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Chapter 81LlullArbreAmor.1.81

Accidents d'amor: 7. Còm l'amic no poc morir

The Lover's Sorrow and the First Counsel

Love weeps for the dying lover, but Prudence counsels that remembering the Beloved's goodness and embracing pleasure and patience can prevent death from love.

Love wept because it thought its lover was dying when it saw him with his mouth open, and many of the roots of love wept because they felt great pity for the lover, who was sentenced to die from excess of love.1 When Lady Life of Love saw that the lover was still alive, she begged Prudence to give her help and counsel as to whether she could aid the lover, because his death would be a loss. Prudence said these words to Life of Love: 2. If a lover who loves so strongly that he dies for love remembers the Beloved's goodness and forgets the harm and the toil he bears for love, goodness does him good through love, for it is the nature of good love to do good when the lover remembers his good Beloved; and as long as goodness is doing the lover good, the death of love cannot kill him, for it cannot kill him without doing harm, and it cannot harm him, since the goodness of love is doing the lover good.2 3. A lover who has great pleasure and patience in enduring hardships and languors for love cannot die of love; for pleasure and patience help him against love's ills, since pleasure gives rest, and patience is a virtue that conquers all things.

The Lover's Virtues and Faculties

Prudence teaches that true love, power, wisdom, will, virtue, truth, and boldness all strengthen the lover against death.

4. In the conditions of duration and of love, reference is made to3 V. chapter, that false love cannot last. "It follows, then," said Prudence to the life of love, "that true love can last; and therefore the friend, as long as he has true love and remembers that he is a true lover and has a true Beloved, cannot die; for the truth of love has power against death through the power of the true Beloved."4 5. One reads in the rubric on the power of love, in the. 14. paragraph, that a lesser power of love cannot withstand a greater, since the greater power of love always overcomes the lesser; and therefore a friend who has a greater power of love cannot die, for a greater power of love sustains him against the lesser.5 6. In the ii. chapter, on the conditions of wisdom and love, one reads: “No beloved desires to be loved or served by a false and vicious lover”; from which it follows that if the lover is wise and discreet, the beloved loves to be served by him; and insofar as he wants to be served by a wise lover, he sustains the lover so that he does not die for his love. 7. One reads in the sixth . chapter on the conditions of will and love: "In a will that stands against great love, there is no great harmony between lover and beloved"; and so a lover who has great harmony with his beloved and who gives him his whole will cannot die, for the harmony he has with his beloved helps him to live. 8. In the first chapter on the conditions of virtue and love, it says: "Virtue, truth, and love are the riches and treasure of the lover and the beloved." For this reason, prudence told the life of love that if the lover possesses virtue, truth, and love, the riches and treasure he holds will help him against the death that seeks to kill him. Through virtue, he defends himself from vices; through truth, he defends himself from false love; and through love, he defends himself from anger and lovelessness.6 9. In the tenth chapter on the conditions of truth and of love, one reads that the truth of lesser love fears a false man; and by this it is meant that a lover who has greater love for his beloved has no fear of a false man; from which it follows that if the lover has greater love for his beloved, he need not fear anything at all, and he can be a bold fighter; by that boldness he will stand strong against death, since boldness gives great strength.78

The Lover's Union with the Beloved

Harmony, glory, difference, concordance, and the middle place of love all protect the lover from death by deepening his union with the Beloved.

10. One reads in the ii. chapter of glory and of love, that without harmony of lover and beloved no one can have great glory.9 It follows, then, said Prudence, that if the lover has great harmony with his beloved, then through that great harmony he will have great glory, and through that great glory he will have great rest against pain, and through that great rest he will withstand the pain of death, which will not be able to kill him. 11. In the ninth In the ninth chapter on difference and love, one reads that “there cannot be lesser love in a lover who makes no distinction between the goods and the evils of love”; and therefore, if the lover takes pleasure in enduring the evils of love just as much as he takes pleasure in having the goods of love, the hardships of love will not be able to kill him, as long as he takes pleasure in them, since death cannot kill any man without pain.10 12. One reads in the seventh chapter on concordance and love: "From lesser love, lesser concordance of lover and beloved"; and therefore, if the lover has great love, he will have great concordance with his beloved; through that great concordance, the beloved and concordance will uphold the lover against death, which will not be able to kill him.11 13.12 In the fourth chapter of contrariety and love, one reads that the greatest contrariety between lover and beloved is through sin; and therefore, if the lover is virtuous and without sin, death will not be able to kill the lover, for it will have nothing with which to kill him, since contrariety is the instrument with which death kills the lover away from his beloved. 14. As we read in the first chapter on beginnings and love, if a lover begins their love in the middle place of love, death won't be able to seize them or take them from their beloved. Death cannot enter that middle place to kill the lover's love the way it kills love that stands at the extremities; and since death cannot touch the love that exists in that middle place, the lover cannot die, because no lover can die while their love is alive.1314 15. In the first chapter on the middle and on love, teaching is given so that the lover can withstand death; for if he keeps his loving in the middle place of love, then the consolation of love will be between him and his beloved.15

The Lover's Final Escape

Prudence concludes with teachings on the end, majority, and equality of love, and the lover obediently follows them, living long in service.

16. In the third chapter of end and of love, teaching is given by which the lover can flee from death; for if the lover eagerly sends his loving to his beloved, and his remembering and understanding quickly go to be with his beloved, and if he goes quickly to the beloved, death cannot seize him on the way; but if he goes slothfully and negligently to see his beloved, death can easily seize him and make him die badly.16 17. To the17 second chapter on Majority and Love is given teaching by which the lover can flee from death—namely, that he equalize all his virtues and all his powers in loving his Beloved, so that through all of them he may have greater love for his Beloved; but if the lover has through18 one virtue greater love, and through another lesser, he won't be able to find rest in loving, for through the lesser love he'll have trouble and a conscience that will torment him so severely that death will be able to kill him by it.19 18. A teaching is bound to the condition of equality and love, by which the friend can escape death; for if the friend makes his understanding and memory equal in loving, and with them considers the heights and nobilities of his beloved equally, then he will be sustained and strengthened by his beloved against death.20 19. Prudence gave all these teachings, and many others, to the Life of Love, and told her to pass them on to the lover, for through them he could escape death; and the Life of Love told these teachings to the lover, who did everything the Life of Love had taught him, so that he might live long in loving and serving his Beloved.21

Read the original Catalan

Í'LORAVA amor, car cuydava que son amic morís, con lo viu estar ab la boca uberta, e moltes de les rails damor ploraren, car gran pietat avien de lamic, qui era jutjat a murir per sobre amor. La dona vida damor can ví que lamic era encara viu, pregà prudència que li donàs ajuda e conseyl si poria ajudar al amic, car dampnatge era de la sua mort. Prudència dix a vida damor aquestes paraules:

2. Si amic qui ama tan fortment que mor per amor, membra la bonea de lamat, e ublida lo mal cl trebayl que sosté per amor, bontat li fa be per amor, car natura es de bona amor fer be can lamic membra son bon amat; e dementre que bontat fassa be al amic, la mort damor no pot ausiure lamic, car noi pot ausiure sens fer mal, e lo mal no li pot fer, pus que bonea damor fa be al amic.

3. Amic qui ha gran plaer e paciència en sustenir trebayls e langors per amor, no pot morir per amor; car los plaers e la paciència li ajuden contra los mals damor, com sia so que plaer do repòs, e paciència sia vertut qui vens totes coses.

4. Bn les condicions de duració e damor se lig, al . V. capítol, que falsa amor no pot durar. Seguexse, doncs, dix prudència a vida damor, que vera amor pot durar; e per aysò amic, dementre que ha vera amor e remembra que él es ver amador e ha ver amat, no pot morir; car veritat damor ha vertut contra mort per la vertut del ver amat.

5. Lig se a la rúbrica de poder damor, en lo . xiiij. palagrafi, que menor poder damor no pot contrastar a major, com sia so que lo major poder damor vensa tota ora lo menor; e per aysò amic qui ha major poder damor no pot morir, car major poder damor lo sosté contra menor.

6. Al . ij. capítol, en les condicions de saviea e amor, se líg: «Per fals e viciós amic negú amat desira ésser amat ni servit»; per ques seguex que si lamic es savi e discret, que l amat ama ésser per él servit; e en quant vol ésser per savi amic servit, sosté lamic que no muyra per sa amor.

7. Ligse al . vj. . capítol de les condicions de volentat e amor: «En volentat qui contrasta a gran amor, no ha gran concordansa damic e damat»; e per aysò amic qui ha gran concordansa ab son amat e qui li dona tota sa volentat, no pot morir, car la concordansa que ha ab son amat ajuda a son viure.

8. Al primer capítol de les condicions de vertut e damor, se lig: «Vertut veritat e amor son riquees e tresor damic e damat)); e per aysò, dix prudència a vida damor, si lamic ha vertut veritat e amor, les riquees el tresor que ha, li ajuden contra la mort quil vol ausiure; car ab la vertut se defèn de vicis, e ab la veritat se defèn de falsa amor, e ab amor, de ira e desamor.

9. Al . X. capítol de les condicions de veritat e djrmor, se lig que veritat de menor amor ha paor de fals home; e per aysò es signifficat que amic qui ha a son amat major amor, no ha paor de fals home; per ques seguex que si lamic ha major amor a son amat, no li quaH aver paor de neguna res, e pot ésser ardit combatedor; per lo qual ardiment estarà forts contra la mort, com sia so que ardiment do gran forsa.

10. Ligse al . ij. capítol de glòria e damor que sens concordansa damic e damat no pot negú aver gran glòria. Seguexse, doncs, dix prudència, que si lamic ha gran concordansa ab son amat, que per la gran concordansa aura gran glòria, e per la gran glòria aura gran repòs contra pena, e per lo gran repòs contrastarà a la pena de la mort qui noi porà aucir.

11. Al . viiij. capítol de differencia e amor, se lig que «no pot ésser menor amor en amic qui no fassa differencia enfre los bens els mals damor»; e per aysò si lamic ha plaer en sostenir los mals damor, en així com ha plaer en aver los bens damor, los trebayls damor noi poran aucir, pus quen aja plaer, com sia so que mort no pusca aucir negú home sens pena.

12. Ligse al . vij. capítol de concordansa e damor: «De menor amor, menor concordansa d amic e damal»; e per aysò, si lamic ha gran amor, aura gran concordansa ab son amat; per la qual gran concordansa lamat e concordansa sostendran lamic contra la mort, qui noi porà aucir.

3. Al . iiij. capítol de contrarietat e amor, se lig que la major contrarietat d amic e d amat es per peccat; e per aysò, si lamic es vertuós e sens peccat, la mort no porà ausiure lamic, car no aura ab que laucia, com sia so que contrarietat sia lestrument ab que la mort auciu lamic a son amat.

14. Segons ques lig al primer capítol de comensament e amor, si lamic comensa son amar en lo mig tec damor, la mort no porà pendre lamic nil porà tolre a son amat, car la mort no pot entrar en lo mig loc damor ausiure lamar de lamic, que ausiulo lamar qui està en les estremitats damor; e pus que lamar qui està en lo mig loc damor no pusca la mort tocar, no porà lamic murir, com sia so que negú amic no pusca morir dementre que viu son amar.

15. AI primer capítol de mijà e damor se dona doctrina per la qual lamic pot contrastar a la mort, car si fa estar son amar en lo mig loc damor, serà solàs damor enfre él e son amat.

16. Al . iij. capítol de fi e damor se dona doctrina per la qual lamic pot fugir a la mort; car si lamic tramet hivasosament son amar a son amat, e son membrar e entendre van tost estar ab son amat, e si va tost al amat, la mort noi pot pendre en la via; mas si pereosament e negligentment va veser son amat, la mort lo pot leugerament pendre e fer morir malament.

17. AI . ij. capítol de majoritat e amor se dona doctrina per la qual lamic pot fugir a la mort, so es a saber, que egual totes ses vertuts e tots sos poders a amar son amat, per so que per totes aja major amor a son amat; mas si lamic ha per . j vertut major amor e per altra menor, no porà aver repòs en amar, car per la menor amor aura trebal e consciència quil turmentarà tan forlment, que la mort len porà aucir.

18. A la condició de egaltat e amor se lig doctrina per la qual lamic pot escapar a'Ia mort; car si lamic eguala en amar son entendre e membrar, ab que consir egualment les altees e noblees de son amat, adones serà sostentat e fortificat, contra la mort, per son amat.

19. Totes aquestes doctrines, e moltes d altres, donà prudència a vida damor, e que les dixés a lamic, car per eles puria estòrcer' a la mort; les quals doctrines dix vida damor a lamic, lo qual feu tot so que li ac adoctrinat vida damor, per so que vivís longament en amar e servir son amat.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩Normalized Í'LORAVA as Plorava ("wept"); rails damor read as arrels d'amor ("roots of love"), the expected Llullian allegorical figure.
  2. 2 ↩Source reading "lo mal cl trebayl" looks corrupt; translated as "the harm and the toil" on the plausible restoration "lo mal e·l trebayl".
  3. 3 ↩Source opens with "Bn", most plausibly a corruption of "En" ("In"), matching the book's other cross-reference formulas ("se lig" / "Lig se").
  4. 4 ↩Catalan "vertut" here means efficacy/strength ("power against death") as much as moral virtue; rendered "power" in both occurrences for parallel force.
  5. 5 ↩Source 'palagrafi' read as 'paragraphi' (paragraph), continuing 'en lo . xiiij.' from the preceding sentence refs.
  6. 6 ↩Normalized closing of the quoted span: source has damat)); after the guillemet open; treated as damat» (end of quote). Also ausiure read as auciure, "to kill."
  7. 7 ↩Normalized corrupt 'djrmor' as 'd'amor' ('of love'), parallel to 'vertut e damor' / 'glòria e damor' in neighboring sections.
  8. 8 ↩Normalized corrupt 'quaH' as 'cal' ('need / is necessary'): 'no li cal aver paor' = 'he need not fear'.
  9. 9 ↩concordansa rendered as 'harmony'; Llull's technical sense is mutual concordance/accord between amic and amat.
  10. 10 ↩Catalan differencia is both Llull's principle Difference and the act of distinguishing; here the quoted clause uses the verbal sense ('make a distinction'), while the chapter heading pairs the principle with love.
  11. 11 ↩Source spelling "damal" is read as "d'amat" ("of the beloved"), matching Llull's amic/amat pair and the rest of the sentence.
  12. 12 ↩Source reads «3.»; sequential section numbering in this chapter (11–16) makes «13.» the intended reading.
  13. 13 ↩Read as 'mig loc damor' ('middle place of love'): 'tec' is almost certainly a corruption of 'loc', the reading used twice later in the same sentence and in the neighboring section.
  14. 14 ↩Rendered comparatively ('the way it kills...'): death cannot kill middle-place loving as it does kill loving at love's extremities. A purely relative reading is less coherent with the argument.
  15. 15 ↩Source opens with "AI primer capítol"; parallel formulas in neighboring sections ("Al . iij. capítol de fi e damor") make "Al primer capítol" the most plausible intended reading, rendered here as "At the first chapter".
  16. 16 ↩Source spelling «hivasosament» is read as «hivosament» (“eagerly,” with keen desire); less likely alternatives include «afanyosament» or «avidosament».
  17. 17 ↩Normalized reading takes neighboring 'Al .' (To the) against printed 'AI .', which is the likely OCR/print corruption of Catalan Al.
  18. 18 ↩Majority renders Llull's technical root majoritat (paired with equality/minority in the Art), not political majority.
  19. 19 ↩Joined with the dangling 'per .' of s4 as 'per .j. vertut' (through one virtue); 'forlment' read as fortment (severely).
  20. 20 ↩Source reading a'Ia mort treated as a la mort (OCR/corruption); sense is escape from death.
  21. 21 ↩Source reading 'puria' taken as 'podia' (could); 'ac' as 'ha' (has); trailing apostrophe on 'estòrcer'' treated as truncation of 'estòrcer' (escape/deliver).

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