3699. About sirens, and magic
There are sirens in the world who had lived indulgently, deriving pleasures only from the worldly and from self-love, and being captivated by these wanted to be most highly esteemed in civic society, and had regarded decorous living as their highest objective. Thus from their way of life and habits they had developed a nature that made them appear outwardly acceptable, enabling them by a thousand different methods of decorum and feigned sincerity, as well as piety if it served their purpose, to slip into social circles and take on a dominant role in them by similar artifices: so that their life is a life of acting a part.
Thus they indeed appear sincere on the outside, both from elegant manners and from pretense, and like others participate in the rituals of the Church: nevertheless they are without any conscience of honesty, goodness, and truth, looking out exclusively for themselves inwardly, while outwardly simulating other motives. And since they are without any conscience, or not acting from the inward person, they are also more prone to disgraceful behavior than others, regarding adulteries as nothing, in a life of which they indulge so far as their actions can be concealed from others and they are also able to maintain the appearance of honesty before society. Therefore, since they account adulteries as nothing, it follows as a consequence that they have the same attitude toward all other loves as they do toward marriage love.
3699. CONCERNING SIRENS AND MAGICAL ARTS.
Sirens in the world are those who have lived indulgent to their vein, wholly absorbed in the world, and reaping their highest enjoyment from the love of self; and because thus captivated by worldly things, while yet in civil society they wish to be deemed of a different character, they have placed their entire life in decorum. Consequently from actuality and habit thence, they have contracted the ability of appearing outwardly [to advantage]; moreover, by showing off the decorous in a thousand different modes they have aimed to insinuate themselves into societies; so also by a feigning of the honest, and even of the pious, when it would serve their purpose - anything in fact that would enable them to ingratiate themselves into societies where they could, at length exercise a predominant influence, so that their life has been a life of dissimulation. Thus they appear outwardly honest, as much from decorum as from assuming a feigned character. Like others also they frequent churches, and mingle in the rites, but still they are without conscience as regards the honest, the good, and the true, being inwardly wholly solicitous for themselves alone, while outwardly they pretend [to act] for the good of others, and because thus acting without conscience, or from the interior man, and being more prone to enormities than others, they esteem adulteries as nothing, in the life of which they live so far as the fact can be concealed from others, and they can make a reputable appearance before the world and its upright societies. As they make nothing of adulteries, so of course of all other evil loves.
3699. De sirenibus, et magiis
Sirenes sunt in mundo, qui vixerunt genio, unice in mundo, et in sui amore captarunt voluptates, et quia inescati iis, et in societate civili prae aliis aestimari voluerunt, unicam vitam in decoro posuerunt, ita ex actualitate et habitu inde contraxerunt id, ut extrinsecus [tales] appareant, tum ut se insinuare potuerint societatibus per mille modos decori, tum simulatione honesti, ut et pii, si hoc se offert, modo ut in societates se insinuent, et ibi dein praedominentur, similibus artibus, sic ut vita eorum sit vita simulationum: ita honesti quoque apparent extrinsecus, tam ex decoro, quam ex simulatione; et similiter ac alii frequentant ritus Ecclesiae: sed usque sunt absque conscientia honesti, boni, et veri, sibi solum intrinsecus studentes, cum extrinsecus simulant aliis, et quia absque conscientia, seu interiori homine agente, etiam ad flagitia faciliores quam alii, adulteria pro nihilo aestimant, in quorum vita tantum vivunt, quantum occultari aliis possit, ut coram mundo et societatibus etiam honestis apparere possint; quare cum adulteria pro nihilo aestimant, sequitur quod caeteros quoque amores.