294、记事二：
几天后，我在玫瑰园中又看到那七位妻子，不过，这个园子不是以前那个。这是一个壮丽的玫瑰园，我从未见过。它呈圆形，里面的玫瑰被排列成一种彩虹。最外面那一圈是紫色玫瑰花，里面一圈是金黄色玫瑰花，在这一圈里面是一圈深蓝色玫瑰花，最里面那一圈是明绿色或亮绿色玫瑰花。有一个清澈的小湖在玫瑰彩虹中，先前被称为源泉少女的七位妻子正坐在那里。她们看见我在窗前，就招呼我过来。我一到，她们就说：“你在地上见过比这更美的东西吗？”“从来没有。”我说。她们告诉我：“像这样的园子是主在一瞬间创造出来的，它代表地上有某种新事物，因为主所造的一切事物都代表某种事物。不过，你若能，请猜猜这个花园代表什么。我们猜它是婚姻之爱的快乐。”
听到这话，我说：“什么！婚姻之爱的快乐？就是你们上次出于智慧和雄辩详细谈论的那些快乐吗？离开你们后，我把你们说的话讲给我们地区的一些妻子听，还告诉她们说：‘我已得到指教，现在知道你们心里能感受到婚姻之爱所产生的快乐，你们能照着丈夫的智慧与他们共享这些快乐。所以从早到晚，你们不断用灵眼注视丈夫，琢磨着如何把他们的心思折过来，引向智慧，以获得这些快乐。’我还告诉她们你们对智慧，就是属灵的理性智慧和道德智慧的解释。我说你们是这样看待婚姻的：它仅限于爱妻子一人，摒弃对其他女人的一切淫欲。但是，我们这里的妻子对此却笑着回应说：‘你说的这都什么呀？全是胡说八道。我们不知道什么是婚姻之爱。即使我们的丈夫有所了解，我们还是不知道。我们怎么可能享受它的快乐？事实上，至于你所说的终极快乐（ultimate delights），我们有时会激烈反抗，因为我们觉得它们令人厌恶，跟强奸差不多。其实，你若仔细观察一下，就会发现我们脸上丝毫没有这种爱的迹象。所以，如果你告诉那七位妻子说，我们从早到晚都在思想我们的丈夫，不断留意他们的美意和兴致，以便从他们那里获得这种快乐，那你一定在胡说，或开玩笑。’我从她们所说的话中记住了这一段，以便能讲给你们听，因为她们很反感你们在源泉旁边告诉我的话，事实上完全抵触，你们的话我可听得如饥似渴，也十分相信。”
对此，坐在玫瑰园里的妻子们回答说：“朋友，你不知道妻子们所拥有的智慧和谨慎。因为她们把它藏得严严实实，完全瞒着男人，这样做目的只有一个，就是被爱。凡没有属灵的理性和道德，只有属世的理性和道德的男人，对妻子都是冷淡的；这种冷淡就隐藏在他的至内层。一个智慧而又谨慎的妻子对此有一种准确、敏锐的觉知，于是就将其婚姻之爱隐藏起来，收回内心，并将它藏得如此之深，以至于在她的脸、语气或举止中看不到它的一丝痕迹。原因在于，她的爱越表现出来，她的丈夫对婚姻的冷淡就越从它所居的心智最内层涌出来，直涌到最表层，在身体中引发彻底的冷淡，从而引发寻求分床和分卧室的冲动。”
我接着问：“这种冷淡，也就是你们所说的对婚姻的冷淡是从哪里来的？”她们回答说：“这冷淡出自他们在属灵事物上的愚蠢。凡在属灵事物上愚蠢的男人，都会在最内层感受到对妻子的冷淡和对妓女的温暖。由于婚姻之爱与淫乱之爱是对立面，故可知，淫乱之爱是热的，婚姻之爱就是冷的。当男人被冷淡主宰时，他无法忍受来自妻子的任何爱的感觉，甚至无法忍受它的一丝气息。所以，他的妻子会智慧而谨慎地隐藏它，并且她越通过否认和拒绝隐藏它，她的丈夫就越被所流入的淫荡气场温暖和恢复。这就是为何这种男人的妻子不像我们那样拥有发自内心的快乐，只有快感。在男人这一方，这些快感可称作愚蠢的快感，因为它们是淫乱之爱的快感。
“每个贞洁的妻子都爱她的丈夫，哪怕她的丈夫不忠贞。但是，因为唯独智慧才是她爱情的接受者，所以妻子会竭尽全力将丈夫的愚蠢转向智慧，也就是说，防止他对其他女人动情欲。她以上千种方法来这样做，不过，她也会万分小心，不叫丈夫追查到任何迹象。因为她深知，爱是无法强迫的，只能在自由中巧妙渗入。因此，女人被赐予通过视、听、触洞察丈夫任何心思的能力；而男人却没有被赐予洞察妻子任何心思的能力。
“贞洁的妻子可能会严厉地看着丈夫，用尖锐的语气跟他说话，还有可能朝他发怒，和他争吵；然而，她心里仍对他充满温和、柔软的爱。她的愤怒和掩饰旨在使丈夫变得智慧，并接受她的爱情；这一点从她们能很快被安抚下来的事实明显看出来。此外，妻子拥有这些植入她们内心和骨髓的隐藏爱情的方法，是为了防止丈夫对婚姻的冷淡爆发出来，还为了防止这冷淡甚至淬灭丈夫的淫热之火，从而将他从绿枝变成干棒。”
七位妻子说完这些及其它类似的话后，她们的丈夫来了，手里拿着串串葡萄，有的很美味，有的却很苦涩。于是妻子们问：“你们为何拿这些劣质的野葡萄来？”丈夫们回答说：“因为我们的灵魂与你们的灵魂联结，所以我们能在灵魂中发觉你们正和这个男人谈论真正的婚姻之爱，说它的快乐是智慧的快乐，还谈及淫乱之爱，说它的快乐是愚蠢的快感。后者是苦涩的野葡萄，而前者则是美味的好葡萄。”然后，丈夫们肯定了他们的妻子所说的话，并补充说：“愚蠢的快感和智慧的快乐外在看上去很相似，但内在却不同。它们就像我们拿来的这些好葡萄和坏葡萄。因为忠贞的男人和不忠的男人外在拥有相似的智慧，但这智慧内在截然不同。”
此后，那个小男孩又来了，手里拿着一张纸。他递给我说：“请读一下。”于是，我读到这些话：“要知道，婚姻之爱的快乐可升至最高层天堂，并且一路上，直到那天堂，它们会将自己与一切天堂之爱的快乐结合起来，从而融入它们持续到永恒的幸福之中。这是因为，婚姻之爱的快乐就是智慧的快乐。还要知道，淫乱之爱的快感可沉到最低层的地狱，并且一路上，直到那地狱，它们会将自己与一切地狱之爱的快感结合起来，从而陷入悲惨之中，这悲惨就在于丧失内心一切喜乐。这是因为，淫乱之爱的快感也是愚蠢的快感。”之后，丈夫与他们的妻子都离开了，并护送这小男孩，直到他踏上升往天堂的路。他们从他被送往的社群就能知道，他所在的社群是新天堂的社群，而新天堂将与地上的新教会联结在一起。
294、第二点陈述：
几天后我又看到那七个女子坐在玫瑰花园中，不过这次是在另一个花园中。我从没见过那么美的花园，它形状是个圆形，由玫瑰花构成了一个彩虹般的拱门。紫色的花构成了它的最外面一圈，黄色一圈紧挨着它。接下来是深兰色的，绿色的处于最里圈，在花园中间是一潭清水。
七个被称为泉边的少女的女子又招唤我过去并问我：“你在世间见过比这更美的东西吗？”
我说：“没有。”
她们说：“这样美妙的东西是主在顷刻之间创造出来的，它象征着世间有了什么新的变化。因为主所创造的任何东西都代表着什么神圣的东西。我们猜测它是婚姻之爱的快乐。”
听到这我问：“什么是你们上次所讲的婚姻之爱的快乐。在我上次离开你们后。我对世间的作妻子的人讲了你们所讲的。我说：”我知道你们能感受到来自于你们的婚姻之爱的快乐，你们能根据丈夫的智慧将这种快乐传递给丈夫。”我说我还知道“你们整天都在考虑丈夫的状态，想着怎样引导他们的心并使其变得有智慧。以便你们能够实现这种快乐。”我还说：“你们所指的智慧是一种精神——理性和精神——道德的智慧，在婚姻中，这种智慧就是排除对别的女人的倾慕而只爱妻子一人。”
“但是世间的妻子们听到这些笑道，你在说什么呀？我们并不知道婚姻之爱是什么。即使是我们的丈夫会有这种感觉，我们仍然没有。这种快乐怎么会是来自于我们呢？至于你所说的终极快乐，我们有时，我们是极为反对的，它令人反感象是被强奸的感觉。事实上，你们不会在我们的脸上看到一丝这样的爱。你一定是在胡说或开玩笑。你说我们整天想着丈夫想得到注意并得到那种快乐？”
“我讲的是世间妻子们所说的，它与你们讲的完全相反，花园中的人回答道：“亲爱的朋友你并不知道作妻子的人的智慧和谨慎。她们对男人完全隐藏这些情况以便能得到他们的爱。因为不是精神——理性的和精神——道德性的男人是自然性的。他们有与生俱来的对妻子的冷漠。智慧、谨慎的妻子能觉察到这点。于是她将自己的婚姻之爱藏在心中，而不在脸上，言语和动作上有一丝体现。她这么做的原因是男人的冷漠会在她的爱显现时而出现，它会尽力使其与妻子分离。”
我又问：“是什么造成这种冷漠婚姻中的冷漠呢？”
他们答道：“这是因为他们在精神上缺乏理性。没有理性的男人在内在上对妻子冷漠而对娼妇热衷。因为婚姻之爱与淫爱是相反的，的以当有淫爱存在时，婚姻之爱就会冷却。当男人被冷漠主宰时，他就不能接受来自于妻子的任何爱的表示。这就是为什么女人们会谨慎地隐藏它。通过否定它的存在，女人能够激起男人的兴趣。这样，那样的男人的妻子不会有象我们所体会到的心中的快乐，而只有躯体上的快乐，这在男人身上是一种淫爱所带来的快乐。
“每个贞洁的妻子都爱她的丈夫，即使她的丈夫是不忠的，但是因为只有智慧才会接受她的爱，因此妻子会尽全力使丈夫拥有智慧，使丈夫不会考虑别的女人，而只有自己。她会有许多办法来达到目的，但都是要不为丈夫察觉，因为爱是不能强迫的，而是要在自由的前提下巧妙地灌输，因此女人有洞察丈夫的思想的能力，而男人没有洞察女人思想的能力。”
“贞洁的妻子可能对丈夫表现的严厉，语言尖刻，甚至会生气而与其争斗，但在内心还会爱她的丈夫。这样做其实是智慧的表现，妻子们隐藏心中的爱，以便使丈夫的冷漠不会爆发并且熄灭丈夫对淫爱的渴望。
这七个女人讲完这些后，她们的丈夫手中拿着葡萄来了。一些葡萄味道很好，而一些非常不好。妻子们问：“你们为什么带来这些不好的野葡萄来？”
他们答道：“因为我们的灵魂与你们的相联，我们知道你正在与这个人谈论婚姻之爱和淫爱，味道好的葡萄代表着婚姻之爱，味道不好的代表淫爱。”
丈夫们又补充说，淫爱所带来的快乐看上去与智慧的快乐外在上相似，但内在上是不同的。正如好葡萄和坏葡萄一样，他们说贞洁的男人在外在上都会有类似的智慧，但是这两种智慧在内在性质是完全不同的。”
此后，那个小男孩又来了，手里拿着张纸交给我并说：“读一下。”
于是我读了以下内容：
要知道婚姻之爱会进入最高的天国中，在这一过程中以及在天国中它们与天国之爱的快乐相结合，并得到其幸福。这种幸福会持续到永恒，是因为那种爱的快乐也是智慧的快乐。
还要知道淫爱的快乐会下降到最底层的地狱中，在这一过程中以及在天国中它们与地狱之爱的快乐相结合，并得到其中的悲哀。它会排除心中一切的快乐，这是因为那种爱的快乐是疯狂的快乐。
丈夫们，妻子们和小男孩一起离开了，小男孩在路的尽头升上了天国，人们后来发现，小男孩来自于一个新的天国，这个天国将会与世间的新教会相联。
294. The second experience.
Some days later I again saw the seven wives in a rose-garden, but not the same one as before. It was a magnificent rose-garden, the like of which I had never seen before. It was circular, and the roses were arranged to make a kind of rainbow. The outermost ring was made of roses with purple flowers, the next inner ring of flowers of a golden yellow, the one within this of blue, the inmost of light or shining green. Inside this rainbow of roses was a small pool of limpid water. The seven wives, who had earlier been called the spring-maidens, were sitting there when they spied me at the window, and called me to visit them again. When I arrived they said, 'Have you ever seen anything more beautiful on earth?' 'Never,' I said. 'Such things,' they told me, 'are created by the Lord in a moment, and they represent something new on earth, since everything created by the Lord represents something. But see if you can guess what this represents. Our guess is that it is the delights of conjugial love.'
[2] On hearing this I said, 'Do you mean the delights of conjugial love about which you had so much to say before, with such wisdom and also eloquence? After I left you, I reported what you had said to some wives who live in our district. 'Now I have been taught,' I told them, 'I know that you have delights in your hearts arising from your conjugial love, and you are able to share these with your husbands in proportion to their wisdom. Consequently you gaze at your husbands continually from morning to evening with the eyes of your spirits, trying to deflect and guide their minds towards being wise, so that you can snap up these delights. I also related what you mean by wisdom, spiritual rational and spiritual moral wisdom. I said your view of marriage was that it was restricted to loving one's wife only and putting away all lust after other women. But the wives of our district responded to this by laughing. "What is this you say?" they said, "this is all nonsense. We do not know what conjugial love is. Even if our husbands have some, we certainly don't have any. So how could we enjoy its delights? In fact, we sometimes violently refuse what you call the ultimate delights, for we find them displeasing, hardly different from suffering rape. In fact, if you look closely, you will not see any sign of such a love in our faces. So you must be talking nonsense or joking, if you told those seven wives that we think about our husbands from morning to evening, continually paying attention to their whims and pleasures, in order to gain such delights from them." I remember this from what they said, so that I could report it to you, seeing that they find repugnant and in fact totally contradict what you told me by the spring, which I so eagerly drank it in and believed it.'
[3] The wives sitting in the rose-garden replied to this, 'Friend, you are unaware of the wisdom and prudence wives possess, because they keep it completely hidden from men; and they do so for no other purpose but to be loved. For each man, who is not spiritually but only naturally rational and moral, is cold to his wife, a feeling hidden at his innermost level. A wise and prudent wife has a keen and exact perception of this, and so to this extent she conceals and retracts into her heart her conjugial love, keeping it so deeply hidden as not to show the slightest trace of it in her face, her tone of voice or her gestures. The reason is that the more she shows this, the more her husband's coldness to marriage floods out from where it is lodged in the inmost levels of his mind into the outermost levels, inducing a total chill in the body, and so an impulse to seek a separate bed and bedroom.'
[4] Then I asked, 'Where does the coldness that you call coldness to marriage come from?' 'It comes,' they replied, 'from their folly about spiritual matters. Everyone who is foolish about spiritual matters feels at the inmost level coldness towards his wife, and warmth towards prostitutes. Since conjugial love and scortatory love are opposites, it follows that, when scortatory love is hot, conjugial love is cold. When a man has coldness dominant in him, he cannot put up with any feeling of love, not even a breath of it, coming from his wife. So his wife wisely and prudently conceals it, and to the extent that she conceals it by her denials and refusals, to that extent her husband is warmed and restored by the sphere of prostitution influencing him. That is why the wife of such a man has no delights in his heart, as we have, but only pleasures. These are called the pleasures of folly as applied to the man, since they are the pleasures of scortatory love.
[5] 'Every chaste wife loves her husband, even if he is unchaste. But since wisdom is the only means by which her love can be received, she devotes all her energies to turning his folly into wisdom, that is, preventing him lusting after other women. She has a thousand ways of doing this, but she takes the greatest care to see that none of them are tracked down by her husband. For she is well aware that love can never be forced, but slips in where there is freedom. Women therefore have been given the ability to recognise by sight, hearing and touch any state of mind their husbands have. Men, on the other hand, are not given the ability to recognise any state of mind their wives have.
[6] 'A chaste wife can look sternly at her husband, speak harshly to him, get angry and quarrel with him, while still in her heart she cherishes a mild and tender love for him. These fits of anger and pretence are aimed at making the husband wise and receptive of her love, as is obvious from the fact that they can be instantly reconciled. Moreover, wives have these methods of concealing their love implanted in their heart and marrow, in order to prevent an explosion of coldness to marriage in the husband. It is also to prevent this coldness quenching the fire of his scortatory warmth, thus turning him from green wood into a dry stick.'
[7] After this and many similar lectures from the seven wives, their husbands came with bunches of grapes in their hands, some of which had a delightful taste, but others a sharp one. 'Why,' said the wives, 'have you brought us nasty or uncultivated grapes?' 'Because,' the husbands replied, 'we could tell in our souls, which are united with yours, that you have been talking to that man about truly conjugial love, saying its delights are those of wisdom, and about scortatory love, saying its delights are the pleasures of folly. These last are the grapes with the nasty taste, the former ones are the ones that taste delightful.'
They confirmed what their wives had said, adding that the pleasures of folly look on the outside like the delights of wisdom, but not on the inside. 'They are,' they said, 'just like the good and the nasty grapes we brought. Both the chaste and the unchaste have outwardly the same kind of wisdom, but inwardly it is quite different.'
[8] After this the little boy came back again with a parchment in his hand; he held it out to me and said, 'Read it.' This is what I read: 'You must know that the delights of conjugial love rise to the highest heaven, being joined on the way and there by the delights of all the heavenly loves. So they enter upon their happiness which lasts for ever. This is because the delights of that love are the delights of wisdom. You must also know that the pleasures of scortatory love sink down to the lowest hell, being joined on the way and there by the pleasures of all hellish loves, and thus they enter upon unhappiness, which consists in distress affecting all the heart's joys. This is because the pleasures of that love are also the pleasures of folly.'
After this the husbands went away with their wives, escorting the little boy until his path took him up to heaven. They were able to recognise the community which had sent him as being one of the new heaven, with which the new church on earth will be linked.
294. The second account:
Several days later I again saw the same seven wives in a rose garden, but in a different one from the one previously. It was a magnificent garden, the like of which I had never seen before. It was laid out almost in a circle, and the roses in it formed a kind of rainbow-like arc. Purple-colored roses or flowers formed its outmost ring; golden-yellow ones the next ring in; dark-blue ones the ring inside that; and bluish-green or bright-green ones the inmost ring. And enclosed within that rainbow-like rose garden was a little pool of clear water.
Those seven wives, previously called maidens of the spring, were sitting there, and seeing me at my window they again called me over. Then, when I arrived, they said, "Have you ever seen anything more beautiful on earth?"
"Never," I said.
So they said, "A marvel like this is created by the Lord in instant, and it represents a new development on earth, for everything created by the Lord represents something. But divine if you can what that is. We are guessing that it is the delights of conjugial love."
[2] On hearing this I said, "What are the delights of conjugial love, of which you spoke with so much wisdom and also so much eloquence last time? After I left you, I related what you said to wives living in our world, and I told them, 'Having now been instructed, I know that you feel delights in your hearts arising from your conjugial love, which you are able to communicate to your husbands in accordance with their wisdom. I also know that from morning to evening you therefore continually contemplate your husbands with the eyes of your spirit and consider how to turn and guide their hearts to becoming wise, in order that you may realize those delights.' I further reported what you meant by wisdom, saying that it is a spiritual-rational and spiritual-moral wisdom, and that as regards marriage it is to love only one's wife and to rid oneself of all desire for other women.
"But to this the wives in our world responded with laughter, saying, 'What are you talking about? What you have said is preposterous. We do not know what conjugial love is. If our husbands experience anything of it, still we do not. How then do its delights originate with us? Indeed, when it comes to the delights which you call the end delights, we sometimes resist vehemently, for to us they are repugnant, in almost the same way as acts of rape. In fact, if you look, you will not see one sign of any such love in our faces. Therefore you are either talking nonsense or joking if, like those seven wives of yours, you too say that we think about our husbands from morning to evening and continually give attention to their wishes and pleasures, in order that we may gain from them delights such as those!'
"I have retained from the responses of those wives these declarations, to report them to you, since they call into dispute and even more entirely contradict the discourse I heard from you by the spring, which I listened to so eagerly and also believed."
[3] To this the wives sitting in the rose garden replied, "Dear friend, you do not know the wisdom and prudence of wives, because they hide it altogether from men and keep it hidden precisely in order to be loved by them. For every man who is not spiritually rational and moral but only naturally so possesses a coldness towards his wife, such a coldness being inherent in him in his inmost elements. This coldness a wise and prudent wife acutely and keenly notices, and she then conceals her conjugial love, withdrawing into her heart so much of it and hiding it there so deeply that not the least bit of it appears in her face, her tone of voice, or gesture. She does this, because to the extent her love appears, to that extent a man's coldness with respect to marriage pours forth from the inmost elements of his mind where it resides and descends into its outmost expressions, producing a total frigidity in the body and an urge to separate himself therefore from the bed and bedroom."
[4] I asked them then, "What causes such coldness, which you call coldness with respect to marriage."
"It comes from a lack of rationality on their part in matters of the spirit. Every man who is irrational in matters of the spirit is inmostly cold to his wife and inmostly warm toward harlots. And because conjugial love and licentious love are opposed to each other, it follows that conjugial love becomes cold whenever licentious love is warm. Then, when coldness reigns in a man, he cannot endure any feeling of love or even therefore any whisper of it from his wife. That is why a wife so wisely and prudently conceals it; and to the extent she does this by denying and resisting, to that extent a wanton atmosphere flows in which revives and restores the man's interest. As a result the wife of a man like that does not experience any delights of the heart such as we do, but only physical gratifications, which on the man's part have to be termed pleasures of insanity, because they are the pleasures of a licentious love.
[5] "Every chaste wife loves her husband, even a husband who is unchaste; but because wisdom is the only quality that receives her love, therefore a wife spends every effort to turn his insanity into wisdom, at least to the point that he does not desire any other women but her. This she accomplishes in a thousand ways, taking especial care that none of these ways be detected by her husband; for she well knows that love cannot be compelled, but is subtly infused in a state of freedom. For that reason it is granted to women to discern from sight, hearing and touch their husbands' every state of mind, while it is not granted to men conversely to discern any of their wives' states of mind.
[6] "A chaste wife can look at her husband with a stern expression, speak to him in a sharp voice, and even be angry at him and fight with him, and yet at the same time in her heart cherish a gentle and tender love for him. The object, however, of these expressions of anger and concealments of love is wisdom and a consequent reception of love on the part of her husband, as is clearly apparent from how quickly she can be placated. Wives furthermore have such ways of concealing the love implanted in their heart and marrows in order by these means to keep a man's coldness with respect to marriage from breaking out in him and extinguishing even the fire of his licentious heat, the result of which would be to turn him from green wood into a dry stick."
[7] After those seven wives made these statements and a number of others like them, their husbands came with clusters of grapes in their hands, some of which had a delicious flavor and some an offensive one. So the wives said, "Why did you bring bad or wild grapes, too?"
"Because," replied their husbands, "your souls being united with ours, we perceived in our souls that you were speaking with this man here about truly conjugial love, saying that its delights are delights of wisdom, and also about licentious love, saying that its delights are pleasures of insanity. The grapes with the delicious flavor are the first kind of delights, while the offensive-tasting or wild grapes are the second kind."
The husbands then confirmed what their wives had said, adding that the pleasures of insanity appear in outward respects similar to the delights of wisdom, but not in their inner qualities - "just like the good and bad grapes that we brought," they said. "For both chaste and unchaste men are capable of a similar wisdom in outward respects, but in its inner qualities their wisdom is entirely different."
[8] After that the little boy came again with a piece of paper in his hand, and he held it out to me, saying, "Read."
So I read as follows:
Be advised, all who read this, that the delights of conjugial love ascend up to the highest heaven, and on the way and in that heaven they join with the delights of all heavenly loves, and so enter into their felicity, which lasts to eternity. That is because the delights of that love are also delights of wisdom.
Be advised, too, that the pleasures of licentious love descend down to the lowest hell, and on the way and in that hell they join with the pleasures of all hellish loves, and so enter into their misery, which consists in a frustration of all the heart's delights. That is because the pleasures of that love are also pleasures of insanity.
The husbands subsequently departed with their wives, and accompanying the little boy as far as the path he took to ascend to heaven, they discovered that the society he had been sent from was a society of the New Heaven, the heaven with which the New Church on earth will be affiliated.
294. The second story: I saw the seven wives again some days later, in a rose garden, but not the same one. It was a magnificent rose garden. I had never seen one like it before. It was round, and the roses there formed a kind of rainbow arch. Its outer circle was roses or deep crimson flowers, inside that were others of a golden yellow, inside those were others of a deep blue, and onion green or bright green flowers were innermost of all. In this rainbow rose garden was a pool of transparent water. The seven wives sitting there, called the Virgins of the Spring before, again saw me at the window and invited me to join them.
When I came, they said, "Did you ever see anything more beautiful on earth?"
I said, "Never!"
"The Lord creates a thing like this in a moment," they said, "and it stands for something that is new on earth. Everything that the Lord creates is representative. See if you can guess what the new thing is. We'll guess it's the joy of married love."
When I heard this I said, "The joy of married love! You told me so much about it so eloquently before, from your wisdom!
After I left you I told some wives in our vicinity about your conversation. I said, 'I've learned something, and now I know that delight springs up in your hearts from your married love, and you can share it with your husbands according to their wisdom.
So the eyes of your spirit are on your husbands all the time, dawn to dusk, and you try to bend and lead their minds toward becoming wise so you can enjoy those delights.'
"I also told them that what you mean by wisdom is moral and rational spiritual wisdom, and in marriage it is the wisdom of loving only a wife and rejecting all selfish desires for anyone else.
"But the wives there only laughed at these things and said,
'What's this? Those words are silly. We don't know what married love is. We don't have any even if our husbands do, so how can we have any delight in it? And as to what you call the most outward pleasures of this love, sometimes we violently refuse them, because we find them disagreeable - hardly different from rape. In fact, you wouldn't find any sign of such love in our faces if you looked for it. So you're teasing, or joking, if you say that we think about our husbands from dawn to dusk like those seven wives, and wait on their pleasure and whims just to get delights like that out of them.'
"I remembered these words of theirs so I could repeat them to you. They fly in the face of everything you told me at the spring. In fact, they're the exact opposite. And I swallowed it all eagerly and believed it!"
"Friend," the wives sitting in the rose garden answered, "you don't know how wise and prudent wives are, because they completely hide it from men, and they hide it for no reason but to be loved. Every man who is not spiritually, but only naturally rational and moral, is cold toward his wife. It lurks concealed in his deepest levels. The wise and prudent wife keeps track of this exquisitely and keenly and hides her love for marriage to just that extent. She draws it into her breast and hides it there so deeply that not the least bit of it shows in her face, voice, or gesture. The reason is that to whatever extent the love appears, the man's marital coldness pours out from the depths of his mind where it resides, and into the outward man. It makes his body completely frigid, so it makes him want to separate from bed and bedroom."
Then I asked, "Where does cold like this come from, that you call marital cold?"
"It comes from their spiritual folly," they said, "and every man who is spiritually foolish is cold to his wife, deep down inside, and warm toward prostitutes. The love in marriage is the opposite of the love in fornication, so that married love cools when love for fornication is warm. And when coldness reigns in a man he can't stand any feeling of love, nor therefore any breath of it, from his wife.
"This is why the wife so wisely and prudently hides it, and to the extent that she does hide it by denying and refusing, a lewd element filters in to revive and restore the man. This is why the wife of a man like that has none of the heartfelt delights that we have, but only pleasures that are the pleasures of folly for the man, because they are the pleasures of loving fornication.
"Every chaste wife loves her husband - even an unchaste husband - but only wisdom can receive her love, so the wife does all she can to turn his folly into wisdom - in other words, to make him lust after no one but herself. She does this in a thousand ways, being very careful not to let him discover any of them, for she knows that you can't force love, but it finds its way in spontaneously.
Therefore women get to know their husbands' every state of mind, from sight, hearing, and touch, but husbands, on the other hand, have no way of knowing any state of mind in their wives.
"A chaste wife can give her husband withering looks, speak harshly to him - even be angry and quarrel - and yet cherish a gentle and tender love for him in her heart. But in a moment she can forgive and forget, so these outbursts of anger and these poses are clearly for the benefit of wisdom in the husband, and his receptiveness to love.
"Another reason why wives have such a way of concealing the love inborn in their heart and marrow is to keep marital coldness from breaking out in the man. That would douse the fire of his lustful warmth, too, and make him a dry stick instead of green wood."
After the seven wives had said these things and many other things like them, their husbands came with clusters of grapes in their hands. Some tasted delicious, and some tasted horrible, and the wives said, "Why did you bring the bad wild grapes, too?"
"We could tell in our souls, which are one with yours," the husbands answered, "that you were talking with that man about the real love in marriage and how its joy is the joy of wisdom, and also about love of fornication and how its joy is the pleasure of folly. These pleasures are the bad - tasting wild grapes, but the others are the grapes that taste delicious."
They supported the things their wives had said and added, "The pleasures of folly look like the delights of wisdom on the surface, but not inside - exactly like the good and bad grapes we brought. For the wisdom of unchaste people is like the wisdom of chaste people on the surface but totally different underneath."
After this the little boy came again with a piece of paper in his hand and held it out to me, saying, "Read."
This is what I read. "Something you need to know is that the joy of married love rises to the highest heaven, and both there and on the way there it joins together with the joy of all heavenly loves, and so they enter a happiness that lasts forever. The reason is that the joy of married love is also the joy of wisdom.
"You must also know that the pleasures of a love for fornication sink to the lowest hell, and both there and on the way there they join together with the pleasures of all hellish loves, and so they enter an unhappiness consisting of never having any heartfelt joys. The reason is that the pleasures of loving fornication are also the pleasures of folly."
After this the husbands left with their wives and kept the little boy company all the way to a path that he followed to heaven.
They knew what community he was sent from, and it was a community of the new heaven. The new church on earth will be associated with it.
294. The second Memorable Relation:
Some days later I again saw the seven wives in a rose garden, but not in the same one as before. It was a magnificent garden, the like of which I had never seen before. It was round, and the roses there formed a curve like that of a rainbow, the outer circle being formed by roses or flowers of a crimson color, the next inner circle by roses of a golden yellow color, the circle within this by roses of a cerulean color, and the inmost circle by roses of a prasinous or bright green color. Within this rainbow-garden was a small lake of limpid water. Sitting there, were the seven wives previously called Virgins of the Fountain. Seeing me at the window, they again called me to them; and when I came, they said, "Did you ever see anything more beautiful on earth?" I said, "Never!"
They then said: "A garden such as this, is created by the Lord in a moment and it represents some new thing on earth; for everything created by the Lord represents something. Divine, if you can, as to what this garden represents? We divine that it represents the delights of conjugial love."
[2] On hearing this, I said: "What! the delights of conjugial love--those delights of which, on a previous occasion, you spoke so fully both from wisdom and with eloquence? After I left you, I related your discourse to some wives dwelling in our part of the country, and said, "Having been instructed, I now know that you have bosom delights arising from your conjugial love--delights which you can impart to your husbands according to their wisdom; and that therefore, from morning to evening, you are continually looking upon your husbands with the eyes of your spirit, and studying to bend and lead their minds to becoming wise, to the end that you may secure those delights." I also told them what you mean by wisdom, namely, spiritual-rational and moral wisdom, and, as regards marriage, the wisdom to love the wife alone and to put off all concupiscence for other women. But to this, the wives of our part of the country responded with laughter, saying, "What is all this? your words are empty nothings. We do not know what conjugial love is; and if our husbands have any, still, we do not. How then can its delights be with us? As for the delights which you call ultimate, we sometimes violently refuse them, for to us they are unpleasant, being scarcely other than violations. Indeed, if you observe us, you will see no sign of such love in our faces. You are therefore trifling or jesting if you join with those seven wives in saying that we are thinking of our husbands from morning to evening, and are continually attentive to their good pleasure and their wishes, to the end that from them we may obtain such delights." From all that they said, I have retained these words that I might report them to you, since they militate against the discourse which I heard from you at the fountain and took in with such avidity, and also believed; indeed, they completely contradict it."
[3] To this, the wives sitting in the garden replied: "Friend, you do not know the wisdom and prudence of wives because they entirely conceal it from men, concealing it for no other purpose than that they may be loved; for in every man who is not spiritually rational and moral but only naturally, there is coldness towards his wife, such coldness being latent with him in his inmosts. This a wise and prudent wife exquisitely and keenly observes, and in equal measure she conceals her conjugial love, withdrawing it into her bosom and there hiding it so deeply that not the least trace of it is discerned, whether in her face, the tone of her voice, or her gestures. The reason is, because in the degree that this love appears, the conjugial cold of the man pours forth from the inmosts of his mind where it resides, into his ultimates, and induces on his body total coldness and a consequent urge for separation from bed and bed-chamber."
[4] To my question, "Whence comes this cold which you call conjugial cold?" they answered: "It is from their insanity in spiritual things. Every man who is insane in spiritual things is inmostly cold to his wife and inmostly warm to harlots. And because conjugial love and scortatory love are opposites, it follows that conjugial love becomes cold when scortatory love is warm; and when cold rules in a man, he cannot bear any sensation of love from his wife, and so cannot bear any breath thereof. It is for this reason that the wife so wisely and prudently conceals it, and so far as she conceals it by denying and refusing, so far the man is revived and restored by an inflowing meretricious sphere. Hence it is that the wife of such a man has no bosom delights such as we have but only pleasures, and on the man's side, these, being the pleasures of scortatory love, are to be called pleasures of insanity.
[5] Every chaste wife loves her husband, even if he is unchaste; but because wisdom alone is recipient of her love, therefore the wife uses every effort to turn his insanity into wisdom, that is, that he may feel desire for no other woman than herself. This she does in a thousand ways, taking the greatest care that none of them shall be discovered by the man; for she well knows that love cannot be forced but is insinuated in freedom. Wherefore, it is given to women to know from sight, hearing, and touch every state of their husbands' minds; but to husbands, on the other hand, it is not given to know any state of their wives' minds.
[6] A chaste wife can look at her husband with an austere countenance, can speak to him in a sharp tone, and can also be angry with him and quarrel, and yet cherish in her heart a soothing and tender love for him. That her anger and these dissimulations have as their end wisdom and hence the reception of her love by her husband, is clearly evident from the fact that she can be reconciled in a moment. Moreover, wives have these means of concealing the love implanted in their heart and their very marrow, to the end that the conjugial cold in the man may not break forth and extinguish even the fire of his scortatory heat, and thus from green wood make him, as it were, a dry stick."
[7] After the seven wives had said these words and much else of the same kind, their husbands came with clusters of grapes in their hands, some of which were of a delicious flavor and some of an offensive. The wives then said, "Why have you brought bad or wild grapes?" The husbands replied: "Because we perceived in our souls, with which yours are united, that you were speaking with this man about love truly conjugial, that its delights are delights of wisdom; and also about scortatory love, that its delights are pleasures of insanity. The latter are the grapes of offensive flavor, being wild grapes, but the former are the grapes of delicious flavor." They then confirmed the discourse of their wives and added: "Externally, but not internally, the pleasures of insanity seem the same as the delights of wisdom, just like the good and bad grapes which we brought; for externally, chaste men and unchaste have a like wisdom, but internally it is wholly unlike."
[8] After this, the little boy again came with a paper in his hand and, holding it out to me, he said, "Read." I then read these words: "Know that the delights of conjugial love ascend to the highest heaven, and on the way and when there, they conjoin themselves with the delights of all heavenly loves, and thus enter into their happiness which endures to eternity. The reason is because the delights of that love are also the delights of wisdom. And know also that the pleasures of scortatory love descend even to the lowest hell, and on the way and when there, conjoin themselves with the pleasures of all infernal loves. They thus enter into their unhappiness which consists in the deprivation of all joys of the heart. The reason is because the pleasures of that love are also the pleasures of insanity." After this the husbands with their wives departed and accompanied the little boy as far as the path of his ascent into heaven. They knew the society from which he was sent, that it was a society of the new heaven with which the New Church on earth will be conjoined.
294. II
Some days later I saw the seven wives again in a rosary, but not in the same one as before. It was a magnificent rosary, the like of which I had never seen. It was circular, and its roses formed as it were a rainbow arch, roses or flowers of a purple hue its outmost band, others of a golden yellow the band next within, and others of a deep blue within these, and innermost of all flowers leek-green or bright green; within all, this rainbow rosary encircled a small lake of limpid water. The seven wives sitting there, previously called the virgins of the fountain, on seeing me at the window, called me to them again. When I came they said, "Did you ever see anything more beautiful on earth?" I said, "Never!"
"A marvel like this," they said, "is created by the Lord in a moment and represents something new on earth, for everything created by the Lord represents something. Divine, if you can, what it represents! We divine that it is the delights of marital love." Hearing this I said:
[2] "What! The delights of marital love? About which you spoke so fully, with wisdom and eloquence, too? After I left you, I repeated what you said to wives dwelling in our region, and remarked that now, being instructed, I know that you have bosom delights arising from your marital love and can impart them to your husbands according to their wisdom; and that therefore you regard your husbands with the eyes of your spirit continually, from morning to evening, and study to incline and lead their minds to seek wisdom, to the end that you may capture those delights. I related also what you mean by wisdom, namely spiritual-rational and moral wisdom, and with respect to marriage, the wisdom of loving the wife alone and putting off all lust for others.
"But the wives of our region greeted this with laughter, saying, 'What? All you say means nothing. We do not know what marital love is. If our husbands have any, still we have none. Whence then its delights with us? As for delights which you call ultimate, sometimes we refuse them forcibly, for they are unpleasant to us, scarcely other than violations. Indeed, if you will observe us you will see no sign of such love in our faces. You trifle, too, or jest, if, like the seven wives, you say that we think from morning till evening about our husbands and are constantly attentive to their will and wish, in order to obtain such delights from them. I have retained so much of what they said, to repeat it to you, as it contradicts, in fact, is plainly contrary to what I heard you say at the fountain, which I received with so much avidity, and also believed."
[3] To this the wives sitting in the rosary replied, "Friend, you little know the wisdom and prudence of wives, for they conceal it from men altogether, and do so to no other end than to be loved. The man who is not spiritually but only naturally rational and moral, is cold toward his wife. Cold is latent in his inmosts. This the wise and prudent wife exquisitely and keenly observes, and she conceals her marital love so completely, and drawing it into her bosom, hides it there so deeply, that not the least of it shows in face, voice or gesture. The reason is that in the degree that the love appears, the marital cold of the man is diffused from the inmosts of his mind where it resides, into its ultimates, and induces a total frigidity of the body, and a consequent effort toward separation from bed and chamber."
[4] Then I asked, "Whence is this cold which you call marital cold?"
They answered, "From the insanity of men in spiritual things. Every man who is insane in spiritual things is inmostly cold to his wife, and inmostly warm toward harlots. Marital love and scortatory love are opposite; it follows that marital love becomes cold when scortatory love is warm; and when the cold rules in him a man cannot bear from his wife any feeling or slightest breath of love. For this reason the wife wisely and prudently conceals it by denying and refusing, and so far as she does, so far relish is restored in the man by the inflowing meretricious sphere. Hence the wife of such a man has no bosom delights such as we have, but only pleasures, which on the part of the man must be called pleasures of insanity, because they are the pleasures of scortatory love.
[5] Every chaste wife loves her husband, even though he is unchaste; but because only wisdom is receptive of that love, the wife makes every effort to turn his insanity into wisdom, that is, that he may not lust after others besides herself. She does this in a thousand ways, taking the greatest care that none shall be detected by the man; for she knows well that love cannot be constrained but is insinuated in freedom. Women are therefore given to know every state of mind of their husbands by sight, hearing and touch; husbands, on the other hand, are not given to know any state of mind of their wives.
[6] A chaste wife can regard her husband with austere eyes, speak harshly to him and even be angry and quarrel, and yet cherish a kind and tender love for him in her heart. But these angry outbursts and dissimulations have wisdom, and hence the reception of love by the husband for an end, as is plain from the fact that she becomes reconciled in a moment. Wives possess these means of concealing the love inherent in their heart and marrow to the end, too, that marital cold may not break out in the man and, extinguishing the fire of his scortatory heat, turn him from green wood into a lifeless stump."
[7] After the seven wives had said these and many more things of the kind, their husbands came with clusters of grapes in their hands, some of which had a delicious flavor and some a loathsome; and the wives said, "Why have you brought bad or wild grapes, too?" The husbands replied:
"Because we perceived in our souls, with which yours are united, that you were speaking with this man about true marital love, and saying that its delights are delights of wisdom; and also about scortatory love, saying that its delights are the pleasures of insanity. The latter are the grapes of loathsome flavor or wild grapes, but the former are the grapes of delicious flavor." And they confirmed what their wives had said, adding, "The pleasures of insanity seem in externals like the delights of wisdom, but not in internals, quite like the good and the bad grapes which we have brought. For the chaste and the unchaste have a like wisdom in externals but utterly unlike in internals."
[8] After this the little lad came again with a paper in his hand, and handing it to me, said, "Read." I read as follows: "Know ye that the delights of marital love rise to the highest heaven, and on the way and there, too, conjoin themselves with the delights of all heavenly loves, and thus enter into their felicity which endures to eternity. This is for the reason that the delights of that love are also the delights of wisdom. Know also that the pleasures of scortatory love sink even to the lowest hell, and on the way and finally there conjoin themselves with the pleasures of all infernal loves, and thus enter into their infelicity, which consists in the deprivation of all joys of heart. The reason is that the pleasures of that love are also the pleasures of insanity."
After this the husbands left with .their wives and accompanied the little boy as far as his path up into heaven. They knew the society from which he had been sent, and were aware that it was a society of the new heaven with which the new Church on earth is to be conjoined.
294. The Second Relation:
After some days I again saw the seven wives in a rosary, but not in the same that they were in before. It was a magnificent rosary, no semblance of which had I ever before seen. It was round, and the roses there formed as it were a rainbow arch, its outermost circle, roses or flowers of a crimson 1hue, next within, others of a golden yellow, and within these others of a deep blue, and the innermost were of a leek-green or bright green; and within this rainbow rosary was a small lake of limpid water. Those seven wives sitting there, before called the Virgins of the Fountain, seeing me at the window again invited me to them. And when I came they said, 'Did you ever see anything more beautiful on earth?' I said, 'Never!'
And they said, 'Such a thing is created by the Lord in a moment and it represents something new on the earth, for everything created by the Lord is representative. But divine, if you can, what it is. We divine that it is the delights of conjugial love.' Hearing this I said:
'What! The delights of conjugial love about which, from wisdom and also with eloquence you told so many things before? After I left you I told of your conversation to wives dwelling in our region, and said that now, being instructed, I know that you have bosom delights arising from your conjugial love which you can impart to your husbands according to their wisdom; and that therefore, with the eyes of your spirit you are regarding your husbands continually, from morning to evening, and study - to incline and lead their minds to becoming wise, to the end that you may secure those delights. I related also what you mean by wisdom, that it is spiritual-rational and moral wisdom, and as to marriage, the wisdom of loving the wife alone and putting off all concupiscence for others.
But to these things the wives of our region responded with laughter, saying, 'What is that? These words are trifles! We do not know what conjugial love is. If our husbands have any, still we have none. Whence its delights then with us? And as to the delights which you call ultimate, sometimes we violently refuse them, for they are disagreeable to us, scarcely otherwise, than violations. Yea, if you observe us you will see no sign of such love in our faces. You trifle then, or jest, if you also say with those seven wives that from morning to evening we are thinking about our husbands, and continually attentive to their good pleasure and caprice, in order that we may obtain from them such delights.' These of their words I have retained, that I might repeat them to you, as they are opposed, indeed are plainly contrary to your discourse, which I heard from you at the fountain, and received with so much avidity, and also believed.'
To this the wives sitting in the rosary replied, 'Friend, you do not know the wisdom and prudence of wives, because they entirely conceal it from men, and they conceal it to no other end than that they may be loved. For every man who is not spiritually but only naturally rational and moral, is cold towards his wife. It is latent with them in their inmosts. This the wise and prudent wife exquisitely and keenly observes, and conceals in so much her conjugial love, and draws it into her bosom, and hides it there so deeply that not the least of it appears in her face, or voice, or gesture. The reason is, that in the degree that the love appears, the conjugial cold of the man pours itself forth, from the inmosts of his mind where it resides, into its ultimates, and induces a total frigidity of the body, and a consequent effort towards separation from bed and chamber.'
Then I asked, 'Whence comes such cold which you call conjugial cold?'
They answered, 'It is from their insanity in spiritual things; and every man who is insane in spiritual things is inmostly cold to his wife, and inmostly warm towards harlots. And as conjugial love and scortatory love are opposite to each other, it follows that conjugial love becomes cold when scortatory love is warm; and when the cold rules within him a man cannot bear from his wife any sensation of love, and thus no breathing of it. For this reason does the wife so wisely and prudently conceal it, and in so far as she conceals it, by denying and refusing, in so far the man is revived and restored by the inflowing meretricious sphere. Hence it is that the wife of such a man has no bosom delights, such as we have, but only the pleasures, which on the part of the man are to be called pleasures of insanity, because they are the pleasures of scortatory love. Every chaste wife loves her husband, even the unchaste; but because only wisdom is recipient of that love, therefore, the wife uses every effort to turn his insanity into wisdom, that is, that he may not lust after others besides herself, which she does in a thousand ways, taking the greatest care that none of them shall be discovered by the man; for she knows well that love cannot be constrained but is insinuated in freedom. Therefore it is given to women to know every state of mind of their husbands from sight, from hearing, and from touch; but it is not given to husbands, on the other hand, to know any state of mind of their wives. A chaste wife can look at her husband with austere countenance, speak to him in a harsh voice, and even be angry and quarrel, and yet in heart cherish a gentle and tender love for him. But that these outbursts of anger, and these dissimulations, have wisdom for an end, and thence the reception of love with the husband, is plain from the fact that in a moment she can be reconciled. Moreover, wives have such means of concealing the love inherent in their heart and marrow, to the end that conjugial cold may not break forth with the man, and extinguish the fire of his scortatory heat also, and thus from green wood make him a dry stick.'
After the seven wives had said these and many more things of the kind, their husbands came with clusters of grapes in their hands, some of which were of delicious flavor, and some of offensive taste; and the wives said, 'Why have you also brought bad or wild grapes?' The husbands replied:
'Because we perceived in our souls, with which yours are united, that you were speaking with that man about love truly conjugial, that its delights are delights of wisdom; and also about scortatory love, that its delights are the pleasures of insanity. These are the grapes of offensive taste, or wild grapes, but those are the grapes of delicious flavor.' And they confirmed what their wives had said, adding, 'That the pleasures of insanity appear like the delights of wisdom in externals, but not in internals, altogether like the good and the bad grapes that we have brought. For the chaste and the unchaste have like wisdom in externals but altogether unlike in internals.'
After this the little boy came again with a paper in his hand, and held it out to me, saying, 'Read.' And I read this: 'Know ye, that the delights of conjugial love ascend to the highest heaven, and conjoin themselves on the way, and there, with the delights of all heavenly loves, and thus they enter into their felicity which endures to eternity. The reason is that the delights of that love are also the delights of wisdom. And know also that the pleasures of scortatory love descend even to the lowest hell, and conjoin themselves on the way, and there, with the pleasures of all infernal loves, and thus enter into their infelicity, which consists in the deprivation of all the joys of heart. The reason is that the pleasures of that love are also the pleasures of insanity.'
After this the husbands departed with their wives, and accompanied the little boy even to the way of his ascent into heaven. And they knew the society from which he was sent, that it was a society of the new heaven with which the New Church on the earth will be conjoined.
Footnotes:
1. Latin purpureus, royal purple, a deep crimson.
294. Secundum Memorabile. Post aliquot dies iterum vidi septem illas Uxores in Rosario, sed non in eodem in quo prius; erat Rosarium magnificum, cujus instar nusquam videram prius; erat rotundum, ac rosae ibi formabant sicut Arcum Irideum, rosae seu flores purpurei coloris circulum ejus extimum, ac aliae flavi aurei coloris interiorem proximum, ac intra hunc aliae cyanei coloris, ac intimum prasini 1seu nitentis viridis coloris; et intra irideum hoc Rosarium erat parvulus Lacus aquae limpidae. Septem illae uxores prius vocatae Virgines fontis, sedentes ibi me visum in fenestra iterum vocabant ad se, et cum aderam dicebant, "num usquam videris formosius super terra;" et dixi, "nusquam;" et dicebant, quod tale momento creetur a Domino, et quod repraesentet aliquod novum in terra, nam omne creatum a Domino repraesentat; "sed quid hoc, divina si potes; nos divinamus delitias amoris conjugialis."
[2] Hoc audito, dixi, "quid delitiae amoris conjugialis, de quibus ex sapientia, et quoque facundia, tam multa prius loquutae estis; postquam abivi a vobis, narravi sermonem vestrum uxoribus in nostra regione commorantibus, et dixi, quod instructus nunc sciam, 'quod vobis sint delitiae pectorales oriundae ex amore conjugiali vestro, quas maritis vestris secundum sapientiam illorum potestis communicare, et quod ideo maritos vestros oculis spiritus vestri continue a mane usque ad vesperam intueamini, ac studeatis flectere et perducere animos illorum ad sapiendum, propter finem ut delitias illas aucupemini;' memoravi etiam quid per sapientiam intelligitis, quod sapientiam spiritualem rationalem et moralem; et quoad conjugium, ad amandum solam uxorem, et ad exuendum omnem concupiscentiam ad alias: sed ad haec uxores regionis nostrae respondebant cum risu, dicentes, 'quid hoc; illa dicta sunt nauci, nos non scimus quid amor conjugialis; si aliquis est maritis, usque non aliquis est nobis; unde tunc ejus delitiae apud nos; imo ad delitias, quas vocatis ultimas, quandoque violenter renuimus, sunt enim nobis inamaenae, vix aliter quam violationes; imo non videbis, si attenderis, signum talis amoris in faciebus nostris; quare nugaris aut jocaris si cum septem illis uxoribus etiam tu dixeris, quod a mane usque ad vesperam cogitemus de maritis nostris, ac continue attendamus ad placita et lubita illorum, propter finem ut tales delitias captemus ex illis:' haec a dictis illarum retinui, ut illa vobis referam, quoniam repugnant, et quoque plane contrariantur sermoni, quem juxta fontem a vobis audivi, et tam avide hausi, et quoque credidi."
[3] Ad haec responderunt Uxores sedentes in Rosario, "amice, nescis sapientiam et prudentiam uxorum, quia viris illam prorsus abscondunt, et abscondunt illam non propter alium finem, quam ut amentur; est enim cuilibet viro, qui non spiritualiter, sed modo naturaliter rationalis et moralis est, frigus ad uxorem; hoc apud illum in intimis latet; hoc uxor sapiens et prudens exquisite et acute animadvertit, et tantum ex amore suo conjugiali celat, ac intrahit in pectus, et ibi recondit tam penitus, ut non minimum ejus appareat in facie, nec in sono, nec in gestu; causa est, quia quantum apparet, tantum frigus viri conjugiale effundit se ab intimis mentis ejus, ubi residet, in ultima ejus, ac inducit corpori totalem frigescentiam, et inde nisum separationis a toro et a cubiculo. 2"
[4] Tunc quaesivi, "unde tale frigus, quod vocatis frigus conjugiale;" responderunt, "est ex insania illorum in spiritualibus, et omnis qui in spiritualibus insanit, friget intime ad uxorem, et calet intime ad meretrices; et quia amor conjugialis et amor scortatorius sunt sibi oppositi, sequitur quod amor conjugialis fiat frigus, dum amor scortatorius est calor; et vir, cum frigus apud illum regnat, non sustinet aliquem sensum amoris, et sic non aliquem afflatum ejus, ab uxore; quare uxor tam sapienter et prudenter illum celat, et quantum illum celat negando et renuendo, tantum vir ab influa sphaera meretricia refocillatur et reparatur; inde est, quod uxori talis viri non sint delitiae pectorales, quales sunt nobis, sed modo voluptates, quae a parte viri vocandae sunt voluptates insaniae, quia voluptates amoris scortatorii.
[5] Omnis uxor casta amat suum maritum, etiam incastum, sed quia sapientia est unice recipiens amoris ejus, ideo uxor omnem operam impendit, ut insaniam ejus vertat in sapientiam, hoc est, ut non concupiscat alias praeter se; quod facit mille modis, maxime cavens, ne aliqui evestigentur a viro, nam probe scit, quod amor non possit cogi, sed quod insinuetur in libero: quare datum est mulieribus cognoscere ex visu, ex auditu, et ex tactu, omnem statum animi virorum suorum, at vicissim non datum est viris cognoscere ullum statum animi uxorum suarum.
[6] Casta uxor potest aspicere virum austero vultu, alloqui illum aspera voce, et quoque irasci et rixari, et usque tamen in corde fovere blandum et tenerum amorem erga illum; sed quod iracundiae ac dissimulationes illae pro fine habeant sapientiam et inde receptionem amoris apud maritum, patet manifeste ex eo, quod momento possit reconciliari; praeterea sunt talia uxoribus media celandi amorem cordi ac medullis illarum insitum, propter causam, ne frigus conjugiale apud virum erumpat, et quoque caloris ejus scortatorii focum exstinguat, et sic a ligno virente faciat illum siccum stipitem."
[7] Postquam septem illae uxores haec et similia plura eloquutae sunt, venerunt mariti illarum cum botris in manibus, quorum aliqui erant saporis delicati, et aliqui saporis tetri; et dicebant uxores, "cur etiam apportastis uvas malas seu labruscas;" respondebant mariti, "quia percepimus in animabus nostris, cum quibus vestrae unitae sunt, quod cum viro isto loquutae sitis de amore vere conjugiali, quod ejus delitiae essent delitiae sapientiae, et quoque de amore scortatorio, quod ejus delitiae essent voluptates insaniae; hae sunt uvae tetri saporis seu labruscae, illae autem sunt uvae delicati saporis;" et confirmabant sermonem uxorum suarum; addentes, quod voluptates insaniae in externis appareant similes delitiis sapientiae, sed non in internis, "prorsus sicut uvae bonae et uvae malae quas apportavimus; est enim tam castis quam incastis similis sapientia in externis, sed prorsus dissimilis in internis."
[8] Post haec iterum venit Puerulus cum membrana in manu, et mihi porrexit, dicens, "lege;" et legi haec, 3"scitote quod delitiae amoris conjugialis ascendant ad Coelum supremum, ac se in via et ibi cum delitiis omnium amorum coelestium conjungant, et sic intrent suam felicitatem, quae in aeternum persistit; causa est, quia delitiae illius amoris sunt etiam delitiae sapientiae. Et quoque scitote, quod voluptates amoris scortatorii descendant usque ad infernum infimum, ac se in via et ibi cum voluptatibus omnium amorum infernalium conjungant, et sic intrent suam infelicitatem, quae consistit in aerumna 4omnium jucunditatum cordis; causa est, quia voluptates illius amoris sunt etiam voluptates insaniae." Post haec abiverunt mariti cum uxoribus, et comitati sunt puerulum usque ad viam ascensus ejus in coelum, et cognoscebant Societatem, e qua missus est, quod esset societas Coeli novi, cum quo Ecclesia nova in terris conjuncta erit.
Footnotes:
1. Prima editio: prassini
2. Prima editio: cubiculo (absque puncto)
3. Prima editio: haec;
4. Prima editio: aerumma