Heaven and its Wonders and HellSwedenborg, Emanuel
Religion
Heaven and its Wonders and Hell
Swedenborg, Emanuel
Future life -- Christianity -- Early work to 1800; Heaven -- Christianity; Hell -- Christianity
369. Everyone, whether man or woman, possesses understanding and
will; but with the man the understanding predominates, and with the
woman the will predominates, and the character is determined by that
which predominates. Yet in heavenly marriages there is no
predominance; for the will of the wife is also the husband's will,
and the understanding of the husband is also the wife's
understanding, since each loves to will and to think like the other,
that is mutually and reciprocally. Thus are they conjoined into one.
This conjunction is actual conjunction, for the will of the wife
enters into the understanding of the husband, and the understanding
of the husband into the will of the wife, and this especially when
they look into one another's faces; for, as has been repeatedly said
above, there is in the heavens a sharing of thoughts and affections,
more especially with husband and wife, because they reciprocally love
each other. This makes clear what the conjunction of minds is that
makes marriage and produces marriage love in the heavens, namely,
that one wishes what is his own to be the others, and this
reciprocally.
370. I have been told by angels that so far as a married pair are so
conjoined they are in marriage love, and also to the same extent in
intelligence, wisdom and happiness, because Divine truth and Divine
good which are the source of all intelligence, wisdom, and happiness,
flow chiefly into marriage love; consequently marriage love, since it
is also the marriage of good and truth, is the very plane of Divine
influx. For that love, as it is a conjunction of the understanding
and will, is also a conjunction of truth and good, since the
understanding receives Divine truth and is formed out of truths, and
the will receives Divine good and is formed out of goods. For what a
man wills is good to him, and what he understands is truth to him;
therefore it is the same whether you say conjunction of understanding
and will or conjunction of truth and good. Conjunction of truth and
good is what makes an angel; it makes his intelligence, wisdom, and
happiness; for an angel is an angel accordingly as good in him is
conjoined with truth and truth with good; or what is the same,
accordingly as love in him is conjoined with faith and faith with
love.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account