in everything animate and inanimate from creation.  The law is that everything in which there is force wills to produce its like and to multiply its kind to infinity and to eternity.  As the posterity of Jacob, who were called the sons of Israel, were merely natural men, and thus their marriages were not spiritual but carnal, so they were permitted on account of the hardness of their hearts to take more wives than one. (A.E., n. 1004.)

But it is to be noted that adulteries are more and less infernal and abominable.  The adulteries that spring from more grievous evils and their falsities are more grievous, and those from the milder evils and their falsities are milder; for adulteries correspond to adulterations of good and consequent falsifications of truth; adulterations of good are in themselves evils, and falsifications of truth are in themselves falsities.  According to correspondences with these the hells are arranged into genera and species. (A.E., n. 1006.)

In brief, from every conjunction of evil and falsity in the spiritual world a sphere of adultery flows forth, but only from those who are in falsities in regard to doctrine and in evils in regard to life; not from those who are in falsities in regard to doctrine but are in goods in regard to life, for in such there is no conjunction of evil and falsity, but only in the former.  That sphere flows forth particularly from priests who have taught falsely and lived wickedly; for these have adulterated and falsified the Word.  Although such were not adulterers in the world, adultery is excited by them; but it is an adultery called sacerdotal [priestly] adultery, which is distinguishable from other adulteries.  All this makes clear that the origin of adulteries is the love and consequent conjunction of evil and falsity. (A.E., n. 1007.)

Adulteries are less abhorrent to Christians than to the heathen, and even to some barbarous nations, for the reason that at present in the Christian world there is no marriage of good and truth, but a marriage or evil and falsity.  For the religion and doctrine of faith separated from good works is a religion and doctrine of truth separated from good; and truth separated from good is not truth, but inwardly regarded is falsity; and good separated from truth is not good, but inwardly regarded is evil.  Consequently in the Christian religion there is doctrine of falsity and evil, from which origin a desire and inclination for adultery from hell flow in; and this is why adulteries are believed in the Christian world to be allowable, and are practiced without shame.  For, as has been said above, the conjunction of evil and falsity is spiritual adultery, from which according to correspondence natural adultery springs.  For this reason “adulteries” and “whoredoms” signify in the Word adulterations of good and falsifications of truth; and for this reason Babylon is called in the Apocalypse a “harlot,” and Jerusalem is so called in the Word of the Old Testament; and the Jewish nation was called by the Lord “an adulterous nation,” and “from their father the devil.” (A.E., n. 1008.)