o united, the
husband with the wife, and the wife with the husband, and each in the
other mutually and interchangeably, as also in the flesh, although they
are separate. The reason why this phenomenon is so rare on earth, they
have declared to be this; because the union of the souls and minds of
married partners on earth is made sensible in their flesh; for the soul
constitutes the inmost principles not only of the head, but also of the
body: in like manner the mind, which is intermediate between the soul
and the body, and which, although it appears to be in the head, is yet
also actually in the whole body: and they have declared, that this is
the reason why the acts, which the soul and mind intend, flow forth
instantly from the body; and that hence also it is, that they
themselves, after the rejection of the body in the former world, are
perfect men. Now, since the soul and the mind join themselves closely to
the flesh of the body, in order that they may operate and produce their
effects, it follows that the union of soul and mind with a married
partner is made sensible also in the body as one flesh. As the angels
made these declarations, I heard it asserted by the spirits who were
present, that such subjects belong to angelic wisdom, being above
ordinary apprehension; but these spirits were rational-natural, and not
rational-spiritual.

179. XX. LOVE TRULY CONJUGIAL, CONSIDERED IN ITSELF, IS A UNION OF
SOULS, A CONJUNCTION OF MINDS, AND AN ENDEAVOUR TOWARDS CONJUNCTION IN
THE BOSOMS AND THENCE IN THE BODY. That it is a union of souls and a
conjunction of minds, may be seen above, n. 158. The reason why it is an
endeavour towards conjunction in the bosoms is, because the bosom (or
breast) is as it were a place of public assembly, and a royal
council-chamber, while the body is as a populous city around it. The
reason why the bosom is as it were a place of public assembly, is,
because all things, which by derivation from the soul and mind have
their determination in the body, first flow into the bosom; and the
reason why it is as it were a royal council chamber, is, because in the
bosom there is dominion over all things of the body; for in the bosom
are contained the heart and lungs; and the heart rules by the blood, and
the lungs by the respiration, in every part. That the body is as a
populous city around it, is evident. When therefore the souls and minds
of married partners are united, and love truly conjugial unites