Walking once in tranquillity of animus and delightful peace of mind, I saw in the distance a grove, midway in which was an avenue leading to a small palace; and I saw maidens and young men and husbands and wives entering therein. In the spirit, I also went thither, and asked a guard standing at the entrance whether I too might enter. He looked at me, and I said, "Why do you look at me?" He answered: "I look at you to see whether the delight of peace which is in your face is in any way derived from the delight of conjugial love. Behind this avenue is a small garden, and in its center a house where are two newly married partners, and today their friends of both sexes are coming to them to wish them happiness. Those whom I admit, I myself do not know, but I was told that I would know them by their faces; if in their faces I saw the delight of conjugial love I was to admit, but not others." All angels can perceive the heart's delights of others from their faces, and because I was meditating on conjugial love, it was the delight of that love that he saw in my face; the meditation shone forth from my eyes and thence entered the interiors of my face. Therefore he told me I might enter. [2] The avenue by which I entered was an avenue of fruit trees joined together by their branches, thus forming a continuous wall of trees on either side. Through this avenue I passed into a small garden which breathed a pleasant fragrance from its shrubs and flowers. The shrubs and the flowers were in pairs, and I heard that gardens of this kind appear around houses where there are or have been weddings, and that they are therefore called nuptial gardens. I then went into the house and there saw the two partners holding each other by the hand and conversing together from love truly conjugial; and it was given me to see from their faces the effigy of conjugial love, and from their conversation its vitality. With many others, I offered my congratulations and wished them happiness, after which I went into the nuptial garden. There, on the right, I saw a group of young men to which all who came from the house were hastening. The reason they were all hastening was because the discourse there was about conjugial love, and by some hidden power such discourse attracts the minds of all. I then heard a wise man speaking of that love, and what I heard was in brief as follows:

[3] "The Lord's Divine Providence is most singular and at the same time most universal in regard to marriages in the heavens, and in the marriages themselves, because all the happiness of heaven springs from the delights of conjugial love, as sweet waters from the sweet vein of a fountain. Therefore it is provided by the Lord that conjugial pairs be born, and that, all unknown to the boy and girl, they be continually educated for marriage; that in due time, the girl, then a marriageable maiden, and the boy then a young man fit for entrance into marriage, meet somewhere as if by chance and see each other; that, as if by instinct, they instantly know that they are mates, and, as though from a kind of inner dictate, think within themselves, the young man, "She is mine", and the maiden, "He is mine"; and that after this thought has dwelt for some time in the minds of both, they deliberately address each other and are betrothed. It is said, as if by fate and as if by instinct, but what is meant is by Divine Providence because, when not known, Divine Providence has this appearance." That conjugial pairs are born, and, unknown to both, are educated for marriage, this he confirmed by the conjugial similitude visible in the faces of both; also by their inmost and eternal union, in animus and mind. Unions of this kind, such as they are in heaven, are not possible unless foreseen and provided by the Lord. [4] After the wise man had thus spoken and the company had applauded, he said further: "There is something conjugial in the very minutest particulars with man, both male and female; but this conjugial is one thing with the male and another with the female. In the masculine conjugial there is something conjunctive with the feminine conjugial, and vice versa, and this in their most single parts." This he confirmed by the marriage of the will and understanding in each individual. "These two act together upon the most single parts of the mind, and upon the most single parts of the body, and from this it can be seen that the conjugial is present in each individual substance, even the least. This becomes evident from their compound substances, these being made up of simple substances. Thus there are two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, two cheeks, two lips, two arms and hands, two loins, two feet; and within man, two hemispheres of the brain, two ventricles of the heart, two lobes of the lungs, two kidneys, two testicles; and where the organs are not dual they are yet divided into two parts. They are two because the one pertains to the will and the other to the understanding, and these act upon each other so marvelously that they present a one. Thus the two eyes make one sight, the two ears one hearing, the two nostrils one smell, the two lips one speech, the two hands one labor, the two feet one walking, the two hemispheres of the brain one dwelling-place of the mind, the two chambers of the heart one life of the body by means of the blood, the two lobes of the lungs one respiration, and so on; but the masculine and feminine when united by love truly conjugial make one life completely human." [5] While these words were being spoken, there appeared on the right, lightning which became red; and on the left, lightning which became a bright white. Both were mild, and through the eyes they entered into the mind and enlightened this also. After these lightnings came thunder, being a gentle murmur flowing down from the angelic heaven and growing louder. Hearing and seeing this, the wise man said: "This is a sign and admonition to me that I should add these words to my discourse: The right of those pairs signifies their good, and the left their truth. This is from the marriage of good and truth which is inscribed on the whole man and on his every single part; and good harks back to the will, and truth to the understanding, and both together to a one. It is because of this that in heaven the right eye is the good of sight, and the left its truth; the right ear the good of hearing, and the left its truth; the right hand the good of man's power, and the left its truth; and so likewise with the other pairs. It was because the right and left have these significations that the Lord said:

If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out; and if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off Matt. 5:29, 30. by which He meant that if good becomes evil, it is to be cast out; and also that He told His Disciples that they should cast the net on the right side of the ship, and when they did so, they took a great multitude of fishes (John 21:6, 7), by which He meant that they should teach the good of charity and thus would gather men." [6] After these words, the two lightnings were again seen but milder than before; and it was then seen that the lightning on the left derived its bright whiteness from the ruddy fire of the lightning on the right. Seeing this, the wise man said, "This is a sign from heaven confirmatory of what I have said; for in heaven the fiery is good, and bright white is truth. The sight of the lightning on the left taking its brightness from the ruddy fire of the lightning on the right is a sign showing that the bright whiteness of light, or light itself, is nothing else than the brilliance of fire." On hearing this, all went home, kindled by those lightnings and by the discourse concerning them, with the good and truth of gladness.