Ludovicus van Leuven, Amoris divini et humani antipathia (1629)
Table of contents ↑Desiderium Amoris [66]
Desiderium Amoris.
XXIV.
L. Iustin.
Idem.
AMor desiderijs nutritur, desideria autem ab a-
more tanquam calor ab igne prodeūt. & sunt
veluti ignita iacula quæ cor amantis in amatum
sagittat, quare absque magnâ remunerationis
mercede esse non poterit quisquis sancto deside-
riorum ardore accensus extiterit. parum quippe
operatur, quamuis multa agat, qui non amplius
agit affectu quam actu. non meruit secreta scire
cælestia, Propheta Daniel, quia ieiunauit, sed quia
concupiuit, dicente Angelo, ego autem veni vt in-
dicarem tibi, quia vir desideriorum es. & quis po-
test verbis propalare sanctorum desideria? soli ex-
perti norunt amantium affectus, quam sæpe desi-
derio patiuntur, dilaniantur, vruntur, occumbunt.
quod si liceret, non segnius sustinerent actu, quam
desiderijs concupiscant. immensa est Amoris vis,
& nullo abbreuiata fine, quæ sicut nutritur de se,
ita dilatatur in se, non alieno indiget adminiculo,
sibi ipsi sufficit, dum virtutem suam exercere
valet.
AMor desiderijs nutritur, desideria autem ab a-
more tanquam calor ab igne prodeūt. & sunt
veluti ignita iacula quæ cor amantis in amatum
sagittat, quare absque magnâ remunerationis
mercede esse non poterit quisquis sancto deside-
riorum ardore accensus extiterit. parum quippe
operatur, quamuis multa agat, qui non amplius
agit affectu quam actu. non meruit secreta scire
cælestia, Propheta Daniel, quia ieiunauit, sed quia
concupiuit, dicente Angelo, ego autem veni vt in-
dicarem tibi, quia vir desideriorum es. & quis po-
test verbis propalare sanctorum desideria? soli ex-
perti norunt amantium affectus, quam sæpe desi-
derio patiuntur, dilaniantur, vruntur, occumbunt.
quod si liceret, non segnius sustinerent actu, quam
desiderijs concupiscant. immensa est Amoris vis,
& nullo abbreuiata fine, quæ sicut nutritur de se,
ita dilatatur in se, non alieno indiget adminiculo,
sibi ipsi sufficit, dum virtutem suam exercere
valet.
Desir de l'Amour.
XXIV.
Que ne peut elle pas ceste flame diuine,
Qui au fond de mon cœur, au sein de ma poictrine,
Sans la pouuoir cacher, s'y est ouuert le iour?
Combien est il heureux, celuy qui la desire,
Et mourant comme moy, en son ardeur expire,
Essayant ce que peut l'embrassement d'Amour.
XXIV.
Que ne peut elle pas ceste flame diuine,
Qui au fond de mon cœur, au sein de ma poictrine,
Sans la pouuoir cacher, s'y est ouuert le iour?
Combien est il heureux, celuy qui la desire,
Et mourant comme moy, en son ardeur expire,
Essayant ce que peut l'embrassement d'Amour.
Translations
|
Desire of love. |
|
Love is nourished by desires; now desires result from love like heat from fire, and they are as it were ignited arrows, that
the heart of the lover shoots towards the beloved. This is why it will be impossible for anybody to become inflamed by the
sacred heat of desire if the costs are not compensated by a great reward. For he who operates less out of passion than out
of action indeed achieves very little, although he acts a lot. The prophet Daniel did not deserve to remain ignorant of the
secrets of heaven because he fasted, but because he desired, for the angel said "now I have come to show to you, because you
are a man of desires". And who can make fully known in words the desires of the saints? Only those who have experienced these
feelings know those of lovers; how often through desire they suffer, are tortured, burnt, die. If they could, they would be
as quick to hold their own through action, as they are now prone to lust through their desires. The power of love is immense
and is not stopped short by any bound; just as it feeds of itself, so it expands in itself; it does not need another's support,
it is self-sufficient, so long it can exercise its power. |
|
Lord, all my desire is set before You, and my groaning is not hidden from You. |
Sources and parallels
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Remake of image, in: Domine ante te omne desiderium meum (in: Justus de Harduwijn, Goddelycke wenschen (1629))
[Compare
]
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Similar pictura in: Quarles, Emblems, divine and moral, embl. 3.0
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Arrows of love directed at the sun in: Voor u alleen, en anders geen [19] (in: Jan van Hoogstraten, Zegepraal der goddelyke liefde (1709))
[Compare]
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Arrows directed at the sun in:'t Verlokte oog misleid den Boog [1] (in: Pieter Huygen, Beginselen van Gods Koninkrijk (1689))
[Compare]
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Porteman 1975, p. 212. Same pictura and same quote in the poem Pia Desideria starts with: Hugo, Pia desideria, bk/poem. 1/1
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Parallel for the pictura (exact copy), the same Latin bible quote and French epigram in:Voor u alleen, en anders geen [19] (in: Jan van Hoogstraten, Zegepraal der goddelyke liefde (1709))
[Compare]
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Similar pictura (church in the background added, no figure of sacred love) and the same Latin bible quotation in:
[Titlepage] (in: Jan Suderman, De godlievende ziel (1724))
[Compare]
References, across this site, to this page:
- Domine ante te omne desiderium meum (in: Justus de Harduwijn, Goddelycke wenschen (1629))
- Voor u alleen, en anders geen [19] (in: Jan van Hoogstraten, Zegepraal der goddelyke liefde (1709))
- Voor u alleen, en anders geen [19] (in: Jan van Hoogstraten, Zegepraal der goddelyke liefde (1709))
- 't Verlokte oog misleid den Boog [1] (in: Pieter Huygen, Beginselen van Gods Koninkrijk (1689))
- [Titlepage] (in: Jan Suderman, De godlievende ziel (1724))