Such wrath is attendant on every
love, even that which is most pacific, as is very manifest in the case
of hens, geese, and birds of every kind; which, without any fear, rise
against and fly at those who injure their young, or rob them of their
meat. That some beasts are seized with anger, and wild beasts with fury,
if their young are attacked, or their prey taken from them, is well
known. The reason why love is said to burn like fire is, because love is
spiritual heat, originating in the fire of the angelic sun, which is
pure love. That love is heat as it were from fire, evidently appears
from the heat of living bodies, which is from no other source than from
their love; also from the circumstance that men grow warm and are
inflamed according to the exaltation of their love. From these
considerations it is manifest, that zeal is like the ardent fire of
love.
359. II. THE BURNING OR FLAME OF THAT LOVE, WHICH IS ZEAL, IS A
SPIRITUAL BURNING OR FLAME, ARISING FROM AN INFESTATION AND ASSAULT OF
THE LOVE. That zeal is a spiritual burning or flame, is evident from
what has been said above.
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