quality of each from the order in
which the love descends or ascends, and thus proceeds from its origin to
its proposed end." To this decision was subscribed the letter D.

112. Lastly, or NINTHLY, he took up a paper, from which he read as
follows: "We, natives of the same country, in our council-chamber have
exercised our judgement on the two points proposed, viz., the origin of
conjugial love, and the origin of its virtue or potency. In the
subtleties of inquiry respecting the origin of conjugial love, in order
to avoid obscurity in our reasonings, we have distinguished between the
love of the sex as being spiritual, natural, and carnal; and by the
spiritual love of the sex we have understood love truly conjugial,
because this is spiritual; and by the natural love of the sex we have
understood polygamical love, because this is natural; and by the merely
carnal love of the sex we have understood adulterous love because this
is merely carnal. In exercising our judgements to examine into love
truly conjugial, we have clearly seen that this love exists only between
one male and one female, and that from creation it is celestial and
inmost, the soul and father of all good loves, being inspired into the
first parents, and capable of being inspired into Christians; it is also
of such a conjunctive nature that by it two minds may become one mind,
and two men (_homines_) as it were one man (_homo_); which is meant by
becoming one flesh. That this love was inspired at creation, is plain
from these words in the book of creation, '_And a man shall leave father
and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall be one flesh_,'
Gen. ii. 24. That it can be inspired into Christians, is evident from
these words, '_Jesus said, Have ye not read, that he who made them from
the beginning, made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall
a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they
two shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no longer two but one
flesh_,' Matt. xix. 4-6. So far in regard to the origin of conjugial
love: but as to the origin of the virtue or potency of love truly
conjugial, we conceive it to proceed from a similitude of minds and
unanimity; for when two minds are conjugially united, their thoughts
spiritually kiss each other, and these inspire into the body their
virtue or potency." To this decision was subscribed the letter S.

113. There were standing behind an oblong stage in the p