The reason why love truly conjugial is notwithstanding so rare, that
its quality is not known, and scarcely its existence, is, because the
state of pleasurable gratifications before and at the time of marriage,
is afterwards changed into a state of indifference arising from an
insensibility to such gratifications. The causes of this change of state
are too numerous to be here adduced; but they shall be adduced in a
future part of this work, when we come to explain in their order the
causes of coldnesses, separations, and divorces; from which it will be
seen, that with the generality at this day this image of conjugial love
is so far abolished, and with the image the knowledge thereof, that its
quality and even its existence are scarcely known. It is well known,
that every man by birth is merely corporeal, and that from corporeal he
becomes natural more and more interiorly, and thus rational, and at
length spiritual. The reason why this is effected progressively is,
because the corporeal principle is like ground, wherein things natural,
rational, and spiritual are implanted in their order; thus a man becomes
more and more a man.
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