Families, and Houses, all which acknowledge the Lord as their united
Parent.

2740. Genuine conjugal Love is not practicable but between two
married People, that is, in the Marriage of one Hufband and one Wife,
never between more at the fame Time, for this Reafon, because conjugal
Love is mutual and reciprocal, and of the Life of one is that of the
other alternately, fo that they are as it were one; fuch an Union is given
between two, but not between more, more cut afunder that Love. The
Men of the most Antient Church, who were celeftial, and in the Perce
tion of Good and Truth, as Angels, had only one Wife; they faid, th
with one Wife they perceiv'd heavenly Delights and Felicities, and when
the Marriage of more was only named, they feem'd in a Horror: For the
Marriage of one Hufband and one Wife, defcended, as has been faid,
from the Marriage of Good and Truth, or from celeftial Mar-
riage, which is fuch, may manifeftly appear from the Words of
the Lord in Matthew, <<
Jefus faid, Have ye not read, that he
which made them at the Beginning, made them Male and Female?
And faid, that for this Caufe fhall a Man leave Father and Mother, and
fball cleave unto his Wife; and they twain shall be one Flefb. Where-
fore they are no more twain but one Flefb. What therefore God hath
joined together, let no Man put afunder. Mofes, because of the Hard-
nefs of your Hearts, Juffered you to put away your Wives; but from the
Beginning it was not fo: But all Men cannot receive this Saying, fave
they to whom it is given," xix. 4 to 12.

2741. Good and Truth flow continually from the Lord into all, in like Manner does genuine conjugal Love, but it is diverfly received, and as it is received, fuch it is; in lafcivious Men it is turned into Laf civioufness, in Adulterers into Adulteries, celeftial Felicity into a filthy Pleafure, fo Heaven into Hell; this is as the Light of the Sun falling upon Objects, which is received according to the Form of the Objects, and becomes blue, red, yellow, green, dark, even black, according to its Reception.

2742. There is given a kind of Likeness of conjugal Love to fome, but yet it is not real if they are not in the Love of Good and Truth, it is Love appearing as conjugal, but it is from the Causes of the Love of the World and of Self, namely, that they may be ferved at Home, that they may be in Security, that they may be in Idleness, that they may be miniftred to when they are not well and when they grow old, for the fake of their Children whom they love; in fome it is a Compulfion from Fear for the Wife, for Reputation, for Evils; in fome it is the Love of Wan

tonnef's

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they were, when they lived in the World, Adulterers above others; where any Wife was handsome and young, they enter'd without any Confcience, and by thofe Stratagems entic'd them to the Act of Adultery; they are invifible, nor will they fuffer themselves to be detected, because they are incognito; they are likewife cruel, have ftudied only for themselves, and accounted it as nothing if the whole World had perif'd for them: Such at this Day are in great Numbers, and it was faid from the Chriftian World: Their Hell is the most grievous of all.

2755. The Hells of Adulterers are many, there they love nothing more than Filth and Excrements, thefe then are their Delights; which may appear alfo from many of that Sort in the Life of the Body, to whom it is a Pleasure to think and relate beaftly Things, but abstain only for the fake of Decency. The Pleasure of Adultery is turned in the other Life into fuch Things; this is just as when the Heat of the Sun, also the Vernal Warmth, falls upon Excrement or upon a Dead Carcass.

2756. There are those who held for a Principle a Communion of Wives; they in the other Life talk like good Men, but are malicious and deceitful; their Punishment is horrible, they are gather'd as it were into a Bundle, and reprefentatively as a Serpent is extended round, and girds all like a Heap bundled together, and fo are thrown away.

2757. When I had been led thro' feveral Manfions, I came to one, where a Heat feiz'd on my Feet and Loins, it was faid that there thofe were who indulged their Pleafures, and had not yet extinguish'd the natural Defire of procreating a Succeffion of Children.

2758. That genuine conjugal Love is Heaven, is reprefented in the Kingdoms of Nature, for nothing is given in univerfal Nature, which Some Way or other does not reprefent the Kingdom of the Lord in common; for the Natural Kingdom deduces its whole Original from the Spiritual Kingdom, which is without an Original before itself, it is nothing, any Thing unconnected from the Cause, fo from the End, is not given, which Inconnection falls to Pieces in a Moment, and becomes nothing; hence now are the Reprefentatives of the Kingdom of the Lord in the Kingdoms of Nature. That conjugal Love is Heaven, is plain from the Transformation of Small Worms into Grubs or Meggots, and fo into winged Infects; for when the Time of their Nuptials comes, which is when they put off the terreftrial Form, which is their vermicular or worm-like Form, and are marked with Wings, and become Volatiles, then are they elevated into the Atmosphere, their Heaven, there they play among themselves, act Marriages, lay their Eggs, and are nourished with the Juices from

Flowers,

Flowers, then likewife are they in their Beauty, for they have Wing decorated with golden Colours, Silver, and others agreeably variegated Such Things does the conjugal Commerce produce among fuch vile Animalcules.

2759. On the right Side from the inferior Earth rose up a Volumn it was faid that they were many Spirits from the unlearned Multitude; they were Rufticks and other fimple People; I difcourfed with them; they faid that they would know the Lord, to whofe Name they commended themselves; they knew but little befides of Faith and its Myfteries; after them there rofe up others, who knew a little more; it was perceived that their Interiors might be opened, for this in the other Life may be ma-: nifeftly perceived; they had a Confcience, which was communicated with me, that I might know, and it was faid that they had lived fimply in conjugal Love, they faid that they had loved their Wives, and had abStained from Adulteries; that they had done thefe Things from a Principle "of Confcience, appear'd from this, because they said that they could not do otherwife because it was contrary to their Will: Such are inftructed in the other Life, and are perfected in the Good of Love and the Truth of Faith; and are at length received among Angels.