. The souls of
such separate themselves from the unlimited love for the sex, and devote
themselves to one, with whom they look for an everlasting and eternal
union and its increasing blessednesses, as the cherishers of the hope
which continually recreates their mind; but it is quite otherwise with
the unchaste, that is, with those who do not think religiously of
marriages and their holiness. With these there is a marriage of the
body, but not of the spirit: if, during the state of betrothment, there
be any appearance of a marriage of the spirit, still, if it ascends by
an elevation of the thoughts concerning it, it nevertheless falls back
again to the concupiscences which arise from the flesh in the will; and
thus from the unchaste principles therein it precipitates itself into
the body, and defiles the ultimates of its love with an alluring ardor;
and as, in consequence of this ardor, it was in the beginning all on
fire, so its fire suddenly goes out, and passes off into the cold of
winter; whence the failing (of power) is accelerated. The state of
betrothing with such scarcely answers any other purpose, than that they
may fill their concupiscences with lasciviousness, and thereby
contaminate the conjugial principle of love.

305. IX. WITHIN THE TIME OF BETROTHING IT IS NOT ALLOWABLE TO BE
CONNECTED CORPOREALLY. For thus the order which is inscribed on
conjugial love, perishes. For in human minds there are three regions, of
which the highest is called the celestial, the middle the spiritual, and
the lowest the natural. In this lowest man is born; but he ascends into
the next above it, the spiritual, by a life according to the truths of
religion, and into the highest by the marriage of love and wisdom. In
the lowest or natural region, reside all the concupiscences of evil and
lasciviousness; but in the superior or spiritual region, there are no
concupiscences of evil and lasciviousness; for man is introduced into
this region by the Lord, when he is re-born; but in the supreme or
celestial region, there is conjugial chastity in its love: into this
region a man is elevated by the love of uses; and as the most excellent
uses are from marriages, he is elevated into it by love truly conjugial.
From these few considerations, it may be seen that conjugial love, from
the first beginnings of its warmth, is to be elevated out of the lowest
region into a superior region, that it may become chaste, and that
thereby from a chaste pr