153、⑾贞洁不适用于那些唯因种种外在理由弃绝奸淫之人。许多人以为，只要在身体层面弃绝淫行就是贞洁；而事实上，这并非贞洁，除非同时灵里也有这种节制。正是人的灵（此处的灵是指心智的情感与思维）构成贞洁或不贞洁，贞洁或不贞洁是由于灵而存在于身体中，因为身体完全就是心智或灵的样子。由此可知，那些只在身体层面，而未在灵里弃绝淫行的人，和那些由于身体原因而在灵里弃绝淫行的人，都不是贞洁的。有很多因素会促使一个人在身体层面，或由于身体原因而在灵里弃绝淫行；然而，人若不出于灵而在身体层面弃绝它们，仍是不贞洁的。因为主说：
凡看见妇女就动淫念的，这人心里已经与她犯奸淫了。（马太福音5:28）
我们无法列举仅在身体层面弃绝淫行的因素，因为这些因素照着婚姻和身体的状态而各异。例如，有些人弃绝淫行是因为害怕法律及其制裁；有的害怕名声扫地，进而丧失荣誉；有的害怕由此染上性病；有的害怕家中妻子吵闹，从而不得安宁；有的害怕遭到丈夫或亲戚的报复；有的害怕被仆人殴打。还有些人是因为太穷，或太吝啬，或由疾病、自虐、年龄所导致的疲软，或性无能。其中有些人因不能或不敢在身体层面犯奸淫，便在灵里谴责它们，甚至在道德上反对它们，赞成婚姻。但是，若他们在灵里不憎恶奸淫，并且他们的灵也不是以宗教信仰为动机，仍旧是奸淫者。因为他们虽然没有在身体层面犯奸淫，却在灵里犯下了；因此死后成为灵时，他们会公开支持奸淫。由此可见，即便恶人也能避奸淫如有害，但除了基督徒外，没有人能避之如罪。综上所述，足以证实：贞洁不适用于那些唯因种种外在理由弃绝淫行之人。
153、（11）贞节不适用于出于不同的外在原因而抵制婚外情的人。许多人认为贞节只是要避免婚外情的发生，实际上贞节也是在精神上不要出轨，因为一个人的思想情感决定了他是否是贞洁的。躯体的行为只是精神的结果，精神或者说思想决定着人的躯体行为，因此精神上非贞洁而只是躯体上避免奸情的人不是贞节的，那些因为躯体而在精神上避免奸情的人也不是贞洁的。
有很多原因使得人在躯体上避免奸情，或为了躯体的原因而避免奸情，但是那些不是因为精神而决定躯体行为的人还是非贞洁的，主说过：
凡看到女人就动淫念的，这个人心里已经与她犯奸淫罪了。《马太福音》5:28
由于他们婚姻的状况及他们躯体的状况不同，有好多不同的原因使得人们只是在躯体上避免奸情。
比如，有人会因为法律怕受到惩罚而避免奸情，有人会害怕丧失名誉，有人会害怕染上疾病，有人会怕妻子以此为借口而不能正常生活，有人会怕丈夫或亲属的报复，有人会怕被下人打等等。
还有人避免奸情是因为他们太穷或太吝啬，或体弱，或年老等。
还有人因为道德的原因而避免奸情，这些人若不在精神上或者根据信仰而在精神上抵制奸情的话，他们也会是犯罪者，在死后，成为精灵后，他们就会公开支持奸情。
很明显，没有宗教的人会因为奸情是有害的而抵制它，而基督教徒会因为它是犯罪而抵制它。
153. (xi) Chastity cannot be attributed to those who refrain from acts of adultery only for various outward reasons.
Many people think that refraining in body from acts of adultery is chastity, though it is not so unless one also refrains in spirit. It is a person's spirit, here meaning his mind as regards affections and thoughts, which makes him chaste or unchaste, and it is this which determines how he behaves in body. For the body is exactly what the mind or spirit is. It follows from this that those who refrain from acts of adultery in body, but not in spirit, and those who refrain from them in spirit for bodily reasons, are neither of them chaste. There are many reasons which make a person refrain from them in body, and also in spirit for bodily reasons; but someone who fails to avoid them in body for spiritual reasons is still unchaste. For the Lord says:
If he has looked upon someone else's wife so as to desire her, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Matthew 5:28.
[2] It is impossible to list all the reasons for refraining from acts of adultery merely in the body, because they differ depending on the state of a person's marriage and his bodily condition. There are those who refrain for fear of the law of the land and its penalties; for fear of loss of reputation and thus of position; for fear of picking up diseases; for fear of quarrelling with one's wife at home, and being unable to live in peace; for fear of a husband or relative seeking revenge; for fear of being beaten by servants. There are also those who refrain because of poverty, greed, or weakness arising from disease, self-abuse, age or impotence. Some among these, since they are unable or do not dare to commit adultery in body, therefore condemn such acts in spirit, so that they speak out against adultery as immoral and praise marriage. But if these do not disavow adultery in spirit, and their spirit is not motivated by religion, they are still adulterers who commit the act in spirit even if not in body. After death, therefore, when they become spirits, they speak openly in favour of adultery. From these considerations it is plain that even an irreligious person can shun acts of adultery as damaging, but no one but a Christian can shun them as sins, This is now enough to establish the truth of the proposition that chastity cannot be attributed to those who refrain from adultery only for various outward reasons.
153. 11. Chastity cannot be ascribed to people who abstain from adulterous relationships only for various external reasons. Many people believe that chastity is simply abstinence from adultery physically, even though this is not chastity unless it is also at the same time abstinence in spirit. For a person's spirit - meaning here his mind in its affections and thoughts - is what makes him chaste or unchaste, chastity or unchasteness being in the body as a result of the spirit. For what the body is like depends entirely on the mind or spirit. It follows from this that people who abstain from adultery physically and not as a result of the spirit are not chaste, nor those who abstain from it in spirit for the sake of the body.
There are many reasons which cause a person to refrain from adulterous relationships physically, and also in spirit for the sake of the body. But still, a person who does not refrain from them physically as a result of the spirit is unchaste. For the Lord says:
(If anyone) looks at (another's) woman so as to lust for her, (he) has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:28)
[2] We cannot list all the reasons for people's abstaining from adulterous relationships only physically, since these reasons vary according to the states of their marriage and also according to the states of their body.
For example, there are some who abstain from adulterous relationships because they are afraid of the civil law and its penalties; because they are afraid of losing reputation and thus respect; because they are afraid of diseases resulting from such relationships; because they are afraid of being railed at by their wives at home and of having no peace in their lives on account of it; because they are afraid the husband or a relative will take revenge; or because they are afraid of being beaten by the servants.
There are also some who abstain because they are too poor, or too stingy, or because they are too feeble owing either to illness, or to their abusing themselves, or to age, or to impotence.
There are some among them as well who, because they cannot or dare not do it physically, also for that reason condemn adultery in spirit and so speak in a moral fashion against it and in favor of marriage. But if these people do not renounce adultery in spirit and of the spirit in accordance with religion, they are still adulterers, for even though they do not do it physically, still they commit it in spirit. And after death, when they become spirits, they therefore speak openly in favor of it.
It is apparent from this that even an irreligious person can abstain from adulterous relationships as harmful, but that only a Christian can abstain from them as sins.
This now establishes the truth of the argument, that chastity cannot be ascribed to people who abstain from adulterous relationships only for various external reasons.
153a. 11. "Chastity" does not apply to those who abstain from adulteries just for various superficial reasons. Many people believe that mere bodily abstinence from adulteries is chastity, when in fact it is not chastity unless it is in your spirit, too, at the same time. A person's spirit, which in this case means the response of his mind to feelings and thoughts, is what makes something chaste or unchaste, because chastity or unchastity in his body comes from his spirit. For his body is exactly the same as what his mind or spirit is like. So this means that people who abstain from adulteries bodily and not in spirit, or who abstain from them in spirit for bodily reasons, are not chaste.
There are many reasons that make a person abstain from bodily adulteries, and refrain in spirit for bodily reasons, but really, whoever does not quit bodily adulteries for spiritual reasons is unchaste. For the Lord says that if anyone looks at someone else's woman with a desire for her he has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:28).
It is impossible to list all the reasons for abstaining from adulteries in body only, for they vary with the condition of a marriage and also according to bodily condition. That is to say, some people abstain from them for fear of civil law and its penalties, others for fear of losing their reputation and therefore its honors, others for fear of the diseases from them, others for fear of disagreements at home with their wives and the disquiet that results in their life, others for fear of vengeance from a husband or relative, and still others for fear of being beaten up by the servants.
And then, some people abstain out of poverty, or avarice, or because of weakness due to disease, because they are worn out, or because of age or impotence. Some of them, because they cannot or dare not commit bodily adulteries, condemn spiritual adulteries too. Thus they speak morally against them and in favor of marriages. But if they do not disavow adulteries in spirit, and in spirit because of religion, they are still adulterers, for they still commit adultery, in mind if not in body. When they are spirits after death, they speak openly in favor of adulteries.
This all shows that even the ungodly can avoid adultery as harmful, but only a Christian can avoid it as a sin. So now the truth of the proposition stands - that "chastity" has nothing to do with those who abstain from adulteries for various superficial reasons.
153. XI. THAT CHASTITY CANNOT BE PREDICATED OF THOSE WHO ABSTAIN FROM ADULTERIES SOLELY ON ACCOUNT OF VARIOUS EXTERNAL REASONS. Many believe that mere abstinence from adulteries in bodily act is chastity, when yet this is not chastity unless at the same time the abstinence be in the spirit also. It is man's spirit--by which is here meant his mind as to its affections and thoughts--which makes what is chaste and unchaste; for it is from the spirit that these exist in the body, the body being altogether such as is the mind or spirit. Hence it follows that those who abstain from adulteries in bodily act and not from the spirit, are not chaste, as neither are those who abstain from them in spirit by reason of the body. There are many reasons which cause a man to desist from them in bodily act, and also in the spirit by reason of the body; yet he who does not desist from them in bodily act from the spirit is unchaste. For the Lord says, if any man has looked on another woman to lust after her, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:28).
[2] The reasons for abstinence from adulteries in bodily actions, cannot be enumerated, for they vary according to the state of the marriage and also according to the state of the body. There are those who abstain from them from fear of the civil law and its penalties; from fear of the loss of reputation and thence of honor; from fear of diseases therefrom; from fear of upbraidings by the wife at home, and so of an unquiet life; from fear of the vengeance of the husband or of relatives; and from fear of being beaten by the servants. Then there are those who abstain on account of poverty, or avarice, or weakness arising from disease, abuse, age, or impotence. Among these are also those who, being unable or not daring to commit adulteries in bodily act, condemn them in their spirit and so talk morally against them and in favor of marriages. But if they do not execrate adultery in their spirit and this from religion, they are still adulterers; for though not committing adulteries in bodily act, they yet commit them in spirit. Therefore, after death when they become spirits, they speak openly in favor of them. From this it is clear that even a wicked man can shun adulteries as hurtful, but that none but a Christian can shun them as sins. From the above, the truth of the proposition is now established, that chastity cannot be predicated of those who abstain from adulteries solely on account of various external reasons.
153. (xi) Chastity cannot be predicated of those who refrain from adulteries for various external reasons only. Many think that merely refraining from adulteries in the body is chastity, when yet that is not chastity unless there is abstention in the spirit also. It is man's spirit, by which is meant here his mind as to affections and thoughts, which makes chaste and unchaste, and the one or the other is thence in the body, for the latter is altogether such as is the mind or spirit. Hence it follows that those who refrain from adulteries in the body and not in the spirit, and those who refrain from them in spirit on the body's account, are not chaste. Many reasons lead a man to refrain from adulteries in the body and at the same time in the spirit on the body's account; but still one who does not refrain from them in the body from the spirit is unchaste. For the Lord says,
That if one looks on the woman of another to lust after her, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:28). 1
[2] All the reasons for refraining from adulteries physically only cannot be recounted, for they vary with the states of marriage and also with the body's states. There are those who refrain from adultery for fear of the civil law and its penalties; for fear of losing reputation and honor; for fear of diseases; for fear of contentions at home from one's wife, and thus of intranquillity of life; for fear of the husband's vengeance or that of a kinsman; and for fear of floggings at the hands of servants. There are also those who refrain out of poverty, or avarice, or out of weakness arising from disease, abuse, age or impotence. Among these are also some who, not able or daring in body, therefore condemn adulteries in spirit; they speak with morality against them and in favor of marriages; but if they do not denounce adulteries in spirit and from religion, they are adulterers still, for though they do not commit them in the body, they still do so in spirit; wherefore, after death, when they become spirits, they speak openly in favor of them. From this it is plain that even the impious can shun adulteries as a damage, but no one but a Christian can shun them as sins. From this now the truth of the proposition is established that chastity cannot be predicated of those who refrain from adulteries for various external reasons only.
Footnotes:
1. So Swedenborg regularly renders this verse (see also494). But the Greek texts read simply "on a woman;" in adding "of another," Swedenborg embodies in the verse a traditional Jewish and Christian understanding. The Schmidius Latin Bible used by him read so, obviously embodying an interpretation. His own view, advanced in this very paragraph, is that there may be adulterous love in matrimony; cf. Apocalypse Explained 988.
153 (1). (11) That chastity cannot be predicated of those who abstain from adulteries for various external reasons only. Many believe that mere abstinence from adulteries with the body is chastity, when in truth it is not chastity unless it be at the same time with the spirit also. The spirit of man, by which here is meant his mind as to affections and thoughts, makes him chaste or unchaste; for from thence he is so in the body. This, in fact, is altogether such as is the mind or spirit. Whence it follows that they are not chaste who abstain from adulteries with the body and not from the spirit; neither are they who abstain from them in the spirit from the body. There are many reasons which cause a man to abstain from them in the body; and also in the spirit from the body; but whoever does not desist from them in the body from the spirit is unchaste. For the Lord says:
If anyone looketh on the woman of another so that he lust after her, he hath committed adultery with her already in his heart (Matthew 5:28).
The reasons for abstinence from adulteries with the body only cannot all be enumerated; for they vary according to the states of marriage and also according to the states of the body. For example, there are those who abstain from them for fear of the civil law and its penalties; for fear of the loss of reputation, and thence of honor; for fear of diseases therefrom; for fear of quarrels with the wife at home and hence of disquietude of life; for fear of the vengeance of the husband, or of relatives; and for fear of flogging by the servants. Then there are those who abstain on account of poverty; or of avarice; or of imbecility, arising from disease, or from abuse, or from age, or from impotence. Among them are those also, who because they cannot or dare not commit adulteries with the body, therefore, condemn them in spirit, and so talk morally against them and in favor of marriages. But if they do not in spirit, and the spirit does not from religion execrate adulteries, they are yet adulterers; for, though not with the body, yet with the spirit they commit them. And therefore, after death, when they become spirits, they openly speak in favor of them. From this it is plain that even the impious can shun adulteries as hurtful; but that none but a Christian can shun them as sins. Now, from these things, the truth of the proposition is established, that chastity cannot be predicated of those who abstain from adulteries merely for various external reasons.
153. XI: Quod Castitas non praedicari possit de illis, qui solum propter varias causas externas ab adulteriis abstinent. Multi credunt, quod modo abstinentia ab adulteriis corpore sit castitas, cum tamen illa non est castitas, nisi illa etiam simul sit spiritu; spiritus hominis, per quem hic intelligitur Mens ejus quoad affectiones et cogitationes, facit castum et incastum, inde enim est in corpore; hoc enim prorsus tale est, qualis est mens seu spiritus: inde sequitur, quod qui abstinent ab adulteriis corpore et non ex spiritu, nec qui abstinent ab illis spiritu ex corpore, non sint casti: dantur multae causae, quae faciunt ut homo desistat ab illis corpore, et quoque spiritu ex corpore, at usque qui non desistit ab illis corpore ex spiritu, incastus est; nam dicit Dominus, quod si quis aspexerit mulierem alienam, ita ut concupiscat eam, jam adulterium cum illa commiserit in corde suo, Matth. 5:28.
[2] Omnes causae abstinentiae ab adulteriis solum corpore non recenseri possunt, nam sunt variae secundum status Conjugii, et quoque secundum status corporis; sunt enim qui ab illis abstinent, ex timore legis civilis et ejus poenarum; ex timore jacturae famae et inde honoris; ex timore morborum ex illis; ex timore jurgiorum domi ab uxore, et inde intranquillitatis vitae; ex timore vindictae a marito aut affine; exque timore verberum a famulis; tum qui abstinent ex egestate, aut ex avaritia, 1aut ex imbecillitate oriunda vel ex morbo, vel ex abusu, vel ex aetate, vel ex impotentia: inter hos etiam sunt, qui quia non possunt aut non audent corpore, ideo etiam damnant adulteria spiritu; et sic moraliter contra illa et pro conjugiis loquuntur; at hi si non spiritu, et spiritus ex religione, devovent 2adulteria, usque adulteri sunt, nam tametsi non corpore, usque spiritu committunt illa; quare post mortem, cum fiunt spiritus, aperte loquuntur pro illis. Ex his patet, quod etiam impius possit fugere adulteria ut damna, sed quod fugere illa ut peccata, non possit nisi Christianus. Ex his nunc constat veritas propositionis, quod Castitas non praedicari possit de illis, qui solum propter varias causas externas abstinent ab adulteriis.
Footnotes:
1. Prima editio: avartia,
2. Prima editio: devovet