Often in philosophical writings love is really used to express desire, and that is the case here. What we love in this sense is what we desire, and what we love or desire can lead to either virtue or vice. Ultimately as Christians we know that a rightly ordered love is one which loves God above all things, and through God also loves man.
(and no, Purgatory is still very real. It's limbo you're thinking of, which also has a place in Dante, and is one of the more unfortunate musings of my beloved Augustine. But Purgatory is very much a real state, according to Catholic theology, rooted particularly in the biblical practice of praying for the dead, a practice we see in the Church Fathers, also, who at least as early as the 4th century were offering Masses for the deceased souls).
Yes, that's right! Limbo. Interesting about the deceased souls. Do you also do a mass on the 40th day? If you do, what is the reason for that number, do you know?
Interesting about desire I didn't realize; Is it because of the Latin desiderare, from de- + sider-, sidus heavenly body (Websters) or longing which makes sense.
When you look at proceed with the meaning "to come forth from" then vices come forth as perversions of love, whereas virtues come forth as aspirations of it. Lust, Pride, Gluttony, Avarice...all the "seven deadly sins" take love and twist them. I think that's what it might mean by proceeds from love, in the cases of vices.
The closer we get to God, the more pure our love. The further we get away from him, the more twisted that love.
I think they're saying that lust, pride, gluttony, etc all come from a misdirection and twisting of love (love of the body, love of yourself, love of food, love of money). But love directed at god is pure.
I see. How does one direct love toward God, in every day life? It sounds like one should begin with not being interested in money, power, fame, which I happen to agree with.
I agree with the above comments, but just want to comment because I love Dante and therefore I love to talk about the Divine Comedy. This is just my take on this aspect of the Commedia (although granted, it's heavily influenced by the prof who taught the class, ahem.).
The love that causes sin is not agape or Christian charity, as catholic_heart pointed out; it is love, or desire, perverted or applied to the wrong object. The souls in the Inferno/Hell are there because they "wanted" to be there, in a sense: they loved, or desired, wrongly, and so their punishment is just the fully realized manifestation of their disordered passions. The souls who are in the Circle devoted to Gluttony, for example, are there because of their excessive love/desire for indulgence, food, etc
( ... )
Perhaps I'm off base here, but I was once told by a great confessor that all sin is the wrong fulfillment of right desire. The desires inherent in our person are very good and were placed there by God in love, but in our brokenness, we seek to fulfill those desires in twisted ways.
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(and no, Purgatory is still very real. It's limbo you're thinking of, which also has a place in Dante, and is one of the more unfortunate musings of my beloved Augustine. But Purgatory is very much a real state, according to Catholic theology, rooted particularly in the biblical practice of praying for the dead, a practice we see in the Church Fathers, also, who at least as early as the 4th century were offering Masses for the deceased souls).
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Interesting about desire I didn't realize; Is it because of the Latin desiderare, from de- + sider-, sidus heavenly body (Websters) or longing which makes sense.
Thank you:)
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I don't know about the etymology of desire, but that does make sense :)
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When you look at proceed with the meaning "to come forth from" then vices come forth as perversions of love, whereas virtues come forth as aspirations of it. Lust, Pride, Gluttony, Avarice...all the "seven deadly sins" take love and twist them. I think that's what it might mean by proceeds from love, in the cases of vices.
The closer we get to God, the more pure our love. The further we get away from him, the more twisted that love.
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The love that causes sin is not agape or Christian charity, as catholic_heart pointed out; it is love, or desire, perverted or applied to the wrong object. The souls in the Inferno/Hell are there because they "wanted" to be there, in a sense: they loved, or desired, wrongly, and so their punishment is just the fully realized manifestation of their disordered passions. The souls who are in the Circle devoted to Gluttony, for example, are there because of their excessive love/desire for indulgence, food, etc ( ... )
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