230、(21)人的婚姻之爱越衰退和丧失，他就越接近动物的本性。这是因为，人越享有婚姻之爱，就越属灵；越属灵，就越是一个人。人是为死后生活而生的；他能获得这种生活，是因为他拥有属灵的灵魂在里面，他能凭自己的理解官能被提升至这种生活。如果此时他的意愿也能凭所赋予它的本能被提升，那么死后，他便享有天上的生活。如果他的爱是婚姻之爱的对立面，情形则正相反。因为他的爱越对立，他就越属世；而纯属世人在欲望、嗜好和它们所给予的乐趣方面就像一个动物，唯一区别在于：他拥有将其理解提升至智慧之光的官能，还拥有将其意愿提升至天上的爱之热的官能。这些官能不会从任何人那里被夺走；因此，纯属世人尽管在欲望、嗜好和它们所给予的乐趣方面就像一个动物，但死后仍旧活着；只是处于与他过去的生活相对应的状态。由此明显可知，人照着婚姻之爱的衰退而越来越接近动物的本性。这一点似乎与以下事实相矛盾，即：尽管有些人的婚姻之爱已经衰退并丧失，但他们依旧是人。但我们所指的是那些出于淫乱之爱而轻视婚姻之爱，从而使它衰退并丧失的人。
230、（21）当人对婚姻之爱的渴望减退并消失时，他的性格就越接近动物。
原因是一个人越是处于婚姻之爱中，他就越具有精神性，越具有精神性，他就越成为一个人。因为人生来就是要永和的，人生来就有具有精神性的灵魂。这种灵魂能够通过才智而提升到更高处，人的意愿也能被提升到高层次，这样人死后就会生活在天国里。
相反若一个人不拥有婚姻之爱。人越是这样，他就越是自然性的，自然性的人与动物相似，会贪婪。唯的区别是人还拥有提高自己的才智和意愿的能力。没有人会丧失这种能力，尽管自然人会与动物相似。这种人还会有死后的生命，只不过他会生活在与他生前的状况相对应的状况中。
由此可见，人的婚姻之爱若消退，那他的性格就会接近于动物，这点似乎值得争论，因为人若失去婚姻之爱，其性质会仍然是人。在此我们所讲的那些人是指因淫荡而丧失婚姻之爱的人。
230. (xxi) In so far as a person suffers failure or loss of his conjugial love, he approximates to the nature of an animal.
This is because a person is spiritual to the extent that he enjoys conjugial love, and he is a human being to the extent that he is spiritual. For a person is by birth intended for life after death, and he achieves this by having a spiritual soul in him, and he can be raised to this life by the capability of his intellect. If his will is also then raised together with the intellect by the capability given to it, after death he enjoys the life of heaven. The reverse happens if his love is the opposite of conjugial love. For he is natural to the extent that his love is the opposite, and a purely natural person resembles an animal in desires, appetites and the pleasures they give.
The only difference is that he has the capability of raising his intellect into the light of wisdom, and also the capability of raising his will into the heat of heavenly love. No one is ever deprived of these possibilities. As a result a purely natural person, although resembling an animal in his desires, appetites and the pleasures they give, still lives on after death, but in a state corresponding to the life he previously led. These considerations can establish that a person approximates to the nature of an animal in proportion to the failure 1of his conjugial love. This may seem to be contradicted by the fact that the failure and loss of conjugial love can occur in the case of people who remain human beings. But what is meant is those who are led by scortatory love to disparage conjugial love, and so suffer its failure and loss.
230. 21. To the degree that a person's conjugial love wanes and is lost, his character approaches that of an animal. The reason is that the more a person is in a state of conjugial love, the more spiritual he is; and the more spiritual he is, the more human he is. For human beings are born for life after death, and they attain it because of their having in them a spiritual soul, to which they can be elevated through the faculty of their intellect. If, by the power likewise granted to it, a person's will is then elevated at the same time, after death the person lives the life of heaven.
The reverse is the case if one is in a state of love contrary to conjugial love. For the more a person is in a state like that, the more natural in character he is; and a person who is merely natural is like an animal in his lusts, appetites and resulting delights, the only difference being that he still has the power to elevate his intellect into the light of wisdom and also the power to elevate his will into the warmth of heavenly love. No one loses these faculties. As a consequence, even though a merely natural person is like an animal in his lusts, appetites and resulting delights, still he lives after death, though in a state corresponding to the kind of life he led before.
It can be seen from this that to the degree a person's conjugial love wanes, his character approaches that of an animal. This seems to be something that could be disputed, since it is possible for conjugial love to wane and be lost in people whose character is nevertheless still human. But we are referring to people in the grip of licentious love, who do not care about conjugial love therefore and for that reason experience its failure and loss.
230. 21. The more a person lacks or rejects married love, the more that person is like an animal. The reason is that people are spiritual in the measure that they have married love, and in the measure that they are spiritual they are human. We are in fact born for a life after death, and we achieve it because a spiritual soul is in us and we can be raised up to spiritual life through our intellectual ability.
Then if our will is raised at the same time, thanks to an ability that it, too, has, we live a heavenly life after death.
The reverse happens if our love is opposite to the love in marriage, because in the measure that we are preoccupied with this opposite love we are worldly, and merely worldly people are like animals in their desires, their objectives, and their pleasures.
They do have one difference from animals, though. They have the ability to raise their intellect into the light of wisdom and also the ability to raise their will into the warmth of heavenly love. These abilities are not taken away from anyone.
So even though merely worldly people are like animals in their desires, objectives, and pleasures, they still live after death but in a state in keeping with the life they lived before.
We may conclude, therefore, that people approach the state of an animal in proportion to their rejection of married love. It might look as though these things can be contradicted because there are people who lack or reject the love of marriage, who are still people. But the ones I have in mind are those who make nothing of married love because they love adultery, so that they lack and reject married love.
230. XXI. THAT ACCORDING TO THE DEFECT AND LOSS OF CONJUGIAL LOVE, MAN APPROACHES TO THE NATURE OF A BEAST. The reason is, because so far as he is in conjugial love he is spiritual, and so far as he is spiritual he is a man. Man is born for life after death, and he attains that life because within him is a spiritual soul, and to this he can be elevated through the faculty of his understanding. If then, from the faculty which is given to it, his will also is elevated at the same time, then after death he lives the life of heaven. The contrary is the case if he is in a love opposed to conjugial love; for so far as he is in this, he is a natural man, and as to lusts, appetites, and their delights, the merely natural man is like a beast, with the sole difference that he has the faculty of elevating his understanding into the light of wisdom, and also the faculty of elevating his will into the heat of heavenly love. These faculties are never taken away from any man; and therefore, a merely natural man, although like a beast as to concupiscences, appetites and their delights, yet lives after death--but in a state corresponding to his past life. From this it is evident, that according to the defect of conjugial love, man approaches to the nature of a beast. This may seem open to contradiction because defect and loss of conjugial love exist with those who nevertheless are men; but what is meant concerns those who from scortatory love make light of conjugial love and so are in the defect and loss thereof.
230. (xxi) In the measure of the absence or loss of marital love, man approximates the nature of a beast. The reason is that as far as man is in marital love, he is spiritual, and as far as he is spiritual, he is a human being. For man is born for a life after death and attains it because there is a spiritual soul in him to which he can be lifted by the power of his understanding. If then his will from the faculty given it is raised at the same time, he lives the life of heaven after death. The reverse is true if a man is in a love opposed to marital love. For as far as he is, he is natural, and the merely natural man is like a beast in his passions, appetites and the enjoyments thereof, with the sole difference that he has the faculty of raising his understanding into the light of wisdom and also the faculty of raising the will into the heat of heavenly love; no human being is ever deprived of these faculties. Therefore the merely natural man, though he is like the beast in lusts, appetites and their enjoyments, still lives after death, but in a state corresponding to the life he has lived. From this it may be seen, then, that the human being approximates the nature of the beast according to the absence of marital love. This seems to be open to contradiction, for there are absence and loss of marital love with those who nevertheless are human beings; but we have in mind those who in scortatory love make nothing of marital love and thus suffer the lack or loss of it.
230. (21) That according to the deficiency and loss of conjugial love man approaches the nature of a beast. The reason is that in so far as he is in conjugial love he is spiritual, and in so far as he is spiritual he is a man (Latin: homo). For man is born for life after death, and he attains that life because there is within him a spiritual soul; and through the faculty of his understanding man can be elevated to this. If then at the same time his will be elevated, by the faculty given also to it, after death he lives the life of heaven. The opposite takes place if he is in love that is contrary to conjugial love; for in so far as he is in this he is natural, and a merely natural man as to lusts, appetites, and their delights is like a beast, with the difference only that he has the faculty of elevating the understanding into the light of wisdom, and also the faculty of elevating the will into the heat of heavenly love. These faculties are never taken away from any man; and therefore, a merely natural man, although as to lusts, appetites, and their delights is similar to a beast, yet lives after death - but in a state correspondent to his past life. From these considerations it is evident that man according to the defect of conjugial love approaches the nature of a beast. This may seem capable of contradiction, because there may be defect and loss of conjugial love with those who nevertheless are men; but the thought is of those who from scortatory love make light of conjugial love, and who for that cause are in defect and loss of it.
230. XXI: Quod homo secundum defectum et jacturam amoris conjugialis, accedat ad naturam bestiae; ratio est, quia homo quantum in amore conjugiali est, tantum spiritualis est, et quantum est spiritualis, tantum est homo; homo enim nascitur in vitam post mortem, et hanc consequitur, quia ei anima spiritualis inest, et ad hanc potest homo elevari per facultatem intellectus sui; si tunc voluntas ejus ex data etiam ei facultate simul elevatur, post mortem vivit vitam coeli: contrarium est, si in amore conjugiali opposito est; nam quantum in hoc est, tantum est naturalis, et homo mere naturalis est similis bestiae quoad cupiditates, appetitus, et illorum jucunda; cum sola differentia, quod illi sit facultas elevandi intellectum in sapientiae lucem, et quoque facultas elevandi voluntatem in coelestis amoris calorem; hae facultates nulli homini auferuntur; quapropter mere naturalis homo, tametsi quoad concupiscentias, appetitus et illorum jucunda, similis est bestiae, usque vivit post mortem, sed in statu anteactae vitae ejus correspondente: ex his constare potest, quod homo secundum dejectum amoris conjugialis accedat ad naturam bestiae. Haec videntur posse contradici, quia defectus et jactura amoris conjugialis, dantur apud illos, qui tamen homines sunt; sed mens est de illis, qui nihili faciunt amorem conjugialem ex amore scortatorio, et sic in defectu et jactura ejus sunt.