De Conjugio (On Marriage) · 15 of 25

Love Truly Conjugial Is Naked

66.LOVE TRULY CONJUGIAL IS NAKED. The angels of the third heaven are those who are in celestial marriage more than others, for they are in love to the Lord, and thence in the marriage of good and truth; whence also they are in conjugial love more than other angels, and in innocence and chastity. These walk with a cincture around the loins when abroad, and without the cincture when at home; and yet in their nakedness, they look upon the consort as a consort, nor is there anything lascivious therein. They say that to look at a consort clothed detracts from the idea of marriage, and what is wonderful, nakedness does not excite or stimulate; it is, however, as an internal bond of conjugial love. In bed they lie conjoined as they were created, and sleep so. They say that they cannot do otherwise, because conjugial love itself, which is perpetual, conjoins; thus also the life of the one is communicated with the life of the other, and the life of the husband becomes appropriated to the wife; that it may be as we read of Adam when he saw Eve his wife: “Behold my bone and my flesh,” and also that “they were naked and not ashamed,” that is not lascivious; but as soon as Adam through his wife receded from love to the Lord, which is meant by “the tree of life” in Paradise (of which there, and Rev. 2:7), which happened because they acted from themselves and their own proprium, namely, from the science and delight of the natural man, then the marriage of good and truth perished, then nakedness became lascivious, and the chastity of marriage failing, they were ashamed of nakedness, and were clothed with fig-leaves, and afterwards with woollen garments; thence by nakedness in the Word is meant lasciviousness, like that of adultery.

67.In the other heavens under the third, all appear clothed, and also blush at nakedness before the eyes of others, because it excites lasciviousness; to them marriage is not such a delight as in the third heaven; in the lowest heaven there is also something of cold but not indeed as in the world.

68.I was carried by the Lord through changes of state towards the left to a certain mountain, where all were naked, wives and husbands, at a distance I spoke with them, and they said that all are naked there, and nevertheless no lascivious appetite or desire was caused to anyone from seeing nakedness, and that each consort loved the consort tenderly; also that they could not be united with them clothed; they told the reason, that all were chaste in mind, because they were such in the world. When any newcomer of such a nature arrives from the world, they explore him, which is done by his putting off his garments and stripping himself; then they perceive immediately whether he has a genuine conjugial; if not, he is driven away with punishment; they drive him with blows until he appears no more, and this to the depth. There was a certain one who thought he was in like conjugial love, because in the world he had lived chastely with his wife, nor had he ever had anything in common with harlots; he at first could look upon naked women without any emotion of mind, but when his sight had been fixed for some time he was deprived of his senses at the sight, and finally at the touch of nakedness, and stood without speech as if half dead, wherefore, he was driven away; the reason was that he was not in love to the Lord nor in the marriage of good and truth. They said that few could approach, because the sphere of conjugial love is such, that others cannot bear it; - they said that they live in houses with menservants and maidservants who are all in marriage.

69.The angels of the third heaven dwell upon mountains, not rocky but of earth, upon which are paradises and gardens with trees; the mountains appear elevated to a point, in the highest part of the mountains are the best and most chaste; below, according to degree in marriage, are the spiritual and the spiritual natural; also their distinctions are according to the quarters, the eastern quarter where they are in love, the south where they are in wisdom.