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Chapter 93LlullArbreAmor.1.93

3. Del fruyt de beneuyransa d'amor

The Necessity of Another Blessedness

Love argues that the Beloved's perfections demand an everlasting life beyond this world to fully satisfy His memorability, intelligibility, and lovability.

Question. Love, is there another blessedness besides the blessedness of this world?1 "Friend," said Love, "the Beloved is memorable, intelligible, lovable, praiseworthy, honorable, and worthy of thanks, with greatness of goodness, duration, power, wisdom, will, virtue, and truth. And in this life people live only a short time, and they have many obstacles to remembering, understanding, and loving the Beloved much, and so on. Therefore the Beloved, who is good, great, wise, and so on, wants there to be another, everlasting life, where he may always be greatly remembered, understood, loved, and so on."23 And the Beloved does this so that he may satisfy his great memorability, intelligibility, lovability, and so on. That satisfaction would not be achieved if there were no other life and no other blessedness besides this one of this world, and the Beloved would then be injurious to himself and to his great memorability, and so on, and also to many a just person who has served him with great labor in this life. And since God cannot be injurious, being wholly good, great, and so on, there must be another life, another blessedness, in which the fruit of love is gathered in full.4

The Nature of Blessedness

Through ten questions, Love defines blessedness as being with God in paradise, seeing and loving Him without intermediary, and describes its components, purpose, greatness, quality, location, and the glorification of saints in body and soul.

2. Love, what is blessedness? Friend, blessedness is to be with God in paradise, to see Him and the work He has in Himself, to love that work above all things, and for there to be no intermediary between the Beloved and the Friend's vision and love.✦56 3. Love, of what is blessedness? Friend, blessedness is of four things: of angels, of souls, and of the glorified bodies of the holy men, and it is of the influence of glory that the Beloved will give to glorify the saints of paradise, showing them His secrets.7 4. Love, what is blessedness for? "Friend," said Love, "blessedness is for." Two. Things: One. This is because of the vision and love that the saints have in God; another reason is the end for which the saints are created and saved, that is, to remember, know, love, praise, and bless the Beloved, and it is so that the Beloved may satisfy those who have honored and served him in this life.✦8 5. How great is blessedness? Friend, said Love: blessedness is as great as the Beloved wills to give of it, and it is as great as can fit in the saints' soul through remembering, understanding, and loving the Beloved; and it will still be as great as the glorified bodies will need of it and as can fit in them.9 6. Love, what sort of thing is blessedness? Friend, Love said: blessedness is an active quality of delight that the Beloved gives to the blessed so that they may be glorified in him; and it is a passive quality of delight that the blessed sustain by being in glory and in rest with complete fulfillment.10 7. Love, in paradise, will blessedness be in a succession of time? Friend, a succession of time can't exist without a beginning and an end, just as with the sun, which creates a succession of time in that it makes day in the morning and night when it sets; but if the sun moved aeviternally — that is, without end — so that it never set in the west, it couldn't create a succession of time in the day, and it would always be day.11 In the same way, in paradise blessedness is in time without succession, because it has a beginning and no end; because the saints will remain in paradise as long as God remains in his eternity; and so there can be no succession of time in paradise. 8. Love, where is blessedness? Friend, Love replied: blessedness is in the highest heaven in terms of place, and it is in the saints through the works they possess as they are glorified in the essence of God. For in the intelligibility of God, all the intellective powers of the holy will be glorified, and in the lovableness of God, all the loving powers of the holy will be glorified. The intelligibility and lovableness of God belong equally to the essence of God and to the works He has in Himself, through His making-good, magnifying, eternalizing, and the rest.1213 9. Love, how do the saints find glory in the Beloved? Friend, Love replied: the saints find glory in the Beloved, who reveals and shows His essence, nature, and work to the understanding, will, and memory of the holy. He moves their understanding, love, and memory so that they may receive glorification from Him through that same understanding, love, and memory.1415 10. Love, with what do the saints have glory in the Beloved? Friend, said Love: the saints have glory in the Beloved with good, great, everlasting, powerful, wise, loving, virtuous, and true remembering, understanding, and loving of the16 one17 saint and the other, and the good works that each will have done for the Beloved.18 And the same is true of the sensing of the saints' bodies, who will have glory through sensing, seeing the one19 other, and hearing the songs and melodies that will exist in paradise to praise and honor the Beloved.20

The Fruit of Love

The Friend turns to inquire about the fruit of love, and Love explains that paradise is that fruit, a restful possession of the Beloved without toil, gathered eternally through understanding and loving.

The Friend wanted to return to putting questions to Love, asking about the fruit of blessedness, of which he wanted to know the truth according to the21 ten22 ways of questioning, and he asked Love: 1.23 Love, is blessedness, or paradise, the fruit of love? Friend, said Love, if paradise weren't the fruit of love, there'd be no paradise in the final end of love, and the fruit of love would be this life we're living in this world, where lovers suffer many hardships for the Beloved; and that's impossible, because fruit—which is rest—can't be in a place of hardship.2425 12.26 Love, what is the fruit of love? Friend, said Love: the fruit of love is paradise; and it's for that reason the fruit of love, because outside paradise there's nothing without toil, and in paradise there's no toil, and the lover has from love all that he wants to have.27 13. Love, of what is the fruit of love? Friend, said Love: the fruit of love is the pleasure of the lover and the beloved, possessed without toil, with great joy and gladness. 14. Love, why is the fruit of love in glory? Friend, Love said: the fruit of love is in glory so that it may be the glory of lovers; for without the fruit of love, lovers couldn't have glory. 15. Love, how great is the fruit of paradise? Friend, Love said: the fruit of paradise is as great as the pleasure the saints take in glorying through the roots of love, without any opposition that is unable to dwell in the fruit of love.282930 16. Love, what properties and natures does the fruit of love have in glory? Friend, said Love, the natures and properties of the fruit of glory are the consolation of lovers and of the Beloved, with such great sweetness and joy, and without any toil, that it can't be greater, nor do the saints desire to have anything greater.31 17. Love, when is the fruit of love gathered in glory? Friend, said Love: the fruit of love is gathered in glory at all times, without cessation or hindrance; for just as the sun never ceases to shine, so—and much better still—the fruit of love in glory never ceases to be gathered. 18.32 Love, where is the fruit of love gathered in glory? Friend, said Love: in just this way the fruit of love is gathered in glory in the Beloved, as the fruit of wisdom is gathered in the Understanding, who is God.3334 19. Love, how is the fruit of love gathered in glory? "Friend," said Love, "the fruit of love is gathered in glory through loving the Beloved, just as through understanding the Understood One, who is God and is the Beloved."35 20. Love, by what is the fruit of glory and love gathered? Friend, by loving. And in the gathering, the friend's understanding helps in the same way that loving helps to gather the fruit—by understanding the true Beloved, who is understood. 21. Love, which gathers the fruit first — the friend's loving, or his understanding? Friend, said Love: in gathering the fruit in glory there is no sequential time, for the eternity of the Beloved does not sustain it; therefore the fruit is always being gathered and remains in that gathering in glory through understanding and loving the Beloved.36 22. Love, who gathers more of the fruit—loving, or understanding? Friend, said Love: the Beloved is so understandable and lovable that he desires equally to be understood and loved by the saints.37

The Subject of the Tree

Love concludes that the subject of this Tree is loving, ordered by its roots, to love its Beloved.

23. Love, what is the subject of this Tree? Friend, said Love: the subject of this Tree is loving, with the order of its roots, in order to love its Beloved.38

Read the original Catalan

Qüestió. Amor, es altra beneuyransa, mas la bcneuyransa de aquest mon? Amic, dix lamor: lamat es recolible entelligible amable loable honorable regraciable ab granea de bontat duració poder saviea volentat vertut e veritat; e en esta vida viuen los homens poc de temps, e an molts de empatxamens a molt membrar entendre amar, e los altres, lamat; e per aysò lamat, qui es bo gran savi, e los altres, vol que sia altra vida perpetual, on tots temps sia molt membrat entès amat, e los altres. E aysò fa lamat, per so que satisfassa a sa gran memorabilitat entelligibilitat amabilitat,' e los altres; la qual satisfacció no faria si no era altra vida e altra beneuyransa mas aquesta daquest mon, e seria lamat injuriós a sí metex e a sa gran memorabilitat, e los altres, e encara a molt home just qui ab gran trebayll là servit en esta vida; e car Deus no pot ésser injuriós, com sia tot bo gran, e los altres, cove que sia altra vida, altra benauyransa, en la qual se cuyl complidament lo fruyt damor.

2. Amor, què es beneuyransa? Amic, beneuyransa es estar ab Deu en paraís, e veer él e sa obra, la qual ha en sí metex, e amar aquela obra sobre totes coses, e que enfre lamat e la visió e la amor de lamic, no sia negú mijà.

3. Amor, de que es beneuyransa? Amic, beneuyransa es de . iiij. coses: d àngels, ànimes, e de los corses gloriejats dels sants homens, e es de la infiíuencia que lamat darà de glòria gloriejar los sants de paraís, mostrant a éls sos secrets.

4. Amor, per que es beneuyransa? Amic, dix amor: beneuyransa es per . ij. coses: . j. es per so car es de la visió e amor que an los sants en Deu; altra es per raó de la fi per que son los sants creats e salvats, so es a saber, per mcmbrar conèxer amar loar e beneir lamat, e es per so que lamat satifassa a aquels qui en esta vida lan honrat e servit.

5. Beneuyransa quanta es? Amic, dix amor: beneuyransa es aitanta com lamat ne vol donar, e es aitanta com ne pot caber en l ànima dels sants per membrar entendre e amar lamat; e serà aitanta, encara, com ne auran mestcr los corses glorificats e en éls ne porà caber.

6. Amor, quinya cosa es beneuyransa? Amic, dix amor: beneuyransa es activa qualitat de plaer que lamat dona als beneuyrats, per so que en él sien gloriejats; e es passiva calitat de plaer que los beneuyrats sostenen per ésser en glòria e en repòs ab tot compliment.

7. Amor, en paraís, serà beneuyransa en successió de temps? Amic, successió de temps no pot ésser sens comensament e fi, axí com lo sol qui fa successió de temps, en quant fa dia al matí e fa nit con es post; mas sil sol se' movia eviternalment, so es, sens fi, que no fos nuyl temps a ponent, no poria fer en dia successió de temps, e tots temps seria dia. En semblant manera, en paraís benauyransa es en temps senes successió, per so car ha comensament e no ha fi; car aytant estaran los sants en paraís, com Deus en sa eternitat; per que no porà ésser en paraís successió de temps.

8. Amor, on es benauyransa? Amic, dix amor: benauyransa es en lo cel imperial segons loc, e es en los sants segons obres que an en ésser gloriejats en la essència de Deu; car en la entclligibilitat de Deu seran gloricjades totes les entcllectivitats dels sants homens, e en la amabilitat de Deu seran gloriejades totes les amativitats dels sants homes; e la entelligibjlitat e amabilitat de Deu serà egualment de la essència de Deu e de les obres que ha en sí metex, per sa bonificació magnificació eternificaci, e les altres.

9. Amor, los sants, còm an glòria en lamat? Amic, dix amor: los sants an glòria en lamat revelant e mostrant lamat sa essència natura e obra a lenteniment volentat e memòria dels sants homes, e movent lamat lo entendre amar e menbrar dels sants homes, a pendre dél gloriejament per lo entendre amar e membrar.

10. Amor, ab que an los sants glòria en lamat? Amic, dix amor: los sants an glòria en lamat ab bo gran eviternal poderós savi amorós vertuós e ver membrar entendre e amar la . j. sant lautre, e les bones obres que aura fetes per lamat. E asò metex del sentir dels corses dels sants, qui auran glòria per sentir, veent la . j. lautre, e ocnt los cants e les melodies qui seran en paraís a loar e honrar lamat.

Retornar volc l amic a fer qüestions a lamor, demanant del fruyt de beneuyrausa, del qual volc saber veritat, segons les . x. maneres de qüestions, e demanà a lamor:

11. Amor, benauyransa o paraís, es fruyt damor? Amic, dix lamor: si no fos paradís fruit damor, no fóra paradís en la dererana íi damor, e fóra lo fruyt damor aquesta vida en que som en est mon, on an los amadors moltes malenanses per lamat; la qual cosa es impossíbol, car fl, qui es repòs, no pot ésser en loc de malenansa.

2. Amor, què es fruyt damor? Amic, dix lamor: fruyt damor es paradís; e es per so fruyt damor, car ora paradís no ha neguna cosa sens trebayl, e en paradís no ha ncgú trebayl, e lamic ha de lamor tot so quen vol aver.

13. Amor, de que es fruyt d amor? Amic, dix amor: fruyt d amor es de plaer d amic e d amat, posseít sens trebayl ab gran gog e alegransa.

14. Amor, per que es fruyt d amor en glòria? Amic, dix amor: fruyt d amor es en glòria per so que sia glòria d amadors; car sens fruyt d amor, amadors no porien glòria aver.

15. Amor, lo fruyt de paraís, quant es gran? Amic, dix amor: lo fruit de paradís es aitan gran com es lo plaer que los sants an en gloriejar per les rails d amor, enfora contrarietat qui en lo fruit d amor no pot estar.

16. Amor, quinyes proprietats e natures ha lo fruyt damor en glòria? Amic, dix lamor: les natures e proprietats del fruyt de glòria, son solàs d amadors e d amat ab tan gran dolsor e alegransa, sens tot trebayl, que major ésser no pot, ni major los sants non dcsiren aver.

17. Amor, en qual temps se cuyl lo fruyt damor en glòria? Amic, dix lamor: lo fruyt damor se cuyl en glòria, en tots temps, sens cessament e enpatxament: car enaxí com lo sol qui no cessa de luir, enaxí, e molt mils, lo fruyt damor en glòria no cessa de cullir.

j8. Amor, on se cuyl lo fruyt damor en glòria? Amic, dix lamor: en axis cuyl lo fruyt damor en glòria en lamat, com se cuyl lo fruit de saviea en lentes, qui es Deu.

19. Amor, còm se cuyl lo fruyt damor en glòria? Amic, dix lamor: lo fruit damor se cuyl en glòria enaxí per manera d amar lamat, com per manera de entendre lentes, qui es Deu e es lamat.

20. Amor, ab ques cuyl lo fruyt de glòria e damor? Amic, ab amar; e al culir ajuda enaixí l entendre de l amic, com ajuda l amar a cullir lo fruyt ab entendre lo ver amat, qui es entès.

21. Amor, qual cuyl enans lo fruyt, o l amar o l entendre de lamic? Amic, dix amor: en cuylir lo fruyt en glòria no està temps en succesió, car nou sosté la eternitat de lamat; e per aysò lo fruyt tots temps es cuylit e està en cuylir en glòria per entendre e amar lamat.

22. Amor, qui cuyl més del fruyt, o lamar o l entendre? Amic, dix lamor: lamat es tant entelligible e amable, que egualment vol ésser per los sants entès e amat.

23. Amor, què es subject de aquest Arbre? Amic, dix amor: lo subject daquest Arbre es amaBcació, ab orde de ses rails, per amar son amat.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩1Cor.13.12;1John.3.2 — For now we see in a mirror, dimly; but then face to face. Now I know in part; but then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 1John.3.2 — Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. We know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
  2. ↩1Cor.13.12;1John.3.2 — For now we see in a mirror, dimly; but then face to face. Now I know in part; but then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 1John.3.2 — Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. We know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩Normalized typo bcneuyransa → beneuyransa (blessedness).
  2. 2 ↩recolible rendered as memorable, matching Llull's later memorabilitat and the triad membrar/entendre/amar.
  3. 3 ↩e los altres is Llull's elliptical shorthand for the remaining divine attributes already listed; rendered as and the rest.
  4. 4 ↩Stray quote after amabilitat,' ignored; benauyransa treated as the same lemma as beneuyransa; là servit read as l'ha servit (has served him).
  5. 5 ↩beneuyransa rendered as 'blessedness' (beatitude / heavenly bliss); Llull's sense is the fulfilled fruit of love in the other life with God.
  6. 6 ↩mijà rendered as 'intermediary' (medium/means): nothing stands between the Beloved (lamat) and the Friend's (lamic) vision and love.
  7. 7 ↩Reading source 'infiíuencia' as 'influència' (influence).
  8. 8 ↩Reading 'mcmbrar' as 'membrar' (remember), 'satifassa' as 'satisfaça' (may satisfy), and 'lan' as 'l'han' (have ... him).
  9. 9 ↩Normalized reading takes printed 'mestcr' as 'mester' (need): 'auran mester' = 'will need'.
  10. 10 ↩Catalan 'activa qualitat' / 'passiva calitat de plaer' keeps the scholastic active/passive distinction: delight given by the Beloved versus delight borne by the blessed. 'calitat' is a spelling variant of 'qualitat', not a different word.
  11. 11 ↩Scholastic/Llullian aeviternity (duration with beginning but no end). The source immediately glosses it as 'sens fi' ('without end'); that gloss is kept in the rendering.
  12. 12 ↩Normalized several corrupt/OCR forms in the Catalan witness: entclligibilitat/entelligibjlitat → intelligibilitat; entcllectivitats → intellectivitats; gloricjades → gloriejades; eternificaci → eternificació; metex → mateix.
  13. 13 ↩Llullian technical pair intelligibility/lovableness (intelligibilitat/amabilitat) and intellective/loving powers (intellectivitats/amativitats) kept as philosophical terms of art rather than paraphrased away. bonificació/magnificació/eternificació rendered as making-good/magnifying/eternalizing for the triad of divine operations in God Himself.
  14. 14 ↩Normalized source orthography: menbrar→membrar (remember), lenteniment→l'enteniment (understanding), dél→d'ell (from Him).
  15. 15 ↩Keeps Llull's faculty triad (understanding, will, memory) and the matching acts (understanding, loving, remembering).
  16. 16 ↩Llull stacks the divine dignities (good, great, everlasting, powerful, wise, loving, virtuous, true) as modifiers of the triad remembering–understanding–loving; the sentence continues across the following refs as 'the one saint and the other'.
  17. 17 ↩Segmented Roman numeral .j. (= i, 'one') belonging to the formula 'la .j. sant lautre' ('the one saint and the other').
  18. 18 ↩'aura fetes' is singular future perfect with plural participle agreeing with 'obres'; rendered distributively as 'each will have done', matching 'la .j. sant'.
  19. 19 ↩Segmented Roman numeral .j. (= i, 'one') belonging to the formula 'la .j. lautre' ('one another').
  20. 20 ↩Source 'ocnt' treated as corrupt for Old Catalan 'oënt'/'oint' (hearing), present participle of oir.
  21. 21 ↩Printed «beneuyrausa» treated as a corruption of the chapter's usual «beneuyransa» (blessedness), confirmed by the chapter title and neighboring sections.
  22. 22 ↩Medieval Catalan numeral .x. = 10 ("ten"), completing the previous fragment's «segons les» and the following «maneres de qüestions». Parallel: LlullArbreAmor.1.31.1 and 1.89.2 («segons les .x. maneres de qüestions»).
  23. 23 ↩Source reads "11."; parallel numbering in the next section ("2.") and the preceding setup of ten question-modes make "1." the intended reading.
  24. 24 ↩Normalized "dererana íi damor" read as "derrerana fi damor" (final end of love); "íi" is a likely corruption of "fi".
  25. 25 ↩Normalized "car fl, qui es repòs" read as "car fruyt, qui es repòs" (for fruit, which is rest); "fl" is a truncated/corrupt form of "fruyt"/"fruit".
  26. 26 ↩Source reads "2."; neighboring question numbers are 11 and 13, so the intended reading is almost certainly "12."
  27. 27 ↩Normalized "ora" read as "fora" (outside): "because outside paradise there is nothing without toil" is the only reading that coheres with the following clause and with neighboring sections on paradise vs. toil. Source "ncgú" corrected to "negú" (no / none).
  28. 28 ↩Catalan 'rails' is medieval spelling of 'arrels' (roots), fitting the Tree of Love metaphor; rendered 'roots'.
  29. 29 ↩'Gloriejar' can mean glorying/exulting or rejoicing in glory; rendered 'glorying' to keep the glory-register of the chapter.
  30. 30 ↩'Contrarietat' is rendered 'opposition'; in Llull it can also carry the technical Art sense of contrariety as a principle.
  31. 31 ↩Normalized reading takes source "dcsiren" as "desiren" (desire).
  32. 32 ↩Source reads "j8."; neighboring section numbers (17. before, 19. after) make "18." the intended printed numeral.
  33. 33 ↩Reading "en axis" as Catalan "enaxí" ("thus" / "in this way"), the form used elsewhere in this chapter.
  34. 34 ↩"lentes" is Llull's technical term for the intellect/Understanding (cf. neighboring "entendre lentes"); rendered here as "the Understanding."
  35. 35 ↩Catalan lentes reads as l'Entès (the Understood One), Llull's technical name for God as the object of understanding; parallel to lamat (the Beloved).
  36. 36 ↩Reading Catalan «nou sosté» as the common medieval contraction «no·u sosté» (“does not sustain it”), with «u» referring back to successive time; if «nou» were taken as “new,” the clause would not yield a coherent sense.
  37. 37 ↩Catalan 'entelligible' rendered as 'intelligible' (knowable to the intellect), parallel to 'amable' as 'lovable'.
  38. 38 ↩Source witness reads 'amaBcació'; treated as a corrupt/OCR form of Llull's technical term 'amaficació' (the act of loving / making-to-love), attested elsewhere in this work (e.g. 1.73.1; 1.91.25). Rendered as 'loving', consistent with prior Modern Readable handling of amaficació.

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