107、天使毫不迟延地取出第四张纸，从中读到如下内容：“我们同胞在窗户下认定，婚姻之爱和两性情爱共享同一个源头，因为婚姻之爱来自两性情爱。唯一区别在于，两性情爱是不受限制、放纵无度、淫乱不忠的；而婚姻之爱是受到限制、节制约束、固定恒常的。因此，人类智慧小心谨慎地批准和确立了婚姻之爱，否则，王国或共和国，甚至社区根本无法存在。男人将与妓女成群结队地游荡在乡间和森林。而他们所掳的良家妇女则四散逃离，以躲避血腥屠杀、强奸和劫掠，整个人类因此灭绝。这就是我们对婚姻之爱源头的判断。至于这爱的活力或性能力，我们追踪它的源头在于从出生到老年贯穿一生的身体健康状况。因为人若一直安全无恙、享有良好的健康状况，是不会缺乏性能力的。他的纤维、肌腱、肌肉，包括提睾肌，都不会迟钝、松驰和下垂，而是保持强劲有力。再见。”这张纸标注的字母是A（英国）。
107、天使又拿出第四张纸读道：
我们认为婚姻之爱的来源与对异性的爱的来源一致，区别仅在于对异性的爱是不受限制，不定的，自由的，无区别的并且是不长久的，而婚姻之爱是受限的，直接的，是确定的及长期的，婚姻之爱的存在是因为人类有智慧，否则世界上将不可能有国家、公共利益及社会，人们将成群结伙，淫乱无度，烧杀掠夺，整个人类将最终不复存在。
“这就是我们对婚姻之爱的观点。”
“至于婚姻之爱的力量，我们考虑了人从生到死的健康状况，因为若人个人不受伤害，保持健康状态，他就不会缺乏力量。人的体力，肌肉都不会变得软弱，松懈，会一直有力量。
这一论断是由英国人做出的。
107. Without delay he took out the fourth, from which he read the following.
'We, the representatives under our window, have decided that conjugial love and sexual love share the same source, since conjugial love is the result of sexual love. The only difference is that sexual love is unrestricted, unbounded, free, promiscuous and inconstant; conjugial love is restricted, bounded, restrained, fixed and constant. This love has therefore been sanctioned and established by the prudence of human wisdom, because there would otherwise be no empires, kingdoms or republics, or even any communities at all. People would roam the countryside and forests in hordes with their trollops and women they had carried off, moving from one place to another to avoid bloody slaughter, rape and pillage, which would have wiped out the whole of the human race. This is our judgment about the source of conjugial love.
'We trace the strength or potency of conjugial love to the continuous preservation of bodily health from birth to old age. For a person who is continually safe and sound, with established good health, suffers no lack of vigour. His fibres, sinews and muscles, including those which control the testicles, do not become dull, relaxed and flagging, but retain their full strength and ability. Adieu.' This paper was signed with the latter A [for England].
107. So after a moment the angel pulled out a fourth piece of paper, from which he read the following statement:
"We fellow countrymen under our window have decided that the origin of conjugial love is the same as the origin of love for the opposite sex, because it results from it. The difference is only that a love for the opposite sex is unrestricted, uninhibited, liberated, indiscriminate and fickle, while conjugial love is restricted, directed, contained, sure and constant. Conjugial love has therefore been prescribed and established by the prudence of human wisdom, because otherwise there would be no empire, no kingdom, no commonwealth, indeed no society, but people would roam through the fields and forests in bands and troops with licentious and stolen women, and they would flee from place to place to escape bloody slaughter, rape and pillage, by which the whole human race would be wiped out of existence.
"That is our judgment regarding the origin of conjugial love.
"As for the vigor or potency of conjugial love, however, we trace the origin of this from physical health that lasts throughout life from birth to old age. For a person who remains uninjured and possessed of steady good health does not lack in vigor. His fibers, sinews, and muscles, including the suspensory muscles of the testes, do not grow sluggish, loose and flabby, but continue in the strength of their powers. See that you stay well."
This statement was signed below with the letter E.
107. He soon pulled out a fourth. He read this from it:
"We countrymen under our window decided that the source of married love and of sexual love is the same thing, because the one comes from the other - - except that sexual love is unconfined, unfocused, promiscuous, and wanders, but married love is limited, focused, strait and narrow, and constant. And so with the circumspection of good sense humanity set it up and ratified it. For otherwise no empire, kingdom, or republic would exist - in fact no society - but people would roam the fields and woods, hordes and hordes of them, with harlots and kidnapped women, and they would steal from camp to camp, to avoid bloody massacres, mayhem, and rapine. It would wipe out the whole human race.
This is our opinion about the origin of married love.
"But we trace the vigor or potency of married love from bodily health that lasts right from birth to old age. For a person who has kept his health safe and sound does not lack strength.
His fibers, nerves, muscles, and cremasters do not get tired, slack, and weak, but stay in strong condition. Take care of yourself."
This was signed E.
107. The angel then at once drew out a FOURTH paper, from which he read as follows: "We compatriots, under our window, have decided that the origin of conjugial love and of love of the sex is one and the same, the former being from the latter, except that love of the sex is unlimited, indeterminate, loose, promiscuous, and roving, while conjugial love is limited, determinate, restrained, bounded, and constant. Therefore, the latter love has been sanctioned and established by the prudence of human wisdom. Otherwise no empire or kingdom or republic or even society could exist, but men in countless troops would roam over fields and woods with harlots and ravished women, and would flee from place to place to escape from bloody murders, violations, and rapine. Thus the whole human race would be wiped out. This is our judgment concerning the origin of conjugial love. As to the virtue or potency of conjugial love, this we deduce from bodily health enduring continually from birth to old age; for a man who is continuously sound and enjoys stable health, is not lacking in vigor. His fiber, nerves, muscles, and cremasters 1do not become torpid, relaxed, or feeble, but continue in the strength of their powers. Farewell." This was subscribed with the letter A.
Footnotes:
1. Muscles in the scrotum whose office is to raise the testes. See the Author's GENERATION, n. 54.
107. In a moment the angel drew out a fourth, from which he read the following: "We compatriots at our window have decided that the origin of marital love and of love for the sex is the same, because the former is from the latter, only sexual love is unlimited, indeterminate, loose, promiscuous and vagrant; while marital love is limited, determinate, restrained, individual and constant. Hence, in the prudence of the race's wisdom, married love has been sanctioned and established. Otherwise no empire, kingdom or republic, nor any society at all could exist; but bands of men would roam field and forest with harlots and ravished women; and people would fly from settlement to settlement to escape the bloody murders, violations and rapine, by which the race would be extirpated. This is our judgment concerning the origin of marital love. But the vigor or potency of the love we trace to bodily health steadily maintained from birth to old age. For a man who has always been sound and is possessed of firm health, does not fail in virility; his fibres, nerves, muscles and virile cords do not become torpid, relaxed and flaccid, but continue in the strength of their powers. Farewell." This was subscribed with the letter E.
107. And in a moment he drew out a fourth, from which he read the following: 'We compatriots, under our window, have decided, that the origin of conjugial love and of the love of the sex is the same, because the one is from the other, only that the love of the sex is unlimited, indeterminate, loose, promiscuous, and roving; while conjugial love is limited, determinate, restrained, certain, and constant. And for that reason this love, by the prudence of human wisdom has been sanctioned and established. For otherwise no empire, nor kingdom, nor republic, nor even society could exist, but men in troops and bands would roam in fields and woods, with harlots and ravished women; and would fly from place to place to escape from bloody murders, violations, and rapine, whereby the whole human race would be extirpated. This is our judgment concerning the origin of conjugial love. But the virtue or potency of conjugial love we deduce from soundness of body, continually preserved from birth to old age. For a man kept continuously sound, and possessed of stable health, is not deficient in vigor; his fibers, nerves, muscles, and virile cords do not become torpid, relaxed, and feeble, but continue in the strength of their powers: Farewell.' This was subscribed with the letter A.
107. Et momento extraxit Quartam, e qua legit haec: "Nos populares sub nostra Fenestra decrevimus, quod origo Amoris conjugialis et amoris sexus sit eadem, quia ex hoc ille est; modo quod amor sexus sit illimitatus, 1interminatus, solutus, promiscuus, et vagus, at Amor conjugialis limitatus, determinatus, constrictus, certus et constans; et quod hic amor ideo a prudentia sapientiae humanae sancitus et constabilitus sit, quia alioquin non foret imperium, non regnum, non respublica, imo non societas, sed homines ut catervae et catervae vagarentur in campis et sylvis cum scortis et foeminis raptis, ac fugerent a sede in sedem ad evitandum cruentas caedes, violationes et rapinas, per quas universum genus humanum exstirpatum iret; hoc nostrum judicium est de origine Amoris conjugialis. At Virtutem seu potentiam Amoris conjugialis educimus ex sanitate corporis continue perstante a partu ad senectam; homo enim continue sospes et stabili potitus valetudine non deficitur vigore; ejus fibrae, nervi, musculi, cremasteres, non torpescunt, relaxantur, et flaccescunt, sed permanent in robore virium suarum; valete." His subscripta est litera A.
Footnotes:
1. Prima editio: illiminatus,