3043. 'You are clear from my oath' means the freedom that the natural man has. This is clear from the meaning of 'the servant', to whom Abraham's words are addressed, as the natural man, 3019, and from the meaning of 'being clear if the woman is unwilling to follow' in the proximate sense as not being bound if the affection for truth were not separated. These words, it is evident, imply the freedom that the natural man has; for the affection for truth, which is the subject here, and also its separation, is in the internal sense attributed to the natural man. In the historical sense these words do indeed have other connotations, but in the internal sense their implications are such.

[2] Regarding human freedom, see what has been stated and shown already in 892, 905, 1937, 1947, 2744, 2870-2893, for these paragraphs show what is implied by freedom. Freedom is attributed to the natural man, but not so much to the rational man, because it is by way of the rational man and into the natural man that good flows in, in heavenly freedom, from the Lord. It is the natural man that is the recipient of that good, and in order that it may receive it and so be joined to the heavenly freedom flowing in by way of the rational man, the natural man is left in freedom. For freedom goes with love or affection. If the natural man does not receive an affection for truth from an inflowing affection for good, that man is in no sense joined to the rational. This is how it is with man, whom the Lord reforms by means of freedom, see 1937, 1947, 2876-2878, 2881.

[3] In the Lord's case He too left the Natural in freedom when He made His Rational Divine as regards truth, that is, when He allied Divine Truth to the Divine Good of the Rational, for He was willing to make His Human Divine in the ordinary way. The ordinary way is that which occurs in anyone who is being reformed and regenerated. The actual reformation and regeneration of man is therefore a replica of what took place in the Lord. For by reformation and regeneration he becomes a new person, and is consequently called one begotten anew, and one created anew; and to the extent that he has been reformed he seems to have the Divine within him. But there is this difference, that the Lord made Himself Divine by His own power, whereas man is not able to effect the slightest reformation by his own power, only from the Lord. The expression 'seems to have the Divine' is used because man is solely a recipient of life, whereas the Lord is Life itself as to both Essences, see 1954, 2021, 2658, 2706, 3001.

2744. I have been shown the way in which the delights from conjugial love advance on one side towards heaven and on the other towards hell. The advancement of delights towards heaven was an advancement into forms of blessedness and happiness constantly increasing, until they were beyond number or description. And the more interiorly they advanced the more countless and indescribable they became, even to the celestial forms themselves of blessedness and happiness of the inmost heaven, which is the heaven of innocence. And all this entails perfect freedom, for all freedom is attributable to love, so that perfect freedom is attributable to conjugial love, which is heavenly love itself. I was then shown the way in which the delights of conjugial love advance towards hell; that they move away from heaven little by little, which too entails apparent freedom, until scarcely anything human at all remains in them. The final deadly and hellish condition into which they ended was seen by me but I cannot describe it. A certain spirit who was with me at the time and who also saw those things hurried forwards to some sirens who were of this character, crying out that he would show them the nature of their delight. At first he had the idea of delight, but as little by little he went forwards his idea was made to continue, like the advancement of the delight, towards hell, and at length to end in such horror. Sirens are women who labour under the delusion that it is perfectly correct to commit whoredom and adultery, and who are also esteemed by others for being such as they are and for leading outwardly respectable lives. The majority of them come into the next life from Christendom. See what is said about them in 831, 959, 1515, 1983, 2483.