e ignorance that the
wife is formed and as it were created from him, appears from what was
shewn in the preceding chapter, and also from the innate prudence and
circumspection of wives, not to divulge anything concerning their love,
or their assumption of the affections of the man's life, and thereby of
the transfer of his wisdom into themselves. That this is effected on the
part of the wife without the husband's knowledge, and while he is as it
were sleeping, thus by secret means, is evident from what was explained
above, n. 166-168; where also it is clearly shewn, that the prudence
with which women are influenced herein, was implanted in them from
creation, and consequently from their birth, for reasons of necessity,
so that conjugial love, friendship, and confidence, and thereby the
blessedness of dwelling together and a happy life, may be secured:
wherefore for the right accomplishing of this, the man is enjoined to
_leave his father and mother and to cleave to his wife_, Gen. ii. 24;
Matt. xix. 4, 5. The father and mother, whom the man is to leave, in a
spiritual sense signify his _proprium_ of will and _proprium_ of
understanding; and the _proprium_ of a man's (_homo_) will is to love
himself, and the _proprium_ of his understanding is to love his own
wisdom; and to cleave to his wife signifies to devote himself to the
love of his wife. Those two _propriums_ are deadly evils to man, if they
remain with him, and the love of those two _propriums_ is changed into
conjugial love, so far as a man cleaves to his wife, that is, so far as
he receives her love; see above, n. 193, and elsewhere. To sleep
signifies to be in ignorance and unconcern; a father and a mother
signify the two _propriums_ of a man (_homo_), the one of the will and
the other of the understanding; and to cleave to, signifies to devote
one's self to the love of any one, as might be abundantly confirmed from
passages in other parts of the Word; but this would be foreign to our
present subject.

195. X. THIS FORMATION ON THE PART OF THE WIFE IS EFFECTED BY THE
CONJUNCTION OF HER OWN WILL WITH THE INTERNAL WILL OF THE MAN. That the
man possesses rational and moral wisdom, and that the wife conjoins
herself with those things which relate to his moral wisdom, may be seen
above, n. 163-165. The things which relate to rational wisdom constitute
the man's understanding, and those which relate to moral wisdom
constitute his will. The wife conjoins herself with