the understanding confirm
themselves in the persuasion that they are not evils of sin._ XI. _The
adulteries committed by such persons are grievous, and are imputed to
them according to confirmations._ XII. _Adulteries of the fourth degree
are adulteries of the will, which are committed by those who make them
lawful and pleasing, and who do not think them of importance enough, to
consult the understanding respecting them._ XIII. _The adulteries
committed by these persons are exceedingly grievous, and are imputed to
them as evils of purpose, and remain with them as guilt._ XIV.
_Adulteries of the third and fourth degrees are evils of sin, according
to the quantity and quality of understanding and will in them, whether
they are actually committed or not._ XV. _.Adulteries grounded in
purpose of the will, and adulteries grounded in confirmation of the
understanding render men natural, sensual, and corporeal._ XVI. _And
this to such a degree, that at length they reject from themselves all
things of the church and of religion._ XVII. _Nevertheless they have the
powers of human rationality like other men._ XVIII. _But they use that
rationality while they are in externals, but abuse it while in their
internals._ We proceed to an explanation of each article.

479. I. THERE ARE THREE GENERA OF ADULTERIES,--SIMPLE, DUPLICATE, AND
TRIPLICATE. The Creator of the universe has distinguished all the things
which he has created into genera, and each genus into species, and has
distinguished each species, and each distinction in like manner, and so
forth, to the end that an image of what is infinite may exist in a
perpetual variety of qualities. Thus the Creator of the universe has
distinguished goods and their truths, and in like manner evils and their
falses, after they arose. That he has distinguished all things in the
spiritual world into genera, species, and differences, and has collected
together into heaven all goods and truths, and into hell all evils and
falses, and has arranged the latter in an order diametrically opposite
to the former, may appear from what is explained in a work concerning
HEAVEN AND HELL, published in London in the year 1758. That in the
natural world he has also thus distinguished and does distinguish goods
and truths, and likewise evils and falses, appertaining to men, and
thereby men themselves, may be known from their lot after death, in that
the good enter into heaven, and the evil into hell. Now, since