Truly conjugial love is like a balance, enabling the inclination towards a second marriage to be weighed. The closer the previous conjugial love approaches to that love, the further the inclination to a second marriage recedes. But the further the previous love departs from that love, the more the inclination towards a second marriage grows. The reason is obvious, since conjugial love is to the same extent a linking of minds, which outlasts the death of one partner, so long as the other lives in the body; and this linking tips the inclination of the scale in the balance, adding weight in proportion to the extent that true love is made one's own. But since it is rare nowadays for more then a few steps to be taken towards this love, the scale which receives the additional weight of inclination usually rises to a level point, and from there wavers and tips in the other direction, that is, towards marriage.

[2] It is quite the reverse in the case of those whose previous love in their former marriage departed from truly conjugial love. This is because a departure from this is to the same extent a parting of minds. This too outlasts the death of one partner, so long as the other lives in the body, and entering the will, which is parted from the other's, causes an inclination towards a new link. Thinking about this, provoked by the inclination of the will, brings hope of living together in a closer and more pleasant union.

[3] It is well known, and can be seen by reason, that inclinations towards second marriages arise from the previous state of love. For truly conjugial love contains a fear of loss, with pain following on the loss, and this pain and this fear are in the innermost regions of the mind. Hence it is that the more of that love is present, the more the soul inclines in will and thought, that is, in intention, towards being in the person with and in whom it was. It follows from this that how far the mind is kept tipping towards another marriage depends upon the degree of love previously experienced. This is what makes the same partners reunited after death, and likewise makes them love each other in the world. But, as I said before, this love is nowadays rare, and there are few who come within touching distance of it. Those who do not reach it, and even more those who fall far short of it, long to be linked after death with another woman or man, just as in the life they spent together before death, a cold one, they longed to be separated. Both these groups will be further discussed in the following pages.