Marriage #46
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:
1. Two clauses have been inverted, with suppression of the word 'and' in order to make sense here. It is also possible that a word is missing from the text.
Arcana Coelestia #4010
4010. 'And he put three days' journey between himself and Jacob' means that their state was one in which they were totally set apart. This is clear from the meaning of 'putting a journey' as being set apart; from the meaning of 'three' as that which is last, completed, or the end, dealt with in 1825, 2788, and so is totally set apart; and from the meaning of 'days' as states, dealt with in 23, 487, 488, 493, 893, 2788, 3462.