2743. I once saw a large dog like Cerberus^a and asked what was meant by him. I was told that such a dog means the guard that is kept to prevent anyone filled with conjugial love from passing from delight that is of heaven to delight that is of hell, or vice versa. For those who are filled with genuine conjugial love experience delight that is of heaven, whereas those who are steeped in adulterous affairs experience delight also, which to them seems to be of heaven but is in fact of hell. The dog accordingly represents the guard that is kept to prevent those contrary delights from coming into communication with each other.

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