VII. Del fruyt d'amor
The Threefold Fruit
Love's fruit is threefold: God, His work, and blessedness, each declared the end and fulfillment of all that is.
The fruit of love is divided into three parts: one part is God, another is His work, and the third is blessedness.1 The reason we say God is the fruit of love is that God is the end and fulfillment of all that exists; and the reason we say God's work, which He has within Himself, is the fruit of love is that it is the end and fulfillment of all created works; and the reason we say blessedness is the fruit of love is that in the blessedness of the life to come, the blessed saints find rest in everlasting glory.23
Seeking by Questions
Lovers gain knowledge of the fruit through analogy and moral teaching, and the Ladies of Love propose ten ways of questioning to seek it out.
Through what we will say about the fruit of love, using analogy and moral teaching, lovers will be able to gain knowledge of the fruit; and through that knowledge, they will know how to remember and love it better, and to desire its sweetness.4 And to seek out and explain the fruit of love, we want to put questions to the ladies of love, which the Lover will ask according to the ten ways of questioning that we have set out in the branches of love.
The Trial Before the Fruit
The Lover desires to climb to the fruit, but the Ladies of Love set a test of knowledge and love to determine if he is worthy to gather it.
The Lover wanted to climb up to the fruit of love, but the ladies of love said to5 one youth of love that he should put questions to the Lover about his Beloved and about love, so they could see whether the Lover had knowledge of his Beloved and of love, and whether he knew how to love; for if he didn't know how to answer the questions, they wouldn't let him climb up to the fruit of love or gather it, for it isn't fitting that it be gathered by a Lover who doesn't know his Beloved or love, and who doesn't know how to love.6
Read the original Catalan
Fruyt damor es departit en . iij. parts: una part es Deus, altra es la sua obra, tersa es benauyransa. So per que deim que Deus es fruyt damor, es per so car Deus es fi e compliment de tot quant es; e so per que deim que la obra de Deu, la qual ha en sí mctex, es fruyt damor, es per so car es fi e compliment de totes les obres creades; e so per que deim que beneuyransa es fruyt damor, es per so car en la beneuyransa de lautra vida an repòs los sants benauyrats en perdurabla glòria.
Per so que direm del fruyt damor, per anologogia e moralitat poran los amadors aver conexensa del fruyt, e per la conexensa que nauran, lo sabran mils membrar e amar, e la sua dolsor desirar. E a ensercar e declarar lo fruyt damor, volem fer qüestions a les dones damor, les quals farà lamic segons les . x. maneres de qüestions que dites avem en les branques damor. í-ujAR volc lamic al fruyt d amor, mas les dones damor dixeren a . j. donzel damor que feés qüestions al amic, de son amat e damor, per so que veesen si lamic avia conexensa de son amat e damor, ne si sabia amar; car si no sabia respondre a les qüestions, noi lexarien pujar al fruyt damor, ni aquel cullir, car nos cove que sia cullit per amic qui no conega son amat ni amor, e que no sapia amar.
Notes
- 1 ↩Catalan benauyransa rendered as blessedness (beatitude), keeping final bliss rather than mere happiness.
- 2 ↩Corrupt source token 'mctex' read as mateix; translated 'which He has in Himself' (en sí mateix).
- 3 ↩fi e compliment rendered as end and fulfillment (telos/completion), not English compliment.
- 4 ↩Source reading anologogia treated as analogia (analogy).
- 5 ↩Corrupt opening í-ujAR read as Pujar ('to climb'), confirmed by pujar in s7.
- 6 ↩Source nos cove read as no·s cove ('it is not fitting'); a non-negative reading would contradict the preceding refusal to let him ascend.
Arbre de filosofia d'amor (Tree of the Philosophy of Love) companion
A daily portion of stillness
Chosen Portion delivers one short contemplative reading and a guided moment of silence each day — the ascent, one step at a time.
Chosen Portion is the paced doorway into this collection: it portions the dense mystical treatises into one daily reading plus guided silence, exactly as the 14-day plan teaches.
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