st needs be that the habitation of the delights
of conjugial love, with its perception, be beauty. A fourth assigned
this cause; that the Lord took away from the man beauty and elegance of
life, and transferred it to the woman; and that hence the man, unless he
be re-united with his beauty and elegance in the woman, is stern,
austere, joyless, and unlovely; so one man is wise only for himself, and
another is foolish; whereas, when a man is united with his beauty and
elegance of life in a wife, he becomes engaging, pleasant, active, and
lovely, and thereby wise. A fifth said, that women were created
beauties, not for the sake of themselves, but for the sake of the men;
that men, who of themselves are hard, might be made soft; that their
minds, of themselves grave and severe, might become gentle and cheerful;
and that their hearts, of themselves cold, might be made warm; which
effects take place when they become one flesh with their wives. A sixth
assigned as a cause, that the universe was created by the Lord a most
perfect work; but that nothing was created in it more perfect than a
beautiful and elegant woman, in order that man may give thanks to the
Lord for his bounty herein, and may repay it by the reception of wisdom
from him. These and many other similar observations having been made,
the wife of our host appeared beyond the crystal wall, and said to her
husband, "Speak if you please;" and then when he spoke, the life of
wisdom from the wife was perceived in his discourse; for in the tone of
his speech was her love: thus experience testified to the truth. After
this we took a view of the temple of wisdom, and also of the
paradisiacal scenes which encompassed it, and being thereby filled with
joy, we departed, and passed through the avenue to the gate, and
descended by the way we had ascended.

* * * * *

ON LOVE TRULY CONJUGIAL.

57. There are infinite varieties of conjugial love, it being in no two
persons exactly similar. It appears indeed as if it were similar with
many; but this appearance arises from corporeal judgement, which, being
gross and dull, is little qualified to discern aright respecting it. By
corporeal judgement we mean the judgement of the mind from the evidence
of the external senses; but to those whose eyes are opened to see from
the judgment of the spirit, the differences are manifest; and more
distinctly to those who are enabled to elevate the sight arising fro