That in the
natural world he has also thus distinguished and does distinguish goods
and truths, and likewise evils and falses, appertaining to men, and
thereby men themselves, may be known from their lot after death, in that
the good enter into heaven, and the evil into hell. Now, since all
things relating to good, and all things relating to evil, are
distinguished into genera, species, and so forth, therefore marriages
are distinguished into the same, and so are their opposites, which are
adulteries.
480. II. SIMPLE ADULTERY IS THAT OF AN UNMARRIED MAN WITH ANOTHER'S
WIFE, OR AN UNMARRIED WOMAN WITH ANOTHER'S HUSBAND. By adultery here and
in the following pages we mean the adultery which is opposite to
marriage; it is opposite because it violates the covenant of life
contracted between married partners: it rends asunder their love, and
defiles it, and closes the union which was begun at the time of
betrothing, and strengthened in the beginning of marriage: for the
conjugial love of one man with one wife, after engagement and covenant,
unites their souls. Adultery does not dissolve this union, because it
cannot be dissolved; but it closes it, as he that stops up a fountain at
its source, and thence obstructs its stream, and fills the cistern with
filthy and stinking waters: in like manner conjugial love, the origin of
which is a union of souls, is daubed with mud and covered by adultery;
and when it is so daubed with mud there arises from beneath the love of
adultery; and as this love increases, it becomes fleshly, and rises in
insurrection against conjugial love, and destroys it.
Pages:
838
839
840
841
842
843
844
845
846
847
848
849
850
851
852
853
854
855
856
857
858
859
860
861
862