Que la charité doit estre nommee amour
The Sanctity of the Name Love
The author examines the patristic debate over whether 'charity' or 'love' is the more appropriate term for divine affection.
Origen says somewhere that, in his view, sacred Scripture—wanting to keep the word love from giving weak minds any occasion for impure thoughts, since it seems better suited to mean a carnal passion than a spiritual affection—has used the names charity and dilection instead, as they are more decent.1 On the contrary, Saint Augustine, having better considered how God's Word is used, shows clearly that the name love is no less sacred than that of dilection, and that both sometimes mean a holy affection, and sometimes also a depraved passion; and he cites several passages of Scripture to this end. But the great Saint Dionysius, as an excellent doctor of the proper sense of the divine names, speaks far more favorably for the name love. He teaches that the theologians—that is, the Apostles and their first disciples (for this saint had seen no other theologians)—in order to free ordinary people from their error and rein in their fancy, which took the name love in a profane and carnal sense, more gladly used it for divine things than the name dilection. And though they held that both meant the same thing, "it still seemed to some among them that the name love was more proper and fitting for God than that of dilection; so that the divine Ignatius wrote these words: My love is crucified."2 So, just as these ancient theologians used the name love for divine things to strip it of the odor of impurity that the world's imagination made it suspect, they likewise took pleasure in using the name dilection when expressing human affections, as it was free from any suspicion of indecency. That is why one of them said, according to Saint Dionysius: "Your dilection has entered my soul, like the dilection of women."✦
The Excellence of Love
The author concludes that 'love' is the superior term for charity due to its inherent fervor and activity.
Finally, the name love expresses more fervor, force, and activity than that of dilection; so that among the Latins, dilection is far less than love. "Clodius," says their great orator, "has dilection for me—and to put it more excellently, he loves me."3 Therefore, the name love, as the more excellent, has been rightly given to charity, as the chief and most eminent of all loves. For all these reasons, and because I meant to speak of the acts of charity more than of its habit, I have called this little work the Treatise on the Love of God.4
Read the original Latin
Origene dit en quelque lieu, qu'a son advis, l'Escriture divine voulant empescher que le nom d'amour ne donnast quelque sujet de mauvaise pensee aux espritz infirmes, comme plus propre asignifier une passion charnelle qu'une affection spirituelle, en lieu de ce nom-la d'amour elle a usé de ceux de charité et de dilection,qui sont plus honnestes. Au contraire, saint Augustin, ayant mieux consideré l'usage de la Parole de Dieu, monstre clairement que le nom d'amour n'est pas moins sacré que celuy de dilection, et que l'un et l'autre signifie parfois une affection sainte, et quelque-fois aussi une passion depravee; alleguant a ces fins plusieurs passages de l'Escriture. Mais le grand saint Denis, comme excellent Docteur de la propriété des noms divins, parle bien plus avantageusement en faveur du nom d'amour; enseignant que les théologiens, c'est a dire les Apostres et premiers disciples d'iceux (car ce Saint n'avoit point veu d'autres theologiens), pour desabuser le vulgaire et dompter la fantaisie d'iceluy, qui prenoit le nom d'amour en sens prophane et charnel, ilz l'ont plus volontier employé es choses divines que celuy de dilection; et quoy qu'ilz estimassent que l'un et l'autre estoit pris pour une mesme chose, "il a toutefois semblé a quelques uns d'entre eux que le nom d'amour estoit plus propre et convenable a Dieu que celuy de dilection; si que le divin Ignace a escrit ces paroles: Mon amour est crucifié." Ainsy, comme ces anciens theologiens employoient le nom d'amour es choses divines,affin de lui oster l'odeur d'impureté de laquelle il estoit suspect selon l'imagination du monde, de mesme, pour exprimer les affections humaines, ilz ont pris playsir d'user du nom de dilection, comme exempt du soupçon de deshonnesteté; dont quelqu'un d'entr'eux a dit, au rapport de saint Denis: " Ta dilection est entree en mon ame, ainsy que la dilection des femmes. " En fin, le nom d'amour represente plus de ferveur,d'efficace et d'activité que celuy de dilection; de sorte qu'entre les Latins,dilection est beaucoup moins qu'amour; "Clodius ", dit leur grand Orateur, " me porte dilection, et pour le dire plus excellemment, il m'ayme." Et partant, le nom d'amour, comme plus excellent, a esté justement donné à la charité, comme au principal et plus eminent de tous les amours: si que pour toutes ces raysons, et parce que je pretendois de parler des actes de la charité plus que de l'habitude d'icelle, j'ay appellé ce petit ouvrage, Traitté de l'Amour de Dieu.
Scripture echoes
- ↩2Sam.1.26 — I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; you were very pleasant to me; your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women.
Notes
- 1 ↩French dilection (Latin dilectio) is kept as a technical term in this chapter: a preferring/choosing love, set against amour. Collapsing both to "love" would erase the argument.
- 2 ↩"Saint Denis" rendered as Saint Dionysius (the Areopagite / author of the Divine Names), the figure Francis cites on the propriety of divine names.
- 3 ↩"Their great orator" is Cicero (diligere vs. amare); Francis leaves him unnamed.
- 4 ↩"Habitude" kept as the theological habit (habitus) of charity versus its acts; Francis's stated reason for the title Traité de l'Amour de Dieu.
Treatise on the Love of God companion
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