The reasons for this are: (a) It comes from the Lord and corresponds to the marriage of the Lord and the church. (b) It comes down from the marriage of good and truth. (c) It is spiritual, just as the church in a person is. (d) It is the foundation love, and the chief of all celestial and spiritual loves. (e) It is the proper seed-bed of the human race, and the source of the heavens of angels. (f) It is therefore also found among the angels of heaven, and causes them to produce spiritual offspring, love and wisdom. (g) Thus it has a higher purpose than all the other purposes of creation.

It follows from these statements that truly conjugial love is, by its origin and regarded in its essence, pure and holy; so much so, that it can be called the height of purity and holiness, and so of chastity. Yet in the case of human beings and of angels it is not absolutely pure, as will be shown in section (vi) just below (146).