ing spiritual. If they
live together in harmony it is solely on natural grounds.{1} And this
is why in the heavens marriages are found only with those who are in
the same society, because such are in like good and truth and not
with those outside of the society. It may be seen above (n. 41, seq.)
that all there in a society are in like good and truth, and differ
from those outside the society. This was represented in the
Israelitish nation by marriages being contracted within tribes, and
particularly within families, and not outside of them.

{Footnote 1} Marriages between those of different religions are
not permissible, because there can be no conjunction of like
good and truth in the interiors (n. 8998).

379. Nor is true marriage love possible between one husband and
several wives; for its spiritual origin, which is the formation of
one mind out of two, is thus destroyed; and in consequence interior
conjunction, which is the conjunction of good and truth, from which
is the very essence of that love, is also destroyed. Marriage with
more than one is like an understanding divided among several wills;
or it is like a man attached not to one but to several churches,
since his faith is so distracted thereby as to come to naught. The
angels declare that marrying several wives is wholly contrary to
Divine order, and that they know this from several reasons, one of
which is that as soon as they think of marriage with more than one
they are alienated from internal blessedness and heavenly happiness,
and become like drunken men, because good is separated from its truth
in them. And as the interiors of their mind are brought into such a
state merely by thinking about it with some intention, they see
clearly that marriage with more than one would close up their
internal mind, and cause marriage to be displaced by lustful love,
which love withdraws from heaven.{1} [2] They declare further that
this is not easily comprehended by men because there are few who are
in genuine marriage love, and those who are not in it know nothing
whatever of the interior delight that is in that love, knowing only
the delight of lust, and this delight is changed into what is
undelightful after living together a short time; while the delight of
true marriage love not only endures to old age in the world, but
after death becomes the delight of heaven and is there filled with an
interior delight that grows more and more perfect to eternity. T