64. (iv) In view of its origin and correspondence, this love is celestial, spiritual, holy, pure and clean above every love which the angels of heaven or men of the Church have from the Lord. It was briefly confirmed above, but only by way of anticipation, that marital love is of this character due to its origin, which is the marriage of good and truth; also due to its correspondence with the marriage of the Lord and the Church. These two marriages, out of which marital love springs like an offshoot, are very sanctities. If then marital love is received from its Author, who is the Lord, holiness follows from Him, which constantly refines and purifies it. Given a desire and effort after it in the will, this love becomes clean and pure daily to eternity. Marital love is called celestial and spiritual because it is to be found with the angels of the heavens; with the angels of the highest heaven it is celestial, for so those angels are called; with the angels below that heaven, it is spiritual, for so they are called. The celestial angels are so called because they are loves and thence wisdoms, and the spiritual because they are wisdoms and thence loves. Their marital inclination is similar in nature. Being found with the angels of higher and lower heavens (as was shown in the first chapter on "Marriages in Heaven"), marital love, plainly, is holy and pure. Regarded in its essence and origin, it is holy and pure above every love with angels and men, because it is the head, as it were, of all other loves. Some things will be said of its eminence in the proposition now to follow.
