46. On the plurality of wives among Mohammedans

I spoke with Mohammedans about spiritual marriage, saying that it is a marriage of good and truth; that good loves truth and truth good like a married couple; and that these wish to be joined and bring forth goods and truths like daughters and sons, and as it were to procreate families. They understood this well, as also that conjugial love comes down from that spiritual origin, and that everything spiritual in man undergoes a change, so that it is scarcely recognisable, when it comes down to the natural; it can only be recognised by correspondences. From these facts it is plain that they, having several wives allowed by their religion, cannot have truly conjugial love. It was said that they are allowed several wives, that is, polygamy is permitted, because they live in hot climates and therefore are more heated with lust than those who live in cold climates. ¹ Therefore if they were not permitted polygamy, more of them would rush into adultery than would Europeans, and thus act contrary to their religious tenets; and to act contrary to one's religious tenets is to profane what is sacred. It was shown further that all their love of marriage is lascivious, and so not spiritual; nor can it become spiritual unless they acknowledge the Lord.

Footnotes:

8898. 'In order that your days may be prolonged on the land' means the resulting state of life in heaven. This is clear from the meaning of 'being prolonged' as that which has reference to good and the increase of it, dealt with below; from the meaning of 'your days' as states of life, dealt with in 23, 487, 488, 493, 893, 2788, 3462, 3785, 4850, 5672, 5962, 6110, 7680, 8426; and from the meaning of 'the land' - at this point the land of Canaan, since the children of Israel are told 'it is the land which Jehovah your God gives you' - as the Lord's kingdom, dealt with in 1413, 1437, 1607, 1866, 3038, 3481, 3686, 3705, 4240, 4447. The reason why 'being prolonged' has reference to good and the increase of it is that the prolongation of days is the length of time that life will last, and in heaven there is neither time nor space, but states instead of them. Therefore 'being prolonged', since it has reference to a state in respect of good, means the increase of it. For length is spoken of in regard to good, and breadth to truth, see 1613, 4482; and in heaven there are no areas of space, just as there are no periods of time, but states instead of them, 1274, 1382, 2625, 2788, 2837, 3254, 3356, 3404, 3938, 4321, 4814, 4882, 4901, 4918, 5605, 6110, 7218, 7381.