Page:A Compendium of the Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg.djvu/561

Rh not: That they are in conjugial love who from Divine truths are in Divine good; and that conjugial love is the more genuine in proportion as the truths which are conjoined to good are more genuine. And as all the good which is conjoined to truths is from the Lord, it follows that no one can be in love that is truly conjugial unless he acknowledge the Lord, and His Divinity; for without that acknowledgment the Lord cannot flow in, and be conjoined to the truths that are with man.

It is evident from these considerations that they who are in falsities are not in conjugial love, and not at all they that are in falsities from evil. Besides, with those that are in evil and thence in falsities, the interiors, which are of the mind, are closed; there cannot therefore be any origin of conjugial love therein. (H. H. n. 376, 377.)

Nor can there be love that is truly conjugial between one husband and several wives; for this destroys its spiritual origin, which is, that of two there is formed one mind. It therefore destroys the interior conjunction, which is of good and truth; which is that from which comes the very essence of that love. Marriage with more than one wife is as an understanding divided between several wills; and as a man attached not to one but to several churches, for thus his faith is distracted so that it becomes no faith. The angels declare that to marry more wives than one is entirely contrary to Divine order. And that they know this from several causes; and in addition to others, from the fact that as soon as they have a thought of marriage with more than one they are alienated from internal blessedness and heavenly happiness, and that then they become as if intoxicated, because good in them is disjoined from its truth. And as the interiors, which are of their mind, come into such a state from the mere thought with any intention, they perceive clearly that marriage with more than one wife closes the internal, and causes the love of lasciviousness to enter,—a love which leads away from heaven,—in place of conjugial love. They say further that man scarcely comprehends this, because there are few who are in genuine conjugial love, and they that are not in it know nothing at all of the interior delight that is in that love, but only know of the delight of lasciviousness; a delight which after a brief cohabitation is turned into what is undelightful. But the delight of love that is truly conjugial not only endures to old age in the world, but also becomes the delight of heaven after death; and is then filled with interior delight, which is perfected to eternity.

The love of domination of one over the other entirely banishes conjugial love and its heavenly delight; for, as was said above, conjugial love and its delight consists in the fact