423. THE OPPOSITION OF SCORTATORY LOVE AND CONJUGIAL LOVE At this threshold, it must first be explained what in the present chapter is meant by scortatory love. The fornicatory love which precedes marriage is not meant; nor that which follows it after the death of the married partner; nor concubinage when entered into for legitimate, just, and weighty reasons. Nor are the mild kinds of adultery meant, nor the grievous kinds of which a man actually repents; for the latter do not become the opposite to conjugial love, and the former are not the opposite; that they are not the opposite will be seen in what follows when each comes to be treated of. By scortatory love opposite to conjugial love is here meant the love of adultery when it is such that it is reputed, not as a sin or as wicked and dishonorable, opposed to reason, but as allowed by reason. This scortatory love not only makes conjugial love one with itself but also debases and destroys it and finally regards it with disgust. [2] It is the opposition of this love to conjugial love that is treated of in the present chapter. That no other love is treated of, can be manifest from the chapters on Fornication, Concubinage, and the various kinds of Adultery, which follow.* That the opposition may be evident before the rational sight, it shall be demonstrated in the following series.:
I. That the nature of scortatory love cannot be known unless the nature of conjugial love is known. II. That scortatory love is the opposite to conjugial love. III. That scortatory love is the opposite to conjugial love as the natural man regarded in himself is the opposite to the spiritual man. IV. That scortatory love is the opposite to conjugial love as the connubial connection of evil and falsity is the opposite to the marriage of good and truth. V. That hence scortatory love is the opposite to conjugial love as hell is the opposite to heaven. VI. That the uncleanness of hell is from scortatory love, and the cleanness of heaven from conjugial love. VII. That it is the same with uncleanness in the Church, and with cleanness there. VIII. That scortatory love makes man to be more and more not a man and not a male; and that conjugial love makes man to be more and more a man and a male. IX. That there is a sphere of scortatory love and a sphere of conjugial love. X. That the sphere of scortatory love ascends from hell, and that the sphere of conjugial love descends from heaven. XI. That these two spheres meet each other in both worlds but do not join. XII. That between these two spheres is an equilibrium, and that man is in this equilibrium. XIII. That man is able to turn himself to whichever sphere he pleases, but so far as he turns to the one, he turns away from the other. XIV. That each sphere carries with it delights. XV. That the delights of scortatory love commence from the flesh and are delights of the flesh even in the spirit; but that the delights of conjugial love commence in the spirit and are delights of the spirit even in the flesh. XVI. That the enjoyments of scortatory love are the pleasures of insanity, but the enjoyments of conjugial love are the delights of wisdom. Now follows the explanation of the above:
* In the original, no. 423 up to this point is inserted between inverted commas.
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