Emanuel Swedenborg

“ The reason why the Mahometans also have their heaven, is, because all in the universe, who acknowledge a God, and from a religious principle shun evils as sins against him, are saved. That the Mahometan heaven is distinguished into two, the inferior and superior, I have heard from themselves ; and that in the inferior heaven they live with a plurality both of wives and concubines as in the world, but that they who renounce concubines, and live with one wife, are elevated into the superior heaven. ”

“ The reason why polygamical love is the love of the external or natural man is, because it is inscribed on that man; and whatsoever the natural man acts from himself is evil, from which evil he cannot be brought forth except by elevation into the internal spiritual man, which is effected solely of the Lord; and evil respecting the sex, by which the natural man is influenced, is whoredom ; but whereas whoredom is the destruction of society, instead of whoredom was induced its likeness, which is called polygamy. ”

“ But these, and several other particulars respecting the condemnation of polygamy by the christian world, shall be demonstrated in order, according to the following articles: I. That love truly conjugial cannot be given except with one wife, consequently neither can friendship, confidence, ability truly conjugial be given, and such conjunction of minds that two may be one flesh, II. That thus celestial blessednesses, spiritual satisfactions, and natural delights, which from the beginning were provided for those who were in love truly conjugial, cannot be given except with one wife. ”

“ The reason why by polygamicai marriages amongst christians the marriage of good and truth is profaned is, because from this spiritual marriage are derived marriages in the earths : and the marriages of Christians differ from the marriages of other nations in this, that as good loves truth, and truth good, and are one, so it is with wife and husband; wherefore if a christian should adjoin wife to wife, he would rend asunder in himself that spiritual marriage, consequently would profane the origin of his marriage, and would thereby commit spiritual adultery ”

“ Now whereas a Christian man is acquainted with the Lord, hath the Word, and hath also the church from the Lord by the Word, it is evident that he hath the faculty, above a man who is not a christian, of being capable of being regenerated, and thereby of becoming spiritual, and also of attaining unto love truly conjugial, for these things cohere together. ”

“ Every evil, into which man is born of his parents, is implanted in his natural man, but not any in his spiritual man, because into the spiritual man he is born of the Lord. From what has been adduced, and also from several other reasons, it may evidently be seen, that polygamy is lasciviousness. ”

“ Paradise spiritually understood is intelligence; to eat of the tree of life in a spiritual sense is to be intelligent and wise from the Lord; and to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in a spiritual sense is to be intelligent and wise from self. ”

“ Father and he are one, and that his divine and human [principle] are one person, united as soul and body, agreeable to the faith of all Christians as grounded in the Athanasian confession ; therefore the followers of Mahomet could not acknowledge our Lord to be any God from eternity, but only to be a perfect natural man ”

“ That a christian, who marries a plurality of wives, commits natural adultery, is agreeable to the Lord's words, "That it is not lawful to put away a wife, because from the beginning they were created to be one flesh : and that he who putteth away a wife without just cause, and marrieth another, committeth adultery," Matt. xix. 3 to 11 ; thus he committeth adultery still more, who doth not put away, but retains a wife, and super-induceth another. This law enacted by the Lord concerning marriages hath its internal ground in spiritual marriage ”

“ On this subject I shall relate what is new from the spiritual world, which is this ; every one in that world is brought into view as present by virtue of thought concerning him, but no one is conjoined to another except from affection of love, and affection of love is insinuated by doing what he requires, and what is pleasing to him ”

“ That he also attains them if he comes to the Lord, and from him lives a life of true religion, was shewn above. Who else but the Lord enters the life of man from a superior principle, and implants therein internal celestial joys, and transfers them to the derivative principles which follow in order, and the more so, while at the same time he also bestows an enduring virtue (strength or ability) ? It is no proof that such love is not given, Hor capable of being given, to urge that it is not experienced in one's self, and in this and that person, 334. ”

“ On a time I was in the midst of the angels, and I heard their discourse; it was concerning intelligence and wisdom, in that man perceives no other than that each is in himself, and thus that whatever he thinks from understanding, and intends from will, is from himself; when nevertheless there is not the smallest portion thereof from man, except the faculty of receiving the things appertaining to understanding and will from God ”

“ This is the reason why all the heavens are altogether distinct from each ether, so that no conjunction hath place between them, except by influx of light and heat from the Lord out of the sun, in the midst of which he is; and this influx illustrates and vivifies every one according to reception, and reception is according to religion ”

“ The genuine cause why they are opened by the Lord, when he is acknowledged to be the God of heaven and earth, and is approached, and with those who live according to his commandments, is, because otherwise there is no conjunction, and without conjunction there is no reception. Man is receptible of the Lord's presence and of conjunction with him ”

“ Inasmuch as such amongst Christians, who marry a plurality of wives, commit not only natural adultery, but also at the same time spiritual adultery, it follows, that the condemnation of christian polygamists after death is more grievous than the condemnation of those who only commit natural adultery. ”

“ Inasmuch as love truly conjugial joins together the souls and hearts of two persons, therefore also it is united with friendship, and by friendship with confidence, and makes each conjugial, and so exalts them above other friendships and other confidences, that as that love is the love of loves, so also that friendship is the friendship of friendships, and that confidence the confidence v of confidences ”

“ Nevertheless the reason of polygamists is taught from experience, that both public and private peace require, that promiscuous lust iii general should be restrained, and be left to every one within his own house; hence comes polygamy.
350. It is a known thing, that man (homo) by birth is viler than the beasts; all the beasts are born into the sciences corresponding to the love of their life ”

“ But the angel replied, Ye cannot shun adulteries as in fernal evils, unless ye shun all other evils in like manner, because adulteries are the complex of all, and unless -ye shun them, ye cannot come to the Lord, for the Lord receiveth no others. ”

“ And whereas the pleasantnesses of that love are most eminent in the highest region, they are perceived as blessednesses, and whereas in the middle region they are less eminent, they are perceived as satisfactions, and lastly in the lowest region, as delights; that these blessednesses, satisfactions, and delights are, are perceived, and are felt, appears from the Memorable Relations in which they are described. ”

“ These observations are made, in order that ye may acknowledge, that conjugial love of such supereminence is given, and that it is given whilst one of the sex is alone loved. What understanding,
which with quick discernment attends to a chain of connected reasonings, cannot hence conclude, that if a lover from his soul or inmost.principles constantly persisted in love to that oner he would attain those eternal blessednesses, which he promised himself before consent, and promiseth in consent ? ”

“ When he had spoken these words, the angel was silent, and from the spirit of his discourse the novitiates comprehended, that a perpetual faculty of enjoyment is communicable; and whereas this consideration made glad their minds, they exclaimed, Oh, how happy is the state of angels ? we perceive that ye in the heavens remain for ever in a state of youth, and thence in the virtue of that age ”

“ These and several other things, which relate to the internal principle and the spiritual man, the Lord taught, because he alone opens the internals of human minds, and makes them spiritual, and implants these spiritual principles in natural, that these latter also may partake of a spiritual essence ”

“ But apart from such demonstration, who doth not know that such a love is given, which is paramount to all other loves for excellency and satisfaction, so that all other loves in respect to it are little ? ”

“ There are some at this day whose thoughts are fluctuating respecting the institution relative to monogainical marriages, or those of one man with one wife, and who are'distracted by opposite reasonings on the subject, being led to suppose, that because polygamical marriages were openly permitted in the case of the Israelitish nation, and the kings thereof, and in the case of David and Solomon, they are also in themselves permissible to christians ”

“ That these two principles are the beginnings, introductions, and establishments of that love, hath been heretofore confirmed by such abundance of evident and concluding reasons, that it is altogether needless to say any thing more on the subject The reason why conjugial love is nevertheless rare in the christian world, n- 58, 59, is, because few in that world come to the Lord, and amongst them there are some, who indeed believe the church, but do not live according to such belief ”

“ That this religion is received by more kingdoms than the .christian religion, may possibly be a stumbling-block to those who think of the divine providence, and at the same time believe, that no one can be saved who is not boru a christian ; whereas the Mahometan religion is no stumbling-block to those, who believe that all things are of the divine providence ”

“ Man alone, at his birth, knoweth nothing of this sort, for nothing of science is connate to him, only he hath the faculty and inclination of receiving those things which relate to science and.lo.ve; and if he doth not receive these things from others, he remains viler than a beast. That man is born in this condition, to the end that he may attribute nothing to himself, but to others, and at length the all of wisdom and of the love thereof to the alone God, and may hence become an image of God, s^e the Memorable Relation, n. ”

“ It is owing to this cause, that the interiors of their minds, which in themselves are spiritual, could not be opened; that the interiors of the mind are opened by the Lord alone, may be seen above, n. ”