends; and in front in
the face of the head are man's five sensories, receiving life from the
soul alone which resides in the head; but in what particular part of the
head the soul has its more immediate residence, I dare not take upon me
to say; yet I agree with those who fix its abode in the three ventricles
of the brain, sometimes inclining to the opinion of those who fix it in
the _corpora striata_ therein, sometimes to theirs who fix it in the
medullary substance of each brain, sometimes to theirs who fix it in the
cortical substance, and sometimes to theirs who fix it in the _dura
mater_; for arguments, and those too of weight, have not been wanting in
the support of each of these opinions. The arguments in favor of the
three ventricles of the brain have been, that those ventricles are the
recipients of the animal spirits and of all the lymphs of the brain: the
arguments in favor of the _corpora striata_ have been, that these bodies
constitute the marrow, through which the nerves are emitted, and by
which each brain is continued into the spine; and from the spine and the
marrow there is an emanation of fibres serving for the contexture of the
whole body: the arguments in favor of the medullary substance of each
brain have been, that this substance is a collection and congeries of
all the fibres, which are the rudiments or beginnings of the whole man:
the arguments in favor of the cortical substance have been, that in that
substance are contained the prime and ultimate ends, and consequently
the principles of all the fibres, and thereby of all the senses and
motions: the arguments in favor of the _dura mater_ have been, that it
is the common covering of each brain, and hence by some kind of
continuous principle extends itself over the heart and the viscera of
the body. As to myself, I am undetermined which of these opinions is the
most probable, and therefore I leave the matter to your determination
and decision." Having thus concluded he descended from the desk, and
delivered the tunic, the robe, and the cap, to the third, who mounting
into the desk began as follows: "How little qualified is a youth like
myself for the investigation of so sublime a theorem! I appeal to the
learned who are here seated at the sides of the gymnasium; I appeal to
you wise ones in the orchestra; yea, I appeal to the angels of the
highest heaven, whether any person, from his own rational light, is able
to form any idea concerning the soul; nevertheless I, like others, can
guess about the place of its abode in man; and my conjecture is, that it
is in the heart and thence in the blood; and I ground my conjecture on
this circumstance, that the heart by its blood rules both the body and
the head; for it sends forth a large vessel called the _aorta_ into the
whole body, and vessels called the carotids into the whole head; hence
it is universally agreed, that the soul from the heart by means of the
blood supports, nourishes, and vivifies the universal organical system
both of the body and the head. As a further proof of this position it
may be urged, that in the Sacred Scripture frequent mention is made of
the soul and the heart; as where it is said, Thou shalt love God from
the whole soul and the whole heart; and that God creates in man a new
soul and a new heart, Deut. vi. 5; chap. x. 12; chap. xi. 13; chap.
xxvi. 16; Jerem. xxxii. 41; Matt, xxii. 37; Mark xii. 30, 33; Luke x.
27; and in other places: it is also expressly said, that the blood is
the soul of the flesh, Levit. xvii. 11, 14." At these words, the cry of
"Learned! learned!" was heard in the assembly, and was found to proceed
from some of the canons. After this a fourth, clad in the garments of
the former speaker, ascended the desk, and thus began: "I also am
inclined to suspect that not a single person can be found of so subtle
and refined a genius as to be able to discover what the soul is, and
what is its quality; therefore I am of opinion, that in attempting to
make the discovery, subtlety will be spent in fruitless labor;
nevertheless from my childhood I have continued firm in the opinion of
the ancients, that the soul of man is in the whole of him, and in every
part of the whole, and thus that it is in the head and in all its parts,
as well as in the body and in all its parts; and that it is an idle
conceit of the moderns to fix its habitation in any particular part, and
not in the body throughout; besides, the soul is a spiritual substance,
of which there cannot be predicated either extension or place, but
habitation and impletion; moreover, when mention is made of the soul,
who does not conceive life to be meant? and is not life in the whole and
in every part?" These sentiments were favorably received by a great part
of the audience. After him the fifth rose, and, being adorned with the
same insignia, thus delivered himself from the desk: "I will not waste
your time and my own in determining the place of the soul's residence,
whether it be in some particular part of the body, or in the whole; but
from my mind's storehouse I will communicate to you my sentiments on the
subject, What is the soul, and what is its quality? No one conceives of
the soul but as of a pure somewhat, which may be likened to ether, or
air, or wind, containing a vital principle, from the rationality which
man enjoys above the beasts. This opinion I conceive to be founded on
the circumstance, that when a man expires, he is said to breathe forth
or emit his soul or spirit; hence also the soul which lives after death
is believed to be such a breath or vapor animated by some principle of
thinking life, which is called the soul; and what else can the soul be?
But as I heard it declared from the orchestra, that this problem
concerning the soul, its nature and quality, is not above the
understanding, but is within it and in its view, I intreat and beseech
you, who have made this declaration, to unfold this eternal arcanum
yourselves." Then the elders in the orchestra turned their eyes towards
the head master, who had proposed the problem, and who understood by
their signs that they wished him to descend and teach the audience: so
he instantly quitted the pulpit, passed through the auditory, and
entered the desk, and there, stretching out his hand, he thus began:
"Let me bespeak your attention: who does not believe the soul to be the
inmost and most subtle essence of man? and what is an essence without a
form, but an imaginary entity? wherefore the soul is a form, and a form
whose qualities and properties I will now describe. It is a form of all
things relating to love, and of all things relating to wisdom. All
things relating to love are called affections, and those relating to
wisdom are called perceptions. The latter derived from the former and
thereby united with them constitute one form, in which are contained
innumerable things in such an order, series, and coherence, that they
may be called a one; and they may be called a one also for this reason,
because nothing can be taken away from it, or added to it, but the
quality of the form is changed. What is the human soul but such a form?
are not all things relating to love and all things relating to wisdom
essentials of that form? and are not these things appertaining to a man
in his soul, and by derivation from the soul in his head and body? You
are called spirits and angels; and in the world you believed that
spirits and angels are like mere wind or ether, and thus mere mind and
animation; and now you see clearly that you are truly, really, and
actually men, who, during your abode in the world, lived and thought in
a material body, and knew that a material body does not live and think,
but a spiritual substance in that body; and this substance you called
the soul, whose form you then were ignorant of, but now have seen and
continue to see. You all are souls, of whose immortality you have heard,
thought, said, and written so much; and because you are forms of love
and wisdom from God, you can never die. The soul therefore is a human
form, from which the smallest thing cannot be taken away, and to which
the smallest thing cannot be added; and it is the inmost of all the
forms of the whole body: and since the forms which are without receive
from the inmost both essence and form, therefore you are souls, as you
appear to yourselves and to us: in a word, the soul is the very man
himself, because it is the inmost man; therefore its form is fully and
perfectly the human form: nevertheless it is not life, but the proximate
receptacle of life from God, and thereby the habitation of God." When he
had thus spoken, many expressed their approbation; but some said, "We
will weigh the matter." I immediately went home, and lo! over the
gymnasium, instead of the foregoing meteor, there appeared a bright
cloud, without streaks or rays that seemed to combat with each other,
and which, penetrating through the roof, entered, and illuminated the
walls; and I was informed, that they saw some pieces of writing, and
among others this, "_Jehovah God breathed into the man's nostrils the
SOUL OF LIVES, and the man became a LIVING SOUL_," Gen. ii. 7.
316. THE SECOND MEMORABLE RELATION. Some time ago, as I was walking with
my mind (_animus_) at rest, and in a state of delightful mental peace, I
saw at a distance a grove, in the midst of which was an avenue leading
to a small palace, into which maidens and youths, husbands and wives
were entering. I also went thither in spirit, and asked the keeper who
was standing at the entrance, whether I also might enter? He looked at
me; upon which I said, "Why do you look at me?" He replied, "I look at
you that I may see whether the delight of peace, which appears in your
face, partakes at all of the delight of conjugial love. Beyond this
avenue there is a little garden, and in the midst of it a house, where
there are two novitiate conjugial partners, who to-day are visited by
their friends of both sexes, coming to pay their congratulations. I do
not know those whom I admit; but I was told that I should know them by
their faces: those in whom I saw the delights of conjugial love, I was
to admit, and none else." All the angels can see from the faces of
others the delights of their hearts; and he saw the delight of that love
in my face, because I was then meditating on conjugial love. This
meditation beamed forth from my eyes, and thence entered into the
interiors of my face: he therefore told me that I might enter. The
avenue through which I entered was formed of fruit trees connected
together by their branches, which made on each side a continued
espalier. Through the avenue I entered the little garden, which breathed
a pleasant fragrance from its shrubs and flowers. The shrubs and flowers
were in pairs; and I was informed that such little gardens appear about
the houses where there are and have been nuptials, and hence they are
called nuptial gardens. I afterwards entered the house, where I saw the
two conjugial partners holding each other by the hands, and conversing
together from love truly conjugial; and as I looked, it was given me to
see from their faces the image of conjugial love, and from their
conversation the vital principle thereof. After I, with the rest of the
company, had paid them my respects, and wished them all happiness, I
went into the nuptial garden, and saw on the right side of it a company
of youths, to whom all who came out of the house resorted. The reason of
their resorting to them was, because they were conversing respecting
conjugial love, and conversation on this subject attracts to it the
minds (_animos_) of all by a certain occult power. I then listened to a
wise one who was speaking on the subject; and the sum of what I heard is
as follows: That the divine providence of the Lord is most particular
and thence most universal in respect to marriages in the heavens:
because all the felicities of heaven issue from the delights of
conjugial love, like sweet waters from the sweet source of a fountain;
and that on this account it is provided by the Lord that conjugial pairs
be born, and that these pairs be continually educated for marriage,
neither the maiden nor the youth knowing anything of the matter; and
after a stated time, when they both become marriageable, they meet as by
chance, and see each other; and that in this case they instantly know,
as by a kind of instinct, that they are pairs, and by a kind of inward
dictate think within themselves, the youth, that she is mine, and the
maiden, that he is mine; and when this thought has existed for some time
in the mind of each, they deliberately accost each other, and betroth
themselves. It is said, "as by chance," and "as by instinct," and the
meaning is, by the divine providence; since, while the divine providence
is unknown, it has such an appearance. That conjugial pairs are born and
educated to marriage, while each party is ignorant of it, he proved by
the conjugial likeness visible in the faces of each; also by the
intimate and eternal union of minds (_animorum_) and minds (_mentium_),
which could not possibly exist, as it does in heaven, without being
foreseen and provided by the Lord. When the wise one had proceeded thus
far with his discourse, and had received the applauses of the company,
he further added, that in the minutest things with man, both male and
female, there is a conjugial principle; but still the conjugial
principle with the male is different from what it is with the female;
also that in the male conjugial principle there is what is conjunctive
with the female conjugial principle, and _vice versa_, even in the
minutest things. This he confirmed by the marriage of the will and the
understanding in every individual, which two principles act together
upon the minutest things of the mind and of the body; from which
considerations it may be seen, that in every substance, even the
smallest, there is a conjugial principle; and that this is evident from
the compound substances which are made up of simple substances; as that
there are two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, two cheeks, two lips, two
arms with hands, two loins, two feet, and within in man two hemispheres
of the brain, two ventricles of the heart, two lobes of the lungs, two
kidneys, two testicles; and where there are not two, still they are
divided into two. The reason why there are two is, because the one is of
the will and the other of the understanding, which act wonderfully in
each other to present a one; wherefore the two eyes make one sight, the
two ears one hearing, the two nostrils one smell, the two lips one
speech, the two hands one labor, the two feet one pace, the two
hemispheres of the brain one habitation of the mind, the two chambers of
the heart one life of the body by the blood, the two lobes of the lungs
one respiration, and so forth; but the male and female principles,
united by love truly conjugial, constitute one life fully human. While
he was saying these things, there appeared red lightning on the right,
and white lightning on the left; each was mild, and they entered through
the eyes into the mind, and also enlightened it. After the lightning it
also thundered; which was a gentle murmur from the angelic heaven
flowing down and increasing. On hearing and seeing these things, the
wise one said, "These are to remind me to add the following
observations: that of the above pairs, the right one signifies their
good, and the left their truth; and that this is from the marriage of
good and truth, which is inscribed on man in general and in every one of
his principles; and good has reference to the will, and truth to the
understanding, and both together to a one. Hence, in heaven the right
eye is the good of vision, and the left the truth thereof; also the
right ear is the good of hearing, and the left the truth thereof; and
likewise the right hand is the good of a man's ability, and the left the
truth thereof; and in like manner in the rest of the above pairs; and
since the right and left have such significations, therefore the Lord
said, 'If thy right eye scandalize thee, pluck it out; and if thy right
hand scandalize thee, cut it off;' whereby he meant, if good becomes
evil, the evil must be cast out. This is the reason also why he said to
his disciples that they should cast the net on the right side of the
ship; and that when they did so, they took a great multitude of fishes;
whereby he meant that they should teach the good of charity, and that
thus they would collect men." When he had said these things, the two
lightnings again appeared, but milder than before; and then it was seen,
that the lightning on the left derived its whiteness from the
red-shining fire of the lightning on the right; on seeing which he said,
"This is a sign from heaven tending to confirm what I have said; because
what is firy in heaven is good, and what is white in heaven is truth;
and its being seen that the lightning on the left derived its whiteness
from the red-shining fire of the lightning on the right, is a
demonstrative sign that the whiteness of light, or light, is merely the
splendor of fire." On hearing this all went home, inflamed with the good
and truth of gladness, in consequence of the above lightnings, and of
the conversation respecting them.
* * * * *