Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 2744

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2744. I have been shown the way in which the delights from conjugial love advance on one side towards heaven and on the other towards hell. The advancement of delights towards heaven was an advancement into forms of blessedness and happiness constantly increasing, until they were beyond number or description. And the more interiorly they advanced the more countless and indescribable they became, even to the celestial forms themselves of blessedness and happiness of the inmost heaven, which is the heaven of innocence. And all this entails perfect freedom, for all freedom is attributable to love, so that perfect freedom is attributable to conjugial love, which is heavenly love itself. I was then shown the way in which the delights of conjugial love advance towards hell; that they move away from heaven little by little, which too entails apparent freedom, until scarcely anything human at all remains in them. The final deadly and hellish condition into which they ended was seen by me but I cannot describe it. A certain spirit who was with me at the time and who also saw those things hurried forwards to some sirens who were of this character, crying out that he would show them the nature of their delight. At first he had the idea of delight, but as little by little he went forwards his idea was made to continue, like the advancement of the delight, towards hell, and at length to end in such horror. Sirens are women who labour under the delusion that it is perfectly correct to commit whoredom and adultery, and who are also esteemed by others for being such as they are and for leading outwardly respectable lives. The majority of them come into the next life from Christendom. See what is said about them in 831, 959, 1515, 1983, 2483.


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