The Delights of Wisdom Pertaining to Conjugial Love: To Which is Added The Pleasures of Insanity Pertaining To Scortatory LoveSwedenborg, Emanuel
Religion
The Delights of Wisdom Pertaining to Conjugial Love: To Which is Added The Pleasures of Insanity Pertaining To Scortatory Love
Swedenborg, Emanuel
Marriage -- Religious aspects -- New Jerusalem Church; New Jerusalem Church -- Doctrines; Sexual ethics
libidinous desires which burst forth from the lurking places of the mind
not yet thoroughly purified: for libidinous desire precedes wisdom. This
is our judgement concerning the origin and continuance of conjugial
virtue or potency." To this decision was subscribed the letter P.
109. SIXTHLY, he drew out a paper, from which he read as follows: "We,
natives of the same country, from the fellowship subsisting among us,
have attentively considered the causes of the origin of conjugial love,
and have agreed in assigning two; one of which is the right education of
children, and the other the distinct possession of inheritances. We have
assigned these two, because they aim at and regard the same end, which
is the public good: and this end is obtained, because infants conceived
and born from conjugial love become proper and true children; and these
in consequence of the natural love of the parents, exalted by the
consideration of their offspring being legitimate, are educated to be
heirs of all their parents' possessions both spiritual and natural. That
the public good is founded on a right education of children and on a
distinct possession of inheritances, is obvious to reason. Of the love
of the sex and conjugial love, the latter appears as if it were one with
the former, but it is distinctly different; neither is the one love near
to the other, but within it; and what is within is more excellent than
what is without: and we have seen that conjugial love from creation is
within, and lies hid in the love of the sex, just as an almond does in
its shell; therefore when conjugial love comes out of its shell, which
is the love of the sex, it glitters before the angels like a gem, a
beryl, and astroites. The reason of this is, because on conjugial love
is inscribed the safety of the whole human race, which we conceive to be
understood by the public good. This is our judgement respecting the
origin of this love. With respect to the origin of its virtue or
potency, from a consideration of its causes, we have concluded it to be
the development and separation of conjugial love from the love of the
sex, which is effected by wisdom on the man's part, and by the love of
the man's wisdom on the part of the wife: for the love of the sex is
common to man and beast; whereas conjugial love is peculiar to men:
therefore so far as conjugial love is developed and separated from the
love of the sex, so far a man is a man and not a beast; and a man
acquires virtue or potency from his love, as a beast does from his." To
this decision was subscribed the letter G.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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