,,the ,,evolution ,,of ,,love   ,,by    
,,emil ,,lucka   ,,translated ,,by      
,,ellie ,,schleussner  ,illustration3   
,publisher's logo  ,,london3 ,,george   
,,allen  ,,unwin ,,ltd4 ,,ruskin        
,,house1 #dj ,,museum ,,street1 ,w4,c4#a
   ,first published in ,great ,britain  
#aibb   7,all rights reserved7          
,printed in ,great ,britain by ,,unwin  
,,brothers1 ,,limited1 ,,the ,,gresham  
,,press1 ,,london ,,and ,,woking        
,,preface   ,the object of this book1   
which is addressed to all cultured men  
and women1 is to set forth the primitive
 manifestations of love and to throw    
light on those strange emotional        
climaxes which ,i have called           
,metaphysical ,eroticism4 ,i have taken 
no account of historical detail1 except 
where it served the purpose of proving1 
explaining and illustrating my subject4 
,nor have ,i hesitated to intermingle   
psychological motives and motives       
arising from the growth and spread of   
civilisation4 ,the inevitable result of 

a one-sided glimpse at historical facts 
would have been a history of love1 an   
undertaking for which ,i lack both      
ability and inclination4 ,on the other  
hand1 had ,i written a merely           
psychological treatise1 disregarding the
 succession of periods1 ,i should have  
laid myself open to the just reproach of
 giving rein to my imagination instead  
of dealing with reality4  ,i have       
availed myself of historical facts to   
demonstrate that what psychology has    
shown to be the necessary phases of the 
evolution of love1 have actually existed
 in historical time and characterised a 
whole period of civilisation4 ,the      
history of civilisation is an end in    
itself only in the chapter entitled ,the
 ,birth of ,europe4  ,my work is        
intended to be first and foremost a     
monograph on the emotional life of the  
human race4 ,i am prepared to meet      
rather with rejection than with         
approval4 ,neither the historian nor the
 psychologist will be pleased4          

,moreover1 ,i am well aware that my     
standpoint is hopelessly old-fashioned4 
,to-day nearly all the world is content 
to look upon the sexual impulse as the  
source of all erotic emotion and to     
regard love as nothing more nor less    
than its most exquisite radiation4  ,my 
book1 on the contrary1 endeavours to    
establish its complete independence of  
sexuality4  ,my contention that so      
powerful an emotion as love should have 
come into existence in historical1 not  
very remote times1 will seem very       
strange2 for1 all outward profession of 
faith in evolution notwithstanding1 men 
are still inclined to take the          
unchangeableness of human nature for    
granted4  ,the facts on which ,i have   
based my arguments are well known1 but  
my deductions are new2 it is not for me 
to decide whether they are right or     
wrong4 ,in the first 7introductory7 part
 ,i have made use of works already in   
existence1 in addition to ,plato and the
 poets1 but the second and third parts  

are founded almost entirely on original 
research4                               
,e4,l4     ,,contents                   
,,page  ,,preface                       
#e  ,,translator',s ,,introduction      
#i  ,,first ,,stage3 ,,the ,,sexual     
,,instinct                              
#ba  ,,second ,,stage3 ,,love  ,,chapter
    ,i4 ,,the ,,birth ,,of ,,europe     
#ci   ,,ii4 ,,the ,,deification ,,of    
,,woman 7,,first ,,form ,,of            
,,metaphysical ,,eroticism73--7a7 ,the  
,love of the ,troubadours2      7b7 ,the
 ,queen of ,heaven2 7c7 ,dante and      
,goethe2      7d7 ,michel ,angelo       
#aae  ,,iii4 ,,perversions ,,of         
,,metaphysical ,,eroticism3--      7a7  
,the ,brides of ,christ2 7b7 ,sexual    
,mystics              #bag  ,,third     
,,stage3 ,,the ,,blending ,,of          
,,sexuality ,,and ,,love    ,i4 ,,the   
,,longing ,,for ,,the ,,synthesis       
#bca   ,,ii4 ,,the ,,love-,,death       
7,,second ,,form ,,of ,,metaphysical    
,,eroticism7        #bea  ,,iii4 ,,the  

,,conflict ,,between ,,sexuality ,,and  
,,love4--,,the ,,seeker      ,,of ,,love
 ,,and ,,the ,,slave ,,of ,,love        
#bff   ,,iv4 ,,the ,,revenge ,,of       
,,sexuality4--,,the ,,demoniacal ,,and  
,,the ,,obscene     #bge  ,,conclusion3 
,,the ,,psychogenetic ,,law4--,,the     
,,individual ,,as ,,an      ,,epitome   
,,of ,,the ,,human ,,race               
#bhd     ,,translator',s ,,introduction 
,since the triumphant days of the       
,mechanists some twenty-five years ago1 
the wedge of ,pragmatism--a useful tool 
to be used and discarded--has been      
driven between materialism and idealism1
 and it appears that the whole tendency 
of philosophy is now in the latter      
direction4 ,even in ,england the        
influence of ,bergson has led modern    
thought away from the pure materialism  
of the monists1 and it seems probable   
that ,benedetto ,croce's ,philosophy of 
the ,spirit will carry the movement a   
step nearer towards the idealistic      
concept of reality4 ,and among the      

latest signs of the new tendency must be
 counted the brilliant work of ,emil    
,lucka1 the young ,austrian             
poet-philosopher1 whose conception of   
the development of love must rank with  
the most daring speculations in recent  
psychology4  ,in the great reaction of  
the last century1 love1 that most cogent
 motive of human thought and action1    
fell from its high estate and came to be
 regarded as an instinct not differing  
in any essential from hunger and thirst1
 and existing1 like them1 from the      
beginning1 eternal and immutable1       
manifesting itself with equal force in  
the heart of man and woman1 and         
impelling them towards each other4 ,but 
,emil ,lucka1 in his remarkable new     
book1 ,the ,three ,stages of ,love      
7which was recently published in        
,berlin1 and has already created a      
sensation in literary circles abroad71  
leads us on to speculative heights from 
which we may look back upon the whole   
theory of evolution not as a bar but as 

a bridge4 ,my book is intended as a     
monograph of the emotional life of the  
human race1 he says in the preface1 and 
,i am prepared to meet with rejection   
rather than with approval4 ,there has   
been abundance of criticism and         
controversy1 but ,lucka has stated his  
case and drawn his conclusions with such
 admirable precision and logic1 that his
 work has aroused admiration and        
appreciation even in the ranks of his   
opponents4  ,love is a theme which at   
all times and in all countries has been 
of primary interest to men and women1   
and therefore this book1 which throws an
 illuminating ray of light in many a    
dark place still wrapped in mystery and 
silence1 not only impresses the         
psychologist1 but also fascinates the   
general reader with its wealth of       
interesting detail and charm of         
expression4  ,the three vitally         
important points which the author       
develops are as follows3--  ,love is not
 a primary instinct1 but has been       

gradually evolved in historical time4   
,ernst ,haeckel's biogenetic law is     
expanded in a psychogenetic law4  ,only 
man's emotions have undergone evolution1
 and therefore have a history1 while    
those of woman have experienced no      
change4  ,lucka's book will probably not
 please the advanced feminists1 but the 
delicate1 although perhaps involuntary  
homage to her sex which is implied in   
his theories ought to rouse a feeling of
 gratification in the heart of every    
right-feeling woman4 ,the very          
limitations and restrictions which he   
lays upon her raise and glorify her4    
,for while man has been the ,odysseus   
wandering through heaven and hell1      
passing from the bestial to the divine  
to return again and become human1 woman 
has always been the same1 unchangeable  
and without problems4 ,that which he has
 set up to-day as his highest erotic    
ideal1 the blending of sexual and       
spiritual love1 has been her natural    
endowment from the beginning4 ,never    

perfect1 he falls into error and sin    
where she cannot err1 for her instinct  
is ,nature herself1 and she knows not   
the meaning of sin4  ,schopenhauer's    
instinct of philoprogenitiveness has    
to-day become an article of faith with  
the learned and the unlearned4 ,this    
sub-conscious instinct for the service  
of the species which1 in love1 is       
supposed to rise to consciousness1 and  
whose purpose is the will to produce the
 best possible offspring1 is conceded by
 scientists who reject not only         
,schopenhauer's metaphysic1 but         
metaphysic in general4 ,even ,nietzsche1
 that arch-individualist1 has proved by 
many of his pronouncements1 and most    
strikingly by his well-known definition 
of marriage1 that he has not escaped its
 fascinations4 ,schopenhauer ignores all
 phenomena which are not in support of  
his myth1 says ,lucka1 who denies this  
instinct of philoprogenitiveness and    
would substitute for it a               
pairing-instinct4 ,the experience of    

others1 he argues1 not our own instinct1
 has taught us that children may1 not   
necessarily must1 be the result of the  
union of the sexes4 ,into the mediaeval 
ideal which reached its climax in       
metaphysical love1 the idea of          
propagation did not enter4 ,moreover1   
the desire for children is frequently   
unaccompanied by any sexual desire1 and 
therefore to manufacture an instinct of 
philoprogenitiveness is fantastic       
metaphysic1 and is entirely opposed to  
intellectual reality4 ,this was well    
understood in the long period of        
antiquity which strictly separated the  
sexual impulse and the desire for       
children4  ,lucka distinguishes three   
great stages in the evolution of love4  
,in vivid and fascinating pictures he   
unfolds the erotic life of our primitive
 ancestors1 basing his statements on    
accepted authorities4 ,the sexual       
impulse in those remote days1           
unconscious of its nature and           
far-reaching consequences1 was entirely 

undifferentiated from any other powerful
 instinct4 ,every woman of the tribe    
belonged to every male who happened to  
desire her4 ,as is still the case with  
the aborigines of ,central and ,northern
 ,australia1 the phenomena of pregnancy 
and childbirth were attributed to       
witchcraft4#a ,the concept of father had
 not yet been formed2 the family        
congregated round the mother and saw in 
her its natural chief2 gynecocracy was  
the prevailing form of government4 ,in  
early historical and pre-classical      
times1 promiscuity was systematised by  
religion in ,india and the countries    
round the ,mediterranean and survived in
 the ,temple ,prostitution and the      
,mysteries4 ,man as yet felt himself    
only as a part of nature1 and aspired to
 no more than a life in harmony with her
 laws4 ,the worship of fertility and the
 endless renewal of life was the object 
of the orgiastic cults of ,adonis and   
,astarte in the ,east1 and ,dionysus and
 ,aphrodite in ,greece2 unbridled       

licentiousness and blind gratification  
of the senses their sacrament4  ,with   
the growth of civilisation and the      
development of personality there slowly 
crept into the minds of men a distaste  
for this irregular sexuality and a      
desire for a less chaotic state of      
things4 ,this longing and the wish for  
legitimate heirs gradually overcame     
promiscuity and1 in ,greece1 led to the 
establishment of the monogamous system4 
,it must not be assumed1 however1 that  
the ,greek ideal of marriage bore any   
resemblance to our modern conception4   
,true1 the wife occupied an honoured    
position as the guardian of hearth and  
children and was treated by her husband 
with affection and respect1 but she was 
not free4 ,nor was her husband expected 
to be faithful to her4 ,marriage in no  
way restricted his liberty1 but left him
 free to seek intellectual stimulation  
in the society of the hetaerae1 and     
gratification of the senses in the      
company of his slaves4 ,love in our     

sense was unknown to the ancients1 and  
although there is a modern note in the  
legends of the faithful ,penelope1 and  
the love which united ,orpheus and      
,eurydice1 yet1 so ,lucka tells us1     
these instances should be regarded      
rather as poetic divinations of a future
 stage of feeling than actual facts then
 within the scope of probability4 ,even 
,plato1 in whom all wisdom and          
ante-,christian culture culminated1 was 
still1 in this respect1 a citizen of the
 old world1 for he1 too1 knew as yet    
nothing of the spiritual love of a man  
for a woman4 ,to him the love of an     
individual was but a beginning1 the road
 to the love of perfect beauty and the  
eternal ideas4  ,on the threshold of the
 second stage of the erotic life stands 
,christianity1 which1 in sharp contrast 
to antiquity and to the classical       
period1 sought the centre and climax of 
life in the soul4 ,the founder of the   
religion of love discovered the         
individual1 and by so doing laid the    

foundation for that metaphysical love   
which found its most striking expression
 in the deification of woman and the    
cult of the ,virgin ,mary4 ,how this    
change of mental attitude was brought   
about is worked out in a brilliant      
chapter1 entitled ,the ,birth of        
,europe4 ,the revivifying influence of  
,christ's preaching and personality was 
stifled after the first centuries by the
 rigid dogma and formalism which had    
altered his doctrine almost past        
recognition4 ,the ,church was building  
up its political structure and tolerated
 no rival4 ,art1 literature1 music1 all 
the enthusiasm and profound thought of  
which the human mind is capable1 were   
pressed into her service4 ,independent  
thought was heresy1 and the death of    
every heretic became a new fetter which 
bound the intellect of man4 ,but about  
the year #aajj1 when the mighty edifice 
was complete1 and the pope and his      
bishops looked down upon kings and      
emperors and counted them their vassals1

 when the barbaric peoples which made up
 the population of ,europe had been     
sufficiently schooled and educated in   
the new direction1 a longing for        
something new1 a yearning for art1 for  
poetry1 for beauty1 began to stir the   
hearts of men and women4 ,it found      
expression in the ideal of chivalry1 the
 ,holy ,sepulchre and the ,holy ,grail1 
and suddenly love1 bursting out in a    
brilliant flame1 shed its radiance on   
the sordid relationship which had       
hitherto existed between the sexes1 and 
transfigured it4 ,woman1 the despised1  
to whom at the ,council of ,macon a soul
 had been denied1 all at once became a  
queen1 a goddess4 ,the drudge1 the      
patiently suffering wife1 were things of
 the past4 ,a new ideal had been set up 
and men worshipped it with bended knees4
       ,she shines on us as ,god shines 
on his angels1  sang ,guinicelli4  ,it  
was in a small country in the ,south of 
,france1 in ,provence1 that the new     
spirit was born4 ,the troubadours1      

wandering from castle to castle1 sang   
the praise of love1 genuine love1 the   
earlier ones without admixture either of
 speculation or metaphysic4 ,the dogma  
that pure love was its own reward       
inasmuch as it made men perfect1 was    
framed later on4       ,i cannot sin    
when ,i am in her mind1  wrote ,guirot  
,riquier1 and ,dante1 in the ,vita      
,nuova1 calls his beloved mistress the  
destroyer of all evil and the queen of  
all virtues4 ,the monk ,matfre          
,ermengau1 who wrote a text-book on     
love1 says3       ,love makes good men  
better1      ,and the worst man good4   
,the later troubadours drew a much      
sharper distinction between spiritual   
and sensual love4 ,the latter was       
regarded as degrading and base 7at least
 in principle7 and woe to the man who   
held1 or rather1 avowed1 another        
opinion4 ,his reward was the contempt of
 every man and woman of culture4 ,i ask 
no more of my mistress than that she    
should suffer me to serve her1 protested

 ,bernart de ,ventadour4  ,it goes      
without saying that1 in spite of this   
high ideal1 sensuality flourished       
undiminished1 and a troubadour who      
loudly sang the praise of chastity and  
blatantly professed his entire          
disinterestedness in the service of his 
mistress1 did not see the least         
inconsequence in carrying on a dozen    
intrigues at the same time with other   
women4 ,sordello1 one of the best known 
poets of this period1 was charged by a  
contemporary with having changed his    
mistress over a hundred times1 and he   
himself1 impudently bragging1 proclaims 
that       ,none can resist me2 all the 
frowning husbands      ,shall not       
prevent me to embrace their wives1      
,if ,i so wish4444  ,another poet1      
,count ,rambaut ,,iii41 of ,orange1     
recommended to his fellow-men as the    
surest way of winning a woman's favour1 
to break her nose with a blow of the    
fist4 ,i myself1 he continued1 treat all
 women with tenderness and courtesy1 but

 then--,i am considered a fool4  ,as may
 be expected1 sublimated1 metaphysical  
love was not without its caricatures and
 eccentricities4 ,one of the most       
grotesque figures of the period of the  
troubadours was ,ulrich von             
,lichtenstein1 a ,german knight4 ,as a  
page1 we are told1 he drank the water in
 which his mistress had washed her      
hands4 ,later on he had his upper lip   
amputated because it displeased his     
lady-love1 and on another occasion he   
cut off one of his fingers1 had it set  
in gold and used as a clasp on a volume 
of his poems which he sent as a present 
to his inamorata4  ,at the famous       
,courts of ,love1 the most extraordinary
 questions were seriously discussed and 
decided4 ,a favourite subject for debate
 was the relationship between love and  
marriage1 and some of the decisions     
which have been preserved for us prove  
without a doubt that those two great    
factors in the emotional life were      
considered irreconcilable4 ,at the      

,court of the ,viscountess ,ermengarde  
of ,narbonne1 the question whether the  
love between lovers was greater than the
 love between husband and wife was      
settled as follows3 ,nature and custom  
have erected an insuperable barrier     
between conjugal affection and the love 
which unites two lovers4 ,it would be   
absurd to draw comparisons between two  
things which have neither resemblance   
nor connection4  ,the contrast between  
the new1 spiritualised love and the     
older1 sexual1 instinct created that    
dualism so characteristic of the whole  
mediaeval period4 ,sexuality and love   
were felt as two inimical forces1 the   
fusion of which was beyond the range of 
possibility4 ,while on the one hand     
woman was worshipped as a divine being1 
before whom all desire must be silenced1
 she was on the other hand stigmatised  
as the devil's tool1 a power which      
turned men away from his higher mission 
and jeopardised the salvation of his    
soul4 ,wagner portrayed this dualism    

perfectly in ,tannhauser4 ,a man of the 
,middle ,ages1 says ,lucka1 would have  
recognised in this magnificent work the 
tragedy of his soul4  ,it was but a     
small step from the worship of a beloved
 mistress to the cult of the ,virgin    
,mary4 ,the ,church1 hostile at first1  
finally acquiesced1 and through her     
official acknowledgment of a female     
deity1 open enmity between the religion 
of the ,church and the religion of woman
 was avoided4 ,a woman1 that is to say1 
the ,virgin ,mary1 had stepped between  
,god and humanity as mediator1          
intercessor and saviour4  ,both ,dante1 
the inspired woman-worshipper of the    
,middle ,ages1 and the more modern      
,goethe1 saw in metaphysical love the   
triumph over all things earthly4 ,and   
far above either of these intellectual  
heroes looms the awe-inspiring figure of
 ,michelangelo1 the scoffer1 to whom    
love came late in life2 in his ecstatic 
adoration of ,vittoria ,colonna1 the    
enthusiasm of ,plato and the passion of 

,dante are blended in a more            
transcendent flame4  ,sexual ,mystics   
and the ,brides of ,christ present the  
darker aspect of metaphysical love4 ,all
 the latter1 including even ,catherine  
of ,siena 7a clever politician who kept 
up a correspondence with the leading    
statesmen of her time71 ,marie of       
,oignies1 and ,st4 ,teresa1 are         
stigmatised as victims of hysteria and  
consigned to the domain of pathology4   
,while the first stage was characterised
 by the reign of unbridled sexual       
instinct1 the second by the conflict    
between spiritual and sensual love1 the 
third stage represents our modern       
conception1 the blending of spiritual   
and sensual love1 which is not the      
differentiated sexual instinct1 but a   
force embracing the psycho-physical     
entity of the beloved being without any 
consciousness of sexual desire4 ,it     
shares with the purely metaphysical love
 the lover's longing to raise his       
mistress above him and glorify her      

without any ulterior object and desire4 
,in this stage there is no tyranny of   
man over woman1 as in the sexual stage2 
no subjection of man to woman1 as in the
 woman-worship of the ,middle ,ages2 but
 complete equality of the sexes1 a      
mutual give and take4 ,if sexuality is  
infinite as matter1 spiritual love      
eternal as the metaphysical ideal1 then 
the synthesis is human and personal4    
,the apotheosis of this perfect love    
,lucka finds in the ,liebestod 7the     
death of the lovers in the ecstasy of   
love71 in ,wagner's ,tristan und        
,isolde4  ,an interesting chapter on    
erotic aberrations1 the demoniacal and  
the obscene1 completes the third part of
 the book4  ,there may be much in       
,lucka's theories which will rouse the  
scepticism of the monists2 some of his  
deductions may appear to his readers a  
little strained1 but no thinking man or 
woman can read his brilliant ,conclusion
 without denying him the tribute of     
sincere admiration4 ,in this last       

chapter he applies ,haeckel's biogenetic
 law to the domain of the spirit4 ,as   
the human embryo passes through the     
principal stages of the development of  
the individual from lower forms of life1
 so the growing male must pass through  
the stages of psychical development     
through which the race has passed4 ,the 
gynecocratic government of prehistoric  
time is revived in the nursery1 where   
the mother rules supreme and the sisters
 dominate4 ,the normal1 healthy         
school-boy1 preferring the company of   
his school-fellows to all others1       
shunning his mother and sisters1 ashamed
 of his female relatives1 is the modern 
individual representative of those early
 leagues and unions of young men who    
opposed matriarchy and finally brought  
about its overthrow and the             
establishment of male government4 ,the  
promiscuous sexuality characteristic of 
adolescence reproduces the first1 merely
 sexual1 stage of the erotic life of the
 race in the life of the individual4 ,as

 a rule this phase is followed by a     
period of woman-worship2 love has       
conquered the sexual instinct and the   
latter is felt as base and degrading4   
,atavism is not so much the persistence 
of the earlier1 as the absence of the   
later stages of psychical development4  
,i need not emphasise the fact that the 
three stages are often intermingled and 
not traceable with equal clearness in   
the life of every individual4 ,many men 
never advance beyond the first stage and
 others are fragmentary and undeveloped2
 but certain phases are more or less    
distinguishable in every well-endowed   
male individual4 ,lucka finds a perfect 
illustration of his theory in the life  
and works of ,richard ,wagner1 whose    
operas ,the ,fairies 7based on          
,shakespeare's ,measure for ,measure71  
,tannhauser1 and ,tristan und ,isolde1  
successively illustrate the three stages
 through which the great poet-composer  
and impassioned lover passed1 and       
reflect the principal halting-places in 

the erotic evolution of the race4 ,in   
,parsifal1 ,wagner's last and maturest  
work1 he conjectures a potential fourth 
stage1 divined by the genius of the     
great musician and thinker1 a           
sublimation of our modern ideal1 a stage
 when love will be freed from all sexual
 feeling 7a conception not unlike ,otto 
,weininger's71 but to which we have not 
yet attained and which we are even      
unable fully to grasp4  ,i have not been
 able to do more than touch upon the    
principal features of this book1 the    
fame of whose brilliant author has long 
spread beyond the boundaries of his own 
native country4 ,emil ,lucka was born in
 ,vienna in #ahgg1 and has already      
achieved a number of remarkably fine    
books1 most of which have been          
translated into ,russian1 ,french1 and  
other foreign languages4 ,he is as yet  
unknown in ,england1 this being the     
first of his works to appear in         
,english4                               
,,ellie ,,schleussner4  ,,footnote3  #a 

cf4 ,hartland's ,primitive ,paternity   
and ,frazer's ,golden ,bough4     ,,the 
,,evolution ,,of ,,love  ,,the ,,first  
,,stage3 ,,the ,,sexual ,,instinct   ,to
 the generations slowly rising from the 
dark abyss of time to the twilight of   
the ,middle ,ages1 the satisfaction of  
the sexual instinct offered fewer       
difficulties than the gratification of  
any other need or desire4 ,with every   
unpremeditated and cursory indulgence   
the craving disappeared from            
consciousness and left the individual   
free to give his mind to the acquisition
 of the necessities of life which were  
far more difficult to obtain4           
,primitive1 prehistoric man lived in the
 moment4 ,when there was plenty of food 
he gorged to repletion1 heedless of the 
starvation which might be his fate      
to-morrow or the day after4 ,his thought
 had neither breadth nor continuity4 ,it
 never occurred to him that there might 
be a connection between an abrupt and   
quickly forgotten embrace and the birth 

of a child by a woman of the tribe after
 what appeared to be an immeasurable    
lapse of time4 ,he suspected witchcraft 
in the phenomena of pregnancy and       
childbirth 7to this day the aborigines  
of ,central and ,northern ,australia do 
not realise the connection between      
generation and birth74 ,as a rule it was
 remembered that a certain woman had    
given birth to a certain child by the   
fact of her having carried it about and 
fed it at her breast4 ,occasionally it  
was forgotten to which mother a child   
belonged2 perhaps the mother had died2  
perhaps the child had strayed beyond the
 boundaries of the community and the    
mother had failed to recognise it on its
 return4 ,but it was clear beyond all   
doubt that every child had a mother4    
,the conception of father had not yet   
been formed4 ,experience had taught our 
primitive ancestors two undeniable      
facts1 namely that women gave birth to  
children and that every child had a     
mother4  ,we must assume that sexual    

intercourse was irregular and haphazard 
up to the dawn of history4 ,every       
woman--within the limits of her own     
tribe1 probably--belonged to every man4 
,whether this assumption is universally 
applicable or not1 must remain doubtful2
 later ethnologists1 more particularly  
von ,westermarck1 deny it because it    
does not apply to every savage tribe of 
the present day4 ,herodotus tells us    
that promiscuity existed in historical  
times in countries as far removed from  
each other as ,ethiopia and the borders 
of the ,caspian ,sea4 ,there can be no  
reasonable doubt that sexual intercourse
 took the form of group-marriage1 the   
exchange or lending of wives1 and other 
similar arrangements4  ,the relationship
 between mother and child having been   
established by ,nature herself1 the     
first human family congregated round the
 mother1 acknowledging her as its       
natural chief4 ,this continued even     
after the causal connection between     
generation and birth had ceased to be a 

mystery4 ,in all countries on the       
,mediterranean1 more especially in      
,lycia1 ,crete and ,egypt1 the          
predominance of the female element in   
,state and family is well attested2 it  
is reflected in the natural religions of
 the ,eastern races--both ,semitic and  
,aryan--and we find innumerable traces  
of it in ,greek mythology4 ,the merit of
 discovering this important stage in the
 relationship of the sexes is due to    
,bachofen4 ,based on life-giving        
motherhood1 he says1 gynecocracy was    
completely dominated by the natural     
principles and phenomena which rule its 
inner and outer life2 it vividly        
realised the unity of nature1 the       
harmony of the universe which it had not
 yet outgrown4444 ,in every respect     
obedient to the laws of physical        
existence1 its gaze was fixed upon the  
earth1 it worshipped the chthonian      
powers rather than the gods of light4   
,the children of men who had sprung from
 their mother as the flowers spring from

 the soil1 raised altars to ,gaea1      
,demeter and ,isis1 the deities of      
inexhaustible fertility and abundance4  
,these early races of men realised      
themselves only as a part of nature2    
they had not yet conceived the idea of  
rising above their condition and setting
 their intelligence to battle with its  
blind laws4 ,incapable of realising     
their individuality1 they bowed in      
passive submission to nature's          
undisputed sway4 ,they were members of a
 tribe1 and the fragmentary existence of
 the single individual was of no        
importance when it clashed with the     
welfare of the clan4 ,the               
family--centred round the mother--and   
the tribe were the real individuals1 in 
the same way as the swarm of bees1 and  
not the individual bee1 makes the whole4
 ,they lived in complete harmony with   
nature2 they had no spiritual life1 no  
history1 for civilisation and the       
creation of intellectual values which   
are the foundation of history depend on 

the rise of a community above primitive 
conditions4 ,differentiation had hardly 
begun to exert its modifying influence2 
all men 7not unlike the ,eastern        
,asiatics of our day7 resembled each    
other in looks1 character and habits4   
,in the countries on the ,mediterranean 
7as well as in ,india and ,babylonia7   
the first stage of sexual intercourse1  
irresponsible and promiscuous1 was      
systematised by religion4 ,the annual   
spring-festivals in honour of ,adonis1  
,dionysus1 ,mylitta1 ,astarte and       
,aphrodite1 celebrated unbridled        
licentiousness4 ,the whole community    
greeted the re-awakening vitality of the
 earth by an unrestrained abandonment to
 passion4 ,man aspired to be no more    
than the flower which scatters its seed 
to the winds4 ,the incomprehensible     
lords of cupidity and rank vegetation   
did not suffer the individualisation of 
desire4 ,the complete union of the male 
and female qualities1 as manifested both
 in nature and man1 was solemnised in   

the ,orgies1 and not by any means the   
relationship of an individual man to an 
individual woman1 or sexuality connected
 with individuals and dominated by them4
 ,nor was this unfettering of instinct a
 symbolical act2 for it to be so1 man   
must have stood over against nature as  
an intellectual being1 mirroring and    
transforming her acts by his own deeds4 
,he was as yet far from this4 ,his      
ambition did not reach beyond the desire
 to fulfil nature in himself4 ,before   
the majesty of sex--worshipped in the   
vague1 shadowy mothers of mankind1      
,rhea1 ,demeter1 ,cybele1 and their     
human offspring1 the phallic ,dionysus  
and the hundred-breasted goddess of     
,ephesus--the individual with his       
piteous limitations shrank into         
insignificance4 ,sex was immortal1 sex  
and primary matter1 the ,greek3 ul      
contrasted by ,aristotle with the       
,greek3 eisos1 the form4 ,the female    
principle is the mother of the body1 but
 the mother of the spirit is the male4  

,the substance of those ancient cults   
was birth and death1 meaningless1       
purposeless1 apparently without rhyme or
 reason2 their sacrament the perpetual  
union of the sexes4 ,between the        
succeeding generations there was but one
 bond1 the natural bond of motherhood4  
,it was the first tie realised by       
mankind1 a tie not felt as a concrete   
relationship between two individuals1   
but as a general1 maternal1 natural     
force4 ,the presiding divinities were   
the mothers1 the eternal1 incorporeal   
deities1 enthroned outside time and     
space1 and therefore immortal givers of 
life and preservers of mankind4 ,before 
their silent greatness the desire of man
 to know his whence and whither1 to win 
shape and individuality1 became         
blasphemy4 ,they had given immortality  
to sex1 but upon the individual they had
 laid the curse of death4  ,thus we have
 first a stage of fatherless1 natural   
conception1 corresponding with the      
philosophical theories which maintained 

that all created things had sprung from 
the elements4 ,later ages discovered a  
spiritual principle1 a becoming1 or an  
eternal being1 and finally a conflict   
between spirit and matter4  ,but the    
general attitude towards sexual         
intercourse underwent a change as soon  
as here and there individuals appeared  
who were conscious of their             
individuality4 ,natural selection could 
not come into play in a community the   
members of which resembled one another  
so closely that all personal            
characteristics were obliterated in a   
general monotony4 ,one woman was as good
 as another1 although in all probability
 a healthy1 youthful and strong         
individual would be preferred to a      
sickly1 puny specimen4 ,but apart from  
this1 the wish to choose a partner      
instead of being content with the first 
comer1 must have coincided historically 
with the outward1 and later on with the 
inward differentiation of the race4 ,i  
cannot prove my theory by quoting       

chapter and verse from ancient writers1 
but obviously a feeling of preference   
could not have arisen until individuals 
had begun to show very noticeable traces
 of difference4 ,therefore with growing 
differentiation a new factor--modest at 
first and operating within narrow       
limits--the factor of choice1 had come  
into the sexual life4 ,the slow         
development of personality gave birth to
 the feeling which rebelled against     
universal sexual intercourse and        
gynecocracy in general4 ,the men desired
 to shape their own world2 they had no  
share in the immortality of maternal    
life4 ,as 7relatively speaking7 single  
individuals they stood over against the 
material bond of the generations living 
in the chain of the mothers4 ,demigods1 
the sons of the gods of light and mortal
 mothers1 were credited with the        
salvation of men from a confused1       
chaotic existence1 and the introduction 
of new conditions of life1 no longer    
based on the dictates of nature but on  

the moulding genius of man4 ,hercules1  
,theseus and ,perseus overthrew the     
ancient powers of darkness4 ,they laid  
the foundations of man's great          
achievement1 civilisation1 and were the 
first to worship the gods of light4     
,they delivered humanity from the gross 
materialism in which it had hitherto    
been steeped2 they were the awakeners of
 spiritual life1 which is a higher life 
than the life of the senses2 they were  
as incorruptible as the sun from whence 
they came1 the heroes of a new          
civilisation distinguished by           
gentleness1 a higher endeavour and a new
 dispensation4 7,bachofen47  ,heinrich  
,schurtz has proved 7though not in      
connection with matriarchy7 that side by
 side with the family1 unions of        
unmarried men existed in many countries 
at a very early time4 ,the object of    
these unions1 which had nothing of the  
rigidity of blood-relationship1 was     
fellowship4 ,as soon as the boys had    
outgrown the care of their mother they  

were compelled to combine for the       
purpose of playing games and later on   
for war and hunting2 these men's unions 
therefore were the outcome of the       
necessary conditions of life4 ,it is    
obvious that innovations and inventions 
of all sorts originated in these unions 
rather than with the temperamentally    
conservative women1 and that we have to 
look upon them as the hotbed of all     
spiritual and social evolution4 ,these  
confederations and leagues not based on 
a natural or blood-relationship1 but on 
a feeling of brotherhood and            
friendliness1 might well have been an   
attack upon the natural ties of the     
family1 an expression of a feeling of   
hostility to and contempt for women1 and
 probably stood in close relationship to
 a striking characteristic of the past3 
a widely spread homosexuality4  ,whether
 ,schurtz gives us a correct picture of 
these men's unions or not1 there can be 
no doubt that the struggle against      
matriarchy originated in them4 ,this    

struggle led eventually to the victory  
of the male principle1 the              
acknowledgment of the authority of the  
father1 the institution of male         
government which deprived women of all  
legal rights1 and the dominion of the   
spiritual2 the victory of the gods of   
light over the dark lords of fertility4 
,this revolution of principles was      
perhaps the completest revolution       
humanity has ever known4  ,a long road1 
marked by numerous compromises and      
limitations1 led from casual intercourse
 to the final establishment of the      
monogamous system4 ,free intercourse had
 been sanctioned by the gods1 who       
suffered no restrictions and            
modifications1 and sacrifices in the    
shape of a temporary universal          
unfettering of instinct were required to
 pacify their anger and reconcile them  
to the new system4 ,the first and most  
important of these compromises was the  
temple-prostitution practised by many   
nations in ,asia ,minor1 the ,greek     

,archipelago1 ,india and ,babylonia4    
,many a girl gained in this way the     
marriage portion which enabled her later
 on to find a husband1 to whom she      
invariably remained strictly loyal4     
,thus all religious requirements were   
satisfied4 ,at first this was an        
annually recurring rite1 but gradually  
it became an isolated ceremony in the   
life of every female individual4 ,in the
 place of the annual surrender1 says    
,priester1 we now have a single act2 the
 hetaerism of the matrons is succeeded  
by the hetaerism of the maids2 instead  
of being practised during marriage1 it  
is practised in spinsterhood2 the blind 
surrender has given way to a yielding to
 certain individuals4444  ,with the     
growth of civilisation a few girls1 the 
hierodules1 were set apart for the      
purpose of pacifying the offended       
deities and their act ransomed the rest 
of the female citizens4  ,it was not on 
erotic grounds1 but for political and   
social reasons that the ,greek          

introduced monogamy4 ,the reason which  
weighed in the scales more heavily than 
all others was the necessity for        
legitimate offspring4 ,it was natural   
that a man of property should desire a  
legitimate heir who would inherit it on 
his death4 ,the right of succession from
 father to son1 incorporated later on in
 the ,roman ,right1 originated during   
this period4 ,but this was not the only 
advantage connected with the possession 
of a son3 religion taught that after    
death the body required sacrificial food
 which could only be provided by the    
legitimate male descendants of the      
deceased4 7,the same belief was held by 
the ,indians and ,eastern ,asiatics47   
,in several ,greek ,states marriage was 
compulsory and bachelors were fined4 ,at
 the same time the contraction of a     
marriage did not interfere with the     
personal freedom of the man2 he was at  
liberty to go to the hetaerae for       
intellectual stimulation 7unless he     
happened to prefer the friends of his   

own sex7 and to his slaves for the      
pleasures of the senses4 ,his wife1     
although she was not free1 was respected
 by him as the guardian of his hearth   
and children4 ,there was but one legal  
reason for divorce3 sterility1 which    
frustrated the object of matrimony4     
,conjugal love as we understand it did  
not exist2 it is a feeling which was    
entirely unknown to the ancients4  ,with
 the exception of the gradually         
weakening hold of religion on the       
imagination of the people towards the   
decline of the ,roman ,empire1 no       
perceptible change occurred in the      
social life of the old world until the  
dawn of the ,middle ,ages4 ,to quote    
,otto ,seeck3 ,a wife had no other task 
than to produce legitimate offspring2   
and yet she gave herself airs and       
graces1 embittered her husband's life   
with her jealousy and bad temper or1    
worse even1 set all tongues wagging with
 her evil conduct4 ,is it to be wondered
 at that marriage was merely regarded as

 a duty to the ,state1 and that a great 
number of men were not sufficiently     
patriotic to take such a burden upon    
their shoulders8  ,thus the victory of  
the male spiritual principle over       
universal sexual intercourse ushered in 
the second stage which checked the      
sexual impulse and directed it upon     
certain individuals1 a distinction      
however1 which bears no relation to     
love4  ,monogamy had conquered1 in      
principle at least and as an ideal4     
,the profoundly mystical core of the    
most powerful ,greek tragedy which has  
come down to our time1 the ,orestes of  
,aeschylus1 represents the victory of   
the new gods of light over the old      
maternal powers4 ,orestes has sinned    
against the old law1 for in order to    
avenge his father's death1 he has slain 
his mother4 ,the sun-god ,apollo and the
 sinister ,erinnys1 the upholders of the
 old maternal right1 are waging war over
 the justifiableness of the deed4 ,to   
the ,erinnys1 matricide is the foulest  

of all crimes1 for man is more nearly   
related to the mother than to the       
father4 ,but ,apollo had commanded the  
deed1 so that the father's murder should
 not remain unavenged4       ,not to the
 mother is the child indebted      ,for 
life2 she tends and guards the kindling 
spark      ,the father lighted2 she but 
holds his pledge4----  he explains4 ,and
 the answer is the lament of the        
,erinnys3       ,thus thou destroy'st   
the gods of ancient times6  ,athene1 the
 virgin goddess1 the motherless daughter
 of ,zeus1 appearing as mediator between
 the opponents1 decides in favour of the
 new dispensation which places the      
father's claim above the mother's4      
,orestes is free of guilt2 his deed was 
justifiable according to the canons of  
the new law4 ,the tragedy is the        
symbolical commemoration of the victory 
of the male principle in ,greece4 ,but  
,athene is the embodiment of the new    
hermaphroditic ideal of the ,greek which
 stood in close connexion to their      

homosexuality1 and with which ,i propose
 to deal later on4  ,there is a         
psychical law ordaining that nothing    
which has ever quickened the soul of man
 shall be entirely lost4 ,were it not   
so1 the storehouses of the soul would   
stand empty4 ,new values are created1   
but the old verities endure2 as a rule  
they are relegated to a lower sphere1 to
 inferior social layers1 but they       
persist and frequently merge into the   
new4 ,this law applies without exception
 to the relationship between the sexes2 
we shall come upon it again and again4  
,during the second stage1 characterised 
by the spiritual love foreign to the    
ancients1 the purely sexual impulse     
continued as an unimpaired force1 but it
 had lost its prestige and was not only 
regarded as ignoble and base1 but also  
stigmatised as sinful and demoniacal4   
,the hearts of men were stirred by new  
ideals4  ,a similar attitude1 perhaps   
not quite so uncompromising because the 
contrast was less pronounced1 existed in

 classical ,greece4 ,the more highly    
developed1 self-conscious ,hellenic     
genius1 shrinking from promiscuous      
intercourse1 had systematised the       
instinct and set up a new ideal in      
,platonic love4 ,but below the surface  
raged the unbridled natural force1 and  
in perfect harmony with the ,greek      
spirit--it was not hysterically hidden1 
but assigned a place in the new system4 
,wrapped in the obscurity of the        
,mysteries1 concealed from the gaze of  
the new gods of light1 it attempted to  
assuage its inextinguishable thirst4    
,the ,mysteries were the annual tribute 
paid as a ransom by ,apollo-worshipping 
,hellas to chaotic ,asia1 so that she   
might be free to pursue her higher      
psycho-spiritual aims4 ,the brilliant   
civilisation of ,athens was based on the
 dark cult of the ,mysteries4 ,on the   
festivals of the hermaphroditic         
,dionysus and ,demeter1 which are       
identical with the cults of ,adonis and 
,mylitta1 the impersonal1 generative    

elements were worshipped4 ,thus1 below  
the surface of the ,greek ,state1       
founded on masculine values and         
attempting to restrict intercourse for  
the benefit of a more systematised      
progeniture1 flourished the orgiastic   
cult of the ancient ,eastern deities1   
who had vouchsafed to mortals a glimpse 
of the great secret of life in the      
ardour of procreation and conception4   
,the women upheld the religion of       
passion as an end in itself2 bacchantes1
 men in female attire1 emasculated      
priests1 sacrificed to the blindly      
bountiful gods4 ,we are told that       
,dionysus conquered even the ,amazons   
and converted them to his worship4      
,euripides described in the             
,bacchantes--the subject of which is the
 war between the uncontrolled sexual    
impulse and the new order of things--how
 ,dionysus traversed all ,asia and      
finally arrived in ,hellas accompanied  
by a crowd of abandoned women4 ,but his 
religion was more than a cult of wine   

and sensual pleasure1 it embraced a     
gentle worship of nature1 throwing down 
the barrier between man and             
beast--impassable by the spirit of      
civilisation--and lovingly including    
every living creature4 ,we read in the  
,bacchantes that the women who had fled 
from the town to follow the irresistible
 stranger1 ,dionysus1 dwelled in the    
mountains1 binding their hair with tame 
adders1 carrying in their arms the cubs 
of wolves and the young deer1 and       
feeding them with the milk of their     
breasts2 that milk and wine welled up   
when they struck the earth with the     
thyrsus2 and so on4 ,dionysus implores  
,pentheus1 the representative of the    
,hellenic masculine system1 not to      
venture undisguised among the maenads3  
,they'll murder you if they divine your 
sex1 and1 knowing the secret of the male
 and female temper3        4  4  4  4  4
  4  4  4  4  ,first let      ,his mind 
be clouded by a slight disorder         
,for1 conscious of his manhood he will  

never      ,wear women's garb2 insane1  
he's sure to wear it4  ,pentheus1       
recognising in ,dionysus the foe of a   
more spiritual conception of the law1   
the effeminate stranger who had driven  
the women to madness1 is torn to pieces 
by the frenzied bacchantes who fall upon
 him1 led by ,agave1 his mother1 and    
sacrificed to the bull-god ,dionysus4   
,at the conclusion of this strange and  
profound epos1 ,agave recovers her      
senses and curses the acts which she has
 committed in her madness 444 women     
submit to the new spiritual             
dispensation4 ,we realise now why ,hera1
 the tutelary goddess of the newly      
introduced monogamous system1 hated     
,dionysus and attempted to kill him     
before he was born4  ,the subject       
treated in the beautiful myth of        
,orpheus is the relationship between the
 primitive sexual impulse and its       
individualisation on a single           
personality4 ,for seven months ,orpheus 
bewails the death of ,eurydice and      

regards all other living creatures with 
indifference4 ,this loyalty offends and 
infuriates the women of ,thracia1 who   
divine in it a spirit inimical to a life
 in harmony with nature4 ,one night1    
during the celebration of the ,dionysian
 rites1 they attack the poet--the       
representative of the higher ,hellenic  
poetical ideals--and rend him limb from 
limb4 ,but as the head of the murdered  
singer floats down the river1 the pale  
lips still frame the beloved name3      
,eurydice6 ,it is certain that in those 
remote legendary days such love did not 
exist4 ,but the prophetic ,greek spirit 
contrasted promiscuous intercourse with 
love for a single woman4  ,so far we    
have encountered only a general1 not an 
individualised1 sexual instinct and1 in 
a limited measure at least1 a struggling
 tendency towards individualisation4    
,but even so it was merely a question of
 instinct1 and did not bear the least   
resemblance to love as we understand it 
to-day4 ,love did not exist in the old  

world4 ,i admit that in the legend of   
,orpheus we are face to face with a     
sentiment which is not unlike modern    
love1 but1 as far as ,i am aware1 this  
is an isolated case in ,greek history1  
and may be regarded as a divination of  
something new1 just as we find          
unmistakable anticipations of           
,christianity in ,plato's writings4     
,such phenomena--the occasional         
occurrence of which ,i do not altogether
 deny1 although ,i regard them as on the
 whole improbable as far as the sphere  
of my research is concerned--are not    
infrequently met with in history1 but   
their effect upon civilisation was nil2 
they were presentiments1                
incomprehensible in their day1 and for  
this very reason probably preserved as  
curiosities4  ,in spite of the fact1    
however1 that in those far-off days     
spiritual love of a man for a woman was 
unknown1 we find ,plato contrasting a   
base and degraded ,eros with a divine   
,eros4 ,pausanias says in the           

,symposium3  ,the man who loves with his
 senses only1 loves women and boys      
equally well4 ,he loves the body more   
than the soul4444 ,his only striving is 
to obtain the object of his desire1 and 
he cares not whether it be worthy or    
unworthy4 ,the ,eros he worships is the 
ally of that younger goddess in whom    
male and female attributes are blended4 
,but the other ,eros is the companion of
 ,aphrodite1 ,urania1 the divine2       
unbegotten by a father1 unconceived by a
 mother1 she is the offspring of the    
male element1 the elder one1 unstained  
by passion4444 ,the sensualist who loves
 the body more than the soul is base4   
,his love passes away like the object of
 his passion4 ,but the companion of the 
,olympic goddess is the ,eros who fills 
the hearts of the lovers with the       
longing for virtue4 ,the other ,eros is 
the confederate of the debased          
,aphrodite4 ,and ,aristophanes1 another 
of the participators in the feast1 says3
 ,the yearning does not seem to be a    

desire for the pleasures of the senses1 
the one taking delight in his           
intercourse with the other2 far from it1
 it is obvious that each soul is craving
 for something which it cannot express  
in words1 but can only divine and       
conjecture4 ,and the mysterious ,diotima
 revealed to ,socrates an entirely novel
 principle in erotic life2 the principle
 which guides man beyond the pleasures  
of the senses and--through love--leads  
him to the divine4 ,the slave of his    
senses runs after women2 but he who     
loves with his soul and strives to win  
immortality through virtue and wisdom1  
seeks a great and beautiful soul that he
 may surrender himself to it completely4
 ,but in the opinion of the classical   
ages1 a beautiful soul was only to be   
found in the body of a man2 woman       
belonged to the lower1 animal spheres2  
she was destined for the pleasure of the
 senses and the propagation of the race4
 ,plato's theory of ideas is the        
philosophical victory of the            

male-spiritual principle over nature1   
matter and their warden3 woman4         
7,perhaps it is even the revenge of the 
,greek genius for man's original        
enslavement47 ,love between men1        
continues the seer1 forms a stronger    
tie1 a closer friendship1 than love     
between parents and children2 it has a  
mutual share in children which are      
immortal and far more beautiful than the
 children of men4 ,she teaches ,socrates
 that this noble love is at the root of 
all the magnificent creations of the    
spirit1 as carnal love is the origin of 
human life4 ,until he becomes aware that
 the beauty of all bodies is closely    
related1 a man must love an individual  
with all his heart4 ,if a man will      
follow after beauty1 he is foolish not  
to conceive the beauty of all bodies as 
one and the same4 ,as soon as he has    
learned this1 he will become a lover of 
all beautiful forms2 his fervent passion
 for one will diminish1 he will scorn   
the individual and hold it cheap4  ,with

 the ,hellenic homosexuality an element 
foreign and even hostile to the original
 and natural bi-sexual sensuality crept 
into the erotic life of the human race2 
it found its classical representation in
 the ,platonic dialogues ,symposium and 
,phaedros4 ,in conscious opposition to  
all sexuality ,platonic love 7what is   
usually called ,platonic love is based  
on an obstinate misunderstanding7 turns 
to the purely spiritual1 that is to say1
 the conceptions of truth1 beauty and   
goodness2 it is a yearning for the      
supernatural1 and it knows itself as the
 path to it4 ,in the mutual love of all 
noble souls lies the germ of all higher 
things2 it is the way to the gods of    
light which1 in this connection1 are    
conceived philosophically as ideas1     
though in the true ,hellenic spirit as  
objective ideas1 the prototypes and     
culminations of everything human4 ,to   
grasp the meaning of ,platonic love it  
is essential to realise that--unlike the
 spiritual woman-worship peculiar to the

 ,middle ,ages--it is not a personal    
feeling of one individual for another2  
platonically speaking1 the love for an  
individual is only a first stage2 the   
path which leads to the love of beauty  
and the eternal ideas4 ,the             
characteristic of this metaphysical love
 which ,plato was the first to conceive1
 was therefore love for the universal1  
and not love for an individual4 ,the    
latter1 as we shall find later on1 is   
the characteristic of the true or1 more 
modestly speaking1 specifically         
,european conception of love4 ,platonic 
love1 finally1 was the perception of    
perfection1 the ,socratic knowledge2 its
 alpha and omega was not1 as the mystic 
and true erotic would have it1 its      
ardour and passion1 the fulness of its  
own being4 ,it had an alien purpose3 the
 knowledge of things divine1 by a later 
period ,christianised and understood as 
the divine mysteries4 ,to ,plato1 the   
essence and climax of antique1          
ante-,christian culture1 every          

individual1 even the beloved mistress1  
was but a preliminary1 a finger-post1   
pointing the way to the perception of   
perfect beauty4 ,true virtue is the     
outcome of profound knowledge2 it       
transforms men into gods4 ,the purely   
spiritual woman-worship of the ,middle  
,ages was only another aspect of this   
yearning to attain to virtue and        
perfection through the love of an       
individual4 ,we must not lose sight of  
the fact that it was already strongly   
emphasised and upheld in the ,platonic  
ideal of love4  ,in the dark excesses of
 the ,mysteries the beauty of the human 
form counted for nothing2 voluptuousness
 and intoxication ruled4 ,in the        
,asiatic cult of the sexes there was no 
room for beauty1 no time for selection4 
,the ,greeks were the discoverers of the
 beauty of the human form4 ,beauty      
kindled the flame of love in their      
souls1 beauty was the gauge which       
determined their erotic values4 ,their  
ideal was a kalokagathos1 a youth       

beautiful in body and soul4  ,in        
,phaedros ,plato contrasts with far     
greater force than in the ,symposium him
 who craves for sensual pleasure like   
the beasts in the fields with him who   
strives after beauty and perfection4 ,to
 the latter the face of the beloved is  
the reflection of the sublimely         
beautiful4 ,he would like to sacrifice  
to her1 as to the immortal gods4 ,all   
beautiful bodies represent to him in an 
increasing measure the idea of the      
beauty of form1 which again is          
subordinate to the beauty of the soul4  
,it points the way to metaphysical      
beauty1 the eternal and imperishable    
idea of mankind4 ,socrates could scorn  
the beauty of the individual because he 
saw in it merely an imperfect reflection
 of perfect beauty4 ,in its truest sense
 ,platonic love is1 therefore1          
impersonal2 it is not spiritual love for
 a human being1 but a peculiar          
characteristic of the ,greek cult of    
beauty4 ,we shall again meet this       

principle of beauty-worship in          
metaphysical love1 the adoration of     
woman2 thanks to ,plato1 it has for all 
time become the inalienable property of 
the human mind4 ,the striving to rise   
above all individualism was another     
ideal which a later period revived4 ,but
 the pivot round which the emotions     
revolved was the love for a beloved     
individual1 the modern1 ,european1      
fundamental motive1 as opposed to the   
antique ,platonic cult of ideas4 ,thus  
,plato1 too1 was a citizen of the old   
world1 at whose threshold stood         
universal sexual intercourse1 tolerating
 nothing personal1 knowing of no        
individuals1 acknowledging only         
unchecked1 uncontrollable instinct1 and 
whose decline was again characterised by
 the extreme impersonality of ideas4 ,it
 had traversed the path of human        
existence in a huge cycle4 ,starting    
from an unconscious existence in        
complete harmony with nature1 it had    
passed through individualised man to the

 loftiest spiritual conceptions in the  
impersonal world of ideas4  ,the        
,hellenic ideal of beauty was almost    
invariably realised in the male form4   
,the ,greeks of the classical period    
disdained woman2 she was for them       
inseparably connected with base         
sensuality1 but their contempt had its  
source partly in a feeling of horror4   
,the days when matriarchy was the form  
of government were not very remote2 it  
survived in a great number of myths and 
also1 subconsciously perhaps1 in the    
soul of man4 ,to the ,greek mind woman  
was the embodiment of the dark side of  
love1 and it was merely the logical     
conclusion of this conception when1 at a
 later period1 she was regarded as the  
devil's tool4 ,it is certain that the   
origin of the idea must be sought in    
,plato's time4  ,in intercourse with    
women man dimly felt the vague          
elementary condition from which he had  
struggled hard to emerge1 and fled to   
the more familiar companions of his own 

sex4 ,would not love between man and man
 deliver him from the basely sensual1   
strengthen his spirituality and lead him
 to the gods8 ,in this connection ,zeus 
is called in ,phaedros ,greek3 philios1 
the maker of friendships4 ,plato1 in    
propounding this doctrine1 drew thereby 
the most radical conclusion of the new1 
apparently male1 but at heart           
hermaphroditic ideal of civilisation1   
conceived in the heroic epoch and       
elaborated and brought to perfection by 
the ,greek of classical times4 ,this    
ideal was the victory of the spiritual  
principle over promiscuous sexuality and
 irresponsible propagation and1 quite in
 the true ,hellenic spirit1 it was again
 interpreted materially4  ,because      
individualised love was an unknown      
quantity to the ancients1 they          
ornamented their sarcophagi with symbols
 of ecstatic life1 with dancing and     
embracing fauns and maenads4            
,generations passed away1 but new ones  
arose1 embracing and begetting life--for

 life was eternal4 ,death was vanquished
 in the ecstasy of the nameless         
millions1 for the true meaning of life  
lay in the preservation of the species4 
,the death of the individual did not    
have a deep and poignant meaning until  
the soul had become the centre and      
climax of life4 ,an individual had      
passed away for ever--nothing could     
recall him4 ,death had become the final 
issue1 the terror1 because it destroyed 
the greatest of all things3             
self-conscious man4 ,but love1 too1 had 
changed2 it was no longer sexual        
impulse1 depending on the body and      
perishing with it1 but a craving of the 
soul1 conscious of itself and stretching
 out feelers far beyond the earth4 ,a   
new pang had come into the world1 but   
also a new reconciliation4     ,,the    
,,second ,,stage3 ,,love     ,,chapter  
,i  ,,the ,,birth ,,of ,,europe   ,the  
memory of the figure and preaching of   
,christ had so powerfully influenced the
 centuries that it had gradually        

permeated and transformed not only the  
,platonic doctrine of ideas--that       
maturest fruit of ,greek wisdom--but    
also the ,semitic mediaeval monotheism4 
,something new had sprung into being1   
something which expressed a hitherto    
unknown feeling for life and for        
humanity1 vague and uncertain in the    
beginning1 but growing in clearness and 
uniformity4 ,on the throne of the ,roman
 emperors sat a bishop1 whose power was 
increasing with the development of the  
new civilisation1 and whom the final    
victory of the new transcendental       
world-principle had made master of the  
world4 ,the building up of this new     
civilisation had absorbed the           
intellectual force of a thousand years2 
it had monopolised thought and every    
form of energy4 ,the reward was great4  
,for the first time in the annals of the
 world the questionings of brooding     
intelligence were fully answered1 the   
anguish of the tortured soul was        
stilled4 ,the purpose of the universe1  

the destiny of man1 were comprehended   
and interpreted1 good and evil being    
finally known4 ,at the close of the     
first ,christian millenary1 all moral   
and intellectual values were grouped    
round and dominated by one supreme      
ideal2 the loftiest value in this world 
and the next1 side by side with the     
greatest secular power1 were in the     
hands of the ,church2 together with the 
imperium she had succeeded to the       
spiritual and ethical inheritance of the
 dead civilisations4 ,without her       
uncouth barbarism reigned1 and it was   
her task1 while elaborating the system  
of the universe for which she stood1 to 
teach and convert the new nations1 to   
spread a uniform ,christian             
civilisation4  ,on the mere face of it  
it must seem strange that a religion    
which had grown on foreign soil1 out of 
foreign spiritual assumptions1 should   
have been accepted so readily and       
quickly by nations to whom it must have 
been alien and unintelligible4 ,the love

 of war and valour of the ,teutonic     
tribes and ,christian asceticism were   
diametrically opposed ideals1 and very  
often their relationship was one of     
direct hostility4 ,i need only remind   
the reader of the contempt expressed for
 the chaplain by ,hagen 7in the ,song of
 the ,niebelungen74 ,on the other hand1 
the ancient ,celtic and ,teutonic races 
shared one profound characteristic with 
the ,christian world1 the consequences  
of which were sufficiently far-reaching 
to raise the religion of ,christ to the 
religion of ,europe4 ,the characteristic
 common to the still uncultivated       
,european spirit and ,christianity1 and 
meaningless alike to the ,asiatic       
barbarians1 the ,jews of the ,old       
,testament and the ,greeks1 was the     
importance which both attached to the   
individual soul4 ,through the ,christian
 religion this new intuition which saw  
in the soul of man the highest of       
values1 became the centre and pivot of  
life and faith--a position to which even

 ,plato1 to whom the objective1         
metaphysical idea was the essential1    
never attained4 ,it had been the most   
personal experience of ,christ1 and     
centuries after his death the nations   
rediscovered it as their highest value4 
,it entitled ,christianity to become the
 natural religion of ,europe1 and the   
soul of its new system of civilisation4 
,it formed the most complete contrast to
 all ,asiatic cults1 ,brahminism and    
,buddhism1 a fact which1 since          
,schopenhauer1 one is inclined to       
overlook4 ,to the ,indian1 the soul of  
man is not an entity2 his consciousness 
is a republic1 as it were1 composed of  
diverse spiritual principles and        
metaphysical forces which are not       
centralised into an ,i-centre1 but exist
 impersonally1 side by side4 ,this may  
be a great conception1 but it is foreign
 to the feeling of the citizen of       
,europe4 ,to the latter the ,i1 the     
soul1 the personality1 is the pivot     
round which life turns4 ,the evolution  

of the ,european world-feeling is in the
 direction of the independent           
development of all psychical forces and 
their fusion into a unity of            
ever-increasing intimacy4 ,new values   
will be created1 but the fusing power of
 the soul will strive with growing      
intensity to co-ordinate and unify the  
internal and external life2 personality 
will recreate the world in conformity   
with its own purposes1 that is to say1  
it will found the system of objective   
civilisation4 ,the incapacity of the    
,indian to produce a civilisation       
perfect in every direction is explained 
by his one-sided1 morally-speculative   
thought4 ,the world is to him nothing   
but a moral phenomenon1 he admits no    
other explanation2 he seeks its true    
meaning and the possibility of its      
salvation in the realisation of the     
vanity of life1 not in the liberating   
deed1 and not in the inward change4     
,the kernel of matured and spiritualised
 ,christianity1 which reached its apex  

in the ,german mystics1 lies in the soul
 of man1 eager to shed everything which 
is subjective and accidental1 and become
 spirit1 profound1 divine reality4      
,eckhart1 the great perfecter of this   
,european religion1 deliberately and in 
direct contradiction to the dogma of his
 time1 placed man above the highest     
angels1 whom he considered subject to   
limitations2 man1 he argues1 thanks to  
his freedom1 is able to reach a goal to 
which no angel could aspire4 ,for he is 
always new1 infinitely exalted above the
 limitations of the angels and all      
finite reason4 ,of the relationship     
between the soul and ,god he says2 ,the 
soul of the righteous man shall be with 
,god1 his equal and compeer1 no more and
 no less4 ,the ,upanishads1 on the other
 hand1 maintain that the core of the    
world is not to be found in the soul of 
the individual but in ,brahma1 the      
universal soul1 outside whom there is no
 reality4 ,the individual soul is but a 
phantasm of the universal soul1 as the  

reflection of the sun in the water is   
but a phantasm of the sun4 ,the sole    
purpose of the world is the extinction  
of individual consciousness1 its        
absorption in ,brahma1 the end of all   
suffering3 ,when feeling has ceased1    
pain must cease1 too1 and the world be  
delivered4 ,the ,indian lacks the       
central conception of love1 for which he
 substitutes knowledge4 ,primitive      
,christianity conceived the connection  
between body and soul1 the encumbering  
of the soul by the body1 as it were1 as 
a temptation or a punishment2 according 
to the ,vedas1 it is merely a delusion  
to which the sage is not subject4       
,before his keen vision1 the deception  
falls to the ground1 and by this very   
fact he is delivered4 ,to the feeling of
 ,europe and ,christianity1 however1    
life and the universe are genuine1 deep 
realities1 the touchstone of the soul4  
,love is the soul's greatest treasure   
and the only true path to ,god2         
knowledge can never take its place4 ,the

 divine stream of love flowing through  
the soul1 says ,eckhart1 carries the    
soul along with it to its origin1 to the
 bourne of all knowledge1 to ,god4  ,the
 very general identification of the     
,christian and ,indian mystics--a fact  
which is accounted for by their common  
metaphysical tendency--is based on an   
error2 ,indian mysticism and ,christian 
mysticism originated in different       
concepts2 here the centre of all being  
is laid in love and in the soul of man1 
there it is contained in knowledge and  
in ,brahma4 ,but ultimately1 at the     
termination of the world-process1 they  
will meet1 although coming from         
different directions4 ,while the soul   
worships a ,god1 realises a ,god and    
knows of a ,god1 says ,eckhart1 it is   
separated from ,god4 ,this is ,god's    
purpose1 to annihilate ,himself in the  
soul1 so that the soul1 too1 shall lose 
itself4 ,for ,god has been called ,god  
by the creatures4 ,the words ,the soul  
creates ,god from within1 is connected  

with the divine and becomes divine      
itself1 are highly significant4 ,to the 
,vedantist the soul of man is an        
emanation from the world-soul3 ,although
 ,god differs from the individual soul1 
the individual soul does not differ from
 ,god4 ,at this point it is no longer an
 easy matter to distinguish the feeling 
of the ,christian mystic from the       
feeling of the ,brahmin2 though their   
valuations of man1 life and the world   
differ1 nay1 are even opposed to each   
other1 they finally meet in ,god4 ,we   
read in the ,vedanta3 ,the force which  
created and maintains the universe1 the 
eternal principle of all being1 dwells  
entirely and undividedly in every one of
 us4 ,our self is identical with the    
supreme deity and only apparently       
differentiated from it4 ,whosoever has  
mastered this truth has become at one   
with all creation2 whosoever has not    
mastered it1 is a stranger and a foe to 
all creatures4  ,i do not intend to     
depreciate ,indian wisdom2 ,i merely    

desire to point out its inherent        
dissimilarity to ,western thought2 my   
task of laying hold of the spirit of    
,europe in its crises and watching its  
growth is bound to be advanced by this  
division4  ,the religious experience of 
,christ1 based on the realisation of the
 divine nature of the soul1 and the road
 of the soul to ,god1 has established   
the fundamental ,western principle4 ,a  
world-system was built up which emanated
 from the innermost depth of the        
individual soul and1 very consistently1 
related all existing things1 heaven and 
earth1 the creation and the destruction 
of the world1 salvation and perdition1  
to the soul of man4 ,this was achieved  
with the aid of a nave metaphysic1      
created by the ,greek genius and        
externalised by the crude intellect of  
barbarians2 this metaphysic drew its    
whole content from a unique revelation1 
and the essential was frequently hidden 
by dialectic and speculation4 ,one may  
safely say that the first millenary     

strove1 if not exactly to set aside the 
original principle of ,christianity1 yet
 to bind it by dogma in such a way that 
it often became completely obscured4 ,a 
long training was necessary before the  
immature nations of barbarians were fit 
to become citizens of the spiritual     
world1 before they could fully          
assimilate the new traditions and grasp 
their innermost meaning1 which by this  
very fact became altered and modified4  
,this process of education came to a    
temporary conclusion about the year     
#aajj4 ,at last the ,european nations   
had outgrown the guardianship of the    
,church with its antiquated methods2 a  
new1 a creative epoch was dawning2 the  
civilisation of ,europe1 opposed to all 
barbarism and orientalism1 rose like a  
brilliant star on the horizon of the    
world4 ,spontaneous feeling for the     
race1 for nature and for the divine     
verities had again become possible4  ,i 
shall have to exceed the limits of my   
subject in this chapter1 for ,i propose 

showing the seeds from which1 in the    
time of the ,crusades1 the new soul of  
the ,european1 throwing off the lethargy
 of the first ,christian millenary1     
began to grow with extraordinary vigour 
and rapidity2 that new soul which       
experienced a wider1 if not deeper1     
unfolding in the period of the          
,renascence1 and to this day pervades   
and fertilises our spiritual life4 ,i   
might have been less digressive1 but ,i 
hope that two reasons will justify my   
prolixity2 the first is the great       
importance of the subject from the point
 of view of a history of civilisation1  
and the second and more particular one  
is its close inner relationship to my   
principal theme4 ,for1 in complete      
contrast with the sexuality on which    
heretofore the relationship between     
husband and wife had been based1 a new  
feeling1 that of spiritual love1 had    
come into existence and quickly reached 
its climax4 ,projected not only on the  
other sex1 but also on ,god and on      

nature1 it permeated the age and        
explains its great and unprecedented    
manifestations3 the spiritual love      
between man and woman 7which            
deteriorated later on into the          
deification of woman71 the new religion 
of the ,german mystics1 the awakening   
appreciation of the beauty of nature1   
the sudden outburst of ,german          
poetry--no sooner born than it reached  
perfection--the specifically ,european  
,gothic architecture1 so completely     
independent of the old art4 ,all these  
new creations had their origin in the   
strange craving of the period for       
something novel and romantic1 something 
hitherto unknown4 ,this longing begot   
the ideal of chivalry and a wealth of   
half human1 half preter-human           
conceptions1 such as the ,holy          
,sepulchre and the ,holy ,grail4 ,and   
all at once1 something unprecedented1   
something of which the race had as yet  
no experience1 had come to pass3 love1  
which had nothing in common with        

sensuality1 which was even deliberately 
hostile to it1 love which welled up in  
one soul and flowed into the            
other--presupposing personality--love   
was there6 ,if1 therefore1 ,i have gone 
into detail1 ,i hope that it has served 
to elucidate the principal theme of this
 part of my book1 namely1 the spiritual 
part of man for woman aspiring to the   
metaphysical1 which is so alien to our  
modern feeling4  ,it is necessary to    
begin by sketching a background which   
shall set off the new phenomenon4 ,the  
spiritual achievement of the first      
millenary was the construction of the   
,christian system of the universe the   
,church had complete knowledge of all   
things in heaven and earth--symbols     
merely of the eternal verities2 her     
wisdom almost equalled divine wisdom1   
for the secrets of life and death had   
been revealed and surrendered to her2   
,st4 ,chrysostom's words uttered in the 
fourth century1 ,the ,church is ,god1   
had become a fact4 ,the profoundest     

wisdom1 the greatest power1 were hers2  
the loftiest ideal had been realised as 
it has never been realised before or    
since4 ,as the wisdom of the ,church had
 been a direct gift of ,god1 so her     
power1 too1 had divine origin and       
reached beyond this earthly life4 ,the  
,church alone held the key to eternal   
bliss1 her curse meant everlasting      
damnation4 ,to be excommunicated was to 
be bereaved of temporal and eternal     
happiness4 ,a man who had been          
excommunicated was worse off than a wild
 beast2 he was surrendered to the devils
 in hell1 and he knew it4 ,there was but
 one road to salvation3 to do penance   
and humbly submit to the ,church4 ,this 
has been symbolised for all times by the
 memorable submission of the            
,roman-,german emperor1 who stood for   
three days1 barefooted and fasting1 in  
the snow in the courtyard of ,canossa1  
before he was received back into the    
kingdom of ,god4 ,the kingdom of ,god   
was synonymous with the ,church2 ,jews  

and pagans were the natural children of 
the devil1 but the dissenter1 the       
heretic who dared to question a single  
proposition of the divine system1 or was
 bold enough to think on original       
lines--in other words in contradiction  
to tradition--voluntarily turned his    
back on ,god1 and with seeing eyes went 
into the kingdom of the devil4 ,he was  
wholly evil1 and no earthly punishment  
fitted his crime4 ,the emperor          
,theodosius1 as far back as ,a4,d4 #chj1
 had called such heretics insane and    
demented1 and the burning of their      
bodies at the stake which prevented     
their souls from falling into the hands 
of the devil1 was looked upon as a great
 and undeserved mercy4 ,but not only    
during their lifetime1 but after their  
death1 too1 the hand of the ,church fell
 heavily on all those who had strayed   
beyond her pale2 their bodies were      
dragged from their graves and thrown    
into the carrion-pit4 ,a man whom the   
,church had excommunicated was buried in

 the cemetery of a ,german convent4 ,the
 ,archbishop of ,mayence ordered the    
exhumation of the body1 threatening to  
interdict divine service in the convent 
if his command were disobeyed4 ,but the 
abbess1 ,hildegarde of ,bingen          
7#ajih-aagi71 a woman of great mental   
power and an inspired seer1 opposed him4
 ,having received a direct message from 
,god1 she wrote to the bishop as        
follows3 ,conforming to my custom1 ,i   
looked up to the true light1 and ,god   
commanded me to withhold my consent to  
the exhumation of the body1 because ,he 
,himself took the dead man from the pale
 of the ,church1 so that ,he might lead 
him to the beatitude of the blessed4444 
,it were better for me to fall into the 
hands of man than to disobey the command
 of my ,lord4 ,the saint had interpreted
 the will of ,god1 and the archbishop1  
sanctioning a sudden rumour that the    
deceased had received absolution at the 
eleventh hour1 yielded4 ,but the        
bishop's yielding by no means           

countenanced the belief that ,god might1
 for once1 tolerate the body of an      
excommunicate in sacred ground1 far from
 it--the vision of the abbess           
,hildegarde had merely served to correct
 an error4  ,all those who dared to     
oppose the clergy by word or deed were  
doomed to everlasting perdition--this   
was a fact which it were futile to      
doubt2 at the most1 a man shrugged his  
shoulders at certain damnation for the  
sake of mundane pleasures--a rich legacy
 in the hour of death might save him4   
,not infrequently the fear of the devil 
was transformed into indifference1 and  
sometimes even into demonolatry4 ,a     
single ungodly thought might involve    
eternal death1 and as many a man1 more  
particularly many a priest1 realised his
 inability to live continuously in the  
presence of ,god1 he surrendered his    
soul to the anti-god1 not from a longing
 for the pleasures of the senses1 but   
from despair4 ,the worship of the devil1
 far from being an invention of         

fanatical monks1 actually existed1 and  
was often the last consolation of those 
who held themselves forsaken by ,god4   
,the hierarchy did not hesitate a moment
 to make the utmost use or the power    
conferred upon them by the mental       
attitude of the people4 ,the government 
of kings and princes1 in addition to the
 ecclesiastical government1 could only  
be a transient1 sinful condition2 the   
time was bound to come when the pope    
would be king of the earth1 and the     
great lords of the world his vassals1   
appointed by him to keep the wicked     
world in check1 and deposed by him if he
 found them incapable1 worshippers of   
the devil1 or disobedient to the        
,church4 ,the whole world was a         
hierarchy whose apex reached heaven and 
bore1 as the representative of its      
invisible summit1 the pope4 ,he stood1  
to quote ,innocent ,,iii41 in the       
middle1 between ,god and humanity4 ,the 
same great pope has left us a document  
entitled ,on the ,contempt of the       

,world1 which treats of the absolute    
futility of all things mundane4 ,there  
is no reason to look upon the union of  
this unquenchable thirst for power and  
complete other-worldiness as a          
contradiction4 ,the kingdom of ,god1    
,augustine's ,civitas ,dei1 must of     
necessity be established that the       
destiny of the world may be fulfilled4  
,every pope must account to ,god for his
 share in the advancement of the only   
work which mattered1 and the greater the
 power the ruler of this world had      
acquired over the souls of men1 the more
 he trembled before ,god1 weighed down  
by the burden of his enormous           
responsibility4 ,the renunciation of the
 world in the service of the            
world-ruling ,church1 the mastery of the
 world in the service of renunciation1  
this was the problem and ideal of the   
middle ages 7,harnack74 ,but not only   
the pope1 every priest1 as a direct     
member of the kingdom of ,god1 was      
superior to the secular rulers4 ,this   

was taught emphatically by the great    
,st4 ,bernard of ,clairvaux1 for        
instance1 and ,gregory ,,vii41 the      
wildest fanatic of the kingdom of ,god1 
said1 in writing to a ,german bishop3   
,who then who possesses even small      
knowledge and reasoning power1 could    
hesitate to place the priests above the 
kings8 ,even the emperor ,constantine1  
though he was still largely under the   
sway of the imperial idea1 distinctly   
acknowledged the bishops as his masters2
 according to the legend he handed to   
the ,bishop of ,rome the insignia of his
 power1 sceptre1 crown and cloak1 and   
humbly held the bridle of the prelate's 
horse4  ,the theoretic backbone of this 
mental attitude was the doctrine of the 
,fathers of the ,church and the older   
scholasticism1 pronouncing the          
illimitable power of human perception2  
the world's profoundest depths had been 
fathomed1 its riddle finally solved2    
there was consequently no room for      
philosophy1 the endless meditation on   

the meaning of the world and the destiny
 of man4 ,science had but one task3 to  
bring logical proof of the revealed     
religious verities4 ,the greatest       
champion of this view was ,anselm of    
,canterbury 7#ajcc-aaji71 who in his    
treatise1 ,cur ,deus ,homo proved that  
,god was compelled to become man in     
order to complete the work of salvation4
 ,ablard preached a similar doctrine1   
but carried away by the fervour of      
thought1 arrived at conclusions which he
 was forced to recant ignominiously2 for
 at the end of his chain of evidence he 
did not always find the foregone        
conclusion which should have been there4
 ,this system of a final and infallible 
knowledge of the world is the very      
foundation of ecclesiastical government4
 ,the priest alone has all knowledge1   
for he has the doctrine of salvation4   
,had it occurred to any man to defend   
his own opinions in contradiction to the
 system of the ,church1 that man would  
speedily have come to the conclusion    

that the devil had tempted him to false 
observations1 or false deductions1 and  
his submission to the ,church would have
 been the outward sign of his victory   
over the evil which had blinded his     
spiritual vision4 ,a man had to choose  
between the worship of ,god and the     
worship of the devil1 there was no      
alternative4 ,nobody knew the limits of 
human knowledge2 everybody1 the learned 
ecclesiastic as well as the unlearned1  
plain man1 believed others to be in     
possession of the key to profound       
secrets and unlimited power4 ,one thing 
only was needful3 to possess one's self 
of the philosopher's stone2 therefore   
the belief in witchcraft and the fear of
 certain men supposed to be endowed with
 supernatural power--the priests--were  
but the obvious results of a            
world-system1 founded on a revealed and 
exact religion4  ,the ,latin poets1     
whose study would probably have         
counteracted the universal barbarism1   
were regarded as dangerous1 the gods of 

antiquity being identified with the     
demons of the ,scriptures4 ,this view   
was responsible for the loss of many a  
valuable manuscript4 ,the favourite     
haunts of the demons were the convents1 
originally designed as battlefields on  
which the struggles with the demons were
 to be fought out1 but frequently       
perishing in superstition and ignorance4
 ,every monk had visions of devils2     
miracles occurred continually2 the      
torturing problem was as to whether they
 were worked by ,god or the devil4      
,nature was merely a collection of      
mystic symbols1 divine--or perhaps      
diabolical--allegories1 whose meaning   
could be discovered by a correct        
interpretation of the ,bible4           
,everything which could possibly happen 
was recorded in the ,scriptures2 they   
contained the true explanation of all   
things4 ,it was only a matter of        
selecting the right word and            
interpreting it correctly1 for every    
word was ambiguous and allegorical4     

,every natural occurrence--an eclipse of
 the sun1 a comet1 or even a fire--stood
 for something else2 it was the symbol  
of a spiritual event concealed behind a 
phenomenon4 ,the allegorical            
interpretation of the ,bible was carried
 to the point of abstruseness because   
every word was considered of necessity  
to have an unfathomably profound        
meaning4 ,the following amazing         
interpretation is by the highly-gifted  
,german poet and mystic1 ,suso3 ,among  
the great number of ,solomon's wives was
 a black woman whom the king loved above
 all others4 ,now what does the ,holy   
,ghost mean by this8 ,the charming black
 woman in whom ,god delights more than  
in any other1 is a man patiently bearing
 the trials which ,god sends him4       
,ablard's interpretation of the black   
woman is even worse2 he maintained that 
though she was black outside1 her bones1
 that is her character1 were white4 ,a  
really remarkable deed of bad taste was 
committed by the monk1 ,matfre          

,ermengau1 the author of the ,breviari  
d',amor1 at a time when civilisation had
 already made considerable strides4 ,he 
sent his sister a ,christmas present1   
consisting of a honey-cake1 mead1 and a 
roast capon1 accompanied by the         
following letter3 ,the mead is the blood
 of ,christ1 the honey-cake and the     
capon are ,his body1 which for our      
salvation was baked and pierced at the  
,cross4 ,the ,holy ,ghost baked the cake
 in the ,virgin's womb1 in which the    
sugar of ,his divinity amalgamated with 
the dough of our humanity4 ,in the      
,virgin's womb the ,holy ,ghost also    
spiced the mead and prepared it from    
wine2 the spice is divine virtue1 the   
wine is human blood4 ,in addition ,he   
caused the holy capon to issue from the 
egg2 the yolk of the egg is the deity1  
the white is humanity1 the shell is the 
womb of the ,virgin ,mary 4441 etc4     
,the religion of ,christ was lost1 man  
had become a stranger to his own        
soul--celestial warnings1 signs of the  

,judgment ,day1 daemonic temptations1   
surrounded him1 as far as he paid heed  
to anything super-sensuous on all sides4
 ,the ,french chronicler1 ,radulf       
,glaber 7about ,a4,d4 #ajjj71 might have
 been writing a satire on antiquity when
 he warned his contemporaries of the    
demons lurking everywhere1 but more     
especially dwelling in trees and        
fountains4 ,of a learned man who was    
studying the classic poets1 he said3    
,this man1 confused by the magic of evil
 spirits1 had the impudence to propound 
doctrines contradictory to our holy     
faith4 ,in his opinion everything the   
ancient poets had maintained was true4  
,peter1 the bishop of the town1         
condemned him as a heretic4 ,at that    
time there were many men in ,italy      
believing this false doctrine2 they     
perished by the sword or at the stake4  
,we have a letter1 written at the same  
time by ,gerbert1 who later on became   
,pope ,sylvester ,,ii41 to a friend1    
beseeching him to obtain for him        

manuscripts of the ,latin philosophers  
and poets4 ,he wrote textbooks of       
astronomy1 geometry and medicine1 and   
introduced the ,arabic numbers and the  
decimal system into ,europe4 ,in        
consequence he1 too1 was accused of     
magic and intercourse with ,arabian     
pagans4 ,a chronicler relates that he   
sold his soul to the devil and became   
pope through the devil's agency2 and    
that1 when he was on the point of death1
 he ordered his body to be cut to pieces
 so that the devil should not carry it  
away4  ,to-day we find it difficult to  
realise such a state of mind4 ,every man
 of our period who takes the smallest   
interest in things spiritual--be he the 
most orthodox ecclesiastic--at least    
knows that there are capable people in  
the world whose opinions differ from    
his1 who seek fresh knowledge2 he knows 
it1 even though he may pretend that they
 are people who have gone astray and    
have been abandoned by ,god4 ,no one can
 be entirely blind to the new values    

created by human intellect4 ,but the men
 of the ,middle ,ages were swayed by a  
monstrous dualism1 and despite their    
belief in the illimitable power of human
 cognition1 they unquestioningly        
accepted the sacred tradition and       
rejected the nave evidence of the senses
 and intellect whenever it seemed to    
contradict the dogma4 ,thus mediaeval   
science did not represent what it       
represented in antiquity1 and what it   
represents now1 the study of the true   
relationship of things1 but rather the  
application of truths revealed once and 
for all4 ,there was nothing more to be  
discovered1 and therefore scientists    
took a delight in logical and           
dialectical speculations which to a man 
of our day seem senseless and childish4 
,far into the ,renascence1 natural      
history was a medley of ancient         
traditions1 oriental fables and         
superficial observations4 ,the strangest
 qualities were attributed to animals   
with which we come almost daily into    

contact4 ,the following quotations are  
culled from a ,provenal book on zoology3
 ,the cricket is so pleased with its    
song that it forgets to feed and dies   
singing4 ,when a snake catches sight of 
a nude man1 it is so filled with fear   
that it does not dare to look at him2   
but if the man is dressed1 the snake    
looks upon him as a weakling and springs
 upon him4 ,the adder guards the balsam2
 if a man desires to steal the balsam1  
he must first send the adder to sleep by
 playing on a musical instrument4 ,but  
if the adder discovers that it is being 
duped1 it closes one of its ears with   
its tail and rubs the other one against 
the ground until it is filled with      
earth2 then it cannot hear the music and
 remains awake4 ,of all animals there is
 none so dangerous as the unicorn2 it   
attacks everybody with the horn which   
grows on the top of its head4 ,but it   
takes such delight in virgins that the  
hunters place a maiden on its trail4 ,as
 soon as the unicorn sees the maiden1 it

 lays its head into her lap and falls   
asleep1 when it may easily be caught4   
,of the magnet we learn among other     
things that it restores peace between   
husband and wife1 softens the heart of  
all men and cures dropsy4 ,if a magnet  
is made into a powder and burnt on      
charcoal in the four corners of the     
house1 the inhabitants imagine that they
 cannot keep on their legs and run away1
 sorely affrighted2 thieves frequently  
profit by this fact4 ,if a magnet is    
placed under the pillow of a sleeping   
woman1 she is compelled1 if she is      
virtuous1 to embrace her husband in her 
sleep2 if she has betrayed him1 she will
 fall out of her bed with fear4  ,all   
this information was the common property
 of the period2 ,richard of ,berbezilh1 
for instance1 an aesthetic troubadour1  
tells us that--like a still-born lion's 
cub which was only brought to life by   
the roaring of its dam--he was awakened 
to life by his mistress4 7,he does not  
say whether it was by her roaring47     

,conrad of ,wrzburg compares the ,holy  
,virgin to a lioness who brings her dead
 cubs1 i4e41 mankind1 to life with loud 
roaring4 ,bartolom ,zorgi1 another      
troubadour of the same period1 likens   
his lady to a snake1 for--he            
explains--she flees from the nude poet  
and her courage only returns with his   
clothes4 ,during the whole mediaeval    
period the unicorn was a well-known     
symbol of virginity1 more especially of 
the virginity of ,mary4 ,the ,golden    
,smithy of the ,german minnesinger1     
afterwards monk ,conrad of ,wrzburg1    
contains a rather abstruse poem which   
begins3       ,the hunt began2      ,the
 heavenly unicorn      ,was chased into 
the thicket      ,of this alien world1  
,and sought1 imperial maid1      ,within
 thine arms a sanctuary4444 etc4        
,natural history was in a parlous state1
 and geographical knowledge was equally 
spurious4 ,the ,church was averse to    
natural research1 for the only problem  
in the world was the salvation of man   

from everlasting damnation4 ,not only   
,tertullian1 but several ,fathers of the
 ,church1 regarded physical research as 
superfluous and absurd1 and even as     
godless4 ,what happiness shall be mine  
if ,i know where the ,nile has its      
source1 or what the physicists fable of 
heaven8 asked ,lactantius4 ,and1 ,should
 we not be regarded as insane if we     
pretended to have knowledge of matters  
of which we can know nothing8 ,how much 
more1 then1 are they to be regarded as  
raving madmen who imagine that they know
 the secrets of nature1 which will never
 be revealed to human inquisitiveness8  
,here one is reminded of a remark made  
in ,phdros by the wisest of all ,greeks1
 who refused to leave town because what 
could ,socrates learn from trees and    
grass8 ,and ,julius ,csar wrote an      
account of his wars to while away the   
time when he was crossing the ,alps4    
,very likely the system of the ,church  
would have been less rigid had it not   
largely been occupied in dealing with   

ignorant barbarians4 ,in the case of    
,celts and ,teutons1 a complete and     
unassailable form of dogmatics with its 
corollary of hieratical intolerance was 
the only possible system4 ,the          
traditions of these peoples were far too
 foreign to ,christianity to allow      
,christian germs to flourish in their   
soil4 ,and the new nations1 accepting   
what ,rome offered to them1 were        
completely unproductive in their        
adolescence4 ,the achievement of this   
fatal first millenary might be          
formulated as follows3 ,the civilised   
world of ,western ,europe was united    
under the government of the ,church of  
,rome2 on all nations it had been       
impressed in the same combination of    
words and similes that they were living 
in a sinful world2 they knew when this  
world had been created and when its     
,saviour had appeared2 they knew that   
its end would come together with the    
bodily resurrection of the dead and the 
terrible day of the ,last ,judgment2    

they knew that demons were lurking      
everywhere1 seeking to destroy man's    
soul1 and that the ,church alone could  
save him4 ,all these facts were as      
unalterable as the return of the        
seasons4  ,the fundamental sources of   
antiquity had been sensuality and       
asceticism1 the elements of the ,middle 
,ages abstract thought and historical   
faith2 now emotion was to become the    
principal factor4 ,it welled up in the  
soul and soon dominated all life4 ,the  
fountain which had been dried up since  
the dawn of the ,christian era1 began to
 flow again in a small country in the   
south of ,france4 ,the civilising centre
 had again shifted westwards1 as in the 
past it had shifted from ,asia to       
,greece1 and from ,greece to ,rome4 ,in 
the course of the first thousand years  
,greece and ,asia ,minor had separated  
themselves from ,europe1 and founded a  
distinct culture1 the ,byzantine1 which 
exerted no influence on the development 
of ,europe4 ,but not even ,italy1 the   

scene of the older civilisation1 was    
destined to give birth to the new2 maybe
 the memory of the antique1             
ante-,christian1 period was too powerful
 here4 ,its cradle stood on virgin      
ground1 in ,provence1 a country wrested 
from ,celts and ,teutons by the ,roman  
eagles1 ploughed by the ,roman spirit1  
preserving in some of its coast towns1  
notably in ,marsilia1 the rich remains  
of ,greek settlements1 something of     
,moorish influence in race and language1
 and fusing all these heterogeneous     
elements into a splendid whole4 ,but why
 this important spiritual centre should 
have been formed just here it is        
difficult to say4  ,for the first time  
the system of ecclesiastical values was 
confronted by something novel1 which was
 not--like the old ,teutonic ideal of   
the perfect warrior--tainted by         
barbarism1 but may be described as the  
system of mundane court values4 ,this   
new ideal was not founded on an         
authority which had to be accepted in   

good faith2 it had its direct origin in 
the passionate yearning of the human    
soul4 ,man had re-discovered himself and
 become conscious of his personal       
creative force4 ,a very great thing had 
been accomplished2 the seed which1      
slowly gathering strength1 had lain in  
the soil for a thousand years1 had at   
last burst its husk1 and was rapidly    
growing into the magnificent tree of the
 ,european civilisation4 ,in silent     
opposition to the system of the accepted
 ecclesiastical values1 the new ideal of
 pretz e valor e beutatz 7worth and     
value and beauty71 of cavalaria and     
cortezia 7chivalry and courtesy71 was   
upheld in ,provence4 ,four worldly      
virtues1 wisdom1 courtly manners1       
honesty and self-restraint1 were        
contrasted with the ecclesiastical      
cardinal virtues4 ,the courts of the    
princes became centres of new life and  
art4 ,the new spiritual-aesthetic       
concept of feasting and enjoyment       
transformed the former orgies of eating 

and drinking4 ,woman1 who had heretofore
 been excluded from male society1 was   
all at once transferred to the very     
centre of being2 for her sake men       
controlled their brutal tempers and     
exerted themselves to please by good    
manners1 taste and art4 ,she1 whom the  
,church had done everything to          
depreciate1 who had been denied a soul  
at the ,council of ,macon 7in the sixth 
century71 had become the very vessel of 
the soul2 man looked up to her and bent 
his knee before the newly-created       
goddess4  ,the cultivation of the new   
courtly manner coincided with the       
nascent art of the troubadours4 ,there  
was no gradual growth and development in
 the latter2 at the very outset it had  
reached perfection4 ,the first          
troubadour whose name has come down to  
us was ,guillem of ,poitiers1 ,duke of  
,aquitania 7about #aajj72 great lords   
and barons gloried in the exercise of   
this new art4 ,every court boasted its  
poets1 hospitably received and loaded   

with presents2 the great ones of the    
earth were beginning to exercise that   
patronage of art and letters which in   
the ,renascence reached such extravagant
 proportions4 ,every distinguished poet 
employed salaried musicians1 the joglars
 7jongleurs71 who wandered from court to
 court1 singing their masters' new      
songs4 ,others again1 the comtaires1    
related romances of love and adventure1 
gathering round them a rapt throng of   
lords and ladies4 ,courtly manners and  
lofty principles quickly became the     
recognised ideal2 the man who was       
satisfied with the pleasures of the     
senses was held in contempt2 the        
greatest reproach was vilania2 in the   
,yvain of the ,french epic poet         
,chrestien de ,troyes1 this universal   
feeling is thus expressed3       ,a     
courtier counts though he be dead1      
,more than a rustic stout and red4      
,dante and his circle1 as well as the   
best of the troubadours1 substituted for
 the cortois of the superficial         

,chrestien the cor gentil1 the noble    
heart1 which they accounted more        
precious than rank and wealth and power4
 ,wherever there is virtue there is     
nobility1 says ,dante1 but where there  
is nobility there need not necessarily  
be virtue4 ,a time had come when        
personal distinction was in every man's 
grasp1 no matter whether he was learned 
or unlearned1 a nobleman or a commoner4 
,certainly the commoner was never on an 
equality with the aristocrat1 partly    
because he was dependent on the largess 
of the great4 ,even ,dante was compelled
 to seek princely patronage1 and not    
until the ,renascence do we hear of     
writers whose sarcastic tongues were so 
dreaded that they became independent of 
charity4  ,in opposition to the monkish 
ideal of a contemplative life which had 
hitherto obtained1 a new ideal1 the     
ideal of the courtier's life1 was       
upheld2 ecclesiastical saintliness was  
contrasted with knightly honour4        
,beauty1 which at the dawn of the       

,christian era had fallen into ill      
repute and had become associated with   
unholy1 and even diabolical1 practices1 
had again come into its kingdom4 ,above 
everything it was the beauty of woman   
which was re-discovered--or rather1 in  
its new1 spiritual sense1 newly         
discovered--and claimed the enthusiasm  
and love of the best men of the period4 
,after a thousand years of gloom and    
brutality1 joy and culture shed their   
radiance on a renewed world4 ,the ideal 
of chivalry bore very little resemblance
 to the old ,teutonic ideal of the hero2
 the older ideal had been based entirely
 on the appreciation of physical        
strength2 but chivalry was the          
disseminator of culture1 leaving        
ecclesiastical culture1 which hitherto  
had been synonymous with civilisation1 a
 very long way behind4 ,mezura1 masze   
7the ,greek3 mphstos of the ,platonic   
,greeks7 was the new criterion1 as      
compared with the barbarian's want of   
restraint4  ,i do not propose to give a 

description of the life at the courts of
 ,provence4 ,the news of it travelled   
north1 and everywhere roused a desire to
 imitate it4 ,the need of a renewed life
 was powerfully stirring all hearts4    
,men yearned for beauty and spontaneity1
 for passionate life1 unprecedented and 
romantic4 ,this was especially the case 
in the north1 in ,france and in         
,germany1 and above all in ,wales1 the  
country of the imaginative and          
highly-gifted ,celts4 ,here life was    
harder1 poorer1 more barbaric2 the      
cultured mind suffered more from its    
brutal surroundings than it did in the  
favoured south4 ,it was here that the   
great legends of the ,middle ,ages1 so  
clearly expressive of the yearning of   
the period1 were first collected4 ,the  
early ,middle ,ages had produced epic   
poems1 treating scriptural subjects     
7such as the ,harmony of the ,gospels of
 the monk ,otfrit1 written in the ninth 
century71 and celebrating the exploits  
of popular heroes1 as1 for instance1 the

 ,german ,song of ,hildebrand1 and the  
,french ,chansons de ,geste1 which      
contain episodes from the lives of      
,charlemagne and his nephew ,roland4    
,the true epic1 arising from the rich   
and poetical ,celtic tradition1 came    
into existence in the eleventh century  
in the ,north of ,france and immediately
 burst into extraordinary luxuriance4   
,the legends of the heroes of the dreamy
 ,celtic race--,king ,arthur and his    
knights1 ,merlin the magician1 the      
knights of the ,holy ,grail--travelling 
across ,france1 became the common       
property of the civilised ,european     
nations1 and filled all hearts with     
longing and fantastic dreams4 ,chrestien
 de ,troyes1 in his romances1 extolled  
knightly exploits and the service of    
woman1 thus producing by the combination
 of the older and the newer ideals the  
novel of adventure which has fascinated 
the world for centuries4 ,it is a       
mistake to believe that ,don ,quixote   
has struck at the root of it2 to this   

day the masses wax enthusiastic in      
reading of the doughty deeds of knights1
 the beauty of ladies and their         
unswerving1 undying love4  ,in addition 
to the great and heroic subjects1 there 
were lesser1 more intimate1 and         
frequently sentimental1 romances1       
especially enjoyed and widely circulated
 by the ladies4 ,the baron1 riding      
forth1 left his young wife at home1 shut
 up in her bower and surrounded by      
spies2 sometimes even physically branded
 as his property4 ,a prisoner behind    
bars1 her imagination went out--not to  
the unloved husband who had married her 
for the sake of her broad acres1 and    
could send her back to her parents as   
soon as he found a wealthier bride 7he  
had but to maintain that she was related
 to him in the fifth degree and the     
,church was ready to annul the          
marriage71 not to him1 her lord and     
master1 but to the unknown knight1 the  
passionate lover1 who would gladly give 
his life to win her4 ,a jongleur arrived

 with stories of the courts where love  
was the only ruler2 where the knights   
willingly suffered grief and want1 if by
 so doing they could serve their lady2  
where the lover1 in the shape of a      
beautiful blue bird1 nightly slipped    
through the barred windows into the arms
 of his mistress4 ,but the jealous      
husband had drawn barbed wire across the
 window1 and the lover1 flying away at  
dawn1 bled to death before the eyes of  
his grief-stricken lady4 ,the jongleur  
would tell of the knight who had fallen 
passionately in love with a beautiful   
damsel of whom he had but caught a      
passing glimpse2 month after month he   
worked at digging an underground        
passage2 every night brought him a      
little nearer to her bower--she could   
distinctly hear the dull sounds of his  
burrowing--until at last he rose through
 the ground and took her into his arms4 
,these and similar tales1 doubtless all 
of them of ,celtic origin--preserved for
 us in the charming ,lais of ,marie de  

,france--brought tears to the eyes of   
many a lonely wife and gave shape to her
 vague longing4 ,there was no reason why
 a man1 and a lover to boot1 should not 
transform himself nightly into a blue   
bird4 ,those simple stories in verse    
fulfilled every desire of the heart2    
imagination supplied in the north what  
the south offered in abundant reality4  
,but ,marie de ,france1 the first woman 
novelist of ,europe 7about the end of   
the twelfth century71 deserves to be    
remembered for another reason2 she was  
the first poet voicing woman's longing  
for love and romance--woman's adventure4
 ,the charming ,lai du ,chevrefoile     
7,the ,story of the ,honeysuckle7       
relates an episode from the loves of    
,tristan and ,isolde1 the famous lovers1
 legendary even at that time4 ,tristan  
and ,isolde1 ,lancelot and ,guinevere1  
,fleur and ,blanchefleur--these were the
 admired and mythical lovers of whom the
 poets sang and dreamed4 ,all the world 
knew their adventures2 all the world    

repeated them again and again1          
reverently preserving the identical     
words and yet unconsciously remoulding  
them4 ,at the recital of their loves1   
hand clasped hand2 on that day we read  
no more1 confessed ,dante's ill-fated   
lovers4  ,the longing1 so characteristic
 of the ,north of ,europe1 to see the   
world and meet with adventures1 was in  
,provence and ,italy less pronounced4   
,these favoured climes possessed so many
 of the things dreamed of and desired by
 other countries4 ,events1 strange as   
fiction1 actually occurred4 ,count      
,raimond of ,roussillon1 for instance1  
imprisoned his wife in a tower because  
the troubadour1 ,guillem of ,cabestann1 
was in love with and beloved by her4 ,he
 waylaid the lover1 killed him1 cut his 
heart out of his breast and sent it1    
roasted1 to his countess4 ,when she had 
partaken of it1 he showed her ,guillem's
 head and asked her how she had enjoyed 
the dish4 ,so much that no other food   
shall ever pass my lips1 she replied1   

casting herself out of the window4 ,when
 the story spread abroad1 the great     
nobles rose up in arms against ,raimond1
 and even the ,king of ,aragon made war 
on him4 ,he was caught and imprisoned   
for life1 and his estates were          
confiscated4 ,guillem and the countess  
were buried in the church1 and for a    
long time after men and women travelled 
long distances to kneel at their grave4 
,the charming poems of ,melusine and the
 beautiful ,magelone1 which to this day 
delight the reader1 were composed during
 the same period4  ,before the eleventh 
century poetry in the true sense of the 
word did not exist4 ,there were only    
,latin ,church hymns and legends1       
perverted reminiscences of antiquity1   
and1 in the vulgar tongue1 legends of   
the saints and simple dancing-songs for 
the amusement of the lower classes4     
,thanks to the relentless war which the 
clergy waged against them1 a few only   
have been preserved4 ,there can be no   
doubt that ,provence was the birthplace 

of ,european poetry4 ,the sweet language
 of ,provence was the first to reach    
perfection and perfect maturity4 ,it    
drove the language of the ,german       
conquerors eastwards and prepared the   
ground for the ,french tongue4  ,the    
beginning of the twelfth century saw the
 birth of the poetry of the troubadours1
 which possessed from the first in great
 perfection everything that             
distinguishes modern lyric poetry from  
the antique4 ,instead of the            
syllable-measuring quantity1 we now have
 the emphasising accent2 the rhyme1 one 
of the most important lyrical           
contrivances--and in its near approach  
to music the most striking              
characteristic of modern lyrical poetry 
as compared with the antique--reaches   
perfection together with the complete1  
evenly-recurring verse which is still   
to-day peculiar to lyrical art4 ,the    
poems of many of the troubadours pulsate
 with passionate life1 and bear no trace
 of the traditional or the conventional4

 ,the martial songs of ,bertrand de     
,born stride along with a rhythm        
reminiscent of the clanking of iron4 ,i 
quote the first verse of one of these3  
,le coms m'a mandat e mogut      ,per   
,n',arramon ,luc d',esparro1      ,qu'eu
 fassa per lui tal chanso1      ,on sian
 trenchat mil escut1      ,elm e ausberc
 e alcoto      ,e perponh faussat e     
romput4       ,the count he sent to me  
one day      ,sir ,arramon ,luc         
d',esparro2      ,a song ,i was to make 
him--so      ,that thousand shields with
 ring and stay      ,and mail and armour
 of the foe      ,to fragments shivered 
in dismay4  ,the poetry of the ,provenal
 troubadours had already passed its     
prime when1 in the other ,european      
countries1 lyric art was still in its   
infancy4 ,the crusade against the       
,albigenses 7#abji71 undertaken by      
,gregory ,,vii4 with the object of      
killing the new spirit and the new      
secular civilisation1 drove many        
troubadours to ,italy1 among others the 

famous ,sordello1 who is mentioned in   
,dante's ,divine ,comedy4 ,others went  
to ,sicily1 to the court of the         
art-loving ,emperor1 ,frederick ,,ii41  
where a distinct1 but not very original1
 poetic art arose4 ,in ,italy the       
perfection of mediaeval poetry was      
reached in the sweet1 new style         
immortalised by ,dante4 ,but not only   
the great ,italians1 the trouveres from 
the ,north of ,france also1 and--to some
 extent--the ,german minnesingers1 were 
influenced by the art1 and above all1   
the ideals which had originated in      
,provence4 ,the poetry of the earliest  
,rhenish and ,austrian minnesingers     
closely follows ,german folklore1 and   
the songs of ,dietmar of ,aist and      
others are still quite innocent of any  
trace of neo-,latin characteristics4    
,but very soon the technical perfection 
of the ,provenal poetry and the         
,provenal ideal of courtesy and love1   
famous all over ,europe1 strongly       
influenced the ,german mind4  ,the new  

poetry and the ideal of chivalry and the
 service of woman were the first        
independent developments able to hold   
their own by the side of ecclesiastical 
culture4 ,the rigid ,latin was          
superseded2 the soul of man sang in its 
own language of the return of spring1   
the beauty of woman1 knighthood and     
adventure4 ,poetry became the most      
important source of secular education1  
and as each nation sang in its own      
tongue1 national characteristics shone  
out through the individuality of the    
singer4 ,provenals1 ,frenchmen1 ,germans
 and ,italians realised that they       
belonged to different races4 ,this was  
particularly the case during the        
,crusades when1 under the auspices of   
the ,church1 the nations of ,europe had 
apparently undertaken a common task4    
,in ,provence1 in ,france and ,germany1 
every poem was set to music1 and thus1  
simultaneously with the lyrical art1    
secular music was evolved4 ,j4,b4 ,beck1
 the greatest authority on the music of 

the troubadours1--the music of the      
minnesingers has been studied very      
little1--says1 ,the poetry of the       
troubadours and trouveres represents in 
its totality a collection of songs which
 in their frequently amazing navet and  
melodiousness1 their spontaneity and    
sound music1 intimate congruity of      
melody and text and extraordinary       
originality1 have been unparalleled to  
this day4 ,all these songs are          
distinguished by graceful simplicity2   
but the ear of the non-musician can     
hardly perceive the originality on which
 ,beck lays such stress4 ,in any case1  
the music is inferior to the frequently 
perfect text4 ,this same period saw the 
inception of our present system of      
musical notation4  ,the new poetry      
created a desire for literature1 thus   
giving impetus to the already existent  
art of illuminated manuscripts4 ,every  
prince kept a salaried army of copyists 
and illuminators1 producing the         
manuscripts to-day preserved and studied

 in our museums4 ,studios where this    
work was carried on existed at various  
art centres1 especially--as far as we   
are able to tell to-day--at the papal   
courts at ,avignon--that meeting-ground 
of ,french and ,italian artists--in     
,paris and at ,rheims4 ,these workshops 
were the birthplace of miniature        
painting1 which reached perfection in   
the famous ,burgundian ,livres          
d',heures4  ,to-day the science of      
aesthetics is attempting to trace the   
influence which emanated from the       
,french and even from the earlier       
,english workshops1 and spread over the 
whole continent4 ,it is very probable   
that the ,french art of miniature       
painting of the first half of the       
thirteenth century was mother of the    
later ,north-,european art of painting4 
,it was in ,northern ,europe that1      
independently of ,hellenic and          
,byzantine influence1 a new art         
originated1 of which ,max ,dvorak says3 
,it would hardly be possible to find an 

external cause for the quick and        
complete disappearance of the elements  
of the ,neo-,latin art4 ,the past was   
simply done with1 and an absolutely new 
period was beginning4 ,thus the new art 
was almost without any tradition4       
,dvorak calls this complete change the  
most important in the history of        
painting since antiquity4 ,george1      
,count ,vitzthum1 has proved that the   
famous ,cologne school of painting      
modelled itself on ,northern-,french1   
,belgian1 and a quite independent       
,english school of illuminators4 ,it is 
even suggested that the ,english style  
of miniature painting influenced ,europe
 as far as the ,upper ,rhine4 ,it is    
also very significant that the ,dutch   
art of the brothers van ,eyck1 whose    
sudden appearance seemed so             
inexplicable1 is now proved to have had 
its source in the ,north of ,france4 ,on
 the other hand1 we have drawings of    
three ecstatic nuns showing decided     
originality2 ,hildegarde of ,bingen1    

already mentioned on a previous         
occasion1 has herself ornamented her    
book1 ,scivias1 with miniatures which1  
according to ,haseloff1 in spite of     
their primitive style1 reveal a bizarre 
plastic talent1 and are therefore       
closely related to her intuitions4      
,alfred ,peltzer speaks of fantastic    
figures surrounded by flames4 ,the two  
other nuns were ,elizabeth of ,schnau1  
and ,herrad of ,landsberg2 these two    
were entirely under the influence of the
 dawning mysticism4  ,i will here quote 
a few more passages from ,dvorak1 who1  
in dealing with the individual arts1    
does not lose sight of the whole4       
,simultaneously with a new literature1  
he says1 we have a new art of           
illustration1 new miniatures1 no longer 
drawing inspiration from antiquity4444  
,we meet the new style in its full      
perfection wherever it is a matter of a 
new technique 7in the art of staining   
glass1 for instance1 or of illustrating 
profane literature74444 ,he speaks of a 

new decoration of manuscripts invented  
in ,paris in the first half of the      
thirteenth century4 ,thus the close and 
causal connection between the new poetry
 and the illumination of books is       
clearly apparent1 and it may be said    
without exaggeration that the ,provenal 
lyric poetry and the ,north-,french and 
,celtic cycles of romance led up to the 
new ,european style of painting which   
did not come to perfection until two    
centuries later4 7,nothing positive can 
be said about the influence of ,france  
on ,italian art2 the monumental         
character and the art of ,cimabue1      
,giotto and the ,sienese does not1      
however1 suggest that they were much    
influenced by the art of miniature      
painting1 but rather hints that they    
drew inspiration from antique frescoes47
  ,i must add a few words on the subject
 of those miniatures which are not      
easily accessible to the layman1 but    
reproductions of which are frequently   
met with in books on the history of art4

 ,in addition to religious subjects1 the
 whole courtly company which lives and  
breathes in the legends of the ,round   
,table1 kings and knights1 poets1       
minstrels1 and fair damsels1 hawking1   
jousting1 banqueting and playing chess1 
everything which stirred the poet's     
imagination1 is depicted4 ,the spirit of
 the romances which in modern times     
enchanted the ,english                  
,pre-,raphaelites1 six centuries ago    
provided food and stimulus to the       
industrious illuminators whose names    
have long been forgotten4  ,if the art  
of miniature painting never             
rose--excepting in its wider            
consequences--to universal significance1
 mediaeval architecture stands before   
our eyes magnificent as on the first    
day4 ,until the middle of the twelfth   
century the monumental structures of    
,europe were directly influenced by the 
later ,hellenic civilisation4 ,the      
,byzantine basilica was slowly          
transformed into the ,neo-,latin house1 

and thus1 in this important domain also1
 ,europe drew her inspirations from     
antiquity4 ,but only the ground-plan of 
the ,gothic cathedral1 that is to say1  
the idea of a nave with side-aisles1 was
 traditional and borrowed from          
,neo-,latin models4 ,from this invisible
 ground-plan rose something absolutely  
original and autochthonic4 ,this new1   
specifically ,central-,european style of
 architecture was developed on soil     
where there were no antique buildings to
 stem the new life with their           
overwhelming domination1 and to bar the 
way of artistic inspiration with their  
ominous ,i am perfection6 ,in every     
branch of art antiquity had proved      
itself a foe1 until at last the         
,renascence was sufficiently mature to  
assimilate and overcome the antique     
inheritance so completely that it became
 an excellent fertiliser for the new    
art4 ,the essence of the ,gothic style  
is the dissolution of all that is heavy 
and material--the victory of spirit over

 matter4 ,walls were broken up into     
pillars and soaring arcades2 monotonous 
facework was tolerated less and less1   
and every available inch was moulded    
into a living semblance4 ,the result may
 be studied in the incomparable faades  
of many of the cathedrals in the ,north 
of ,france2 and in tower-pieces almost  
vibrating with life and passion such as 
that of ,st4 ,stephen's in ,vienna4 ,the
 conflict between matter and pure form  
is settled--for the first and only      
time--in ,gothic architecture4 ,the     
,greek temple with its correct          
proportions possessed no more than      
perfection of form without spiritual    
admixture2 it was perfect as marble     
statues1 which are an end in themselves1
 and do not point the way to spiritual  
truths4 ,gothic architecture is probably
 unique in its blending of sthetic      
perfection of form and infinite         
spiritual wealth2 in the fusion of these
 two elements in a higher intuition4 ,it
 is the balance of the two              

characteristics of genius1 inexhaustible
 wealth and the striving for harmonious 
expression4 ,it marked the first        
powerful working of the ,teutonic spirit
 on the world2 its metaphysical yearning
 together with a genuine love of nature1
 found in this art its own peculiar     
traditionless expression1 just as it    
found expression in the newly-evolved   
mysticism which no longer re-echoed     
,aristotle and his commentators1 but    
drew inspiration from its own intuition4
 ,for this reason ,gothic architecture  
never became acclimatised in ,italy4    
,the soaring tower1 more especially1    
never appealed to the ,italian          
architect4  ,ornamentation and capitals1
 previously a combination of geometrical
 figures1 which may have been           
architecturally great and imposing1 but 
was always more or less formal and      
rigid1 disappeared2 the new masters1    
whose names have been forgotten1 looked 
round them and drew inspiration from    
nature4 ,the forest trees of ,central   

,europe became pillars2 grouped         
together1 apparently haphazard1 they    
reflected a mystical nature pulsing with
 mysterious life4 ,spreading and        
ramifying1 growing together in an       
impenetrable network of foliage1 they   
bore buds1 leaves and fruits4 ,every    
pinnacle became a sprig1 even the       
pendant icicles reappeared in the       
gable-boards4 ,but the assimilation of  
natural objects did not cease there2    
tiny animals1 light as a feather1 run   
over the tendrils1 lizards1 birds1 even 
the gnomes of ,german mythology1 find   
their way into the ,gothic cathedral4   
,not the traditional ,greek acanthus    
leaf1 but the foliage of the            
,north-,european oak grows under the    
hands of the sculptor4 ,even the cross  
is twisted into a flower2 the           
sacro-sanct symbol of the ,christian    
religion is newly conceived1 newly      
interpreted and moulded so that it may  
have a place4 ,the ,gothic cathedral    
with its soaring arches free from all   

heaviness is the perfect expression of  
that cosmic feeling that inspired       
,eckhart and reached its artistic       
perfection in ,dante4  ,but the soul of 
the mystic in stone contains the same   
elements as the soul of ,eckhart1 who   
was also a schoolman4 ,the confused and 
complex scholastic world of ideas which 
corresponded so well with the mediaeval 
temper and1 together with the new art1  
had emanated from ,paris1 is closely    
akin to ,gothic architecture4 ,for the  
,gothic style and scholastic thought    
share the characteristics of the        
infinitely constructive and infinitely  
cleft1 the infinitely subtle and        
ornamental--perhaps the last trace of   
the spirit of the north as compared with
 the simplicity of the south4  ,as if   
from fertile soil1 a world of sculptured
 men and beasts sprang from the faades  
of the new cathedrals4 ,the figures on  
the cathedrals of ,naumburg1            
,strassburg1 ,rheims1 ,amiens and       
,chartres are far superior to the       

artistic achievements of the dawning    
renascence in ,italy4 ,they are real    
men1 full of life and passion1 no longer
 symbols of the transcendental glory of 
the world beyond the grave4 ,all        
rigidity had melted1 everything which   
had been stiff and hard had become      
supple2 the emotion of the soul flows   
through every curve and line2 the set   
faces of the statues are illuminated by 
a smile which seems to come from within1
 the afterglow of inward bliss          
7,worringer74  ,a longing went through  
the world1 stimulating faith in miracles
 and a desire for adventure1 a longing  
which no soul could resist4 ,nothing    
certain was known of countries fifty    
miles distant2 the traveller must be    
prepared for the most amazing events4   
,no one knew what fate awaited him      
behind yonder blue mountains4 ,the      
existence of natural laws was undreamt  
of2 there was no improbability in       
dragons or lions possessing power of    
speech4 ,a period incapable of          

distinguishing between the natural and  
supernatural will always indulge in     
those fancies which are best suited to  
its temper4 ,be the native country never
 so poor1 the long darkness and cold of 
the winter never so hard to bear1 far   
away in the ,east1 or in ,camelot1 the  
kingdom of ,king ,arthur1 life was full 
of beauty and sunshine4 ,the legends of 
,king ,arthur powerfully affected the   
imagination2 they were read1 secretly   
and surreptitiously1 in all convents2 on
 a sultry summer afternoon1 during the  
learned discussion of their preceptor1  
one after another of the pupils would   
fall asleep2 the preceptor1 suddenly    
interrupting himself1 would continue    
after a short pause3 ,and now ,i will   
tell you of ,king ,arthur1 and all eyes 
would sparkle as the pupils listened    
with rapt attention4 ,francis of ,assisi
 called one of his disciples a knight of
 his ,round ,table1 and three hundred   
years later ,don ,quixote lost his      
reason over the study of those legends2 

some of the finest works of art of the  
present time1 ,wagner's ,lohengrin1     
,tristan and ,isolde1 and ,parsifal1    
take their subject from the             
inexhaustible treasure of the ,celtic   
epic cycle4 ,the longing for experience 
and adventure had laid hold of the      
imagination to an extraordinary degree4 
,the recital of wondrous adventures no  
longer satisfied the listener2 he       
yearned to participate in them4 ,the    
young knight1 trained in athletics and  
courtesy1 and possessing a little       
knowledge of biblical history1 left his 
father's castle to face the unknown     
world4 ,there was a sanctuary1          
mysterious1 almost supernal1 carefully  
guarded in the dense forest of an       
inaccessible mountain4 ,a knight whose  
heart was pure1 and who had dedicated   
himself to the lifelong service of the  
divine1 could find it2 but he would have
 to wander for many years1 through      
forests and glens and strange countries1
 alone and solitary1 before his eyes    

would behold the most sacred relic in   
the world1 the ,holy ,grail4  ,the time 
was ripe for a great event1 a universal 
and overwhelming enterprise which could 
absorb the passionate longing4 ,maybe   
that the wisdom of the great popes--half
 unconsciously1 certainly1 and under the
 pressure of the age1 but yet led by an 
unerring instinct--guided this stream   
into the bed of the ,church2 the vague  
craving found a definite object3 the    
,crusades were organised4 ,the ,holy    
,sepulchre1 the most sacred spot on     
earth1 was in the hands of the heathens2
 it was despised and defiled--what      
greater thing could a man do than hasten
 to its rescue and wrest it from the    
grasp of pagans1 giants and sorcerers8  
,in the fantastic imagination of the men
 of that period the ,lord's sepulchre   
was nothing but the earthly realisation 
of their yearning for the ,holy ,grail4 
,as far back as ,a4,d4 #ajjj ,gerbert   
had sent messengers to all nations1     
exhorting them to hoist their banners   

and march with him to the ,holy ,land4  
,it had been prophesied that he should  
be the first to read ,mass in           
,jerusalem2 a few ships were actually   
equipped at ,pisa--the first attempt at 
a ,crusade4 ,but at that time ,europe   
was not yet quite prepared for the      
extraordinary1 almost incomprehensible1 
enterprise--the conquest of a country   
which hardly anybody had ever seen and  
in which nobody had any practical       
interest4 ,before such an enterprise    
could be carried out all hearts must be 
filled by that uncontrollable and yet   
vague longing1 so characteristic of the 
great period of fantasy4 ,the suggestion
 that the wealth of the ,east1 exciting 
the greed of the western nations1 led to
 the ,crusades1 is an absolutely        
indefensible idea4 ,doubtless1 rumours  
of the fabulous treasure of the ,orient 
had stirred the imagination of ,europe1 
appealing far less1 however1 to the     
cupidity of the individual than to his  
desire for something strange1 new and   

incredible4 ,it was impossible to       
foresee the result of the first         
,crusade2 the crusader went to a strange
 land in order to fight--the return was 
in ,god's hand4 ,there have been at all 
times men coveting wealth1 but to make  
such men the instigators and organisers 
of the ,crusades is a deliberate attempt
 to represent a characteristic and      
unique event in the history of the world
 in the light of a commonplace and      
every-day occurrence4 ,in the first     
enchanted wood a man might chance upon a
 beautiful princess sitting beside a    
fountain1 nude and weeping2 but it was  
equally possible that a giant would rush
 upon the ,christian knight1 break his  
shield and exact heavy penalties4 ,it   
was possible to win the kingdom of a    
sultan or emir--it could be achieved by 
bravery and in a duel--and become a     
great king1 for a king in those days was
 no more than a large landed proprietor4
 ,such dreams were actually fulfilled in
 the most extraordinary way4 ,gottfried 

of ,bouillon1 a poor ,alsatian knight1  
might have become ,king of ,jerusalem1  
had he not refused to wear a crown of   
gold in a land where his ,saviour had   
worn a crown of thorns1 and contented   
himself with the title of ,protector of 
the ,holy ,land4  ,the embattled citadel
 of ,jerusalem1 like the ,holy ,grail1  
was pictured as being situated outside  
the world4 ,there the longing which had 
become so vast that it had outgrown the 
earth1 would be stilled4 ,a direct way  
must lead from ,jerusalem1 the centre of
 the earth--it still takes this position
 in ,dante's ,divine ,comedy--to        
,paradise4 ,was it not the spot where   
the ,cross of the ,saviour had been     
raised8 ,had not once before heaven     
opened above the city to receive ,his   
risen body8 ,was it not the scene of    
countless miracles in the past8 ,why    
should it be different now8 ,men knew   
practically nothing of ,palestine2 they 
had in their minds a fantastic picture  
tallying1 in every respect1 with        

,biblical accounts2 doubtless1 the      
footprints of the ,redeemer could easily
 be traced everywhere2 the possession of
 the country promised the fulfilment of 
transcendental dreams4  ,the impulse and
 the strength necessary for the         
organisation of the ,crusades were      
spiritual phenomena inherently foreign  
and even hostile to the ,church2 but    
thanks to the mental superiority of the 
popes of that period1 and the           
overpowering conception of a divine     
kingdom1 they became the instruments of 
the greatest triumphs vouchsafed to the 
,church of ,rome4 ,the hosts1 driven    
across the sea by inner restlessness and
 ill-defined longing1 in reality fought 
for the aggrandisement of the ,church4  
,the great ,hildebrand resolved to lead 
all ,christendom to ,jerusalem1 to found
 on the site of the ,holy ,sepulchre the
 divine kingdom preached by ,st4        
,augustine1 and invest--a risen         
,christ--the emperor and all the kings  
of the earth with their kingdoms4  ,the 

crusader and the knight in quest of the 
,holy ,grail present together a         
paradoxical combination of the          
,christian-ecclesiastical and the       
mundane-chivalric spirit1 which is quite
 in harmony with the spirit of the age4 
,these two worlds1 inward strangers1    
formed--in the ,order of the            
,knight-,templars1 for instance--a union
 which1 while possessing all the        
external symbols of chivalry1 attributed
 to it heterogeneous1 ecclesiastical    
motives2 the glory of battle and        
victory1 the caprice of a beautiful     
damsel1 were no longer to become the    
mainsprings of doughty exploits2        
henceforth the knight fought solely for 
the glory of ,god and the victory of    
,christianity4 ,in addition to ,king    
,arthur's knights1 the classical ,middle
 ,ages worshipped the ideal of these    
priestly warriors who waded through     
streams of blood to kneel humbly at the 
grave of the ,saviour1 of those seekers 
of the ,holy ,grail who dedicated       

themselves to a metaphysical task4 ,king
 ,arthur's ,round ,table served the     
actual orders of knighthood as a model4 
,not only the ,franciscans of ,italy1   
but also slow1 ,german mystics1 such as 
,suso and the profound ,johannes        
,tauler1 delighted in borrowing their   
similes and metaphors from knighthood4  
,tauler speaks of the scarlet knightly  
robes which ,christ received for ,his   
knightly devotion3 ,and by ,his         
chivalric exploits he won those knightly
 weapons which he wears before the      
,father and the angelic knighthood4     
,therefore ,christ exults when ,his     
knights elect also to put on such       
knightly garments 4441 etc4  ,not       
infrequently the ,saracens behaved far  
more generously than the ,christian     
armies4 ,a ,german chronicler1 ,albert  
von ,stade1 tells us that ,a4,d4 #abba  
the ,sultan of ,egypt of his own free   
will restored the ,lord's ,cross1       
permitted the ,christians to leave      
,egypt with all their belongings1 and   

commanded all prisoners to be set free1 
so that at that time #cj1jjj captives   
were released4 ,he also commanded his   
subjects to sell food to the rich and   
give alms to the poor and the sick4     
,occasionally the pope entered into an  
alliance with the enemies of            
,christendom against the emperor1 if the
 latter proved troublesome4 ,a4,d4 #abdf
 the ,sultan of ,egypt 7,malek as ,saleh
 ,ejul7 taught ,innocent ,,iv41 the     
speaker of all ,christendom1 the judge  
of the ,christian peoples1 the following
 lesson3 ,it is not befitting to us1 he 
wrote to him1 that we should make a     
treaty with the ,christians without the 
counsel and consent of the emperor4 ,and
 we have written to our ambassador at   
the court of the emperor1 informing him 
of what has been proposed to us by the  
,pope's nuncio1 including your message  
and suggestions4  ,the most pathetic    
symptom of the restlessness of the age  
was the ,children's ,crusade in #abab1  
which1 even at its actual occurrence1   

caused helpless amazement4 ,the reports 
of two ,german chroniclers are          
sufficiently interesting to be quoted   
verbally3 ,in the same year happened a  
very strange thing1 a thing which was   
all the more strange because it was     
unheard of since the creation of the    
world4 ,at ,easter and ,whitsuntide many
 thousands of boys from ,franconia and  
,teutonia1 from six years upwards1 took 
the ,cross without any external         
inducement or preaching1 and against the
 wish of their parents and relations1   
who sought to restrain them4 ,some left 
the plough which they had been guiding1 
others abandoned their flocks1 or any   
other task which they had been set to   
do1 banded together1 and with hoisted   
banner began to march to ,jerusalem1 in 
batches of twenty1 fifty and a hundred4 
,many people enquired of them at whose  
counsel and admonishment they were      
undertaking this journey1 7for it was   
not many years ago that many kings1 a   
great number of princes and countless   

people had travelled to the ,holy ,land1
 strongly armed1 and had returned home  
without having accomplished their       
desire17 telling them that in their     
tender years they had not yet sufficient
 strength to achieve anything1 and that 
therefore this thing was foolish and    
undertaken without due consideration2   
the children answered briefly that they 
were obeying ,god's will1 and would     
willingly and gladly suffer all the     
trials ,he would send them4 ,and they   
went their way1 some turning back at    
,mayence1 others at ,piacenza1 and      
others at ,rome2 a small number arrived 
at ,marseilles1 but whether they crossed
 the sea or not1 and what happened to   
them1 no one knows2 only that much is   
certain1 that of all the thousands who  
went forth1 only very few returned4     
,another chronicler wrote3 ,and at this 
time boys without a leader or guide1    
left the towns and villages of all      
countries1 eagerly journeying to the    
lands across the sea1 and when asked    

whither they were wending1 they replied3
 ',to ,jerusalem1 to the ,holy ,land4'  
,many of them were kept by their parents
 behind locked doors1 but they burst    
open the doors1 broke through the walls 
and escaped4 ,when the ,pope heard of   
these things he sighed heavily and said3
 ',these children shame us1 for they    
hasten to the recovery of the ,holy     
,land while we sleep4' ,no one knows how
 far they went and what became of them4 
,but many returned1 and when they were  
asked the reason of their expedition1   
they said they knew not4 ,at the same   
time nude women were seen hurrying      
through towns and villages1 speaking no 
word4  ,if it had not been for the      
,crusades1 something else must have     
happened to relieve the unbearable      
tension4 ,the world was longing for a   
great deed1 a deed overstepping the     
border-line of metaphysics1 and its     
enthusiasm was sufficient guarantee of  
achievement4 ,in the case of the        
individual1 vanity and boastfulness     

played no mean part4 ,thus the ,austrian
 minnesinger1 ,ulrich of ,lichtenstein1 
proposed taking the ,cross not to serve 
,god but to please his mistress4 ,it is 
quite probable1 though not historically 
proved1 that this veritable ,don        
,quixote dreamed of decorating the ,holy
 ,sepulchre with his lady's             
handkerchief1 but in the end he remained
 at home4 ,a journey to foreign lands1  
to return after years of yearning for   
the beloved1 her loyalty1 or her        
treachery1 supplied the romantic        
imagination of the age with endless     
material4 ,the story of the ,count von  
,gleichen and his two wives is famous to
 this day4 ,a charming ,provenal song   
tells of a maid who1 day after day1 sat 
by a fountain weeping for her lover4 ,at
 this spot they had bidden farewell to  
each other1 and here she was awaiting   
his return4 ,one day a pilgrim arrived1 
and she at once asked for news of her   
knight4 ,the pilgrim knew him and had a 
message for her4 ,after a short         

conversation he threw back his cowl and 
drew the delighted maiden into his arms1
 for it was he himself1 her lover1 who  
after many years of absence had returned
 and was first visiting the spot where1 
years ago1 he had said good-bye to her4 
,but there was another motive1 a        
religious one1 which1 joined to the     
universal lust of adventure1 dominated  
the whole mediaeval period to an        
extraordinary degree2 that motive was   
the idea of doing penance and--after all
 the failures of life--returning to     
,god4 ,the ,crusades offered an         
opportunity for combining one's heart's 
desire with this spiritual need4 ,of all
 good works there were none more        
pleasing to ,god1 and every participator
 was promised forgiveness of his sins4  
,in the troubadours' songs of the       
crusaders there is a strong yearning for
 penance and sanctification1 quite      
independent of the idea of the delivery 
of the ,holy ,sepulchre from the rule of
 the infidels4       ,all ,i held dear  

,i now abhor1      ,my pride1 my        
knightly rank and fame1      ,and seek  
the spot which all adore1      ,the     
pilgrim's goal--,jerusalem4  sang       
,guillem of ,poitiers1 one of the gayest
 of the troubadours4  ,only very few of 
the more thoughtful minds realised that 
divine thoughts have their source in the
 soul of man1 and that these ,crusades  
were obviously a senseless undertaking  
7not to mention the fact that ,god does 
not need human assistance74 ,it is a    
greater thing to worship ,god always in 
humility and poverty1 said the abbot1   
,peter of ,cluny1 than to journey to    
,jerusalem in great pomp and            
circumstance4 ,if1 therefore1 it is a   
good thing to visit ,jerusalem and stand
 on the soil which our ,lord's feet have
 trod1 it is a far better thing still to
 strive after heaven where our ,lord can
 be seen face to face4 ,both the great  
scholastic1 ,anselm of ,canterbury1 and 
,bernard of ,clairvaux1 were of the same
 opinion4 ,they shall aspire not to the 

earthly1 but to the heavenly ,jerusalem1
 and travel there not with their feet1  
but with the desire of their hearts4    
,and ,they seek ,god in external        
objects1 neglecting to look into their  
hearts1 in whose innermost depths dwells
 the divine4 ,and yet those same men1   
who even then seemed to have outgrown   
biblical religiosity1 were under the    
spell of the all-absorbing idea of the  
age4 ,bernard solved the contradiction  
in the following way3 ,it is not because
 ,his power has grown less that the     
,lord calls us feeble worms to protect  
,his own2 ,his word is deed1 and ,he    
could send more than twelve legions of  
angels to do ,his bidding2 but because  
it is the will of the ,lord your ,god to
 save you from perdition1 ,he gives you 
an opportunity to serve ,him4 ,in these 
words a significant change of the       
fundamental idea can already be traced4 
,peter of ,cluny worked for the         
,crusades1 and ,bernard1 one of the most
 influential and venerable personalities

 of the ,middle ,ages1 a man before     
whose word the popes bowed down1        
journeyed through the whole of ,france1 
inciting all hearts to fanatical        
enthusiasm4 ,whoever heard him preach   
forsook his worldly possessions and took
 the cross1 clamouring for ,peter       
himself to lead all ,christendom4       
,countless numbers flocked to his       
banner1 towns and castles stood forsaken
 and there was hardly one man to seven  
women4 ,the wives were made widows      
during the lifetime of their husbands4  
,thus ,bernard wrote to the ,pope1      
travelling through ,germany1 healing the
 sick by his mere presence1 and         
preaching to the people in a tongue no  
one could understand4 ,but the          
personality of this physically delicate 
man1 whose body was only kept alive by  
his spirit1 touched all hearts4 ,the    
prudent ,emperor1 ,conrad1 resisted for 
a long time1 and would have nothing to  
do with such an aimless enterprise4 ,but
 ,bernard's first sermon in the         

cathedral at ,speyer1 on ,christmas     
,day1 moved him to tears4 ,bernard left 
the pulpit and pinned the cross on the  
shoulder of the kneeling emperor4 ,by   
this symbolical act the metaphysical    
spirit of the time1 of which the ,church
 had obtained control for her own       
purposes1 visibly became master of      
political common-sense4  ,the ,crusades 
were one of the great movements matured 
by the newly-awakened metaphysical      
yearning4 ,the same spirit in another1  
profounder1 way1 manifested itself in   
the efforts of religious reform which   
were being made here and there4 ,the    
appearance and spread of heresy has     
always been the gauge by which the      
religious life of the individual must be
 measured1 says ,bttner very pertinently
 in his preface to his edition of       
,eckhart4 ,for the first time since the 
days of ,christ true religious feeling  
was again quickening the hearts of men2 
the ecclesiastical dogma1 which until   
then had represented absolute truth1 no 

longer satisfied their need4 ,soon      
opposition1 timidly at first1 made      
itself felt4 ,laymen ventured to        
interfere in the domain of religion4    
,all knowledge--and consequently all    
tradition and religion--had been for a  
thousand years the exclusive possession 
of the clergy2 those laymen who had any 
culture at all knew a little ,latin and 
a few scholastic propositions4 ,all this
 was changing4 ,despite reiterated      
ecclesiastical prohibitions1 parts of   
the ,bible were translated into the     
vulgar tongue and eagerly studied by    
ignorant folk2 everywhere men appeared  
to whom religion was a matter of vital  
importance1 men who strove to find ,god 
in their own souls1 instead of blindly  
accepting the ,god of foreign doctrine4 
,the more obvious cause of the growing  
dislike to ecclesiastical authority was 
the immorality of the priests4 ,the     
contrast between the professions of     
humility1 and the greed1 vice and       
tyranny of the clergy was too           

pronounced4 ,the ecclesiastical offices 
were publicly sold4 ,divine forgiveness 
was cheaper than a new garment2 every   
priest was allowed to keep a mistress if
 he paid a tax to the bishop4 ,two poems
 of the troubadour1 ,guillem ,figueiras1
 express the state of affairs very      
bluntly3 ,our shepherds have become     
thievish wolves1 plundering and         
despoiling the fold under the guise of  
messengers of peace4 ,they gently       
console their sheep night and day1 but  
once they have them in their power1     
these false shepherds let their flock   
perish and die4 ,in the other poem he   
says of the priest3       ,he lies in a 
woman's arms all night1      ,and       
wakes--defiled--in the morning light    
,to proffer the sacred host4  ,worse    
invectives even1 no less forcible than  
those of later reformers1 he hurled     
against ,rome4 ,in the flames and       
torments of hell is thy place6444 ,thou 
hast the appearance of an innocent lamb1
 but inwardly thou art a raging wolf1 a 

crowned snake1 begotten by a viper1 the 
friend of the devil6 ,even the          
good-natured ,german minnesinger1       
,walter von der ,vogelweide1 found      
bitter words against ,rome3 ,they point 
our way to ,god and go to hell          
themselves4 ,bernard of ,clairvaux1 the 
supporter of the ,church1 sharply       
criticised the abuses of pope and clergy
 in his book1 ,de ,consideratione3 ,the 
property of the poor is sown before the 
door of the rich1 the gold glitters in  
the gutter1 the people come hurrying up 
from all sides2 but not to the neediest 
is it given1 but to the strongest and to
 him who is first on the spot4 ,he      
accused the pope of extravagance and    
luxury3 ,was ,peter clothed in robes of 
silk1 covered with gold and precious    
stones8 ,was he carried in a litter     
surrounded by soldiers and vassals8 ,and
 he uttered a word which to this day is 
a historical truth3 ,in all thy         
splendour thou art the successor of     
,constantine rather than the successor  

of ,peter4  ,dissatisfaction with the   
life of the clergy and the tyranny of   
,rome was the more external reason      
which1 although it vexed even those who 
were indifferent to religion1 did not   
question the sacred tradition2 the other
 reason was more a matter of principle2 
it was rooted in the desire for a       
religious revival and openly attacked   
perverted truths4 ,the dreaded1 hated1  
and cruelly persecuted heretics were    
fearless men1 sturdily fighting for     
their convictions4 ,the fundamental     
ideal of these reformers was the        
suppression of the outward pomp of the  
,church and the return to the simplicity
 of the gospels4 ,their fates varied4   
,the gentle ,st4 ,francis of ,assisi was
 canonised2 the illumined ,eckhart1 on  
the other hand1 was tortured2 most of   
them1 like the ardent ,arnold of        
,brescia1 were burnt at the stake4 ,this
 conduct of the hierarchy towards the   
truly religious men is easily explained4
 ,the ,church was faced by a problem2 on

 the one hand1 the genuine and profound 
piety of these men was unmistakable1 but
 on the other1 the contrast of their    
teaching with ,church tradition was too 
obvious1 and by many of them too        
strongly emphasised to be silently      
ignored4  ,the ,provenal heretic1 ,peter
 of ,bruis1 seems to have been the first
 reformer who preached against          
iconolatry and even objected to the     
images of the ,crucified4 ,he ordered   
churches to be razed to the ground      
because he acknowledged only the        
invisible community of the saints4 ,he  
was burnt at ,st4 ,giles' by an         
infuriated mob4 ,more powerful1 and far 
more numerous than his followers1 the   
,peterbrusians1 were the ,cathari and   
the ,waldenses 7founded by ,peter       
,valdez ,a4,d4 #aagg7 who soon spread to
 ,northern ,italy and amalgamated with  
the sect of the ,lombards4 ,the ,cathari
 advocated a simple and ascetic life1 in
 accordance with the teaching of        
primitive ,christianity1 refrained from 

all ecclesiastical ceremonies and       
despised the sacraments1 particularly   
baptism4 ,more radical than later       
reformers1 they rejected the doctrine of
 transubstantiation1 and saw in the     
eucharist only a symbol of the union of 
,god and the soul4 ,this made their name
 synonymous with heresy4 ,but by far the
 most famous of heretical sects was the 
sect of the ,waldenses or ,albigenses4  
,it numbered amongst its adherents--if  
not publicly1 at any rate secretly--many
 of the great ,provenal lords1 and there
 can be no doubt that this community was
 permeated by the spirit of a renewed   
,christianity1 the ,christianity of ,st4
 ,francis and the ,german mystics4 ,the 
,albigenses believed that not ,christ1  
but ,his semblance only1 had been       
crucified2 they rejected the ,god of the
 ,old ,testament and their doctrine of  
the two creators1--the devil who created
 the objective world1 and the true ,god 
who created the spiritual world--is     
reminiscent of the loftiest ,parseeism  

and the profoundest gnosticism4 ,they   
regarded man as placed between good and 
evil2 the choice lay in his own hand4   
,an extraordinary poem by ,peire        
,cardinal--not by any means a           
heretic--breathes this spirit4 ,he      
confronts ,god not with the customary   
humility1 but as one power confronts the
 other4 ,i will write a new poem1 and on
 the day of the ,last ,judgment ,i will 
read it to ,him who has created me from 
nothing4 ,if ,he should condemn me to   
everlasting damnation1 ,i will say to   
,him3 ,lord1 have mercy on me1 for ,i   
have always striven against the wicked  
world1 7the troubadour here alludes to  
his many polemic poems7 and save me from
 the torments of hell4 ,the heavenly    
host will marvel at my speech4 ,and ,i  
shall say to ,god that ,he sins against 
,his creatures if he delivers them into 
the hands of the devil4 ,rather let ,him
 drive away the devils1 for then ,he    
will win more souls and all the world   
will be blessed4444 ,i will not despair 

of ,thee and therefore ,thou must       
forgive my sins and save my soul and my 
heart4 ,if ,i had not been born ,i      
should not have sinned4 ,it would be a  
great wrong and a sin if ,thou didst    
condemn me to burn in hell              
everlastingly1 for truly ,i may accuse  
,thee of having sent me a thousand evils
 for one blessing4  ,most terrible was  
the punishment inflicted upon ,provence 
by ,innocent ,,iii4 ,that highly        
intellectual pope realised that he was  
faced by a revival of the true religious
 instinct from which the authority of   
the ,church had far more to fear than   
from all sultans and emirs put together4
 ,the system of absolute1 immutable     
values was threatened with destruction4 
,in the year #abjh the ,spanish nobleman
 ,dominicus ,guzman founded the order of
 the ,dominicans and the ,inquisition1  
which invaded ,provence together with   
the papal army supported by ,france for 
political reasons4 ,half a million men  
were butchered in order to crush the    

spirit understood by a few hundreds at  
most2 one stake was kindled by the      
other2 in the memory of man no greater  
sacrifice to tradition and dogma had    
ever been made4 ,simon de ,montfort1 the
 head of the expedition1 sent the       
following laconic report to the pope3   
,we spared neither sex nor age nor name1
 but slew all with the edge of the      
sword4   ,the troubadours bewailed the  
desolate country1 the beauty that was no
 more4 ,montanhagol1 although greatly   
intimidated by the ,inquisition1 wrote a
 long poem on the subject1 and the      
otherwise unknown ,bernard ,sicard de   
,marvajols laments3       ,oh6 ,toulouse
 and ,provence1      ,and thou1 land of 
,agence1      ,carcassonne and ,beziers6
      ,as once ,i beheld you--as ,i     
behold you to-day6  ,jacob of ,vitry1 a 
cultured ,french prelate1 took a        
different view4 ,he inveighed against   
the foolish poems1 the lies of the      
poets1 the sing-song of the women1 the  
coarse innuendoes of the jesters4 ,such 

vermin flourishes on the stream of      
temporal abundance2 it literally crawls 
over all food1 for1 as a rule1 the meal 
is followed by a deluge of idle talk4 ,a
 reconciliation of the two worlds was   
impossible4  ,while the ,waldenses      
flourished in ,provence1 various        
heretical sects arose in the west of    
,germany and in the ,netherlands2       
prominent among them were the           
,apostolics1 who took the ,gospels      
literally1 and introduced communism and 
polygamy1 and the communities of the    
,beghards and ,beguines1 which roused   
little public attention1 and did not aim
 at reform1 but advocated a life of     
contemplation4 ,they found supporters in
 all ranks of the community1 and were   
connected with the later ,german        
mystics4 ,an indictment preserved for us
 proves the religious originality of one
 of those sects1 ,the ,brethren of the  
,free ,spirit1 who upheld the heretical 
view that it were better that one man   
should attain to spiritual perfection   

than that a hundred monasteries should  
be founded4 ,at the same time the       
inspired seer and hysterical nun1       
,hildegarde of ,bingen1 wrote wild      
letters to the popes1 denouncing the    
vice existing in the ,church and the    
degradation of religion4 ,but thou1 oh  
,rome1 who art well-nigh at the point of
 death1 thou wilt be shaken so that the 
strength of thy feet shall forsake thee1
 because thou hast not loved the royal  
maiden righteousness with an ardent     
love1 but with the torpor of sleep1 and 
thou hast become a stranger to her4     
,therefore she will desert thee if thou 
do not call her back4 ,pope ,adrian     
,,iv4 replied1 almost humbly3 ,we long  
to hear words of warning from you1      
because men say that you are endowed    
with the spirit of the divine miracles4 
,st4 ,bernard craved ,hildegarde's      
prayer1 two emperors1 popes1 bishops and
 abbots corresponded with her1          
requesting her prayer and advice1 and   
the interpretation of difficult passages

 of the ,scriptures4 ,hildegarde replied
 in an obscure1 apocalyptical language3 
,in the mysteries of the true wisdom    
have ,i seen and heard this4  ,prophets 
predicting the revival of the ,gospel of
 ,christ and the regeneration of the    
world appeared in the north and south4  
,the ,italian monk and fanatic1 ,joachim
 of ,floris 7about ,a4,d4 #abjj71       
preached that this regeneration was     
predestined to happen4 ,a precursor of  
,hegel1 he taught three eras3 the       
dominion of the ,father1 or the first   
era1 characterised by fear and the      
severity of the law2 the dominion of the
 ,son1 or the era of faith and          
compassion2 and the dominion of the     
,holy ,ghost1 or the era of love4 ,this 
last era was beginning to dawn1 and in  
many places ,joachim's words were       
regarded as the prophecies of a seer4   
,thus the monk1 ,gerhard of ,borgo ,san 
,domino1 claimed for the dawning third  
era the preaching of a new gospel of the
 ,holy ,ghost1 an unmistakable proof    

that the spirit of heresy was the       
outcome of religious enthusiasm4  ,the  
people despised the clergy1 and were    
favourably disposed to every reformer2  
at the same time they were entirely     
under the sway of a superstitious awe of
 the administrators of mysterious magic 
which1 by appropriate practices1 or by  
means of presents1 could be turned to   
advantage4 ,the fetichism of relics     
flourished everywhere2 a sufficient     
number of pieces of the ,cross of       
,christ were sold and worshipped to     
furnish trees for a big forest--to say  
nothing of the bones of numerous saints 
with which many monasteries1 more       
especially ,french monasteries1 did a   
lucrative trade4 ,even at the time this 
traffic repelled the finer intellects2  
in ,a4,d4 #abjj1 ,guibert1 the abbot of 
,novigentum1 preached against the cult  
of the saints and the worship of relics1
 adducing all the well-known arguments  
which to this day1 however1 have proved 
insufficient to overcome the evil4 ,in  

,guibert's words1 ,it was an abominable 
nuisance that certain limbs should be   
detached from the body1 thereby defying 
the law that all bodies must turn to    
dust4 ,how can the bones of any man be  
worth framing in gold and silver1 he    
asked1 when the body of the ,son of ,god
 was laid beneath a miserable stone8 ,he
 exhorted the people to turn from the   
visible and obvious to the invisible4   
,he maintained that the worship of      
relics was opposed to true religion     
because not until the disciples were    
bereaved of the bodily presence of      
,christ could the ,holy ,ghost descend  
upon them4 ,he even rejected the        
prevalent1 entirely materialistic1 view 
of a life after death1 and dared to     
suggest that the torments of hell should
 be interpreted spiritually4 ,the       
eternal contemplation of the ,lord is   
the supreme bliss of the righteous2 who 
could dare to deny that the misery of   
the damned consists in the eternal      
bereavement of the face of the ,lord8   

,religion had been lost2 what should    
have been a vital force had become as   
far as the most learned were concerned a
 knowledge of historical events4 ,many  
saw in a return to evangelical          
simplicity and love the only remedy2 but
 it was the life1 not the preaching of a
 man1 which once again was vouchsafed to
 the world as a great example4 ,nobody  
has shown me what ,i should do2 but the 
,most ,high ,himself has commanded me to
 live according to the ,gospels4        
,francis of ,assisi accepted the        
accounts of the life of ,christ with the
 utmost navet2 he neither searched for  
an allegorical meaning 7as the          
theologians did71 nor did he subordinate
 the man ,jesus to the divine principle 
of the logos 7in the manner of the great
 mystics74 ,to him the imitation of     
,christ meant a ministry of love2 he did
 not conceive religion as dogma and the 
political power of a hierarchy1 but as a
 state of the heart4 ,this is a         
characteristic which he shares with     

,eckhart1 the great recreator of        
,european religion1 although he was     
fundamentally alien to him4 ,st4        
,francis never uttered a single hostile 
word against tradition or the clergy2 he
 never inveighed against the corruption 
of morals and religious indifference1 as
 other reformers did2 he exerted a      
reformatory influence solely by his     
life1 for he possessed the secret of the
 great love4 ,during his whole life he  
was averse to laying down rules for his 
followers1 although continually urged to
 do so by popes and bishops4 ,his       
importance does not lie in the          
foundation of an order with certain     
regulations and a specific object1 but  
in the fact that he was a vital force4  
,he broke the norms of the ,church      
whenever it seemed right to him to do   
so1 for he was absolutely sure of       
himself2 without being ordained he      
preached to the people in his own       
tongue1 probably the first man 7after   
the ,provenal ,peter ,valdez7 who did   

so2 without possessing the slightest    
authority he consecrated his friend     
,clara as a nun4 ,innocent ,,iii41 who  
made the suppression of heresy the task 
of his life1 showed great intelligence  
and wisdom in sanctioning ,st4 ,francis'
 sermons to the people and acknowledging
 his unecclesiastical brotherhood4 ,this
 probably transformed a dangerous       
revolutionary into a faithful servant of
 the ,church4 ,maybe the ,church was    
indebted to ,st4 ,francis for being     
saved from a great early reformation2   
signs of it were not wanting1 and       
another ,arnold of ,brescia might have  
arisen and brought about her overthrow4 
,it is doubtful whether the ,church     
would have come out of a ,franciscan    
crusade as victoriously as she came out 
of her struggle with ,provence4  ,st4   
,francis regarded science with          
indifference4 ,every demon1 he said1 has
 more scientific knowledge than all men 
on earth put together4 ,but there is    
something a demon is incapable of1 and  

in it lies the glory of man4 ,a man can 
be faithful to ,god4 ,with those words  
he had inwardly overcome tradition and  
theology1 and direct knowledge of the   
divine had dawned in his soul4 ,he even 
forbade his brethren to own copies of   
the ,scriptures4 ,god in the heart--that
 was the core of his doctrine4 ,with all
 his wonderful intuition he was         
absolutely innocent of the pride of     
ignorance2 he really felt himself       
smaller than the smallest of men--unlike
 the bishops and popes who called       
themselves the servants of the servants 
of ,god1 without attaching the least    
meaning to it4 ,how characteristic of   
his simple mind was his passionate      
insistence on the respectful handling of
 the vessels used at holy ,mass1 because
 they were destined to receive the body 
of the ,lord4 ,and yet he hardly knew   
anything of the symbolic transmutation  
of bread and wine--he accepted the      
miracle without a thought1 like a child4
  ,in the year #abai1 ,st4 ,francis took

 part in a ,crusade4 ,while the battle  
of ,damietta was raging1 he went into   
the camp of the ,saracens and preached  
before the ,sultan1 who received him    
with respect and sent him back unharmed4
 ,according to the legend1 he then went 
to ,bethlehem and ,jerusalem1 where the 
,sultan1 touched by his personality1    
gave him access to the sacred shrines4  
,to ,francis this pilgrimage to the     
,holy ,land had a profound meaning1 for 
to him ,christianity meant the imitation
 of ,christ4  ,although he lived on     
bread himself1 and poverty was his      
chosen lady1 he regarded the asceticism 
of the early ,middle ,ages as futile and
 rejected it4 ,the fire of life burned  
in him so ardently that he gave no      
thought to the morrow1 and literally    
followed the admonition of the ,gospels3
 ,so likewise1 whosoever he be of you   
that forsaketh not all that he hath1 he 
cannot be ,my disciple4 ,we read in the 
,fioretti 7perhaps the oldest popular   
collection of poems in existence7 that  

he expressly prohibited asceticism as a 
principle2 an idea too foreign to the   
spirit of the age to have been an       
invention4 ,he also disapproved of the  
secluded monastic life1 then the        
universal ideal of the vita             
contemplativa1 and insisted on his      
followers living in the world1 radiating
 love and sustaining life by the charity
 of their fellow-men4  ,there is an     
anecdote contained in the ,fioretti1    
reflecting the great superiority and    
lucidity of his mind4 ,on a cold        
winter's day he and ,brother ,leo were  
tramping through the deep snow4 ,brother
 ,leo1 said ,st4 ,francis1 if we could  
restore sight to all blind men1 heal all
 cripples1 expel evil spirits and recall
 the dead to life--it would not be      
perfect joy4 ,and after a while3 ,and if
 we knew all the secrets of science1 the
 course of the stars1 the ways of the   
beasts--it would not be perfect joy--and
 if by our preaching we could convert   
all infidels to the true faith--even    

that would not be perfect joy4 ,tell me 
then1 ,father1 said ,brother ,leo1 what 
would be perfect joy8 ,if we now knocked
 at the convent gates1 cold and wet and 
faint with hunger1 and the porter sent  
us away with harsh words1 so that we    
should have to stand in the snow until  
the evening2 if we thus waited1 bearing 
all things patiently without            
murmuring--that would be perfect joy3   
the mercy of self-control4  ,he met     
death singing1 says his biographer1     
,thomas of ,celano1 the author of the   
magnificent ,dies irae1 dies illa4 ,on  
his deathbed ,st4 ,francis composed and 
sang without interruption the ,hymn to  
the ,sun1 that lofty song of praise in  
which the sum total of his noble life1  
love for all created things1--is        
comprised and transfigured4 ,it         
expresses a new form of devotion1       
composed of the ecstasy of love and     
perfect humility4 ,he embraced in his   
heart his brother ,sun1 his sister      
,moon1 the dear ,stars2 his brother     

,wind1 his sister and mother ,earth2 and
 on the day of his death this brother   
seraphicus added to it a powerful and   
touching song of praise of his brother  
,death4 ,the legend has it that a flock 
of singing-birds descended on the roof  
of the cottage in which he lay dying2   
the songs of his little sisters         
accompanied him to the world beyond the 
grave4  ,we are justified in comparing  
this death1 which was sustained by the  
fundamental forces of that era1 soul and
 emotion1 to that other1 more famous1   
death of antiquity4 ,socrates died      
without in the least succumbing to any  
personal feeling1 supported by the      
purely logical consideration that it was
 expedient to obey the laws of the      
,state4 ,his death was the application  
of a universal proposition to an        
individual case1 and because no one     
could accuse ,socrates of a dialectical 
error1 the conclusion1 his death1 had to
 take place4  ,francis and some of his  
successors realised in their lives the  

simple1 religious1 fundamental emotion  
of love in a way which the people could 
clearly understand4 ,god's minstrels was
 the name given to his followers1       
because they spoke and sang of the love 
of ,god without ecclesiastical ceremony4
 ,jacopone da ,todi 7#abcf-acjf71       
probably next to ,dante and ,guinicelli 
the greatest poet which ,italy has      
produced1 praised the transcendent love 
of ,god in ecstatic verses4 ,he was the 
religious counterpart of the            
troubadours2 his passionate devotion to 
the child ,jesus1 the ,madonna and the  
,crucified1 eclipses their most ardent  
lyrics4 ,these southerners could not    
forgo the visible emblems of their      
religion2 the infinitely simple         
principle that only he who calls nothing
 his own1 and desires no earthly goods1 
is perfectly free1 and can never fall   
foul of his neighbour1 was1 if not lived
 up to1 at any rate understood and      
respected4 ,the grateful hearts of the  
people surrounded the name of ,st4      

,francis with legends2 the study of his 
life inspired ,giotto1 the father of the
 new art1 to the study of plant and     
animal life4 ,the story of ,st4 ,francis
 is written on the walls of the         
cathedral at ,assisi1 the first         
monumental work of ,italian art4  ,st4  
,francis re-lived the terrestrial life  
of ,jesus2 in one direction he excelled 
his model1 for though the love of       
,christ embraced all mankind1 the heart 
of ,st4 ,francis went out to all things1
 beasts and plants and stars4 ,he       
applied the words1 ,whatsoever ye do to 
the least of my brethren1 ye have done  
unto me1 to ,brother ,bear and his      
sisters the little birds4 ,he was one of
 the first men1 since the ,greek era1   
who saw nature in its true aspect and   
not as a hieroglyphic of the divine     
word4 ,men had realised with a feeling  
of helplessness the dangers of the      
elements1 without perceiving their      
magnificence2 they had speculated on and
 attempted to decipher the secret       

language of the terrestrial and         
celestial phenomena4 ,the discovery of  
the beauty of nature1 and with it the   
revival of aesthetics1 was an essential 
part of the new-born civilisation4 ,this
 fact was accomplished--in an almost    
sentimental way--by the troubadours and 
minnesingers4 ,but the relationship of  
,st4 ,francis to nature was something   
very different4 ,the co-ordination of   
man and beast--in his sermon to the     
birds1 for instance--cannot be called   
anything but frankly pagan4 ,st4        
,francis said to his disciples3 ,tarry a
 little while in the road while ,i go   
and preach to my little sisters1 the    
birds4 ,and he went into the fields and 
began to preach to the birds which sat  
on the ground2 and straightway all the  
others flew down from the trees and     
flocked round him1 and did not fly away 
until he had blessed them2 and when he  
touched them1 they did not move4 ,and   
these were the words which he spoke to  
them3 ,my brothers and sisters1 little  

birds1 praise ,god and thank ,him that  
,he has given you wings with which to   
fly and clothed you with a garment of   
feathers4 ,that he admitted your kind   
into ,noah's ark so that your race      
should not disappear from the earth4 ,be
 grateful to ,him that ,he has given you
 the air for your kingdom2 you sow not1 
neither do you reap1 but your ,heavenly 
,father gives you abundance of food4 ,he
 gave you the rivers and fountains2 ,he 
gave you the mountains and valleys as a 
refuge1 and the high trees so that you  
may build your nests in safety4 ,and    
because you can neither spin nor cook1  
,god clothed you and your little ones4  
,behold the greatness of the love of    
your ,creator6 ,beware of the sin of    
ingratitude and diligently praise ,god  
all day6 ,and when he had thus spoken1  
the birds opened their beaks1 beat their
 wings and bowed to the ground4  ,more  
than a hundred years later 7#acjj-acfe71
 a man was living in ,swabia whose soul 
was kindred to the soul of ,st4         

,francis3 ,suso1 who is1 as a rule1     
classed with the mystics4 ,he had a     
profound1 typically ,german love of     
meadow and forest1 and expressed it more
 exquisitely than the best among the    
minnesingers4 ,look above you and around
 you and behold the vastness of heaven  
and the speed of its revolutions4 ,the  
,lord has emblazoned it with seven      
planets1 each of which--not only the    
sun--is far larger than the earth2 he   
has adorned it with myriads of radiant  
stars4 ,see how serenely the glorious   
sun is riding in the cloudless sky1     
giving to the earth abundance of fruit6 
,behold the verdure of the meadow6 ,the 
trees are bursting into leaf and the    
grass is springing up2 behold the       
smiling flowers and listen to glen and  
dale re-echoing with the sweet song of  
the nightingales and little singing     
birds2 the beasts which the bitter      
winter drove into nooks and crannies1   
and into the dark ground1 are emerging  
from their hiding-places to rejoice in  

the sun and seek a mate4 ,young and old 
are glad with an exceeding joy4 ,oh6    
,thou gentle ,god1 how fair art ,thou in
 ,thy creatures6 ,oh6 fields and        
meadows1 how surpassing is your beauty6 
,or3 ,my dear brethren1 what more shall 
,i say to you than that my eyes have    
seen many gladsome sights4 ,i walked    
across the flowering meadows and        
listened to the heavenly harps of the   
little birds praising their gentle and  
loving ,creator so that the woods echoed
 with their songs4 ,and1 more           
compassionate even than ,st4 ,francis3  
,i will say nothing of the children of  
man2 but the misery and sorrow of all   
the beasts and little birds1 and all    
created things1 is well-nigh breaking my
 heart2 and having no power to help     
them1 ,i sighed1 and prayed to the ,most
 ,high1 ,most ,merciful ,lord1 that ,he 
would deliver them4 ,his description of 
a paradisean meadow sounds like the     
description of a picture by ,fra        
,angelico3 ,now behold with your own    

eyes the heavenly meadow6 ,lo6 ,what    
summer joy6 ,behold the kingdom of sweet
 ,may1 the valley of all true joy6 ,glad
 eyes are gazing into glad eyes6 ,hark  
to the harps and fiddles1 the singing   
and laughter6 ,young men and maidens are
 leading the dance6 ,love without sorrow
 shall reign for ever4444 etc4 ,there is
 a picture1 drawn by this same ,suso1   
representing the journey of man through 
life1 his departure from ,god and his   
return4 ,in this picture the path of    
humanity is renunciation and asceticism2
 death flourishes his scythe above the  
heads of a dancing couple1 and          
underneath is written3 ,this is earthly 
love2 its end is sorrow2 to such an     
extent was this sincere and sensitive   
man under the influence of the          
traditional hatred of the world which   
,eckhart1 his great master1 had         
completely overcome4  ,provenals and    
,italians sang the delight of spring1   
and the ,german minnesingers greeted it 
as the deliverer from all the hardships 

of the severe winter2 with the latter it
 was more a childish delight in the     
open-air life which had again become    
possible1 after the long imprisonment of
 winter1 than pure joy in beauty4 ,but  
some of the ,german epic poems1 ,tristan
 and ,isolde1 for instance1 contain     
genuine1 sincere descriptions of sylvan 
beauty4 ,the student of art1 especially 
the ,german art of the ,renascence1     
cannot help being struck by the         
extraordinary love with which quite     
insignificant objects of nature1 such as
 a bird1 or a flower1 are treated4 ,the 
familiar things of every-day life were  
in this way brought into connection with
 solemn biblico-historical subjects4    
,there is no doubt that at all times a  
certain keen perception of the beauty of
 nature has been inherent in some       
favoured individuals2 but the           
universally accepted opinion that only  
the supernal was really beautiful1 and  
that terrestrial beauty was merely its  
reflected glory1 was too strong even for

 them4 ,thus we have seen ,suso         
translating the beauty of the earthly   
spring to the kingdom of heaven4  ,at   
the same time men were beginning to     
travel to distant countries for the sole
 purpose of seeing new scenes and       
acquiring fresh knowledge4 ,the famous  
,venetian1 ,marco ,polo1 was the first  
,european who 7in #acjj7 visited        
,central ,asia1 crossed ,china and      
,thibet1 and brought news to ,europe of 
the fairyland of ,japan4 ,sight-seeing  
as an end in itself was discovered4     
,long sea-voyages for commercial        
purposes were no novelty1 but no human  
foot had ever trod the summits of the   
,lower ,alps1 unless it had been the    
foot of a peasant whose cattle had      
strayed4 ,petrarch was the first man 7in
 #accf7 to climb a barren mountain1 the 
,mont ,ventoux in ,provence1 voluntarily
 undergoing a certain amount of fatigue 
for sheer delight in the beauty of      
nature4 ,this was a great1 an immortal  
deed1 greater than all his sonnets and  

treatises put together4 ,in a long      
letter which has been preserved to us1  
he describes with much spirit and       
erudition this extraordinary ascent1    
before whose profound significance all  
the ,alpine exploits of our time shrink 
into paltry gymnastic exercises4  ,the  
beauty of nature discovered and         
appreciated1 interest began to be       
evinced in the relationship existing    
between the various phenomena and there 
arose a desire to obtain ocular proof of
 what was written in the venerable      
books--perhaps even make new            
discoveries4 ,the first man of any      
importance in this direction was the    
,german ,albrecht ,bollstdt 7,albertus  
,magnus71 who1 although he contributed  
more than any other man to the          
promulgation of ,aristotelian           
philosophy1 wrote a book on natural     
history founded on personal observation2
 his great ,english contemporary1       
however1 ,roger ,bacon1 is the true     
father of modern experimental science4  

,it was he who coined the expression    
scientia experimentalis1 and framed the 
principle that all research must be     
based on the study of nature4 ,he       
maintained that experience was the      
mistress of all sciences1 and said3 ,i  
respect ,aristotle and account him the  
prince of philosophers1 but ,i do not   
always share his opinion4 ,aristotle and
 the other philosophers have planted the
 tree of science1 but the latter has not
 by any means put forth all its branches
 or matured all its fruit4 ,this        
thought1 though it seems to us          
self-evident1 was of great moment in the
 age of scholasticism4 ,bacon spent ten 
years in prison2 but in spite of        
everything1 he was so much under the    
influence of scholasticism that he      
considered it the task of philosophy to 
adduce evidence for the truth of the    
,christian dogma4  ,here it is essential
 roughly to sketch the essence of the   
philosophical thought of that period1   
and point out the way which led from the

 ,christianity of the ,fathers of the   
,church and scholasticism to the        
religion of unhistorical ,christianity1 
the so-called mysticism4 ,scholasticism 
had reached its climax in the thirteenth
 century2 universities were founded in  
,paris1 ,oxford and ,padua1 and he who  
aspired to the full dignity of learning 
had to take his degrees there2 even     
,eckhart did not neglect to obtain his  
scholastic education in ,paris4         
,scholasticism was an imposing and yet  
strangely grotesque system of the world1
 built up--before a background of       
blazing stakes--of scriptural passages  
and ecclesiastical tradition1 lofty1    
pure thought and antique-mediaeval      
superstition4 ,its fundamental problem1 
the determination of the border line    
between faith and knowledge1 was purely 
philosophical4 ,while the older         
scholasticism1 based on ,platonic       
traditions1 endeavoured to bring these  
into harmony with ,christianity1 that is
 to say1 prove the revelations by       

dialectics1 ,albertus ,magnus and1      
authoritatively1 his pupil1 ,thomas     
,aquinas 7#abbf-abgd71 strictly         
distinguished1 by the use of            
,aristotelian weapons1 the rational or  
perceptive truths from the supernatural 
verities or the subjects of faith4 ,this
 distinction1 made in order to safeguard
 dogma1 quickly revealed its            
double-face4 ,the handmaiden philosophy 
rebelled against her mistress theology1 
and asked her for her credentials4      
,according to the classic and dogmatic  
doctrine of ,thomas1 the natural        
verities alone could be grasped by human
 understanding2 the supernatural or     
revealed truths 7the dogmas7 were beyond
 proof and scientific cognition4 ,to    
submit them to research was not only an 
impossible task1 but ,thomas stigmatised
 every effort in this direction as      
heresy1 fondly believing that he had    
once and for all safeguarded the        
position of faith4 ,but more resolute   
and profound thinkers1 although not in  

so many words attacking the authority of
 the ,scriptures1 and leaving ,thomas'  
border-line unquestioned1 found the     
unfathomable truths not in              
ecclesiastical tradition but in their   
own souls1 thus investing faith with a  
new meaning1 unassailable by criticism4 
,the idea of drawing a line between     
perceivable or rational truths and      
imperceivable or divine truths1 is      
fraught with the burning question as to 
the limits of human knowledge1 a        
question which to this day remains      
unanswered4 ,in the course of time the  
limits were extended in favour of       
imperfect knowledge 7but the character  
of the unknowable was problematised and 
questioned74 ,while ,thomas was still   
convinced of the possibility of proving 
the existence of a ,god by the power of 
the human intellect1 ,duns ,scotus      
removed the problem of the existence of 
a ,god and the immortality of the soul  
from the domain of science1 and made    
both propositions a matter of faith4    

,william of ,occam1 more uncompromising 
than ,duns ,scotus1 maintained the      
absolute impossibility of acquiring     
knowledge of supernatural things1 and   
taught--on this point1 too1 anticipating
 ,kant--that objective knowledge        
acquired through the senses should      
precede abstract knowledge4 ,the last   
conclusion of nominalism was thus       
arrived at1 the existence of universal  
conceptions1 or universals1 supposed to 
exist outside material things--the curse
 of the ,platonic inheritance--declared 
to be impossible1 and reality conceded  
to the individual only4 ,roscellinus1   
the founder of this doctrine1 had still 
been content to deny the existence of   
the conception of deity1 leaving the    
individual persons1 ,father1 ,son and   
,holy ,ghost1 as real individuals1      
untouched4  ,we see from the foregoing  
that the universally derided            
scholasticism travelled along the whole 
line of modern thought3 from the realism
 of ,thomas1 which leaves the universals

 as yet unassailed by doubt and         
occupying the very heart of knowledge1  
past the first and1 to our view1 very   
modest doubts of the nominalists1 to the
 agnosticism of ,bacon1 ,duns and       
,occam4  ,with the new position of      
decided nominalism the foundation was   
prepared for the experimental sciences  
on the one hand1 and mysticism on the   
other4 ,for the conclusion that things  
supernatural are a closed book to us may
 have two results3 on the one hand1 the 
rejection of the transcendental and the 
victory of science2 on the other1 the   
need to descend into the profoundest    
depths of the universe and the soul1 and
 grasp by intuition what common sense   
does not see4  ,the time was ripe and   
the consummators came3 ,dante in the    
south1 ,eckhart in the countries north  
of the ,alps4 ,with regard to ,dante1 ,i
 will say one thing only2 he gathered   
together all the achievements of the new
 art and transcended them in a work     
which has never been surpassed4 ,the    

profoundly symbolical words1 ,the new   
life is beginning1 are written at the   
commencement of his ,vita ,nuova1 and   
with his ,divine ,comedy the art of     
,europe had attained perfection4  ,it is
 necessary to give a more detailed      
account of ,eckhart4 ,he had been almost
 forgotten in favour of his pupils1     
,tauler and ,suso1 and the unknown      
author of the ,theologica ,germanica 7to
 which ,luther wrote a preface71 but    
to-day a faint idea of the great        
importance of this man is beginning to  
dawn upon the world4 ,eckhart was the   
greatest creative religious genius since
 ,jesus1 and ,i believe that in time his
 writings will be considered equal to   
the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john4 ,he grasped  
the spirit of religion with unparalleled
 depth2 everything produced by the      
highly religious later mediaeval era    
pales before his illumination4 ,compared
 to him1 ,st4 ,augustine1 ,st4 ,bernard1
 and even ,st4 ,francis dwindle into    
insignificance2 all the later reformers 

are small beside the greatness of his   
soul4 ,every one of his sermons contains
 profound passages1 such as ,god must   
become ,i and ,i must become ,god4 ,the 
soul as a separate entity must be so    
completely annihilated that nothing     
remains except ,god1 yea1 that it       
becomes more glorious than ,god1 as the 
sun is more glorious than the moon4 ,the
 ,scriptures were written and ,god      
created the world solely that ,he may be
 born in the soul and the soul again in 
,him4 ,the essence of all grain is      
wheat1 of all metal gold1 and of all    
creatures man4 ,thus spoke a great man3 
',there is no beast1 but it is in some  
way a semblance of man4' ,the least     
faculty of my soul is more infinite than
 the boundless heavens4 ,again we       
understand by the kingdom of ,god the   
soul2 for the soul and the ,deity are   
one4 ,the soul is the universe and the  
kingdom of ,god4 ,god dwells so much    
within the soul that all ,his divinity  
depends on it4 ,man shall be free and   

master of all his deeds1 undestroyed and
 unsubdued4  ,eckhart was the first man 
who thought consecutively in the ,german
 vernacular1 and who made this          
philosophically still virginal language 
a medium for expressing profound        
thought4 ,in addition he wrote ,latin   
treatises which were discovered a short 
time ago2 ,i have not read them1 but ,i 
have no doubt that his profoundest      
convictions were expressed in the       
,german tongue4 ,the ,latin language has
 at all times fettered the spirit far   
more successfully than the still        
untainted and living ,german4  ,the     
religious genius of a single individual 
had created ,christianity4 ,but from the
 very beginning it was misunderstood2   
the salvation of the world was linked to
 the person of a man who had aspired to 
be an example to the whole race4 ,the   
term1 ,son of ,god1 was understood in   
the sense of the hero-cult of antiquity2
 possibly the ,jewish faith in a        
,messiah1 the politico-national hope of 

the ,children of ,israel1 was a good    
deal to blame for this4 ,a historical   
event was translated into metaphysic4   
,the only truly religious man was made  
the centre of a new mythology and navely
 worshipped4 ,it may sound like a       
paradox1 but it is a fact that the whole
 of the first millenary was inwardly    
irreligious2 it concealed its want of   
metaphysical intuition behind the       
falsification of historical events4 ,the
 entire mediaeval 7and a large          
proportion of the ,protestant7 theology 
laboured to obtain an intellectual grasp
 of the doctrine of a unique historical 
salvation of humanity and frame it into 
a dogma4 ,and thus occurred that        
unparalleled misunderstanding 7a        
misunderstanding which never clouded the
 mind of ,india7 which based religion1  
the timeless metaphysical treasure of   
the soul1 on the historical record of an
 event which had happened in ,asia      
,minor1 and had come down to us in a    
more or less garbled--some say entirely 

falsified--version4 ,this was the great 
sin of ,christianity3 ,it regarded a    
historical event1 revealing the very    
essence of religion1 and consequently   
capable of being formulated1 as a divine
 intervention for the purpose of        
bringing about the salvation of the     
world1 instead of recognising in the    
sublime figure of the founder of the    
,christian religion a great1 perhaps    
even perfect1 incarnation of the        
eternally new relationship between ,god 
and the soul4 ,it promulgated the       
strange thought that only the one soul1 
the soul of the founder1 was divine1 and
 instead of teaching the divinity of    
humanity1 it taught the divinity of this
 one man only--,jesus became a ,god who 
could no longer be looked upon as the   
perfect specimen and prototype of the   
race1 but before whom it behoved man to 
kneel and pray for salvation4 ,perhaps  
it was not possible to understand the   
new doctrine in any other way2 before   
men can conceive the idea of their      

divinity1 they must have become         
conscious of their souls4  ,this        
complete misunderstanding and           
externalising of religion which took    
place in the first millenary1 and which 
can never now be retrieved1 is          
fundamentally pagan1 antique4 ,the      
record of the salvation of the world1   
achieved by a hero once and for all     
time1 the historification of the divine 
spark which is daily re-born in the     
soul1 entirely corresponds to the ,greek
 myths of gods and demi-gods which      
before their new1 symbolical            
interpretation1 were taken quite        
literally4 ,i am not now concerned with 
the problem of how far the antique      
heroes and ,eastern mysteries directly  
influenced the conception of the figure 
of ,christ2 ,i only wish to emphasise   
the profound contrast between true      
religion which springs up in the soul of
 the individual1 and historical         
tradition4 ,if there is such a thing as 
religion1 it must exist equally for all 

men1 for those who accidentally received
 a report of a certain historical event1
 as well as for those who remained in   
ignorance of the fact4 ,all heretical   
demonstrations were rooted in a vague   
realisation of this contrast4 ,but      
,eckhart accomplished the unparalleled  
deed of once more building a bridge     
between the soul and the deity2 of      
relegating to the background all the    
ineradicable historical                 
misrepresentations or1 if there was no  
alternative1 of unhesitatingly          
proclaiming them as erroneous1 or       
interpreting them symbolically4 ,st4    
,paul's words1 he says1 for instance1   
are nothing but the words of ,paul2 it  
is not true that he spoke them in a     
state of grace4 ,he did not regard the  
,scriptures as the bourne of truth1 but 
as subsequent proof of the directly     
experienced truth of the divine event4  
,with this conception ,christianity had 
reached its highest stage4 ,henceforth  
the origin of all truths and values was 

no longer sought in doctrine and        
authority1 but in the soul of man2 ,god 
was neither to be found in the heavens  
nor in history1 but in the soul2 the    
soul must become divine and creative2 it
 had found its task3 the recreation of  
the world4 ,it was true1 ,st4 ,augustine
 had said3 ,non ,christianised1 ,christi
 sumus1 but this saying had never been  
understood1 and very probably ,st4      
,augustine had not meant it in its      
literal sense4 ,at last the fundamental 
consciousness of ,christianity had      
triumphed3 the principle of the         
,son-of-,godship inspired the soul of   
the mystics2 in future religion must    
emanate from the soul and find its goal 
in ,god2 written documents and--in the  
case of the profoundest                 
thinkers--examples were no longer       
needed4 ,the heretical sects had been   
content to reject post-evangelical      
tradition1 in order to lay greater      
stress on the words of ,christ4 ,they   
were genuine reformers1 but they were as

 much constrained by the historical     
facts as the ,roman ,catholic ,church1  
and their standpoint has to this day    
remained the standpoint of the          
,protestant professions of faith4  ,the 
fact of this new conception attaching no
 importance to the historical ,jesus of 
,nazareth 7had he never lived it would  
have made no difference7 made of it a   
new religion4 ,by putting aside this    
external and accidental moment1 it      
placed the metaphysical and purely      
spiritual core of ,christianity1 the    
fundamental conviction of the divinity  
of the soul1 and the will to eternal    
life1 within the centre of religious    
consciousness1 and by so doing put      
itself beyond the reach of historical   
criticism and scepticism1 ,eckhart1 more
 than any other teacher1 was profoundly 
convinced of the freedom and eternal    
value of the soul4 ,i1 as the ,son1 am  
the same as my ,heavenly ,father4 ,he   
taught that ,christ is born in the soul1
 that the divine spark is continuously  

re-kindled in the soul3 ,it is the      
quality of eternity that life and youth 
are one1 and that man must become more  
and more divine1 more and more free from
 all that is unessential and accidental 
until he no longer differs from ,god4   
,it is only a logical conclusion to say 
that a perfect man1 mystically speaking1
 is ,god2 his being and his will are in 
nothing differentiated from absolute1   
universal1 divine will--,german         
mysticism agrees in this with the       
,upanishads4 ,kant would have said that 
the principles of such a man would      
become cosmic laws2 sin would be the    
estrangement from ,god1 the will to draw
 away from ,god4  ,the profound and only
 mission of religion is the endowment of
 man in this hurly-burly of life with   
the consciousness of eternity4 ,religion
 places our transient life under the    
aspect of eternity1 and therefore it    
must1 in its essence1 remain a stranger 
to things temporal4 ,only that moment in
 the life of a man can be called        

religious which lifts him beyond        
himself1 out of his petty1 narrow       
existence1 conditioned by and subject to
 accidents1 into timeless1 universal    
life2 which gives him the certainty that
 historical events can never be regarded
 as definite and ultimate--that moment  
which has the power to set free1 to     
deliver1 to save4 ,thus it is           
irreligious to regard an event which    
occurred on the temporal plane--and were
 it the greatest event which ever befell
 on earth--as the pivot of metaphysical 
value for all men2 to link the salvation
 of the world to an occurrence which was
 relatively accidental1 to base the     
consciousness of eternity on the        
knowledge of a fact4 ,this would be a   
victory of time over eternity1 a victory
 of irreligion over religion4  ,i regard
 it as the greatest achievement of that 
great time that spontaneous religion    
again became possible4 ,eckhart         
rediscovered the divine nature of man2  
never has the consciousness of timeless 

eternity been expressed as he expressed 
it in his tract1 ,on ,solitude4         
,doubtless there have been men before   
him who possessed direct religious      
intuitions1 and now and then gave timid 
utterance to them2 but the authority of 
tradition has always been too great1 and
 they never did more than compromise    
between the historical events on which  
the ,christian religion is based and the
 genuinely religious experience of their
 own souls4 ,eckhart1 too1 was careful  
not to offend against the letter1 and   
his pupils1 after suspicion had fallen  
on them1 made many a concession in      
terms1 and perhaps even in thought4 ,st4
 ,augustine already had steered a middle
 course between the historical and the  
religious conception1 in his phrase3    
,per ,christum hominem at ,christum     
deum1 and ,suso 7in his ,booklet of     
,eternal ,wisdom7 followed his lead4    
,thus speaks the eternal wisdom3 ,if ye 
will behold me in my eternal divinity ye
 must know and love me in my suffering  

humanity4 ,for this is the quickest road
 to eternal salvation4 ,the brutality of
 the tenet which maintains that all     
those are eternally lost who1 without   
their own fault1 have no knowledge of   
the salvation of the world 7especially  
therefore1 those who died before the    
event71 was a stumbling-block to many   
thoughtful minds4 ,the patriarchs of the
 ,old ,testament were looked upon as    
saved--to some extent--by the fact of   
their being the ancestors or prophets of
 ,christ2 but pagans and ,greeks1       
including ,aristotle1 were condemned    
even by the great ,dante4 ,at the       
conclusion of his ,divine ,comedy ,dante
 proved himself a truly inspired mystic1
 for he gave to us the profoundest      
vision of the divinity which has ever   
been vouchsafed to man4 ,but his genius 
was directed and restricted by the      
dogmas of the ,church2 his religious    
standpoint was the standpoint of the    
early ,middle ,ages and dogmatic        
,catholicism4 ,as poet and lover he was 

the inaugurator of a new world2 here he 
represents the culmination and          
conclusion of the condemned             
world-system4 ,he was the iron landmark 
of the ages--,eckhart1 the creator of   
eternal values4  ,the foremost of the   
precursors of ,eckhart was ,bernard of  
,clairvaux 7#ajia-aaec74 ,he was the    
exponent of the love of ,god which he   
placed above knowledge2 in one of his   
letters he calls love the existence of  
,god ,himself1 basing his definition on 
the passage in the ,gospel of ,st4      
,john1 ,god is ,love4 ,love is the      
eternal law which created and preserves 
the universe2 the whole world is        
governed by love2 but although love is  
the law to which all creation is        
subject1 it is not itself without law1  
but it is a law unto itself4 ,serfs and 
mercenaries are ruled by laws which are 
not from ,god1 but which they made      
themselves2 some because they do not    
love ,god1 others because they love the 
things of this world better than        

,god4444 ,they made their own laws and  
subordinated the universal and eternal  
laws to their own will4 ,but those 7who 
live righteously7 are in the world as   
,god is3 neither serfs nor mercenaries1 
but the children of ,god and1 like ,god 
,himself1 they live only by the law of  
love4 ,his greatest happiness is        
complete absorption in the vision of the
 divine and forgetfulness of self4 ,all 
love is an emanation of that one love4  
,it is the eternally creative and       
governing law of the universe4 ,to be   
penetrated by such emotion is to become 
deified4 ,as a drop of water in a cup of
 wine is completely dissolved and takes 
the taste and colour of the wine1 so    
also1 in an indescribable manner1 is the
 human will absorbed in the divine will1
 and transformed into the will of ,god4 
,for how could ,god become all in all if
 anything human were left in man8 ,they 
are completely immersed 7the martyrs7 in
 the infinite ocean of eternal light1 in
 radiant eternity4444 ,the entranced    

soul shall lose all knowledge of itself 
and become completely absorbed in ,god2 
it shall become unlike itself in the    
measure as it has received the gift of  
becoming divine4 ,sensuous metaphors    
from the ,song of ,songs and the ,psalms
 are again and again intermingled with  
these lofty thoughts4 ,but in spite of  
his divine emotion1 in spite of his     
anticipations of the ,german mystics1   
,bernard took the standpoint of         
ecclesiastical orthodoxy whenever he was
 not in the ecstatic state2 his         
contemplative mind was unable to grasp  
the importance of independent thought1 a
 fact amply proved by his inglorious    
quarrel with ,ablard1 the greatest      
thinker of his time4 ,this quarrel was a
 typical illustration of the difference 
between the believer and the thinker4   
,bernard forgot all about love1 and did 
not hesitate to stir up unpleasantness  
whenever he could do so4 ,so he wrote to
 ,pope ,innocent ,,ii43 ,peter ,ablard  
is striving to destroy the ,christian   

faith1 and imagines that his human      
intellect can penetrate the depths of   
the divine mind4444 ,nothing is hidden  
from him1 neither in the earth below1   
nor in the heavens above2 his           
intellectual pride exceeds all limits2  
he attacks the doctrines of faith1 and  
ponders problems far above his          
intellectual capacity2 he is an inventor
 of heresies 4441 etc4 ,thanks to his   
machinations1 ,ablard was compelled to  
recant at the ,council of ,sens1 and was
 condemned by the ,pope to eternal      
silence4 ,berengar of ,poitier took     
,ablard's part1 and in a satirical      
treatise ventured to criticise ,st4     
,bernard's conduct3 ,thus philosophise  
the old women at the looms4 ,of course1 
when ,bernard tells us that we must love
 ,god1 he speaks a true and venerable   
word2 but he need not have opened his   
lips to do so1 for it is a self-evident 
truth4 ,as a matter of fact1 these words
 branded and contradicted the merely    
subjective emotional mysticism2 to the  

emotional mystic salvation lies in the  
absorption in ,god1 in shapeless1       
thoughtless contemplation4 ,richard of  
,st4 ,victor1 founding his theories on  
,st4 ,bernard1 established six stages of
 meditation4 ,the ,franciscan monk1     
,bonaventura1 the famous author of the  
,biblia ,pauperum1 added a seventh1 a   
complete rest in ,god--like the ,sabbath
 after the six days of labour4 ,to      
,bonaventura1 as later on to ,dante1 the
 world was a ladder leading up to ,god4 
,if we turn from these thinkers of the  
,neo-,latin race1 who in spite of their 
undeniable mysticism were completely    
under the dominion of the ,church--to   
,german mysticism1 we find above and    
beyond mysticism1 we find above and     
beyond love1 a new principle3 ,the soul 
of man is the starting-point of         
religious consciousness and the content 
of the religious consciousness is the   
soul's road to ,god4 ,the nativity of   
,christ ceased to be regarded as a      
historical event1 and became the birth  

of the divine principle in the soul of  
man4 ,in passing ,i will mention a      
,german nun1 ,mechthild of ,magdeburg   
7#abab-abgg71 who anticipated some of   
the great thoughts of ,eckhart1 although
 she was incapable of grasping their    
mutual connection4 ,the ,holy ,trinity  
and everything in heaven and earth must 
be subject to me 7the soul71 were words 
in the true spirit of ,eckhart1 leaving 
,st4 ,bernard far behind4 ,mechthild    
found metaphors of true poetical        
grandeur when she spoke of the union of 
the soul with ,god4 ,the dominion of the
 fire has yet to come4 ,that is ,jesus  
,christ in ,whose hands the ,heavenly   
,father has laid the salvation of the   
world and the ,last ,judgment4 ,on the  
,day of ,judgment ,he shall fashion cups
 of wondrous beauty out of the crackling
 sparks2 therein the ,father will drink 
on ,his festival all the holiness which 
through ,his dear ,son ,he has poured   
into human souls4  ,emotional mysticism 
was the prevailing form of mysticism in 

those days2 even ,eckhart's pupil1      
,suso1 belonged to this class of        
mystics4 ,this vague sentimentalism     
saved many a mind from the rigid dogmas 
of the ,church1 and as its vagueness    
could be interpreted in more than one   
way1 it caused very little offence2 but 
these visions and ecstasies1 which are  
so often mistaken for true mysticism1   
have done much to bring the latter into 
contempt with the seriously minded4     
,eckhart did not acknowledge it as      
genuine mysticism and directly condemned
 it in many of his writings2 and as he  
rejected mystic sentimentalism1 clearly 
divining its pathological cause1 so he  
also rejected asceticism and all        
religious ceremonies4 ,the evangelical  
poverty of the ,franciscan monks was an 
object of loathing to him4 ,st4 ,francis
 7and thirty years before him ,peter    
,valdez7 had navely interpreted the     
imitation of ,christ as a life of       
absolute poverty1 and had been          
relentless in his denunciation of       

worldly wealth1 which every monk of his 
order had to renounce4 ,he himself never
 touched money1 seeing in it the source 
of all evil4 ,his transcendent treasure 
was ,holy ,poverty2 ,jacopone wrote an  
ardent hymn to ,queen ,poverty1 and even
 ,thomas1 the representative of         
,dominican erudition1 theoretically took
 up the cudgels on its behalf4 ,but even
 in the primitive ,church the principle 
of worldly and spiritual poverty was    
widely spread and encouraged4 ,in the   
defence of poverty1 which was           
practically nearly always synonymous    
with idleness and begging1 and therefore
 roused much hostility among the people1
 ,bonaventura pointed out 7in his       
treatise1 ,de ,paupertate ,christi7 that
 ,jesus ,himself had never done any     
manual work4 ,the universal preference  
for a contemplative life encouraged the 
tendency1 and the extreme charitableness
 of the ,middle ,ages made its          
realisation possible4 ,work was         
frequently looked upon as a             

punishment--a view which could easily be
 upheld by reference to ,adam's         
expulsion from ,paradise--and inflicted 
upon the monks for offences against the 
rules4 ,dante's friend1 ,guido          
,cavalcanti1 expressed the natural      
sentiment that poverty is a distressing 
condition1 in a canzone which bristles  
with insults hurled at the ,queen of the
 ,franciscans3       ,yea1 rightly art  
thou hated worse than death1      ,for  
he1 at length1 is longed for in the     
breast4         ,but not with thee1 wild
 beast1        ,was ever aught found    
beautiful or good2        ,for life is  
all that man can lose by death1         
,not fame and the fair summits of       
applause2        ,his glory shall not   
pause        ,but live in men's         
perpetual gratitude4        ,while he   
who on thy naked sill has stood         
,he shall be counted low1 etc4          
,d4,g4 ,,rossetti4  ,the concept of the 
,german mystics was infinitely more     
profound than the concept of the merely 

external poverty of the ,franciscans1   
which in the case of ,st4 ,francis and  
,jacopone was an inherent characteristic
 and pure1 but in the case of the others
 more or less vicious4 ,man cannot live 
in this world without labour1 says      
,eckhart1 but labour is man's portion2  
therefore he must learn to have ,god in 
his heart1 although surrounded by the   
things of this world1 and not let his   
business or his surroundings be a       
barrier4 ,there is a passage in the book
 of an unknown author1 entitled ,the    
,imitation of ,christ's ,poverty        
7formerly ascribed to ,tauler71 which   
reads as follows3 ,poverty is equality  
with ,god1 a mind turned away from all  
creatures2 poverty clings to nothing and
 nothing clings to it2 a man who is poor
 clings to nothing which is beneath him1
 but to that alone which is greater than
 all things4 ,and that is the loftiest  
virtue of poverty that it clings only to
 that which is sublime and takes no heed
 of the things which are base1 so far as

 it is possible4 ,the soul while it is  
burdened with temporal and transient    
things is not free4 ,before it can      
aspire to freedom and nobility it must  
cast away all the things of the world4  
,nobody can be really poor unless ,god  
make him so2 but ,god makes no man poor 
unless he be in his inmost heart2 then  
all things will be taken from him which 
are not ,god's4 ,the more spiritual a   
man is1 the poorer will he be1 for      
spirituality and poverty are one4444    
,pseudo-,tauler even affirms that a man 
can possess abundant wealth and yet be  
poor in spirit4 ,the meaning of this is 
clear3 ,he whose heart is not wrapped up
 in the things of the world1 will find  
his way to ,god2 a soul which is without
 desire is rich4  ,but there was a still
 greater contrast between the nave      
religion represented by ,st4 ,francis of
 ,assisi and the religion of ,eckhart4  
,the former lived entirely in the       
obvious and visible2 the love of all    
creatures filled his heart and shaped   

his life4 ,the heart of the mystic too1 
was filled with love1 but it was love   
transcending the love of the individual1
 love of the primary cause4 ,in the last
 sense ,eckhart taught1 contrary to     
traditional ,christianity1 and in       
conformity with ,indian wisdom1 that the
 soul must be absorbed into the absolute
 and that everything transient and      
individual must cease to exist4 ,the    
highest freedom is that the soul should 
rise above itself and flow into the     
fathomless abyss of its archetype1 of   
,god ,himself4  ,even ,st4 ,bernard was 
not quite free from this mystical heresy
 7cf4 the previously quoted passages74  
,when he has reached the highest degree 
of perfection1 man is in a state of     
complete forgetfulness of self1 and     
having entirely ceased to belong to     
himself1 becomes one with ,god1 released
 from everything not divine4 ,even      
compassion must cease in this state1 for
 there is nothing left but justice and  
perfection4  ,we recognise here a       

characteristic of all those who are     
greatest among men3 of ,goethe1 for     
instance1 of ,bach1 or ,kant3 namely1   
the correspondence of intense           
personality and the most highly         
developed objectivity2 for the greatest 
personality ceases in the end to        
distinguish between itself and the      
world1 has eradicated everything paltry1
 selfish and subjective and has become  
entirely objective1 impersonal1 divine4 
,st4 ,francis knew nothing of this      
consciousness4 ,god has chosen me       
because among all men ,he could find no 
one more lowly1 and because through my  
instrumentality ,he purposed to confound
 nobility1 greatness1 strength1 beauty  
and the wisdom of the world4 ,he was the
 disciple of the earthly ,jesus1 ,who   
went through life the compassionate     
consoler of all those who were          
sorrowful4 ,but ,eckhart aspired to the 
shapeless nature of ,god4 ,we will      
follow ,him1 but not in all things1 he  
said of the historical ,jesus4 ,he did  

many things which ,he meant us to       
understand spiritually1 not literally   
444 we must always follow ,him in the   
profounder sense4 ,compared to the      
religion of ,eckhart1 the religion of   
,st4 ,francis is the faith of a little  
child1 picturing ,god as a benevolent   
old man4 ,such a religion is equally    
true and sincere1 but it represents an  
earlier stage on the road of humanity4  
,if ,christianity were--as we are       
occasionally assured--the religion of   
,jesus1 then the great mystics cannot be
 called ,christians4 ,and yet ,st4      
,augustine's3 ,we are not ,christians1  
but ,christs1 was fulfilled in them4    
,the profoundest depth of ,european     
religion1 of which ,eckhart was the     
exponent1 and which found artistic      
expression in ,gothic art1 was not      
sounded by music until very much later4 
,bach1 more emphatically in the ,high   
,mass and the ,magnificat1 but also in  
his purely instrumental music1 brought  
the universal feeling of mysticism to   

absolute artistic perfection4 ,the deep 
religious sentiment which pervades the  
,high ,mass is so far above all cults1  
that it has no real connection with any 
historical faith--it is pure            
consciousness of the divine4  ,the      
peculiar state of the soul1 called      
mysticism1 could never become popular1  
or exert any very great influence4 ,a   
few men1 such as ,tauler1 ,suso1        
,merswin1 and the unknown author of the 
,theologica ,germanica handed on--not by
 any means always unadulterated--the    
doctrine they had received from         
,eckhart--which at all times appealed to
 a few thinkers--but the real influence 
on the world and on history was reserved
 for the reformers4 ,the reformer1 in   
his inmost nature1 is related to the    
people2 his soul is agitated by formulas
 and ceremonies1 to which the mystic is 
indifferent2 they are to him obstacles  
to his faith and he strains every nerve 
to destroy them4 ,he has every          
appearance of the truly free spirit1 but

 he is secretly dependent on that       
against which he is fighting4 ,he       
suffers under its inefficiency2 his deed
 is the final reaction against his      
environment2 salvation seems to him to  
lie in the improvement of existing      
conditions1 and not until he has        
succeeded in accomplishing his purpose  
can he hope for religious peace4 ,the   
mystic is possible in all states of     
civilisation4 ,he is not dependent on   
external circumstances2 his whole       
consciousness is filled with one problem
 only1 before which everything else     
pales3 the relationship of the soul to  
,god4 ,but the reformer is possible only
 under certain circumstances4 ,he1 too1 
starts from an inner religious          
consciousness1 but his problem is soon  
solved1 and he devotes all his energy to
 the world4 ,the mystic is not even     
aware of the difference between his own 
conception of ,god and traditional      
religion2 he is under the impression    
that he is still an orthodox believer1  

long after he has broken fresh ground2  
for he has taken from the traditional   
doctrine everything which he can        
re-animate4 ,the remainder is dead as   
far as he is concerned4 ,to accuse him  
of heresy appears to him as a monstrous 
misunderstanding4  ,thus mystic and     
reformer drink from the same well of    
direct religious consciousness4 ,but    
while in the case of the mystic the well
 is fathomless1 it is much more shallow 
in the case of the reformer4 ,certain of
 himself1 he directs his energy to the  
conversion and reformation of the world4
 ,he resembles in some respects the     
public orator and agitator2 he has a    
grasp of social conditions1 strives to  
influence his surroundings by word and  
deed1 and is ready to sacrifice his life
 to his convictions4 ,the mystic remains
 solitary and misunderstood4 ,luther1   
who was to some extent influenced by    
,german mysticism1 fought1 at his best1 
against the dogma of historical         
salvation4  ,it is the tragic fate of   

all religions that they must crystallise
 into a system4 ,a reflection of the    
enthusiasm which animated their founders
 still falls on their disciples3 ,follow
 me6 ,but the second generation already 
demands proofs1 tradition and clumsy    
miracles2 reports are drawn up and      
looked upon as sacred--religion has     
become a glimpse into the past4 ,most   
people never have any direct religious  
experience1 their salvation lies in the 
dogmas1 the universally accepted        
doctrines4 ,the founder of a new        
religion is always regarded by his      
contemporaries as abnormal1 and is      
persecuted accordingly2 not in malice1  
but of necessity4 ,arnold of ,brescia   
died at the stake2 ,st4 ,francis was no 
more than a heretic tolerated by the    
,church1 and ,eckhart escaped the       
tribunal of the ,inquisition only       
through his death4  ,i have attempted to
 show in diverse domains of the higher  
spiritual and psychical life1 how       
powerfully the ,christian principle of  

the individual soul1 the real           
fundamental value of the ,european      
civilisation1 manifested itself at the  
time of the ,crusades1 and everywhere   
became the germ of new things4 ,the     
deepest thinkers teach the deification  
of man as the culmination of existence1 
the ultimate purpose of this earthly    
life1 and claim immortality for the     
soul4 ,this position1 which may roughly 
be conceived as the raising of the      
individual into the ideal1 has          
determined the ,european ideal of       
culture and differentiated it from all  
,orientalism1 including even the        
loftiest ,indian philosophy4 ,every     
attempt to substitute for this          
fundamental concept and its emotional   
content something else--whether it be   
pantheism1 ,buddhism1 or                
naturalism--will always remain a        
failure4  ,side by side with the        
splendid achievement of the ,german     
mysticism1 the ,teutonic race has always
 been apt to give practical proof of its

 individualism by endless petty quarrels
 and by splittings into numerous        
cliques4 ,but even before this race     
began to play a part in history1 at the 
beginning of the third century1 the     
principle of the individual soul was    
outwardly carried to extremes4 ,while it
 was the ideal of the man of antiquity  
to serve the higher community of the    
,state with body and soul1 nascent      
,christianity cared solely for the      
salvation of the individual soul1 and   
frequently proved this by quite external
 evidence1 by living a hermit's life in 
the desert1 for instance4 ,children left
 their parents1 husband and wife        
separated1 dignitaries forsook their    
office to seek solitude and prepare     
their souls for the world beyond the    
grave4 ,the first convents--the outcome 
of ,christian individualism and         
asceticism--were founded2 and the       
anti-social extreme of this             
individualism acquired such ominous     
proportions that the ,emperor ,valens in

 the year of grace #cfe1 was forced to  
legislate against the monastic life4    
,this hatred of the world1 which was    
quite in harmony with the spirit of     
,christianity1 was only overcome by the 
profounder concepts of ,german          
mysticism1 for in the primitive         
dualistic view of the first millenary   
the renunciation of the world was the   
only possibility of avoiding sin4 ,the  
,emperor ,justinian decreed that any man
 who induced a consecrated nun to marry 
him should be punished by death4 ,the   
thought that personal greatness did not 
consist in renouncing the world but in  
living in it and overcoming it1 had not 
yet been conceived4  ,the delight in the
 human form1 characteristic of          
antiquity1 was extinguished1 a crude    
dualism denied all antique values4 ,the 
body must be hated1 so that the soul    
could flourish4 ,but as the ,hellenic   
period was preceded by vague1           
unindividualised1 material life1 so the 
impersonal1 chaotic1 spiritual life of  

the first thousand years of             
,christianity matured the individual    
soul4 ,it found its climax in ,dante and
 ,eckhart1 the greatest poet of the     
,neo-,latin race1 and the most illumined
 religious genius of ,germany4 ,these   
two men1 who were contemporaries 7,dante
 died in #acba and ,eckhart in #acbi71  
finally revealed the character of two   
kindred nations1 completing and         
fructifying each other4 ,in ,dante the  
great artistic power of the ,neo-,latin 
race appeared for the first time in its 
full intensity2 it took possession of   
the whole visible universe1 and poured  
new beauty into the traditional myths of
 ,christendom4 ,eckhart experienced and 
recreated the shapeless depths of the   
soul1 the regions of the blending of the
 soul with ,god4 ,with these two men    
,europe definitely severed herself from 
antiquity and barbarism1 henceforth to  
follow her own star4  ,the new world had
 come into existence6 ,renascence1 the  
lucky heir1 gathered the ripe fruit from

 the tree of art which had blossomed so 
marvellously4 ,god was no longer sought 
in the depth of the soul1 all emotion   
was projected into the world of sense4  
,churches were built1 not from an       
irresistible impulse1 but as            
store-houses of the pictures which were 
painted with amazing rapidity4 ,the     
fundamental principle of personality was
 externalised in the ,renascence4       
,vanity and boasting1 traces of which   
frequently appeared in the age of       
chivalry1 grew exuberantly4 ,no less    
manifest than the incomparable genius   
and esprit of the heyday of the         
,renascence--although far less          
frequently commented on--was the desire 
to be conspicuous1 to shine1 to display 
wealth and learning4 ,the essence of    
personality1 instead of being sought in 
the soul1 was sought in outward         
magnificence4 ,as a matter of fact1 the 
much extolled ,renascence only perfected
 the various branches of art and poetry1
 which had sprung up in the period of   

the ,crusades4 ,the latter was the time 
of the planting of the tree of ,european
 culture2 all that followed was merely  
its growth and ramification4 ,only exact
 science had its origin in the          
,renascence1 and this fact1 in          
historical perspective1 must be regarded
 as the supreme glory of this period4   
,however paradoxical it may sound--the  
impersonal science is the perfection of 
the ,european system of individualism1  
its most potent weapon for taking       
spiritual possession of the world and   
all that the world contains4 ,the       
consciousness of personality had to     
permeate the whole soul before it could 
recover its external function3 organic  
existence justified by itself4 ,while   
art borrows from nature and mankind all 
that we ourselves deem beautiful1       
perfect1 valuable1 and imposes on the   
world a man-made law--science strives to
 understand all things and all creatures
 according to the law which dominates   
them2 it strives to comprehend nature   

and humanity--even where they are       
foreign and hostile--not according to   
human values1 but according to their    
inherent nature--and this is only       
possible when the individuality of all  
things is respected4 ,the method of     
science has slowly become the perfect   
weapon by whose aid ,europe has attained
 the mastery of the world2 it rests on  
the fundamental feeling for the         
material1 and is capable of confronting 
the ,i with the whole system of natural 
phenomena1 the not-,i1 and expresses the
 final victory of comprehending spirit  
over matter4     ,,chapter ,,ii  ,,the  
,,deification ,,of ,,woman  7,,the      
,,first ,,form ,,of ,,metaphysical      
,,eroticism7  7a7 ,the ,love of the     
,troubadours   ,in the long chapter on  
the ,birth of ,europe1 ,i have attempted
 to bring corroborative evidence from   
all sides in support of my contention   
that the twelfth and thirteenth         
centuries witnessed the birth and       
gradual development of a new value of   

the highest importance3 the value of    
individuality1 impersonated by the      
citizen of ,europe4 ,we are now prepared
 to realise the psychological importance
 and the importance for progress of one 
of the greatest results of this new     
development--the spiritual love of man  
for woman4 ,from this subject1 the      
specific subject of my book1 ,i shall   
not again digress4  ,we are aware that  
the man of antiquity 7and also the      
,eastern nations of to-day7 recognised  
between man and woman only the sexual   
bond1 uninfluenced by personal and      
psychological motives1 and leading in   
,greece to the institution of monogamy  
on purely economical and political      
grounds4 ,in addition to this bond there
 existed a very distinct spiritual love1
 evolved by ,plato and his circle and   
projected by one man on another member  
of his own sex4 ,in the true ,hellenic  
spirit this love aspired to guide the   
individual to the ideal of perfection1  
the beauty and wisdom of the friend     

serving as stepping-stones in the upward
 climb4 ,in ,christianity the spiritual 
love of the divine became the greatest  
value and the pivot on which the        
emotions turned4 ,the primitive         
,christian scorned the body1 his own as 
well as that of his fellow2 he despised 
beauty of form1 and regarded only the   
divine as worthy of love4 ,woman was    
disparaged and suspected2 all thinkers1 
down to ,thomas and ,anselm1 looking    
upon her merely as a snare and a        
pitfall4 ,the period discussed in detail
 in the foregoing chapter ushered in a  
new and1 until then1 unknown feeling4   
,in crude and conscious contrast to     
sexuality1 deprecated alike by classical
 ,greece and primitive ,christianity1   
spiritual love of man for woman came    
into existence4 ,it was composed of     
three clearly distinguishable elements3 
the ,platonic thought1 maintaining that 
the greatest virtue lies in the striving
 for absolute perfection2 the entirely  
spiritual love of the divine1 sufficient

 in itself1 and representing the final  
purpose of life1 as developed by        
,christianity2 and the dawning knowledge
 of the value of personality4 ,from     
these three elements3 the noblest       
inheritance of antiquity1 the central   
creation of ,christianity1 and the pivot
 of the new-born ,european spirit1      
sprang the new value which is the       
subject of the second stage of          
eroticism4 ,the position of woman had   
changed2 she was no longer the medium   
for the satisfaction of the male        
impulse1 or the rearing of children1 as 
in antiquity2 no longer the silent      
drudge or devout sister of the first    
,christian millenary2 no longer the     
she-devil of monkish conception2        
transcending humanity1 she had been     
exalted to the heavens and had become a 
goddess4 ,she was loved and adored with 
a devotion not of this earth1 a devotion
 which was the sole source of all things
 lofty and good2 she had become the     
saviour of humanity and queen of the    

universe4  ,the rejection of sensuality 
is an inherent part of the ,christian   
religion2 only he who had overcome his  
sinful desires was a hero4 ,spiritual   
love was as yet unknown1 only the sexual
 impulse was realised1 and that was     
looked upon as a sin2 there was but one 
way of escape3 renunciation4 ,this view 
is very clearly expressed in the legends
 of ,alexius1 and in ,barlaam and       
,josaphat 7which although of ,indian    
origin1 had found a ,german interpreter 
and were known all over ,europe74 ,the  
latter legend tells how ,prince         
,josaphat1 a devout ,christian1 married 
a beautiful princess4 ,on his wedding   
night he had a vision of the celestial  
paradise1 the dominion of chastity1 and 
the earthly pool of sin4 ,recognising in
 his bride a devil who had come to tempt
 him1 he left her and fled into the     
desert4 ,many legends illustrate the    
incapacity of the first millenary to    
realise the relationship between the    
sexes in any other sense4 ,woman was    

evil2 the struggle against her a        
laudable effort4  ,very probably the    
stigmatising of all eroticism during    
that long spell of a thousand years was 
necessary4 ,only the unnatural          
condemnation of love in its widest      
sense1 a hatred of sex and woman such as
 was felt by ,tertullian and ,origen1   
could result in the reverse of          
sexuality--purely spiritual love with   
its logical climax1 the deification and 
worship of woman4 ,there can be no doubt
 that the ,christian ideal of chastity  
was largely responsible for the         
evolution of the ideal of spiritual     
love4 ,the identity of love and chastity
 was propounded--in sharp contrast to   
sexuality and--more particularly amongst
 the later troubadours1 such as         
,montanhagol1 ,sordello1 and the poets  
of the sweet new style in ,italy--with a
 distinct leaning towards religious     
ecstasy4  ,infinite tenderness pervaded 
the nascent cult of woman4 ,it seemed as
 if man were eager to compensate her for

 the indignity which he had heaped upon 
her for a thousand years4 ,his          
instinctive need to worship had found an
 incomparable being on earth before whom
 he prostrated himself4 ,she was the    
climax of earthly perfection2 no word1  
no metaphor was sufficiently ecstatic to
 express the full fervour of his        
adoration2 a new religion was created1  
and she was the presiding divinity4     
,what were the world if beauteous woman 
were not8 sang ,johannes ,hadlaub1 a    
,german poet4  ,once more ,i must revert
 to personality1 the fundamental value  
of the ,european4 ,in antiquity1 even in
 ,greece and ,rome1 personality in its  
higher sense did not exist4 ,the hero   
was the epitome of all the energies of  
the nation1 a term for the striving of  
the community2 the statesman was the    
incarnate political will of the people2 
even the poet's ideal was the           
representation of the ,hellenic type in 
all its aspects4 ,agamemnon was no more 
than the intelligent ruler1 ,achilles   

the headstrong hero1 ,odysseus the      
cunning adventurer4 ,the individual was 
a member and servant of the tribe1 the  
town1 the state2 each man knew that his 
fellow did not essentially differ from  
him2 and even at the period when ,hellas
 was at its meridian the individuals    
were1 compared to modern men1 but       
slightly differentiated4 ,but the ,greek
 differed from the ,oriental1 the       
barbarian1 inasmuch as he felt himself  
no longer a component part of nature1   
but realised his distinct individuality4
  ,we find the first germs of the new   
creative principle of personality in the
 ,platonic figure of ,socrates who1     
first of all1 conceived the idea of a   
higher spiritual love1 blended it with  
the love of ideas and separated it      
sharply from base desire4 ,though his   
conception was not yet personal love in 
the true sense1 it was nevertheless a   
spiritual divine love4 ,the ,greek      
,state could not tolerate him1 and      
sentenced him to death4 ,but this same  

,socrates also said 7in ,crito7 that man
 was indebted to the ,state for his     
existence4 ,did not thy father1 in      
obedience to the law1 take thy mother to
 wife and beget thee8 ,this sentiment   
was as antique as it could well be1 and 
the death of ,socrates--as related by   
,plato--was the most magnificent        
confirmation of the ,greek idea that the
 individual1 even the wisest1 was       
entirely subordinate to the community4  
,the civilisations of ,china and ,japan 
are impersonal even to a greater extent 
than the civilisation of ancient        
,greece4 ,percival ,lowell maintains    
that the diverse manifestations of the  
spirit of those countries can only be   
understood if regarded from the         
standpoint of absolute impersonality4   
,he sees in a pronounced impersonality  
the most striking characteristic of the 
,far ,east1 the foundation on which the 
,oriental character is built up4 ,it is 
very instructive to observe how it      
determines the individual's conception  

of birth and marriage1 thoughts and     
acts1 life and death4 ,it is carried to 
so great an extreme that special terms  
for ,i1 you1 he1 do not even exist in   
the ,japanese language1 and have to be  
replaced by objective circumlocutions4  
,not content with the fact of having    
been born impersonal1 it is the ambition
 of the inhabitant of the ,far ,east to 
become more and more so as his life     
unfolds itself4 ,witness the heroic     
exploits of ,japanese soldiers during   
the last war3 individual soldiers       
frequently went to their death for the  
sake of a small advantage to their      
group4 ,we ,europeans regard this in the
 light of heroism--and it would be      
heroism in the case of a ,european4 ,but
 with the sacrifice of his individual   
life in the interest of the community1  
the ,japanese instinctively yields the  
smaller value4 ,in the same way ,greeks 
and ,romans did not attach very much    
importance to life2 suicide was very    
common1 and frequently committed without

 any special motive4 ,as true love is   
based on personality1 it is impossible  
for the modern ,east-,asiatic to know   
love in our sense4 ,lowell agrees with  
this3 ,love1 as we understand it1 is an 
unknown feeling in the ,east4 ,he       
reports that ,japanese women will appear
 before strangers entirely nude1 without
 the least trace of embarrassment--as   
would ,greek women6--because they are   
innocent of that other aspect of        
personality--the feeling of shame4 ,to  
be ashamed implies the desire of        
concealing something individual and     
intimate2 where this is not the case1   
there can be no feeling of shame4       
,finally1 ,i should like to point out   
that the perversity and sexual          
refinement peculiar to ,china and ,japan
 are attributable simply to the fact    
that the limits of sexuality cannot be  
overstepped1 and that sexuality is      
therefore dependent on vice and         
perversity to satisfy its craving for   
variety4  ,the first manifestation of   

overwhelming personality appears in     
,jesus1 and he created the religion of  
love4 ,in him personality and love were 
convertible forces1 one might even say  
they were identical4 ,he1 first of all1 
revealed their mysterious intimate      
connection1 and clearly showed that love
 can only be experienced by a distinct  
personality1 because it is an emanation 
of the soul and not a natural instinct4 
,it was1 again1 personality which1 in   
the twelfth century1 produced a new     
force3 spiritual love projected not only
 on ,god and nature1 but also on woman4 
,now only had personality acquired its  
true significance2 it no longer         
meant--as it did in the mature ,greek   
world--the individual separated from his
 environment1 the individual with a     
conscious beginning and a conscious end1
 but the principle of the synthesis1 a  
higher entity above the mere individual1
 the source of all values and virtue4   
,personality is the self-conscious1     
individual soul1 producing out of its   

own wealth the universal ideal values1  
and re-absorbing and assimilating these 
ideal values in their higher form4 ,it  
admits of the fusion of the subjective  
with the universal and eternal1 with the
 religious and artistic1 the moral and  
scientific values of civilisation4      
,personality is the blending of the     
universal and the individual1 said      
,kierkegaard1 expressing1 if not exactly
 my meaning1 something very near it4  ,i
 shall endeavour to depict the spiritual
 love of man for woman--the position    
cannot be reversed--from its inception  
to its climax4 ,i shall submit abundant 
evidence to make the great unbroken     
stream of emotion clearly apparent1 and 
indicate all its tributaries4 ,i do not 
pretend that ,i have exhausted the      
subject--that would be impossible4 ,the 
works from which ,i have drawn may be   
safely regarded as the direct outpouring
 of emotion2 those purely lyric poets   
were entirely subjective and ever intent
 upon their own feelings2 there hardly  

exists one ,provenal1 old-,italian1 or  
medival love-song without the ,i4       
,spiritual love first appeared as a nave
 sentiment--unconscious of its own      
peculiar characteristics--in the poems  
of the earlier troubadours of ,provence4
 ,there is a poem in which the          
,provenals claim the fathership of the  
cult of woman2 their opponents do not   
deny it1 but add that it was an         
invention which could fill no man's     
stomach4 ,these words express the great 
and insurmountable barrier between pure 
spiritual love and pleasure4 ,the       
,christian dualism3 soul-body1          
spirit-matter1 had invaded the domain of
 love4  ,spontaneous1 genuine love1     
untainted by speculations and           
metaphysics1 is found in the songs of   
the earlier troubadours4 ,the greatest  
among all of them1 ,bernart of          
,ventadour1 was the first to praise     
chaste love4 ,if any champion of        
civilisation deserves a monument1 it is 
this poet4       ,dead is the man who   

knows not love1      ,a sweet tremor in 
the heart4       ,love's rapture fills  
my heart      ,with laughter and sighs4 
,grief slays me a hundred times1        
,joy bids me rise4       ,sweet is      
love's happiness1      ,sweeter love's  
pain4      ,joy brings back grief to me1
      ,grief1 joy again4  ,guillem      
,augier ,novella expressed the feeling  
of being elated with exaltation and     
grieved to death as follows3            
,lady1 often flow my tears1      ,glad  
songs in my mem'ry ring1      ,for the  
love that makes my blood      ,dance and
 sing4      ,i am yours with heart and  
soul1      ,if it please you1 lady1 slay
 me4444  ,aimeril de ,peguilhan is of   
opinion that the pain of love is no less
 sweet than the joy of love3       ,for 
he who loves with all his heart would   
fain      ,be sick with love1 such      
rapture is his pain4  ,and ,bernart     
again3       ,god keep my lady fair from
 grief and woe1      ,i'm close to her1 
however far ,i go2      ,if ,god will be

 her shelter and her shield1      ,then 
all my heart's desire is fulfilled4     
,and3       ,my mind was erring in a    
maze1      ,that hour ,i was no longer  
,i1      ,when in your eyes ,i met my   
gaze      ,as in a mirror strange and   
shy4      ,oh1 mirror sweet1 reflecting 
me1      ,sighing ,i fell beneath your  
spell2      ,i perished in you utterly  
,as did ,narcissus in the well4  ,in the
 same poem he goes on to say that he    
will ask for no reward1 but finally     
concludes3       ,my fervent kisses her 
sweet lips should cover1      ,for weeks
 they'd show the traces of her lover4   
,the ,german minnesinger1 ,heinrich of  
,morungen1 called woman a mirror of all 
the delights of the world1 and sang3    
,blessed be the tender hour1      ,blest
 the time1 the precious day1      ,when 
my brimming heart welled over1          
,when my secret open lay4      ,i was   
startled with great gladness1      ,and 
bewildered so with love1      ,i can    
hardly sing thereof4  ,the sensuous     

element still dominated ,bernart and his
 contemporaries to some extent4 ,in     
their poems1 all of which are genuine   
and sincere1 the longing for kisses1    
sometimes for more1 is frankly          
expressed1 but the tendency towards the 
not sensuous and super-sensuous is      
already apparent4 ,the lover loves one  
woman only1 and would rather love in    
vain1 patiently enduring every pang she 
causes him1 than receive favours from   
another woman1 were she beautiful as    
,venus her self4  ,bernart says3        
,my sorrow is a sweet distress      ,to 
which no alien bliss compares1      ,and
 if my pain such sweetness bears1       
,how sweet would be my happiness6       
,elias of ,barjols3       ,full of joy  
,i am and sorrow      ,when ,i stand    
before her face4  ,bonifacio ,calvo3    
,there is no treasure-trove on earth    
,which ,i would barter for my pain2     
,i love my grief1 but spite and wrath   
,run riot in my heart2 my brain      ,is
 reeling--and ,i laugh and cry4         

,jubilant and desperate1      ,exultant1
 ,i bewail my fate4      ,quarter6      
,lady1 ere ,i die4  ,the earlier        
troubadours were still ignorant of the  
later dogma which made chaste love the  
sole fountain of virtue and the road to 
perfection--the beloved woman can make  
of her admirer what she wills--a saint  
or a sinner4  ,thus ,guillem of         
,poitiers says3       ,love heals the   
sick      ,and a grave does it delve    
,for the strong2 mars the beauty of     
beauty itself1      ,makes a fool of the
 sage with its magic1      ,a clown of  
the courteous knight1      ,and a king  
of the lowliest wight4  ,the equally    
early ,cercamon3       ,false can ,i be 
or true for her1      ,sincere or full  
of lies1      ,a perfect knight or      
worthless cur1      ,serene or grave1   
stupid or wise4  ,raimon of ,toulouse3  
,in the kingdom of love      ,folly     
rules and not sense4  ,it was typical of
 this enthusiastic love that the social 
rank of the beloved1 the mistress1 was  

invariably above the rank of the lover4 
,the latter was fond of calling himself 
her vassal and serf1 proclaiming that   
she had invested him with all his goods2
 even kings and ,german emperors        
composed love-songs1 although in all    
probability they would have achieved    
their purpose far more quickly by other 
means2 but in all cases we find the     
characteristic attitude of the humble   
lover1 looking up to his mistress4 ,the 
underlying thought is obvious3 ,love1   
the loftiest value in all the world1 is 
the great leveller of all social        
differences1 a force before which wealth
 is as dust4 ,i would rather win a kind 
glance from my lady's eyes than the     
royal crown of ,france1 was a favourite 
profession of the poets4 ,montanhagol1  
for instance1 in a rhymed meditation1   
stated that a lady was wise in choosing 
a lover of a lower social rank1 because 
not only could she always count on his  
gratitude and devotion1 but she would   
also have more influence over him1 a    

fact which in the case of a social equal
 or superior was1 to say the least1 a   
little doubtful4 ,this supreme reverence
 for love soon became an accepted       
doctrine4 ,we constantly meet the       
thought that chaste love alone can make 
a man noble1 good and wise4 ,i will     
select a few illustrations from a wealth
 of instances3  ,miraval3       ,noble  
is every deed whose root is love4       
,peire ,rogier3       ,full well ,i know
 that right and good      ,is all ,i do 
for love of her4  ,guirot ,riquier3     
,the man who loves not is not           
noble-minded1      ,for love is fruit   
and blossom of the highest4  ,and3      
,thus love transfigures ev'ry deed we   
do1      ,and love gives everything a   
deeper sense4      ,love is the teaching
 of all genuine worth4      ,so base is 
no man's heart on this wide earth1      
,love could not guide it to great       
excellence4  ,giraut of ,calenso said of
 the ,city of ,love that no base or     
ignorant man could enter it1 and the    

,italian ,lapo ,gianni sang3       ,the 
youthful maiden who appeared to me      
,so filled my soul with pure and lofty  
thoughts1      ,that henceforth all     
ignoble things ,i scorn4  ,dante in the 
,vita ,nuova calls ,beatrice the        
destroyer of all evil and the queen of  
all virtues4  ,the very thought of the  
beloved makes a good man of the lover3  
,i cannot sin when ,i am in her         
thoughts4  asserts the sincere ,guirot  
,riquier1 and he prays ,christ to teach 
him the true love of woman4  ,while it  
was a generally accepted theory that    
love was the source of man's perfection1
 ,i know of only one passage 7by ,raimon
 of ,miraval7 contending that woman1    
also1 was perfected by love2 everywhere 
else we meet the universal and silently 
accepted opinion that the essence of    
womanhood is something unearthly1       
unfathomable and divine4 ,perhaps the   
most classical formulation of the new   
doctrine1 to wit1 that spiritual love is
 the begetter of all virtue and the     

mother of chastity1 outside which there 
is nothing divine1 is to be found in the
 poems of the somewhat pedantic         
,montanhagol3       ,the lover who loves
 not the highest love1      ,is like a  
fool polluting precious wine4      ,let 
loftiest love alone within thee move1   
,and purity and virtue will be thine4   
,guirot ,riquier expressed a similar    
sentiment3       ,for chaste and pure my
 love has always been1      ,from my    
sweet bliss ,i've never asked a boon2   
,if ,i may humbly serve her night and   
noon1      ,my life be her inalienable  
lien4  ,walter von der ,vogelweide says3
 ,love is a treasure heaped up of all   
virtues4  ,as time went on the barrier  
erected between true spiritual love and 
insidious sensuality became more and    
more clearly defined2 the former        
pervaded the erotic emotion of the whole
 period4 ,parallel with chaste love1    
sensuality continued to exist as        
something contemptible1 unworthy of a   
noble mind2 and it must be admitted that

 according to the contemporary          
,fabliaux1 later ,german comedies and   
,italian and ,french novels1 the sexual 
manifestations of the period1 were of   
incredible coarseness4 ,as against      
these1 spiritual love was not merely an 
artistic and theoretic concept1 but the 
profound emotion of the cultured minds1 
and remained a powerful and creative    
force even in later centuries4          
,spiritual love and sexuality were      
irreconcilable contradistinctions2 the  
man who thought otherwise was looked    
upon as a libertine4 ,the following     
passages from the poems of the          
troubadours and their heirs1 the        
,italian poets of the dolce stil nuovo1 
will prove the historical reality of    
this relationship1 the ideal of the     
declining ,middle ,ages4 ,we need take  
no account of the ,german minnesingers1 
for although they shared the same ideal1
 they did not influence principle in the
 same way as the neo-,latin poets4      
,bernart of ,ventadour3         ,lady1  

,i ask no other meed      ,than that you
 suffer me to serve2      ,my faith and 
love shall never swerve1        ,i'm    
yours whatever you decreed4  ,peire     
,rogier3       ,mine is her smile and   
mine her jest1      ,and foolish were ,i
 more to ask      ,and not to think me  
wholly blest4      ',tis no deceit1     
,to gaze at her is all ,i need1         
,the sight of her is my reward4         
,gaucelm ,faidit3       ,of all the ways
 of love ,i chose the best1      ,i love
 you1 love1 with ardour infinite1       
,yours is my life1 do as you will with  
it4      ,nor kiss ,i ask1 nor sweet    
embraces1 lest      ,i were             
blaspheming4444  ,the most enthusiastic 
champions of pure love were             
,montanhagol1 ,sordello and ,guirot     
,riqiuer4 ,the former maintained that a 
lover who asked for favours incompatible
 with his lady's honour1 neither loved  
her nor deserved to be loved4--,love    
begets purity1 and he who knows the     
meaning of love can never forsake       

virtue4  ,there is a controversy between
 ,peire ,guillem of ,toulouse and       
,sordello1 which contains the following 
passages3       ,of all mankind ,i never
 saw      ,a man like you1 ,sordell'1 ,i
 wis1      ,for he who woman does adore 
,will never flout her love and kiss4    
,and what to others is a prize      ,you
 surely don't mean to despise8          
,honour and joy ,i crave from her1      
,and if a little rose she bind          
,into the wreath1 ,sir ,guillem ,peire1 
,from mercy1 not from duty1 mind1       
,that would be happiness indeed1        
,oh6 that such bliss should be my meed6 
,a humble lover such as you1            
,sordell'1 in faith1 ,i never knew4     
,sir ,peire1 methinks what you express  
,is lacking much in seemliness4  ,in    
another poem the talented ,sordello     
says3       ,my love for her is so      
profound      ,i'd serve her1 spurn and 
scorn despite      ,ere with another    
,i'd be found--      ,yet ,i'd not serve
 without requite1  and in another1 after

 stating that he loves his lady so much 
that he would thank her even if she     
killed him1 he continues3       ,thus1  
lady1 ,i commend to thee      ,my fate  
and life1 thy faithful squire      ,i'd 
rather die in misery      ,than have    
thee stoop to my desire4       ,the     
knight who truly loves his dame         
,not only loves her comely face1        
,dearer to him is her fair fame         
,undimmed1 unsullied by disgrace4       
,how grievously ,i should offend        
,thy virtue1 if ,i spoke of passion2    
,but if ,i did--which ,god forfend6     
,sweet lady1 stoop not to compassion4   
,although ,sordello appeared so         
extremely modest1 yet he was grieved to 
death because his lady did not return   
his love4 ,there is a poem in which he  
compares himself to a drowning man whom 
the beloved alone could save4  ,this    
spiritual love 7then as now7 puzzled the
 commonplace1 and was misunderstood and 
regarded with scepticism4 ,bertran      
d',alaman taunted ,sordello with his    

hypocritical happiness and the whole    
deception of his love1 and ,granet1 in a
 satirical poem1 cast doubt upon his    
sincerity4  ,it is very significant to  
find that ,sordello1 that typical       
champion of chaste love1 kept up a      
number of questionable liaisons with all
 sorts of women4 ,bertran reproached him
 with having changed his lady at least a
 hundred times1 and he himself          
shamelessly confesses3       ,the       
jealousies of husbands ne'er amaze me1  
,for in the art of love ,i do excel1    
,and there's no wife1 however chaste she
 may be      ,who can resist me if ,i   
woo her well4        ,and if her husband
 hate me ,i'll not grumble1             
,because his wife receives me in the    
night1      ,if mine her kiss1 if mine  
sweet love's delight1        ,his pain  
and wrath my spirit shall not humble4   
,no husband e'er shall rob me of my     
pleasure1      ,none can resist me1 what
 ,i wish ,i gain1      ,all do ,i love  
and never will refrain      ,spite      

husbands' wrath to rob them of their    
treasure4  ,it may seem strange at first
 sight that this enthusiastic exponent  
of pure love should have led such a     
double life4 ,but ,sordello's conduct is
 not in the least paradoxical2 in       
accordance with the tendency of the     
period1 he carefully distinguished in   
his own heart between sexuality and     
love2 before the one he lay prostrate1  
unable to find words enough in          
self-depreciation1 so that he might the 
more exalt his mistress2 but with       
respect to all other women he was a mere
 sensualist4 ,we read that although he  
was an expert in the treatment of women 
in her presence his voice forsook him   
and he lost all self-control4 ,petrarch1
 who--while living with a very earthly  
woman--extolled all his life long a     
lofty being whom he called ,laura1 was  
akin to ,sordello1 although he was a far
 less brutal character4 ,the latter     
approached the type of the seeker of    
love1 the ,don ,juan4  ,in a tenzone    

between ,peirol and the ,dauphin of     
,auvergne1 the former maintains that    
love must die at the moment of its      
consummation4 ,i cannot believe1 he     
says1 that a true lover can continue to 
love after he has received the last     
favour4 7,otto ,weininger agrees with   
this47 ,but ,peirol winds up with the   
subtle suggestion that though love be   
dead1 a man should always continue to   
behave as if he were still in love4     
,the troubadours never weary of drawing 
a line between drudaria and luxuria1    
pure love and base desire4 ,mezura1     
seemliness1 is contrasted with          
dezmezura1 licentiousness4 ,pure love is
 regarded as the creator of all high    
values1 luxuriousness as their          
destroyer4 ,in the same way the ,german 
minnesingers distinguished between low  
love and high love4  ,as both cultured  
minds and the upper classes1 contemning 
sexuality1 acknowledged spiritual love  
only1 it follows as a matter of course  
that the avowal of such sentiments      

became good form2 the motif that the    
honour of the beloved must be carefully 
shielded1 and that no desire must dim   
her purity1 occurs again and again4 ,but
 it should not be forgotten that a poet 
may love a sentiment for its own sake1  
without being in the least influenced by
 it4 ,many a troubadour drew inspiration
 from an emotion which all praised as   
the supreme value2 even if he had no    
earthly mistress1 he adored the sublime 
sentiment4 ,not infrequently it happened
 that a troubadour who had been loud in 
praise of high love and denunciation of 
base desire--a trick of his             
trade--suddenly came to himself and     
changed his mind4 ,folquet of           
,marseilles1 for instance1 after more   
than ten years of vain sighing1 came to 
the conclusion that he had been a fool4 
,deceitful love beguiles the simple fool
      ,and binds with magic thongs the  
hapless wight2      ,that like a moth   
lured by the candle-light1      ,he     
hovers1 helpless1 round the heartless   

ghoul4       ,i cast thee out and follow
 other stars      ,full evil was my meed
 and recompense--      ,new courage     
steels my fainting heart1 and hence     
,i kneel at shrines which passion never 
mars4  ,in an interesting poem ,garin   
the ,red implores ,mezura to teach him  
the way to love purely and nobly2 but he
 is anything but pleased with his       
instructress1 and comes to the          
conclusion that her whole wisdom is just
 good form and nothing else4       ,but 
by my merry mood impelled      ,i kiss  
and dally night and morn      ,and do   
the things ,i feel compelled      ,to   
do--or else1 with tonsure shorn1        
,i'd seek a cloister4444  ,elias of     
,barjols1 finding that his love will    
never be returned1 and having no mind to
 sigh all his life in vain1 renounces   
love altogether4 ,i should be a fool if 
,i served love any longer6  ,all you    
lovers are fools6 exclaimed another4 ,do
 you think you can change the nature of 
women8 ,this is one of the very rare    

criticisms of woman2 as a rule we hear  
only of her angelic perfection1 wisdom1 
beauty and aloofness4  ,the             
distinguished poet ,marcabru was a      
woman-hater1 and enemy of love from the 
very beginning4 ,he said of himself that
 he had never loved a woman and that no 
woman had ever loved him4       ,the    
love which is always a lie      ,and    
deceiver of men1 ,i decry      ,and     
denounce2 ,i had more than enough4      
,can you count all the evil it wrought8 
,when ,i think of it ,i am distraught4  
,what a madman ,i was to believe1       
,to sigh1 to rejoice and to grieve2     
,but no longer ,i'll squander my days1  
,we have come to the parting of the     
ways4 ,etc4  ,he was indefatigable in   
abusing the tender passion1 and had a   
great deal to say about the immorality  
of women4 ,but it is characteristic of  
the strong public opinion of the time   
that even this misogynist 7who1 perhaps1
 after all was only a disappointed man7 
praised high love4  ,the subject also   

found its theorists1 prominent among    
whom was the court-chaplain ,andreas1   
who wrote a very learned book on love in
 ,latin4 ,he expressed in propositions  
and conclusions what the contemporary   
poets expressed in verse1 proving       
thereby that spiritual love was not     
merely a poetic fiction but the         
profoundest belief of the period1       
supported by the full complement of its 
philosophical weapons4 ,in the whole    
world there is no good and no           
courtliness outside the fountain of     
love4 ,therefore love is the beginning  
and foundation of all good4 ,he also    
proved that a noble-minded man must be a
 lover1 for if he were not1 he could not
 have attained virtue4 ,love disregards 
all barriers1 and makes the man of low  
origin the equal and superior of the    
nobleman4  ,this conception of spiritual
 nobility1 which was later on perfected 
in the theory of the cor gentil1 only   
existed in ,provence and in ,italy2 it  
remained unknown in ,france and         

,germany4  ,andreas drew a distinction  
between base love1 the amor mixtus sive 
communis1 and pure love1 the amor purus4
 ,love1 he maintained1 fully agreeing   
with the poets1 gives to a man the      
strength of chastity1 for he whose heart
 is brimming over with the love of a    
woman1 cannot think of dallying with    
another1 however beautiful she may be4  
,he proved from substance and form that 
a man cannot love two women4 ,in the    
,leys d',amors1 a voluminous            
fourteenth-century ,provenal treatise1  
largely a text-book of grammar and      
prosody1 we read3 ,and now lovers must  
be taught how to love2 passionate lovers
 must be restrained1 so that they may   
come to realise their evil and          
dishonourable desires4 ,no good         
troubadour1 who is at the same time an  
honest lover1 has ever abandoned himself
 to base sensuality and ignoble desires4
 ,the same author opined that a         
troubadour who asked his lady for a     
kiss1 was committing an act of          

indecency4 ,on the other hand1 ,andreas 
was very broad-minded in drawing the    
line between both kinds of love1        
allowing kisses1 and even more1 in the  
case of true love4 7,the best           
troubadours disagree with him in this   
respect47  ,a scholasticism of love1    
modelled on ecclesiastical scholasticism
 and substituting the beloved woman for 
the ,deity1 was gradually evolved4      
,love1 veneration1 humility1 hope1 etc41
 were the sacrifices offered at her     
shrine4 ,she was full of grace and      
compassion1 and was believed in as      
fervently as was ,god4 ,some of the     
poets were animated by a curious        
ambition to prove their feelings with   
scholastic erudition1 and more          
especially by the later1 ,italian1      
school1 amore1 cor gentil1 valore1 were 
conceived as substances1 attributes1    
inherent qualities1 etc4 ,the allegories
 of amore played a prominent part1 and  
spoiled many a masterpiece4 ,the ,german
 poets steered clear of these           

absurdities1 which even ,dante did not  
escape4  ,at the famous courts of love1 
presided over by princesses1 the most   
extraordinary questions relating to love
 were discussed and decided with a      
ceremonial closely following the        
ceremonial of the petty courts of law4  
,andreas preserved for us a number of   
these judgments1 some of which prove the
 really quite obvious fact that love and
 marriage are two very different things1
 for if spiritual love be considered the
 supreme value1 matrimony can only be   
regarded as an inferior condition4 ,and 
it was a fact that in the higher ranks  
of society1--the only ones with which we
 are concerned1--a marriage was nothing 
but a contract made for political and   
economical reasons4 ,the baron desired  
to enlarge his estate1 obtain a dowry1  
or marry into an influential family2 no 
one dreamed of consulting the future    
bride1 whom marriage alone could bring  
into contact with people outside her own
 family4 ,to her marriage meant the     

permission to shine and be adored by a  
man who was not her husband4 ,it is an  
undeniable fact1 propounded ,andreas as 
regula amoris1 that there is no room for
 love between husband and wife1 and     
,fauriel translated a passage as        
follows3 ,a husband who proposed to     
behave to his wife as a knight would to 
his lady1 would propose to do something 
contrary to the canons of honour2 such a
 proceeding could neither increase his  
virtue nor the virtue of his lady1 and  
nothing could come of it but what       
already properly exists4--,another      
judgment maintained that a lady lost her
 admirer as soon as the latter became   
her husband2 and that she was therefore 
entitled to take a new lover4 ,at the   
court of love of the ,viscountess       
,ermengarde1 of ,narbonne1 the problem  
whether the love between husband and    
wife or the love between lovers were the
 greater1 was decided as follows3 ,the  
affection between a married couple and  
the tender love which unites two lovers 

are emotions which differ fundamentally 
and according to custom4 ,it would be   
folly to attempt a comparison between   
two subjects which neither resemble each
 other1 nor have any connection4 ,a     
husband declared3 ,it is true1 ,i have a
 beautiful wife1 and ,i love her with   
conjugal love4 ,but because true love is
 impossible between husband and wife1   
and because everything good which       
happens in this world has its origin in 
love1 ,i am of opinion that ,i should   
seek an alliance of love outside my     
married life4 ,all this was not         
frivolity1 but the only logical         
conclusion of dualistic eroticism1      
incapable of blending sensuality and    
love4 ,it was equally logical that love 
between divorced persons was not only   
regarded as not immoral1 but as         
perfectly right and justifiable2 it was 
even decided that a new marriage could  
never become a drawback to old love4 ,in
 the old novel1 ,grard of ,roussillon1  
the princess1 beloved by ,grard1 is     

married to the emperor ,charles ,martel1
 and compelled to part from her knight4 
,at their last meeting1 before a number 
of witnesses1 she called on the name of 
,christ and said3 ,know ye all that ,i  
give my love to ,sir ,grard with this   
ring and this flower from my chaplet4 ,i
 love him more than father and husband1 
and now ,i must weep tears of bitter    
sorrow4 ,after this they parted1 but    
their love continued undiminished though
 there was nothing between them but     
tender wishes and secret thoughts4      
,matrimony had no advantage over the    
love-alliance1 not even the sanction of 
the ,church4 ,a love-alliance was       
frequently accompanied by a ceremony in 
which a priest officiated4 ,fauriel     
describes--without mentioning his       
source--such a ceremony as follows3     
,kneeling before his lady1 with his     
folded hands between hers1 he dedicated 
himself to her service1 vowing to be    
faithful to her until death1 and to     
shield her from all harm and insults as 

far as lay within his power4 ,the lady1 
on her side1 declared her willingness to
 accept his service1 promised to devote 
her loftiest feelings to him1 and as a  
rule gave him a ring as a symbol of     
their union4 ,then she raised and kissed
 him1 always for the first1 usually for 
the last time4 ,the parting of the      
lovers1 too1 was a solemn act1          
resembling in many ways the dissolution 
of a marriage4         ,so that our     
solemn plighted troth      ,when love is
 dead1 we shall not break1      ,we'll  
to the priest ourselves betake4         
,you set me free1 as ,i do you1      ,a 
perfect right then shall we both        
,enjoy to choose a love anew1  wrote    
,peire of ,barjac4  ,it was far more    
easy to dissolve a marriage than a true 
love-alliance2 the husband had only to  
state that his wife was a distant       
relation of his1 and the ,church was    
ready to annul the contract4 ,but the   
love-alliance--so ,sordello maintained1 
in a long poem--should be more binding  

than any marriage4       ,only one love 
a woman can      ,prefer4 ,so let her   
choose her man      ,with care4 ,to him 
she must be true1      ,for choosing    
once she ne'er may rue4      ,more      
binding than the wedding-tie      ,is   
love2 for a diversity      ,of causes   
wedlock may divide1      ,by death alone
 be love untied4  ,the idea that        
marriage and love cannot be combined is 
therefore only the logical conclusion of
 the fundamental feeling that love and  
desire cannot together be projected on  
one woman4  ,if matrimonial love had not
 been questioned1 the choice would have 
lain between two alternatives3 the      
canonisation of matrimony--an expedient 
chosen by the ,church--or a fusion of   
love and sexuality in our modern sense4 
,the first was a stage which humanity   
had left behind1 for the ideal of       
absolutely perfect and pure love had    
already been evolved1 and the world was 
not ripe for the second4 ,the tendency  
of the rarest minds was in the direction

 of a further idealisation of love1 of  
freeing it from all earthly shackles and
 bringing it nearer and nearer to       
heaven4 ,one of the early troubadours1  
,jaufre ,rudel1 ,prince of ,blaya1 gave 
a practical illustration to this feeling
 by falling in love with a lady whom he 
had never seen4 ,the story of his love  
was famous for centuries4 ,he loved a   
,countess of ,tripoli1 a ,christian     
princess1 and his whole soul was filled 
with his imaginary picture of her4 ,the 
,provenal ,biography relates that he    
worshipped her for all the good the     
pilgrims had narrated of her4 ,in order 
to see her1 he took the cross and       
journeyed across the sea2 he fell ill on
 the ship and was carried ashore in a   
dying condition4 ,the countess1 on      
hearing of his great love1 hastened to  
the inn where he lay4 ,as she entered   
his room1 ,jaufre regained              
consciousness2 he knew her at once and  
died happily in her arms4 ,she was so   
touched by his love that she henceforth 

renounced the world4--,this story is no 
fairy tale2 it is well attested and     
universally accounted genuine to-day4   
,jaufre's love1 expressed in touching   
poems1 was no amour de tte1 as it is    
sometimes called1 but a genuine amour de
 coeur1 a purely spiritual love which   
asked nothing of the beloved woman but  
permission to love her4 ,there are other
 instances1 and even in later times it  
is not an infrequent occurrence in the  
case of imaginative people 7,i need only
 mention ,brger and ,klopstock74  ,we   
men of the present age look upon this   
eccentric woman-worship with            
uncomprehending eyes4 ,perhaps we shall 
feel a little less bewildered when we   
meet it1 stripped of courtly theories   
and mediaeval fashions1 in some of the  
great men who are closely connected with
 our own period2 in ,michelangelo1 in   
,goethe1 and in ,beethoven4  ,the       
,church1 dualistic and ascetic from its 
inception1 waged war against sensuality 
as the evil of evils4 ,as fire and water

 will not mix1 wrote ,st4 ,bernard1 so  
spiritual and carnal delights cannot be 
experienced together4 ,the toleration of
 matrimony was never more than a        
compromise2 we require no proof that as 
far as the ,church was concerned1       
chastity was the only real value4 ,even 
,luther took up that position1 and to   
this day ,christianity and sexuality    
remain unreconciled4 ,but both the      
,catholic and the ,protestant           
professions of faith regarded matrimony 
as the lesser evil1 a concession made to
 the enemy1 in order to render existence
 possible4 ,it is very interesting to   
observe the position taken up by the    
,church in connection with the new      
woman-worship which1 although it sprang 
from the most genuine ,christian        
dualism1 had for its object not ,god1   
but mortal woman4 ,the logical attitude 
of the ,church would have been one of   
welcome1 for the chaste worship of woman
 which regarded matrimony as an inferior
 state1 was her natural ally4 ,two      

clerics1 the court-chaplain ,andreas1   
and the prolific rhymester ,matfre      
,ermengau1 actually elaborated the      
theory of spiritual love contrary to the
 spirit of the ,church1 but both men    
hastened to utter a timely recantation  
and recommendation of orthodoxy as the  
only means of salvation4 ,after         
establishing all the desirable details  
of love according to substance and      
accidents1 ,andreas deduced that every  
love not dedicated to ,god was bound to 
offend ,him1 and advanced eighteen      
points against the love of woman1       
starting with the well-known argument   
that woman was naturally of a base      
disposition1 covetous1 envious1 greedy1 
fickle1 garrulous1 stubborn1 proud1     
vain1 sensual1 deceitful1 etc4 ,he who  
serves love1 cannot serve ,god1 he      
declared1 and ,god will punish every man
 who1 apart from matrimony1 serves      
,venus4 ,what good could come from      
acting against the will of ,god8 ,here  
we are face to face with a grotesque    

position3 the official ,church favouring
 sexuality1 that is matrimony1 as       
against the newer and higher standard of
 ascetic1 spiritual love4 ,this attitude
 was quite logical1 if not in the spirit
 of religion and in contradiction to the
 principle of asceticism1 yet in the    
spirit of orthodoxy2 for whatever was   
not for her1 was against her4 ,the      
brave1 ,janus-headed abb was spokesman  
for the whole clergy1 which branded love
 not projected on ,god as fornicatio4   
,in his recantation ,andreas upheld the 
previously-despised matrimonial state at
 the expense of love2 love1 he          
maintained1 destroys matrimony4 ,matfre 
did exactly the same thing2 after       
recapitulating in his ,breviari d',amor 
all the splendid achievements rooted in 
the cult of woman1 he suddenly veered   
round 7at the #bg1ddeth verse73         
,and ,satan blows on their desire1      
,in monstrous flames leaps up the fire1 
,and maddened by the raging fiend1      
,from love of ,god and honour weaned1   

,they turn from their ,creator's shrine 
,and call their mistresses divine4      
,with soul and body1 mind and sense1    
,they worship woman's excellence4       
,abandoned in her beauty revel1         
,and unawares adore the devil4  ,three  
hundred years later the fanatical       
,savanorola stormed3 ,you clothe and    
adorn the ,mother of ,god as you clothe 
and adorn your courtesans1 and you give 
her the features of your mistresses6    
which1 as we shall presently see1 was   
literally true4  ,the clergy resisted   
all counsels of the cortezia and        
cavalaria with the sure instinct        
desiring the continuance of existing    
conditions rather than the victory of   
the higher conception4 ,some writers    
aver that it was partly due to this fact
 that later on the cult of woman        
developed into the cult of ,mary4 ,again
 we are confronted by a process which in
 the course of time has been repeated   
more than once3 the spiritual-mystical  
principle of ,christianity entered upon 

a new stage1 and took possession of a   
new and important domain2 but the       
,church1 rigid and unyielding1 preferred
 clinging to a past lower stage rather  
than tolerating any change4 ,had she    
been absolutely consistent1 her greatest
 poet would be on the index to-day1 for1
 following his own intuition and        
ignoring her rigid dogma1 he introduced 
his beloved ,beatrice into the ,catholic
 heaven4  ,the new spiritual love was   
not without its caricatures4 ,famous in 
,provence for many strange exploits1    
committed in order to please his lady1  
was the talented ,peire ,vidal4 ,on one 
occasion he caused himself to be sewn   
into a wolfskin and ran about the       
fields2 but he was set upon by dogs and 
so badly mangled that he nearly         
succumbed to his wounds4 ,he was an     
insufferable braggart1 but never had any
 success in love4 ,the prince of        
caricatures1 however1 was the ,german   
knight and minnesinger1 ,ulrich of      
,lichtenstein4 ,he is responsible for a 

novel in prose1 entitled ,the ,service  
of ,woman1 which is faintly reminiscent 
of ,goethe's ,werther4 ,as a page he    
commenced his glorious career by        
drinking the water in which his lady had
 washed her hands2 later on he caused   
his upper lip to be amputated because it
 displeased his mistress1 for whatever  
she dislikes in me1 ,i1 too1 hate4 ,on  
another occasion he cut off one of his  
fingers and used it1 set in gold1 as a  
clasp for a volume of his poems which he
 sent to her4 ,one of his most famous   
exploits was a journey through nearly   
the whole of ,austria1 disguised as     
,venus1 jousting1 dressed in women's    
clothes1 with every knight he met4 ,but 
in spite of his eccentricities1 the     
tendency of his mind was not at all     
metaphysical2 he craved very obvious    
favours1 but as a rule contented himself
 with a kind1 or even an unkind word4   
,incidentally1 we learn that he was     
married2 but he devoted his whole life  
to deeds of heroism in honour of his    

lady4 ,not the great book of ,cervantes1
 as is commonly believed1 held up       
mediaeval court life to ridicule and    
destroyed it as an ideal1 but the life  
and exploits of this knight and         
minnesinger4 ,the same spirit animated  
,guilhem of ,balaun4 ,at the command of 
his lady he had a finger-nail extracted 
and sent to her1 after which he was     
re-admitted to her favour4  ,spiritual  
love was discovered by the ,provenals1  
but the greater and profounder ,italian 
poets developed it and brought it to    
perfection4 ,what had been a nave       
sentiment with the troubadours1 became  
in ,dante's circle a system of the      
universe and a religion4 ,the ,italian  
poet1 ,sordello1 who wrote in ,provenal1
 may be regarded as the connecting link1
 and the forerunner of the great        
,italians4 ,he died in the year of grace
 #abgj1 and ,dante1 who was almost a    
contemporary1 immortalised his name in  
the ,divine ,comedy4 ,the doctrine on   
which the dolce stil nuovo was based    

pointed to the love of a noble heart as 
the source of all perfection in heaven  
and earth4 ,purely spiritual            
woman-worship was regarded as an        
absolute virtue4 ,the words of the last 
of the ,provenal troubadours1 ,guirot   
,riquier1 ,love is the doctrine of all  
sublime things--was developed into a    
philosophy4 ,i will quote a few         
characteristic verses1 omitting ,dante  
for the present4 ,one of the finest     
lyric poems of all tongues and ages1    
written by ,guido ,guinicelli1 begins as
 follows3       ,within the gentle heart
 love shelters him1      ,as birds      
within the green shades of the grove2   
,before the gentle heart in nature's    
scheme      ,love was not1 or the gentle
 heart ere love4                        
7,transl4 by ,d4,g4 ,,rossetti47  ,cino 
da ,pistoia says in epigrammatic        
brevity3       ,you want to know the    
inmost core of love8      ',tis art and 
guerdon of a noble heart4  ,a wonderful 
canzone by ,guinicelli contains the     

following verses3       ,a song she     
seems among the rest and these          
,have all their beauties in her         
splendour drowned4      ,in her is ev'ry
 grace1--      ,simplicity of wisdom1   
noble speech1      ,accomplished        
loveliness2      ,all earthly beauty is 
her diadem4      ,this truth my song    
must teach--      ,my lady is of ladies 
chosen gem4                             
7,transl4 by ,d4,g4 ,,rossetti47  ,and  
,cavalcanti sings3       ,what's she    
whose coming rivets all men's eyes1     
,who makes the air so tremble with      
delight1      ,and thrills so every     
heart that no man might      ,find      
tongue for words but vents his soul in  
sighs8                     7,transl4 by 
,,sir ,,theodore ,,martin47  ,the       
sentiment which pervades these verses   
has lifted us into the higher sphere    
which will henceforth be our main theme4
 ,the beloved was more and more         
extolled2 in her presence the lover     
became more and more convinced of his   

insignificance2 she was worshipped1     
deified4 ,the overwhelming emotion1 the 
longing for metaphysical values which   
dominated the whole epoch1 had reached  
its highest characteristic1 had reached 
perfection4 ,it proved the eternal      
quality of human emotion3 the           
impossibility of finding satisfaction1  
the striving towards the infinite2 it   
soared above its apparent object and    
sought its consummation in metaphysic4  
,the love of woman and the mystical love
 of ,god were blended in a profounder   
devotion2 love had become the sole giver
 of the eternal value and consolation1  
yearned for by mortal man4 ,christianity
 had taught man to look up2 now his     
upward gaze lost its rigidity and beheld
 living beauty--metaphysical eroticism  
had been evolved--the canonisation and  
deification of woman4 ,the ideal of the 
troubadours to love the adored mistress 
chastely and devoutly from a distance in
 the hope of receiving a word of        
greeting1 no longer satisfied the lover2

 she must become a divine being1 must be
 enthroned above human joy and sorrow1  
queen of the world4 ,traditional        
religion was transformed so that a place
 might be found in it for a woman4  ,the
 reason for the recognition of spiritual
 love from the moment of its inception  
as something supernatural and divine1 is
 obvious4 ,the heart of man was filled  
with an emotion hitherto unknown1 an    
emotion which pointed direct to heaven4 
,the soul1 the core of profound         
,christian consciousness1 had received a
 new1 glad content1 rousing a feeling of
 such intensity that it could only be   
compared to the religious ecstasy of the
 mystic2 man divined that it was the    
mother of new and great things--was it  
not fitting to regard it as divine and  
proclaim it the supreme value8 ,the     
troubadours had known it4 ,bernart of   
,ventadour had sung3       ,i stand in  
my lady's sight      ,in deep devotion2 
,approach her with folded hands      ,in
 sweet emotion2      ,dumbly adoring    

her1      ,humbly imploring her4  ,peire
 ,raimon of ,toulouse3       ,i would   
approach thee on my knees1      ,lowly  
and meek1      ,i would fare far o'er   
lands and seas      ,thy ruth to seek4  
,and come to thee--a slave to his lord--
      ,i'd pay thee homage with eyes    
that mourn1      ,until thy mercy ,i'd  
implored1      ,heedless of laughter1   
heedless of scorn4  ,raimon of ,miraval 
had said1 ,i am no lover1 ,i am a       
worshipper1 and ,cavalcanti3       ,my  
lady's virtue has my blindness riven1   
,a secret sighing thrills my humbled    
heart3      ,when favoured with a sight 
of her thou art1      ,thy soul will    
spread its wings and soar to heaven4    
,peire ,vidal3       ,god called the    
women close to ,him1      ,because he   
saw all good in them4  ,and3       ,the 
,god of righteousness endowed      ,so  
well thy body and thy mind      ,that   
,his own radiancy grew blind4      ,and 
many a soul that has not bowed      ,to 
,him for years in sin enmeshed1      ,is

 by thy grace and charm refreshed4  ,the
 beauty of the adored was divine4       
,bernart of ,ventadour wrote3       ,her
 glorious beauty sheds a brilliant ray  
,on darkest night and dims the brightest
 day4  ,guilhem of ,cabestaing3         
,god has created her without a blemish  
,of ,his own beauty4  ,gaucelm ,faidit3 
,the beauty which is ,god ,himself      
,he poured into a single being4  ,and   
,montanhagol1 anticipating ,dante3      
,wherefore ,i tell you1 and my words are
 true1      ,from heaven came her       
beauty1 rare and tender1      ,her      
loveliness was wrought in ,paradise1    
,men's dazzled eyes can scarce support  
her splendour4  ,folquet of ,romans3    
,when ,i behold her beauty rare1        
,i'm so confused and startled by her    
worth1      ,i ween ,i am no longer on  
this earth4  ,a canzone which has been  
attributed to ,cavalcanti1 ,cino da     
,pistoia and ,dante1 reads as follows3  
,my lady comes and ev'ry lip is silent2 
,so perfect is her beauty's high estate 

,that mortal spirit swoons and falls    
prostrate      ,before her glory4 ,and  
she is so noble3      ,if ,i uplift to  
her my inward eye1      ,my soul is     
startled as if death were nigh4         
,cavalcanti says3       ,round you are  
flowers1 is the tender green1      ,the 
sun is not as bright as your dear face1 
,all nature in her glorious summer-sheen
      ,has not so fair and beautiful a  
place1      ,it pales beside you4 ,earth
 has never seen      ,a thing so full of
 loveliness and grace4  ,the perfection 
which the mere presence of the beloved  
was supposed to bestow on the lover1 is 
here conceived more broadly and freely2 
not only the lover1 but all men are     
touched and transfigured by her         
appearance4 ,the sentiment of the lover 
aspired to become objective truth4 ,this
 was an important stage on the road from
 the spiritual to the deifying love1    
which ,i have called metaphysical       
eroticism4 ,another rung of the ladder  
of evolution had been climbed--the      

mistress had become queen of the world  
and goddess1 a being enthroned by the   
side of ,god4 ,i will again quote       
,guinicelli3       ,ever as she walks   
she has a sober grace1      ,making bold
 men abashed and good men glad1      ,if
 she delight thee not1 thy heart must   
err1      ,no man dare look on her1 his 
thoughts being base2      ,nay1 let me  
say even more than ,i have said1        
,no man could think base thoughts who   
looked on her4                          
7,d4,g4 ,,rossetti47  ,the same poet in 
his canzone1 ,al ,cor ,gentil says3     
,she shines on us as ,god shines on ,his
 angels4  ,when madonna dies the angels 
receive her1 rejoicing that she has     
joined them4 ,the ,provenal1 ,pons of   
,capduelh1 anticipated ,dante3          
,and now we know that the celestial     
choir      ,sings songs of jubilee at   
her release      ,from this dull earth2 
,i heard and am at rest2      ,who      
praise ,his hosts1 praise the ,eternal  
,sire4      ,i know she is in ,heaven   

with the blest1      ',midst flow'rs    
whose glory time can never dim          
,singing ,god's praise1 and blest by    
seraphim4      ,nought but the truth    
from my glad lips shall fall1      ,in  
,heaven she is1 enthroned above all4    
,folquet of ,romans wrote a letter to   
his beloved1 in which he said amongst   
other things3          ,kneeling in     
church before ,god's face1         --,a 
sinner to beseech ,his grace1--         
,and for my sins to make amends1--      
',twas you to whom ,i raised my hands2  
,your loveliness alone was there1       
,my soul knew only of one pray'r4       
,i fancied ,our ,father framed          
,my trembling lips1 when they exclaimed 
,exultant at ,his sacred shrine3        
,oh6 ,lady6 ,all my soul is thine6      
,lady1 you have bewitched me with your  
beauty1      ,that ,god ,i have         
forgotten and myself4  ,cino da ,pistoia
 wrote the following commendatory       
prayer3       ,into thy hands1 sweet    
lady of my soul1      ,the spirit that  

is dying ,i commend2      ,and which    
departs so sorrowful that ,love         
,views it with pity1 while dismissing   
it4       ,by you to ,his dominion it   
was bound1      ,so firmly1 that it     
since hath had no power      ,to call on
 ,him but thus3 ,oh1 mighty ,lord1      
,whate'er thou wilt of me1 ,thy will is 
mine4                                   
7,transl4 by ,c4 ,,lyell47  ,lancelot1  
one of the great mediaeval lovers1      
possessed a lock of ,guinevere's hair1  
which he prized above all the relics of 
the saints4 ,when he parted from his    
mistress 7whom he had loved not only    
spiritually7 he fell on his knees before
 the door of her chamber and prayed as  
if he were kneeling before the altar4   
,spiritual love was obviously acquiring 
a religious tinge4 ,the mistress took   
the place of ,god2 her grace was the    
source of all joy and consolation2 she  
led the souls of the dying to eternal   
life4 ,god had yielded ,his position to 
her1 she had stepped to ,his side1 nay1 

above ,him4 ,with the curse of the      
,church still clinging to her1 she had  
been remoulded by man's emotion into a  
perfect1 a celestial being4 ,the ,god of
 ,christianity was in danger--would the 
new religion of cultured minds1 the     
religion of woman 7unwilling to tolerate
 any other ,god beside her7 replace the 
religion of the masses8 ,was a          
reformation imminent8 ,would the        
traditional religion be transformed into
 metaphysical eroticism1 dethroning     
,god1 enthroning a goddess8 ,it is      
impossible to say in what direction the 
spiritual history of ,europe would have 
developed if ,dante had been merely a   
metaphysical lover1 and not also an     
orthodox theologian2 if instead of      
penetrating to the vision of the divine 
secret1 he had fainted before the face  
of ,beatrice4444  ,the religion of woman
 and the dominant religion came to      
terms4 ,this compromise was possible    
because the ,christian pantheon included
 a female deity who1 although she had   

not hitherto played a prominent part1   
held an exceptional position3 this was  
,mary1 the ,mother of the ,redeemer4    
,from ,a4,d4 #djj to ,a4,d4 #abjj1 her  
rank had been on a level with the rank  
of the antique goddesses2 now the new   
emotion enveloped and revivified her4   
,the rigid1 soulless image with the     
golden circle round the head slowly     
melted into sweet womanhood4 ,in ,italy 
this sentiment inspired wonderful       
paintings of the ,madonna1 and was      
responsible for the development of      
portraiture in general4 ,the hold of the
 overwhelming tradition was broken4     
,rejecting the universal conviction that
 the historical ,mary had resembled the 
,mary of ,byzantine art1 the artist1    
under the dominion of his               
woman-worship--which surpassed and      
re-valued all things--drew his          
inspiration from the fulness of life4 ,i
 do not agree with ,thode that we are   
indebted to the legend of ,st4 ,francis 
for the modern soulful and highly       

individualised art4 ,its source must    
have been the strongest feeling of the  
most cultured minds1 and that was       
undoubtedly spiritual love4 ,the ,jesuit
 ,beissel wrote with deep regret3 ,every
 master almost formed his own conception
 of ,mary1 but in such a way that the   
hieratic severity of earlier times      
disappeared but slowly4 ,and he         
continued3 ,it is true1 the artists'    
models were the noble ladies of their   
period2 not only on account of their    
kindly smiling faces1 but also on       
account of the charming coquetry with   
which their hands drew their cloaks     
across the bosom4 ,and the              
art-historian1 ,male1 says3 ,it is a    
remarkable fact that in the thirteenth  
century the legend1 or the story1 of the
 ,virgin ,mary was depicted on the doors
 of all our 7i4e41 ,french7 cathedrals4 
,the difference between the ,catholic   
and the ,protestant world-principles is 
strongly marked in this connection4     
,catholicism with its striving for      

absolute uniformity1 acknowledging no   
individual differences1 but eager to    
shape all life and all doctrines in     
harmony with one definite ideal1 very   
consistently pronounced one single1     
historical woman to be divine1 and made 
her the object of universal worship4    
,this dogma had to be rigid1 immutable1 
and almost meaningless4 ,again1 the     
historic and pagan principle of         
,catholicism was maintained2 a unique   
event in the history of the world was   
immortalised and systematised and all   
new religious conceptions were excluded4
 ,catholicism invariably places all     
really important events in the past1    
even in a quite definite period of the  
past1 a period unassailable by          
historical criticism4 ,but with the     
commencement of individual intellectual 
life the uniform1 ecclesiastical image  
of the ,madonna gradually gained life   
and individuality4 ,just as according to
 ,protestant teaching every soul must   
establish its individual relationship   

with ,god 7which is subject to change   
because individuality is not excluded as
 it is in ,catholicism71 so the         
imaginative emotionalist created his own
 ,queen of ,heaven4 ,frequently he was  
still under the impression--this was    
especially the case with monks--that he 
was worshipping the ecclesiastical      
deity1 when he had long been praying to 
a metaphysical conception of his own4   
,the great ,italian art since the       
fourteenth century1 as well as the      
,neo-,latin and ,german cults of the    
,virgin ,mary were1 though apparently   
still orthodox1 in their innermost      
essence the outcome of a personal desire
 for love1 and had therefore abandoned  
the teaching of the ,church and become  
,protestant4 ,the fact that the         
so-called ,protestant ,church looked    
askance at ,mary1 and that the rather   
coarse-minded ,luther said1 in his      
annoyance3 ,popery has made a goddess of
 ,mary1 and is therefore guilty of      
idolatry1 does not contradict my        

statement4 ,the true ,queen of ,heaven  
was a conception of the artist and      
lover1 incomprehensible to those who    
were only thinkers and moralists4       
,through the legitimation of a divine   
woman open enmity between the religion  
of woman and the religion of the ,church
 was avoided4 ,a woman had stepped      
between ,god and humanity as mediator1  
intercessor and redeemer4 ,every        
metaphysically-loving soul could        
conceive her as it pleased1 could love  
her and pray to her without being a     
heretic and worshipper of the devil4    
,matfre had complained that men         
,abandoned in her beauty revel      ,and
 unawares adore the devil4--  but now a 
means had been found to adore the       
beloved1 and yet remain faithful to     
,god4 ,once in a way it was remembered  
that the adored1 strictly speaking1 was 
the ,mother of ,god--if for no other    
reason1 for fear of the ,inquisition    
which the ,dominicans had founded and   
placed under the special patronage of   

,mary--her bodyguard as it were1        
defending her from the onslaught of     
minds all too worldly4 ,very rarely the 
adored earthly woman was identified with
 the official ,queen of ,heaven--7this  
may have been done occasionally by      
monks72 sometimes as in the case of     
,michelangelo and ,guinicelli1 the      
beloved was the sole goddess2 other     
poets1 among whom we may include ,dante 
and ,goethe1 conceived her as enthroned 
by the side of ,mary4  ,at this point ,i
 must interrupt my argument1 and briefly
 sketch the position occupied by ,mary  
in the western world from the dawn of   
,christianity4   7b7 ,the ,queen of     
,heaven4  ,during the first two hundred 
years ,mary did not occupy a prominent  
place in the ,christian communities2    
even in the fourth century she was still
 regarded as a human woman and denied   
divinity by ,st4 ,chrysostom1 who       
reproached her with vainglory4 ,but in  
proportion as ,christ transcended       
humanity1 and was more dogmatically and 

formally interpreted by the             
,church--more especially the ,greek     
,church--the desire for a mediator      
between the wrathful ,deity and sinful  
humanity grew more pronounced1 a        
mediator who1 although a human being1   
could be endowed after the manner of the
 ancient demi-gods with super-human     
virtues4 ,the ,mother of the ,saviour   
gradually assumed this position4 ,she   
had been an earthly woman1 born of      
earthly parents1 and would be able to   
understand human needs and wishes1 and  
she had become the ,mother of ,god4     
,would not her intercession have weight 
with the ,son of ,god8 ,simultaneously  
with the growing recognition of         
asceticism1 the doctrine of the         
immaculate conception gained ground2 in 
the course of time this moment was more 
and more emphasised1 and virginity was  
set up as an ideal4  ,st4 ,athanasius   
7fourth century7 had written3 ,what ,god
 did to ,mary is the glory of all       
virgins2 for they are attached as       

virginal saplings to her who is the     
root4 ,at the close of the fourth       
century a long and bitter controversy   
arose over the question as to whether   
,mary had remained a virgin after the   
birth of ,jesus4 ,st4 ,ambrose1 ,st4    
,jerome and ,st4 ,augustine were in     
favour of this new doctrine4 ,st4       
,ambrose1 the founder of ,western music1
 was the first to praise her perfection 
in the ,latin tongue1 and ,st4          
,augustine in his treatise ,de ,natura  
et ,gratia1 maintained that she was the 
only human being born without original  
sin4 ,this was the first important step 
towards the stripping of the ,saviour's 
mother of her humanity1 and establishing
 her as a divine being4 ,st4 ,irenaeus  
contrasted ,eve1 the bringer of sin1    
with ,mary1 the second ,eve1 the bringer
 of salvation1 and ,st4 ,ambrose said3  
,from ,eve we inherited damnation       
through the fruit of the tree2 but ,mary
 has brought us salvation through the   
gift of the tree1 for ,christ too1 hung 

on the tree like a fruit4  ,hitherto    
,mary had not been worshipped2 all      
prayers had been addressed to ,god and  
to ,christ4 ,the idea of approaching her
 in prayer appeared for the first time  
in a pamphlet entitled ,on the ,death of
 ,mary1 written about the end of the    
fourth century1 and ,gregory of ,nazianz
 pictured ,mary in ,heaven1 caring for  
the welfare of humanity4 ,the fourth and
 fifth centuries produced the first     
hymns to the ,virgin1 written in        
,syriac2 but orthodox bishops objected  
to her deification2 ,st4 ,epiphanus 7end
 of fourth century7 said3 ,let us honour
 ,mary by all means1 but let us worship 
only the ,father1 the ,son and the ,holy
 ,ghost4  ,this was the position of the 
evangelical and historical ,mary before 
the famous and decisive ,council of     
,ephesus4  ,there is a very important   
fact which must not be overlooked4 ,all 
the nations dwelling on the shores of   
the ,mediterranean1 ,semites1 and       
,egyptians1 as well as ,greeks and      

,romans1 had been accustomed to the     
worship of female deities4 ,in the minds
 of the ancient peoples1 woman1 the     
symbol of sex1 had always been endowed  
with qualities of magic and mystery4    
,there was something supernatural in her
 power of bringing forth a living       
specimen of the race1 and in all cults  
the maternal woman occupied a very      
important position4 ,had ,christianity  
suddenly destroyed this ancient and     
natural need8 ,we know that the ,church 
had assimilated a great number of       
antique superstitions2 nor were the     
female deities sacrificed4 ,the great   
,asiatic ,mothers had not been          
forgotten2 the very ancient ,babylonian 
,istar 7,astarte71 ,rhea ,kybele of     
,asia ,minor1 and above all the         
,egyptian ,isis1 still lived in the     
heart of man1--subconsciously1          
probably--as lofty1 sacred memories1 but
 nevertheless influencing his life4 ,the
 ,egyptian ,isis with ,horus in her lap 
is the direct model of the ,madonna with

 the ,child4 ,she represented earth1    
bringing forth fruit without            
fertilisation4 ,this religious custom   
7the worship of ,isis71 says ,flinders  
,petrie1 exerted a powerful influence on
 nascent ,christianity4 ,it is not too  
much to say that without the ,egyptians 
we should have had no ,madonna in our   
creed4 ,the cult of ,isis was widely    
spread at the time of the first         
emperors1 when it was fashionable all   
over the ,roman ,empire2 when later on  
it merged into that other great         
religious movement1 and fashion and     
conviction could be combined1 its       
triumph was assured4  ,advancing        
,christianity had depopulated the       
national pantheon4 ,there must have been
 a great sense of loss1 especially among
 the lower classes1 and it does not     
require much psychological insight to   
realise that it was the lack of female  
deities which more especially roused a  
feeling of anxiety and distress4 ,the   
masses were yearning for a goddess1 and 

it was at ,ephesus1 the classical seat  
of the hundred-breasted ,diana1 that the
 stolen divinity was restored to them4  
,the theologians were divided into three
 camps4 ,while some of them regarded    
,mary merely as the mother of man others
 acknowledged her as the ,mother of     
,god1 and ,nestorius suggested as a     
compromise the title ,mother of ,christ4
 ,at the synod of ,alexandria1 in the   
year of grace #dcj1 and at the council  
of ,ephesus in #dca1 ,nestorius was     
found guilty of blasphemy and deprived  
of his bishopric4 ,henceforth ,mary was 
,greek3 ,theotochos1 the ,mother of     
,god1 and her worship was sanctioned by 
the ,church4 ,through ,thee the ,holy   
,trinity has been glorified1 exclaimed  
,cyril joyfully1 through ,thee the      
,cross of the ,saviour has been raised6 
,through ,thee the angels triumphed1 the
 devils were driven back2 the tempter   
was beaten and human nature uplifted to 
,heaven2 through ,thee all intelligent  
creatures who were committing idolatry1 

have learned the truth6 ,loud rejoicing 
filled the streets of ,ephesus4 ,when   
the judgment passed on ,nestorius was   
announced1 the people exclaimed3 ,the   
enemy of the ,holy ,virgin has been     
overcome2 glory be to the great1 the    
divine ,mother of ,god6 ,the highest    
authority in the land had re-established
 the public worship of the great        
goddess1 who had for many years been    
worshipped in secrecy4 ,the ancient     
paganism had triumphed over the         
spiritual intuition of the loftier      
minds4 ,according to ancient custom     
sacrifices were offered at ,mary's      
shrine2 the second epoch of her history 
had begun4  ,in the ,east the worship of
 female divinities was older and more   
spontaneous than in the ,western world1 
and thus the cult of ,mary existed in   
the ,orient long before it penetrated to
 ,italy and thence into the newly       
,christianised countries4 ,the ,virgin1 
who for the first few hundred years had 
held a clearly defined position in      

evangelical history1 had become an      
independent object of worship4          
,festivals were held in her honour2     
churches were dedicated to her2 the will
 of the people triumphed in the litany2 
art took possession of the grateful     
subject4 ,the tendency to make ,mary the
 equal of ,christ grew steadily4        
,metaphors originally intended for      
,christ alone were used indifferently   
for either4 ,we constantly find her     
addressed as the archetype1 the light of
 the world1 the vine1 the mediator1 the 
source of eternal life1 etc4 ,finally   
she ceased being regarded as a passive  
participator in the work of salvation1  
as the ,mother of the ,saviour1 and was 
accredited with independent saving      
power4 ,john of ,damascus 7eighth       
century7 first called ,mary ,greek3     
steira tou chosmou1 and soon after she  
was styled ,saviour of the ,world in the
 ,occident also4 ,with this the cult of 
,mary had reached its third stage1 the  
stage which interests us2 she had become

 the object of metaphysical love4 ,but  
before dealing with this third stage1 we
 must glance1 in passing1 at the ancient
 ,teutonic tribes4 ,they1 too1          
worshipped goddesses and sacred women2  
virginity1 a virtue not appreciated by  
the ,orientals1 here stood in high      
repute4 ,according to ,tacitus and      
others1 the ,teutons looked upon the    
,virgin as a mysterious being1          
approaching divinity more closely than  
all others4 ,thus there was here1       
perhaps1 more than on the shores of the 
,mediterranean1 a favourable soil for   
the cult of ,mary4 ,the characteristics 
of ,holda and ,freya1 as well as their  
perfect beauty1 were transferred to     
,mary1 and ,mary's name was substituted 
for the names of the old auxiliary      
goddesses4 ,in the oldest ,german       
evangelical poems ,mary does not yet    
rank as a divinity1 she is merely       
extolled as the most perfect of all     
earth-born women4 ,in the ,heliand      
7about ,a4,d4 #hcj7 she is called the   

most beautiful of all women1 the        
loveliest of all maidens2 and the monk  
,otfried1 of ,weissenburg 7#hfj71 calls 
her1 ,of all women to ,god the most     
pleasing1 the white jewel1 the radiant  
maid4  ,mary had now taken her place by 
the side of ,god1 and was commonly      
addressed as divine4 ,anselm of         
,canterbury explains3 ,god is the       
,father of all created things1 ,mary the
 ,mother of all things recreated4444    
,god begat the creator of the world1    
,mary gave birth to its ,saviour4 ,peter
 of ,blois declared that the ,virgin was
 the only mediatress between ,christ and
 humanity4 ,we were sinners and afraid  
of the wrath of the ,father1 for ,he is 
terrible2 but we have the ,virgin1 in   
whom there is nothing terrible1 for in  
her is the fulness of mercy and purity4 
,the twelfth century produced the ,ave  
,maria1 the angelic salutation1 the     
principal prayer to ,mary1 which was    
introduced into all churches4 ,the      
,italian ,franciscan monk1 ,bonaventura1

 and ,peter ,damiani1 were above all    
others instrumental in spreading the    
worship of the ,virgin1 and ,damiani    
said of her3 ,to ,thee has been given   
all power in heaven and on earth4 ,the  
fresco of the ,camposanto at ,pisa1     
ascribed to ,orcagna1 shows the         
transfigured ,virgin sitting by the side
 of ,christ1 not below ,him4 ,the       
numerous legends in which ,mary1 often  
regardless of justice and propriety1    
delivers her faithful worshippers from  
all manner of dangers1 were written     
during the same period4 ,one of the most
 famous of these is the legend of       
,theophilus1 the forerunner of ,faust4  
,in a ,german version 7by ,brun of      
,schnebeck7 dating from the thirteenth  
century1 ,theophilus abjures ,god and   
all things divine1 with the sole        
exception of ,mary1 wherefore she saves 
him from eternal damnation4 ,this poem  
therefore shows us ,mary as absolutely  
opposed to ,god4  ,we have now arrived  
at the third stage of the cult of ,mary2

 the new1 spiritual love1 translated    
into metaphysics1 was projected on her2 
she was approached by her worshippers   
with the ardent love which hitherto had 
been the prerogative of earthly women4  
,the two currents1 the one arising in   
ecclesiastical tradition1 and the other 
in the soul of the metaphysical lover1  
had met2 the genuine spiritual cult of  
,mary was the creation of the great     
metaphysical lovers1 who existed not    
only in the twelfth and thirteenth      
centuries1 but are met not infrequently 
later on2 man's irresistible need to    
raise woman above him and worship her1  
created the true ,madonna1 for whose    
sake romantic souls of all times have   
returned home into the fold of the      
,church1 the true ,madonna who at heart 
is alien to the principles of the       
,church1 but is re-born daily in the    
soul of the metaphysical lover4 ,the    
hierarchy knew how to take advantage of 
and control this adoring love2 the      
metaphysical lover raised his mistress  

above humanity and prayed before her    
shrine2 religion said3 ,the celestial   
woman whom you may lovingly adore is    
here1 with me4 ,all you have to do is to
 call her by the name ,i have given her1
 and the kingdom of ,heaven will be     
yours4  ,but on the other hand ,mary    
represents to-day1 and doubtless will do
 for a long time to come1 a dogmatically
 acknowledged deity1 recognised by the  
spirit of ,protestantism as a remnant of
 ,paganism1 and duly detested2 the      
masses in ,italy and ,spain pray to-day 
to her image1 as in bygone days the     
masses prayed to the images in ,greek   
and ,roman temples4 ,this goddess is    
unchanging1 and from the point of view  
of the psychologist uninteresting4  ,it 
is not difficult to understand why the  
two conceptions of ,mary 7more          
especially in the souls of the monks7   
were so often inextricably intermingled2
 circumstances frequently demanded a    
complete fusion4 ,as late as in the     
nineteenth century1 a romantic poet1    

,zacharias ,werner1 said3       ,oh1    
sov'reign lady1 mistress of my fortune1 
,and thou1 the ,queen and ruler of the  
heavens1      7,i cannot keep you       
sundered and apart47  ,i shall endeavour
 to keep them sundered and apart as far 
as possible1 for ,i am only concerned   
with man's metaphysical emotion of love 
and its creation1 womanhood deified1 and
 not with ,catholic dogmas4 ,with this  
object in view1 ,i will return to the   
poets previously quoted1 and continue   
the unfolding of the process of         
deification4 ,as a rule the metaphysical
 lovers were content with immortalising 
their feelings in1 very often1 excellent
 verses1 raising the beloved mistress   
above the earth and worshipping her as  
the culmination of beauty and           
perfection4 ,the quite unusual craving  
to give her a place in the eternal      
structure of the cosmos animated only   
one poet1 ,dante1 who1 combining the    
,catholic striving for unity with       
spontaneous1 magnificent woman-worship1 

created a masterpiece which is unique in
 literature4  ,typical among the later  
,provenals was ,guirot ,riquier4        
,several of his poems which have been   
preserved to us make it impossible to   
say whether they are addressed to an    
earthly woman or to the ,queen of       
,heaven2 these poems mark1 in a sense1 a
 period of transition4 ,they are        
exceedingly vague1 and it is not worth  
while to translate them2 but as they are
 dated it is interesting to watch the   
poet's love growing more and more       
spiritual and religious1 to see him     
gradually deserting his earthly love for
 the ,lady of ,heaven4 ,in one poem he  
prays to his lady who is worshipped by  
all true lovers1 to teach him the right 
way of loving4 ,in the next he repents  
his all too earthly passion3       ,i   
often thought ,i was of true love       
singing1      ,and knew not that to love
 my heart was blind1      ,and folly was
 as love itself enshrined4      ,but now
 such love in all my soul is ringing1   

,that though to love and praise her ,i  
aspire      ,as is her meed--in vain is 
my desire4      ,henceforth her love    
alone shall be my guide      ,and my new
 hope in that great love abide4         
,for her great love the uttermost shall 
proffer      ,of honour1 wealth1 and    
earthly joy and bliss1      ,with her to
 love1 my heart will never miss         
,those who no gifts like her gifts have 
to offer4      ,she the fulfilment is of
 my desire1      ,therefore ,i vow      
myself her true esquire2      ,she'll   
love me in return--my splendid meed--   
,if ,i but love aright in word and deed4
  and one of his rather more religious  
songs ends as follows3       ,without   
true love there is on earth no peace1   
,love gives us wisdom1 faith which will 
not swerve1      ,a noble mind and      
willingness to serve4      ,how rare a  
thing on earth in perfect ease6      ,to
 ,thee1 oh ,virgin6 ,mother of all love1
      ,i dedicate this song2 if thou    
deniest      ,me not1 thou shall be my  

sweet bliss4 ,with ,christ      ,i pray 
,thee1 intercede for me above4  ,in this
 song1 then1 he calls ,mary his sweet   
bliss 7bel deport71 a name which he had 
previously given to a certain countess  
with whom he had been in love4 ,in the  
next poem1 in which earthly love and    
love of the ,madonna are again brought  
into juxta-position1 he commends himself
 to the ,virgin1 the sublime mother of  
love1 on whom all my happiness depends4 
,one of his poems which begins in quite 
an earthly strain1 ends thus3       ,i  
feel no jealousy2 for he whose soul     
,is filled with yearning for his        
heavenly love1      ,has purest         
happiness2 he is her serf1      ,and he 
has all things that his heart can crave4
  ,but long before this1 in one of his  
very worldly poems there is a sudden    
outburst1 addressed to the ,madonna3 ,he
 who does not serve the ,mother of ,god1
 knows not the meaning of love4         
,excellent proof of this intimate       
connection between earthly and ,madonna 

love is found in the poems of the       
trouvere ,ruteboeuf1 who calls ,mary his
 very sweet lady4  ,lanfranc ,cigala    
wrote genuine love-songs to the ,virgin4
 ,the following are two stanzas from one
 of his poems3       ,i worship a       
celestial maid1      ,serene and        
wondrously adorned2      ,and all she   
does is well2 arrayed      ,in noble    
love and gentleness4      ,her smile is 
bliss to all who mourn1      ,her tender
 love is happiness1      ,and for her   
kiss the world ,i scorn4      ,lady of  
,heaven1 ,thy heart incline      ,to me1
 and untold bliss is mine4      ,by day 
and night my only thought      ,art1    
,mary1 ,thou4 ,i am distraught      ,say
 many men1 for few can gauge      ,the  
ardour which consumes my soul4      ,i  
care not that they say bereft      ,i am
 of sense2 the world ,i've left1        
,to worship ,thee1 love's spring and    
goal4  ,but other poems written by      
,cigala are unmistakably addressed to   
the celestial ,madonna2 some of them    

seem to be written in a penitential     
mood2 he almost seems to repent of his  
former passionate adoration4 ,the same  
poet1 in his love-songs1 uses all the   
metaphors which are commonly used for   
,mary 7or for ,christ71 root and climax1
 flower1 fruit and seed of all goodness4
  ,a little older is an erotic hymn to  
,mary by ,peire ,guillem of ,luserna2 ,i
 quote a few stanzas3       ,thy praise 
is happiness unmarred1      ,for he who 
praises ,thee1 proclaims the truth1     
,thou art the flower of beauty1 love and
 ruth1      ,full of compassion1 with   
all grace bedight1      ,from ,thy white
 hands we gather all delight4  ,the love
 of ,mary had usurped the peculiar      
property of the love of woman3 it had   
become the source of poetic and artistic
 inspiration4  ,the songs of ,aimeric of
 ,peguilhan resemble those of ,cigala2  
the former bewails the decline of the   
service of woman2 he sings of the root  
and crown of all noble things1 but it is
 not quite clear whether he is          

addressing an earthly or a heavenly     
lady4 ,suffer my love1 which asks for no
 reward6 ,the terms1 friends and lovers 
7amans7 of the ,virgin are with these   
poets convertible terms1 and the ,virgin
 is styled the true friend 7i4e41 the   
beloved74  ,guilhem of ,autpol wrote a  
fine poem to the ,queen of ,heaven1     
beginning3       ,thou hope of all sad  
hearts who yearn for love1      ,thou   
stream of loveliness1 thou well of      
grace1      ,thou dove of peace in fret 
and restlessness1      ,thou ray of     
light to those who1 lightless1 grope4   
,thou house of ,god1 thou garden of     
sweet shades1      ,rest without        
ceasing1 refuge of the sad1      ,bliss 
without mourning1 flow'r that never     
fades1      ,alien to death1 and shelter
 in the mad      ,whirlpool of life1 to 
all who seek thy port4      ,lady of    
,heaven1 in whom all hearts rejoice1    
,thou roseate dawn and light of         
,paradise6  ,perdigon1 among many       
worldly songs1 wrote one to the regina  

d'auteza e de senhoria1 which might be  
translated thus3       ,supreme ruler of
 the world1      ,thy grace sustains    
,and maintains      ,the world4         
,thou fragrant rose1 thou fruitful vine1
      ,thou wert the chosen vessel of   
,mercy divine4  ,unsurpassed in the     
fusion of his earthly and his celestial 
lady was ,folquet de ,lunel4 ,some of   
his poems cannot be classed with any    
certainty4  ,the first poem which       
obtained a prize at the ,academy of     
,mastersingers of ,toulouse was a hymn  
to ,mary4  ,this very genuine           
sentimentalism appears strange to us2 we
 cannot enter into the feelings of that 
period4 ,a modern philologist1 ,karl    
,appel1 regards ,jaufre ,rudel's        
pathetic songs1 addressed by him to the 
,countess of ,tripoli3       ,oh1 love  
in lands so far away1      ,my heart is 
yearning1 yearning4444  as songs to the 
,madonna2 but it is a matter of         
indifference to the lover whether his   
heart's impulse1 translated into        

metaphysic1 is projected on an unknown  
,countess of ,tripoli1 or a still more  
unknown ,lady of ,heaven4 ,it is not the
 loved woman who is of importance--what 
do we know of the ladies who inspired   
the exquisite mediaeval poetry8 ,they   
have long been dust1 and we may be sure 
that their perfection was no greater    
than is the perfection of their         
grand-daughters4 ,but the love of the   
poets is alive to-day1 an eternal       
document of the human heart1            
representing one of the great phases    
through which the relationship between  
man and woman has passed4  ,the         
following are a few stanzas by the      
,german minnesinger1 ,steinmar1 which   
were later on adapted to the ,holy      
,virgin3       ,in summer-time how glad 
am ,i      ,when over lea or down       
,a country lass mine eyes espy1      ,of
 maidens all the crown4       ,oh6      
,paradise6 ,how glad am ,i      ,when   
o'er the heavenly down      ,god and    
,god's ,mother ,i espy1      ,of women  

all the crown4  ,the ,italian poets1 far
 more profound than the ,provenals1 saw 
a goddess in the beloved 7whom they     
always addressed as ,madonna71 and      
humbled themselves before her4 ,social  
differences1 which played such a        
prominent part in the ,north1 are here  
ignored4 ,the impecunious poet no longer
 extols the princess1 the wife of his   
lord and master4 ,there is no question  
of such a relationship2 the poet is a   
free citizen of the town1 subject only  
to the emotion of the heart1 and his    
song carries its own reward4 ,it has    
ceased to be the married woman's        
privilege to be lauded and extolled2 the
 maiden of unaristocratic origin1 who to
 the poets represents more strongly the 
ideas of purity and perfection1 has     
usurped her place4 ,we know that ,lapo  
,gianni1 ,dino ,frescobaldi1 ,guinicelli
 and ,dante worshipped a maiden         
untouched by as much as a sensuous      
thought1 and ,frescobaldi decided the   
question whether it were better to love 

a married woman or a maiden1 in favour  
of the latter4 ,the feeling of those    
lovers was pure and lofty1 and they had 
the power of giving it perfect          
expression4  ,in a canzone1 the         
authorship of which is ascribed to both 
,cavalcanti and ,cino da ,pistoia1 it is
 said of the beloved dead that ,god     
needed her presence to perfect ,heaven1 
and that all the saints now worship her4
 ,she was a miracle of perfection while 
she was yet on earth1 but now3          
,look thou into the pleasure wherein    
dwells      ,thy lovely lady1 who is in 
heaven crowned1      ,who is herself thy
 hope in heaven1 the while      ,to make
 thy mem'ry hallowed she prevails4      
,of thee she entertains the blessed     
throngs1      ,and says to them1 while  
yet my body thrave      ,on earth1 ,i   
gat much honour which he gave1          
,commending me in his commended songs4  
7,transl4 by ,d4,g4 ,,rossetti47  ,at   
the conclusion of his finest poem1 ,al  
,cor ,gentil1 ,guinicelli1 next to      

,dante doubtless the greatest poet of   
the ,middle ,ages1 says3 ,god will ask  
me after my death3 ',how could'st thou  
have loved aught but ,me8' ,and ,i will 
reply3 ',she came from ,thy realm and   
bore the semblance of an angel4         
,therefore in loving her1 ,i was not    
unfaithful to ,thee6' ,here we have the 
perfection of metaphysical eroticism3   
the beloved woman is ,god2 he who loves 
her1 loves ,god in her4  ,cavalcanti    
maintained in a poem that an image of   
the ,madonna actually bore the features 
of his lady4       ,guido1 an image of  
my lady dwells      ,at ,san ,michele1  
in ,orto1 consecrate1      ,and daily   
worshipped4 ,fair1 in holy state1       
,she listens to the tale each sinner    
tells4      ,and among them who come to 
her1 who ails      ,the most1 on him the
 most does blessing fall2      ,she bids
 the fiend men's bodies abdicate2       
,over the curse of blindness she        
prevails1      ,and heals sick languors 
in the public squares4444               

7,transl4 by ,d4,g4 ,,rossetti47  ,and  
,guido ,orlandi replies to him from the 
ecclesiastical standpoint1 as to a lost 
man3 ,had'st thou been speaking of      
,mary1 thou would'st have spoken the    
truth4 ,but now ,i must bewail thy      
errors4  ,a complete blending of        
sensuality and ,mary-worship was        
achieved in an ,italian poem of the     
fifteenth century4 ,the author of this  
poem addressed ,mary as queen of my     
heart1 and blossom of loveliness1 and   
goes on to say3 ,i can tell by your     
gestures and your face that you respond 
to my love2 when you look at me1 you    
smile1 and when you sigh1 your eyes are 
full of tenderness4444 ,sometimes1 in   
the evening1 ,i stand below your        
balcony2 you hear my sighs1 but you make
 no reply4444 ,when ,i gaze at your     
beauty1 ,i burn with love1 but when ,i  
think of your cruelty1 ,i call on death 
to release me4 ,in this poem we have a  
caricature of metaphysical eroticism4   
,in the sonnets of ,petrarch1           

metaphysical love has become            
stereotyped4 ,adoration has become a    
phrase 7as ,cupid has become a phrase   
with the earlier poets74 ,it is obvious 
that he loves ,laura because the play on
 the word ,laura and lauro 7laurel7     
caught his fancy4 ,i can find no        
spontaneous feeling in the famous       
,canzoniero2 all ,i see is erudition and
 perfection of form4 ,but among the few 
sincere specimens there is one beautiful
 poem addressed to ,mary3 ,vergine bella
 che di sol vestida6 which is not       
without erotic warmth4 ,but the singer  
and humanist expresses himself          
judiciously3       ,oh1 ,thou1 the      
,queen of ,heaven and our goddess       
7,if it be fitting such a phrase to     
use74  ,so far we have observed the     
current which1 emanating from the       
beloved woman1 lifted her into supernal 
regions and endowed her with            
perfection--the mistress is stripped of 
everything earthly1 the longing which   
can never be stilled on earth1 soars    

heavenward4 ,now we will examine the    
opposite current2 the current which     
emanates from the ,madonna of dogma1 the
 ,lady of ,heaven who is the same to all
 men1 in her last stage1 that is to say 
when she is finally enthroned by the    
side of ,god4 ,many a monk--earthly love
 being denied to him--was driven to a   
purely spiritual1 metaphysical love by  
the fact of his being permitted to love 
the ,lady of ,heaven without hesitation 
or remorse4 ,she was the fairest of     
women1 and he was at liberty to         
interpret the meaning of the fairest in 
any sense he chose4  ,the climax of the 
emotional worship of the ecclesiastical 
,mary was reached by ,st4 ,bernard1 the 
,doctor ,marianus mentioned on a        
previous occasion4 ,he was the author of
 sermons and homilies in honour of      
,mary1 and has been instrumental in     
dogmatising her worship by placing her  
side by side with the ,saviour4 ,it was 
more fitting that both sexes should take
 part in the renewal of mankind1 he     

says1 because both were instrumental in 
bringing about the fall4444 ,man who    
fell through woman1 can be raised only  
by her4 ,humanity kneels at ,thy feet1  
for the comfort of the wretched1 the    
release of the prisoners1 the delivery  
of the condemned1 the salvation of the  
countless sons of ,adam depend on a word
 from ,thy lips4 ,oh6 ,virgin1 hasten to
 reply6 ,speak the word for which the   
earth1 the nethermost hell1 and the     
heavens even1 are waiting2 yea1 the     
,king and ,ruler of the universe1       
greatly as ,he desires ,thy loveliness1 
awaits ,thy consent1 in which ,he has   
laid the salvation of the world4 ,basing
 his description on the ,revelation of  
,st4 ,john the ,divine1 he draws her    
picture as follows3 ,brilliant and white
 and dazzling are the garments of the   
,virgin4 ,she is so full of light and   
radiance that there is not the least    
darkness about her1 and no part of her  
may be described as less brilliant1 or  
not glowing with intense light4 ,and    

with increasingly pronounced erotic     
emphasis1 passing from the ,church dogma
 of salvation to passionate fervour1 he 
goes on to say3 ,a garden of sacred     
delight art ,thou1 oh1 ,mary6 ,in it we 
gather flowers of manifold joys as often
 as we reflect on the fulness of        
sweetness which through ,thee was poured
 out on the world4444 ,right lovely art 
,thou1 oh1 perfect ,one6 ,a bed of      
heavenly spices and precious flowers of 
all virtues1 filling the house of the   
,lord with sweet perfume6 ,oh6 ,mary1   
,thou violet of humility6 ,thou lily of 
chastity6 ,thou rose of love6 etc4  ,st4
 ,bernard inaugurated that extraordinary
 blending of eroticism with half-crazy1 
inconceivable allegories and fantasies1 
which lasted for centuries4 ,here1      
again1 we perceive the ideal of         
metaphysical eroticism1 which in the    
case of a loyal son of the ,church could
 only refer to the official ,queen of   
,heaven1 and consisted partly of the    
genuine emotion of love1 partly of      

allegorically constructed connections   
with the ,church dogma4  ,st4 ,bernard's
 emotional outbursts were comprehended  
and admired4 ,his authority was         
sufficient to override all scruples that
 might have stood in the way of this    
downright description of ,mary's charms4
 ,he became the model for all her later 
worshippers2 ,suso1 for instance1 often 
quotes him1 and ,brother ,hans called   
him the harpist and fiddler of her      
praise4  ,the great ecstatic poet1      
,jacopone da ,todi1 sang ,mary's praise 
as follows3       ,hail1 purest of      
virgins1      ,mother and maid1         
,gentle as moonlight1      ,lady of     
,aid6       ,i greet thee1 life's       
fountain1      ,fruitladen vine6        
,infinite mercy      ,thou sheddest on  
thine6       ,hope's fairest sunshine1  
,balm's well serene6      ,i claim a    
dance with thee1      ,all the world's  
,queen6       ,gate of beatitude6       
--,all sins forgiven1--      ,lead us to
 paradise1      ,sweet breeze of heaven6

       ,thou pointest us upward         
,where angels adore1      ,white lily of
 gentleness      ,thy grace ,i implore4 
,mirror of ,cherubim6      ,seraphim    
laud thy grace1      ,all things in     
heaven and earth      ,ring with thy    
praise6  ,the spiritual love of ,mary   
especially appealed to the ,german      
temper4 ,among the adoring monks ,suso  
deserves particular mention4 ,he laid   
great stress on the difference between  
high love and low love4 ,low love begins
 with rapture and ends with pain1 but   
high love begins with grief1 and is     
transformed into ecstasy1 until finally 
the lovers are united in eternity4 ,he  
was keenly conscious of the older motive
 of the cult of ,mary1 namely1 the need 
of a gentle mediator between man and the
 inaccessible ,deity4 ,oh1 thou6 ,god's 
chosen delight1 thou dulcet1 golden song
 of the ,eternal ,wisdom1 suffer me1 a  
poor sinner1 to tell thee a little of my
 sufferings4 ,my soul prostrates itself 
before thee with timorous eyes1         

shamefaced4 ,oh6 thou ,mother of all    
mercies1 ,i ween that neither my soul   
nor the soul of any other poor sinner   
needs a mediator1 or permission to come 
to thy throne1 for thou1 thyself1 art   
the intercessor for all sinners4        
,compared to his forerunner1 ,st4       
,bernard1 ,suso exhibits a marked degree
 of intimacy in his relationship with   
,mary4 ,he describes heaven as a kind of
 flowered meadow1 and ,mary keeping     
court1 like any earthly princess4 ,now  
go and behold the sweet ,queen of       
,heaven1 whom you love so profoundly1   
leading the procession of the celestial 
throng in great gladness and            
stateliness1 inclining to her lover with
 roses and lilies6 ,behold her wonderful
 beauty shedding light and joy on the   
heavenly hosts6 ,eya6 ,look up to her   
who giveth gladness to heart and mind2  
behold the ,mother of ,mercy resting her
 eyes1 her tender1 pitiful eyes1 on you 
and all sinners1 powerfully protecting  
her beloved child4 ,the whole sixteenth 

chapter of the ,booklet of ,eternal     
,wisdom is an ardent hymn to the        
,madonna1 almost comparable to ,st4     
,bernard's prayer to ,mary in ,dante's  
,divine ,comedy4 ,it was written about  
the time of ,dante's death1 not very    
long1 therefore1 after the composition  
of the last chapters of the ,paradise4  
,the ,life of ,suso 7the first ,german  
biography ever written7 evidences his   
adoration for the ,lady of ,heaven3 ,it 
was customary in his country1 ,swabia1  
for the young men to go to their        
sweethearts' houses on ,new ,year's     
,eve1 singing songs until they received 
from the maidens a chaplet in return4   
,this custom so pleased his young and   
ardent heart that he1 too1 went on the  
eve of the ,new ,year to his eternal    
love1 to beg her for a gift4 ,before    
daybreak he repaired to the statue which
 represented the ,virginal ,mother      
pressing her tender child1 the beautiful
 ,eternal ,wisdom1 to her bosom1 and    
kneeling down before her1 with a sweet1 

low singing of his soul1 he chanted a   
sequence to her1 imploring her to let   
him win a chaplet from her ,child4444   
,he then said to the ,eternal ,wisdom   
7and it is uncertain whether he is      
addressing the mother or the child73    
,thou art my love1 my glad ,easter day1 
the summer-joy of my heart1 my sweet    
hour2 thou art the love which my young  
heart alone worships1 and for the sake  
of which it has scorned earthly love4   
,give me a guerdon1 then1 my heart's    
delight1 and let me not go away from    
thee empty-handed4  ,with a sweet1 low  
singing of his soul1 this worshipper    
approached the statue of the ,queen of  
,heaven4 ,this is love of woman         
undisguised1 it merely has a religious  
undertone4 ,other secular merry-makings 
were adapted by ,suso to his celestial  
mistress1 as1 for instance1 the planting
 of the may-tree1 and he repeatedly     
makes use of similes and metaphors      
borrowed from the chivalrous service of 
woman4 ,he frequently alludes to himself

 as the servant of the ,eternal ,wisdom2
 the meaning of this expression is      
apparently intentionally obscured1 but  
it has a savour of the feminine4 ,suso  
pictured himself1 after the manner of   
lovers1 with a chaplet of roses on his  
brow4 ,in his ,life there is a passage  
unsurpassed by the best of the          
minnesingers3 ,in the golden summer-time
 when all the tender little flowers had 
opened their buds1 he gathered none     
until he had dedicated the first        
blossoms to his spiritual love1 the     
gentle1 flower-like1 rosy maiden and    
,mother of ,god2 when it seemed to him  
that the time had come1 he culled the   
flowers with many loving thoughts1      
carried them into his cell and wove them
 into a garland2 and after he had done  
so1 he went into the choir1 or into ,our
 ,lady's ,chapel1 prostrated himself    
before his dear lady1 and placed the    
sweet garland on her head1 hoping that  
she would not scorn her servant's       
offering1 as she was the most wondrous  

flower herself1 and the summer-joy of   
his heart4  ,doubtless we here have an  
analogy to the religious feeling of the 
mystics4 ,the metaphysical lover is     
still under the impression that he is   
worshipping the ,mary of the ,catholic  
,church2 but as in the case of the      
mystic the ,christ of dogma is          
transformed into the divine spark in his
 own soul1 so the love of ,mary has     
become undogmatic and pure              
woman-worship1 the ideal of the great   
lovers of that age4  ,another prominent 
,madonna-worshipper was ,conrad of      
,wrzburg 7died #abgh74 ,he began his    
career as a minnesinger1 but later on   
entered a monastery4 ,he was the author 
of a very extensive1 and in part1       
poetical collection of songs in praise  
of the ,queen of ,heaven4 ,the ,golden  
,smithy is an interesting instance of   
the mingling of genuine metaphysical    
eroticism and traditional ,church       
doctrines4 ,conrad inextricably mingles 
all the ,biblical allegories more or    

less applicable to ,mary1 the stories of
 the ,gospels1 the doctrine of the      
,immaculate ,conception1 etc41 with his 
own emotions1 and thus creates a world  
of feeling which1 though in many        
respects exaggerated1 still represents  
in its quaint unity something entirely  
novel and unique3       ,thy glorious   
form1      ,though by beauty all        
envested1      ,never passion has       
suggested      ,nor has lit unholy fire 
,in man's heart1 that gross desire      
,from thy purity should spring4  ,he1   
too1 describes the celestial ,paradise  
as a lovely garden1 in which ,mary walks
 as queen1 and he says of her celestial 
maidens1 7perhaps a reminiscence of the 
mythological ,german swan-maidens73     
,thy white hand with blossoms           
,their chaplets enhances1      ,thou    
show'st them the dances      ,of ,god's 
,paradise4      ',mid radiant skies     
,thou gather'st heavenly roses4  ,the   
,italian ,franciscan monk ,giacomo of   
,verona also wrote poems to the ,queen  

of the ,heavenly ,meadows4 ,on the right
 hand of ,christ sits ,mary1 more lovely
 than the flowers in the meadows and the
 half-opened rose-buds4 ,before her face
 stand the heavenly hosts singing       
jubilant songs in her praise1 but she   
adorns her knights with garlands and    
gives them roses4 ,just as ,pons of     
,capduelh describes the transfiguration 
of his earthly mistress1 ,jacopone      
describes ,mary's ascent into ,heaven1  
where she is received by the angels     
singing songs of jubilee1 their sanctus1
 sanctus1 sanctus1 replaced by a joyful 
sancta1 sancta1 sancta--a goddess has   
been received in the place of ,god4     
,gottfried of ,strassburg1 the author of
 the sensuous and passionate epic poem  
,tristan and ,isolde1 composed a long   
poem in honour of ,mary couched in the  
well-known terms of the loving          
worshipper3       ,thou vale of         
roses1--violet-dell1      ,thou joy that
 makest hearts to swell1      ,eternal  
well      ,of valour2 ,queen of ,heaven6

      ,thou rosy dawn1 thou morning-red1
      ,thou steadfast friend when hope  
has fled1      ,the living bread1       
,oh6 ,lady1 hast thou given4       ,thou
 sheen of flow'rs with love alight1     
,thou bridal crown1 all maids' delight1 
,thou art bedight      ,with heaven's   
golden splendour6       ,thou of all    
sweetness sweetest shine1      ,thou    
sweeter than the sweetest wine1         
,the sweetness thine1      ,is my       
salvation ever4      ,thou art a potion 
sweet of love1      ,sweetly pervading  
heaven above1      ,to sailors rough    
,sang syrens sweeter never4       ,thou 
enterest through eye and ear1           
,senses and soul pervading1      ,thou  
givest to the heart great cheer1      ,a
 guerdon dear1      ,a glory never      
fading4  ,the poet who wrote of         
,isolde's love potion here calls the    
,queen of ,heaven a potion sweet of     
love1 a strange metaphor to use in      
connection with the ,mary of dogma4     
,another characteristic frequently      

alluded to is her sweet perfume1 an     
attribute which we to-day do not look   
upon as exclusively celestial4          
,quaintly delicate and tender are the   
love-songs of ,brother ,hans1 an        
otherwise unknown monk of the fourteenth
 century4 ,he himself tells us that he  
deserted his earthly mistress for the   
,queen of ,heaven4 ,perhaps the dualism 
between earthly and transcendent love   
has never been expressed more clearly   
than by him2 for in his case the        
worshipping love did not gradually lead 
up to ,mary1 the essence of womanhood1  
but an earthly love had to be killed so 
that the pure heavenly love could live4 
,mary6 ,gentle mistress mine6      ,i   
humbly kneel before you2      ,all my   
heart and soul are thine4  ,and3        
,oh1 ,mary6 ,secret fountain1           
,closed garden of delight1      ,the    
,prince of ,heaven mirrors      ,him in 
thy beauty bright4  ,but after          
describing all the joys of heaven1      
,brother ,hans comes to the conclusion  

that a man knows about as much of       
celestial matters as an ox knows of     
discant singing4  ,his relationship to  
,mary is tender1 intimate and familiar3 
,within my heart concealed      ,there  
is a secret cell2      ,at nightfall and
 at daybreak      ,my lady there does   
dwell4      ,the mistress of the house  
is she1      ,i feel her love and care  
about4      ,if she denies herself to   
me1      ,methinks the mistress has gone
 out4  ,in another poem he prays to     
,mary to allow him to tear off a small  
piece of her robe1 so that he may keep  
himself warm with it in the winter4     
,like ,cino da ,pistoia1 who commended  
his dying soul not to ,god but to his   
loved one1 ,brother ,hans commends      
himself to ,mary3       ,thus ,i commend
 my soul into thy hands1      ,when it  
must journey to those unknown lands1    
,where roads and paths are new and      
strange to it4  ,and3       ,oh1 come to
 me1 thou ,bride of ,god1      ,when my 
faint soul departs from me6  ,there     

remains one more motif to consider1 a   
motif which in a way completes the      
picture of the celestial lady3 ,as men  
love and desire the women of the earth1 
so ,god loves the ,lady of ,heaven4 ,st4
 ,bernard first expressed this nave     
idea1 which makes ,god the ,father      
resemble a little the ancient ,jupiter4 
,she attracted the eyes of the heavenly 
hosts1 even the heart of the ,king went 
out to her4 ,he ,himself1 the supreme   
,king and ,ruler1 so much desires thy   
beauty1 that ,he is awaiting thy        
consent1 upon which ,he has decided to  
save the world4 ,and ,him ,whom thou    
delightest in thy silence1 thou wilt    
delight even more by thy speech1 for ,he
 called to thee from ,heaven3 ',oh6     
fairest among women6 ,let me hear thy   
voice6' etc4 ,here we have ,st4         
,bernard1 the rock of orthodoxy1        
representing ,god as ,mary's languishing
 admirer6 ,suso is irreproachable in    
this respect1 but ,conrad says that the 
colour of ,mary's face was so bright and

 made it so lovely1       ,that even the
 ,eternal ,sire      ,was filled with   
sacred fire1      ,and all the heavenly 
princes4444  ,thus1 at the turn of the  
fourteenth century the great celestial  
change was complete3 ,by the side of    
,god1 nay1 even in the place of ,god1 a 
woman was enthroned4 ,the ,virgin became
 the ,god of the ,universe1 says        
,michelet1 a thorough1 though rather    
imaginative expert on the ,middle ,ages4
 ,the people primitively worshipped     
idols4 ,the clergy1 headed by the       
,dominican and ,franciscan monks1       
introduced ,lady ,days into the calendar
 and invented the rosary to facilitate  
the recital of the ,aves2 secular orders
 of knighthood placed themselves under  
the ,virgin's protection 7,la           
,chevalerie de ,sainte ,marie71 but the 
rarest minds1 sublimating the beloved1  
raised her into ,heaven and worshipped  
her as divine4 ,the established religion
 was compelled to enter into partnership
 with the great emotion of the time1    

metaphysical love1 lest it ran the risk 
of losing its sway over humanity4  ,and 
a feeling was born then which to this   
day constitutes one of the striking     
differences between the ,eastern and the
 ,western worlds3 the respect for       
womanhood4 ,it is based on the          
woman-worship of secular1 and the       
,madonna-worship of ecclesiastical      
circles4 ,it is true that ,jesus1       
anticipating the intuition of ,europe1  
had taught the divinity of the human    
soul and recognised woman--in this      
respect--as on an equality with man1 but
 the instincts of ,greece and the       
,eastern nations had proved to be       
stronger than his teaching2 for twelve  
hundred years woman was despised1 and   
more than once the question as to       
whether or no she had a soul--in other  
words1 as to whether or no she was a    
human being--had come under discussion4 
,the crude and primitively dualistic    
minds of the period realised in her sex 
merely an embodiment of their own       

sensuality1 the enemy against whom they 
fought1 and to whom they knew themselves
 subject4 ,the strongest argument in her
 favour which the first millenary could 
adduce1 was the fact that the ,saviour  
of the world had been borne by a woman1 
and that consequently her sex had a     
share in the work of salvation2 the idea
 that through the other ,eve a part of  
the sin of the first ,eve was expiated4 
,but genuine appreciation and respect   
were only possible after base sensuality
 had been contrasted with spiritual     
love1 whose vehicle again was woman4    
,now the eternal-feminine-- contrasted  
with the earthly-feminine--drew the     
lovers upwards1 and this new emotion    
threw such a glamour over the whole sex1
 that it never entirely died away2 if   
to-day women are respected and their    
efforts at emancipation supported1 they 
are not indebted1 as they are sometimes 
told1 to ,christian ethics1 but rather  
to the mundane culture which had its    
origin at the courts of the ,provenal   

lords1 whose ideals ultimately became   
the controlling ideals of ,europe1 and  
whose inmost essence still influences   
the world4  ,the evolution of love had  
obviously arrived at a stage when       
respect was considered due to           
women--though not perhaps to all women4 
,i will not go to the courts of the     
great for evidence1 but merely relate an
 episode from the life of the ,dominican
 friar ,suso3 ,in crossing a field1     
,suso met on a narrow path a poor1      
respectable woman4 ,when he was close to
 her1 he stepped off the dry path and   
stood in the mud1 waiting for her to    
pass4 ,the woman1 who knew him1 was     
astonished4 ',how is it1 ,sir1' she     
said1 'that you1 a venerable priest1 are
 humbly standing aside to allow me1 a   
poor woman1 to pass1 when it were far   
more meet that ,i should stand aside and
 make room for you8' ',why1 my good     
woman1' replied ,suso1 ',i like to      
honour all women for the sake of the    
gentle ,mother of ,god in ,heaven4'  ,it

 may seem extraordinary1 but this       
absolutely unphilosophical1 and really  
paradoxical emotion1 found an           
appreciator in the ,german philosopher  
,ludwig ,feuerbach1 the enemy of        
,christianity4 ,in his ,essence of      
,christianity1 as well as in his        
treatise ,on the ,cult of ,mary1 he     
refers to it more than once4 ,the holy  
,virgin1 he says1 the ,mother of ,god1  
is the only divine and positive1 that is
 to say1 the only lovable and poetical  
figure of ,christian mythology1 and the 
only one worthy of worship2 for ,mary is
 the goddess of beauty1 the goddess of  
love1 the goddess of humanity1 the      
goddess of nature1 the goddess of       
freedom from dogma4 ,feuerbach is right4
 ,the ,lady of ,heaven stands for the   
delivery from dogma1 because she had her
 origin in spontaneous emotion1 clothed 
with but a few rags of dogma4 ,the monks
 vowed the vow of chastity1 he continues
 in his great work2 they suppressed the 
sexual impulse1 but in exchange they had

 the personification of womanhood1 of   
love1 in the ,virgin in ,heaven4 ,the   
more their ideal1 fictitious            
representative of her sex became an     
object of spontaneous love1 the more    
easily could they dispense with the     
women of flesh and blood4 ,the more they
 emphasised in their lives the complete 
suppression of sexuality1 the more      
prominent became the part which the     
,virgin played in their emotions2 she   
usurped in many cases1 the place of     
,christ1 and even the place of ,god4    
,feuerbach then explains the need of man
 to project his noblest sentiments on   
,heaven1 and lays much stress on the    
necessity of believing in the ,mother of
 ,god1 because the love of a child for  
its mother is the first strong feeling  
of man4 ,where the faith in the ,mother 
of ,god declines1 the faith in the ,son 
of ,god1 and in ,god the ,father1       
declines also4   ,i will now leave the  
region of the historical and examine the
 emotion whose reality and influence ,i 

have substantiated1 from a timeless     
standpoint1 for my principal point is   
the psychical1 and more particularly the
 metaphysical consummation of the       
emotion of love4 ,the sole object of the
 abundant evidence ,i have been         
compelled to adduce is my desire to     
prove the existence and significance of 
all the emotions which stir the soul1   
and in the later ,middle ,ages strove so
 powerfully to express themselves4 ,my  
thesis that sexuality and love are      
opposed principles will no doubt be     
rejected1 for1 under the strong         
influence of the theory of evolution1   
all the world is to-day agreed that love
 is nothing but the refinement of the   
sexual impulse4 ,i maintain that 7as far
 as man is concerned7 they differ very  
essentially1 and ,i have attempted to   
prove their incommensurability by       
submitting historical facts4 ,that they 
may1 and will1 ultimately merge1 is my  
unalterable conviction4 ,my assertion   
that something so fundamental as the    

personal love of man and woman did not  
exist from the beginning1 but came into 
existence in the course of history1 at a
 not very remote period1 may seem even  
more strange4 ,my only reply is that    
instead of advancing opinions ,i have   
brought forward facts and allowed them  
to speak for themselves4 ,moreover1 to  
my mind the realisation of the intimate 
connection of love and evolving         
personality is a far more magnificent   
proof of the soundness of the           
evolutionary theory than the reflection 
that we have received all things        
ready-made from the hands of nature4    
,has it not been proved to us that the  
religious consciousness of the divinity 
of the human soul was also evolved in   
historical time1 and has never again    
disappeared8  ,every strong love which  
finds no response is fraught with the   
possibility of an infinite unfolding2 it
 may powerfully seize the whole soul and
 make life a tragedy4 ,but this tragedy 
is not of the very essence of tragedy1  

inasmuch as here we have merely love    
confronted by an unsurmountable         
obstacle1 meeting and overwhelming it2  
the discord is not inherent4 ,many a    
lover suffering from unrequited love1 is
 born with the tendency to become       
unhappy1 with a secret will to the      
voluptuousness of pain and melancholy2  
he will enjoy his unhappiness1 perhaps  
become productive through it4 ,thus1    
this deliberately unhappy love may be   
regarded as an analogy to genuine       
metaphysical eroticism4 ,for the worship
 of woman is in its essence infinite    
striving2 its object is always          
unattainable1 an illusion4 ,every       
earthly love1 even if it finds no       
response at all1 may1 in principle1 be  
gratified1 and is only unhappy if       
external circumstances intervene4 ,but  
the love of the ,madonna is in itself   
fraught with the tragic impossibility of
 requital2 its foundation is the        
recognition1 or divination1 of the fact 
that mortal women are too insignificant 

for a passion which yearns for          
infinitude4 ,a lover filled with the    
longing to glorify a woman and worship  
her as a divine being1 has frequently   
experienced a certain disappointment4   
,the beloved may have died young--as did
 ,beatrice--without his ever having come
 into close contact with her2           
instinctively his soul turns            
heavenward--and imagination has ample   
scope to transform and transfigure the  
dead4 ,or he may have been disappointed 
in his mistress2 it may have been that  
he1 attuned to pure1 spiritual love1 has
 found her all too human4 ,he flees from
 reality into the world of dreams1 and  
envelops her with the veil of           
mysteriousness and divinity4 ,purely    
spiritual love is an intense emotion1   
and as men and women of flesh and blood 
cannot always live at high pressure1    
hours of dejection and disappointment   
will necessarily have to be experienced4
 ,the soul takes refuge in an illusion  
which becomes more and more an end in   

itself1 and gradually the lover creates 
an inaccessibly lofty1 celestial woman4 
,for purely spiritual love aspires to   
absolute transcendency2 it cannot bear  
contact with every-day life4 ,the       
psychologists of the present day tell us
 that a feeling1 in becoming            
spiritualised1 loses strength1--history 
teaches us that in the case of great    
souls the opposite is the rule4  ,these 
suggestions purpose to explain the      
inception of an ecstatic love2 but the  
true metaphysical erotic is born and    
needs no outside stimulus2 his heart    
yearns for the inaccessible from the    
very beginning4 ,there are certain      
elements of feeling which must be       
present in his soul simultaneously3 a   
religious elementary feeling tending to 
the metaphysical2 the need of a         
sacred--a divine--being1 as the         
foundation of all existing things2 a    
powerful and purely spiritual craving   
for love1 hurt1 perhaps unconsciously1  
in early youth1 and finally an          

imagination endowed with plastic        
force--artistic tendencies4 ,in the case
 of the mystic the soul1 too1 is filled 
with the consciousness of the divine2   
he1 too1 has the capacity for a great   
love1 but with him it is not the love of
 woman1 but of something universal1 not 
individualised1 the world1 the cosmos1  
,god4  ,while the mystic attempts to    
embody the inconceivable ,deity in his  
soul1 the worshipper of the ,madonna1   
like the artist1 imaginatively creates a
 being which he sets up for             
contemplation at the greatest possible  
distance4 ,the mystic is blind1 as it   
were2 he is yearning personified1 and he
 would force ,god into his soul4 ,the   
metaphysical lover needs a plastic      
figure which1 in the extremest case1 may
 represent the whole world to him1 and  
this figure must be a woman4 ,it is a   
historical accident that this woman is  
frequently connected with a woman of    
ecclesiastical tradition1 an accident   
strengthened by insufficient creative   

power on the part of the lover1 or lack 
of courage and self-confidence4 ,he is  
grateful for the support given to him by
 tradition4 ,the greatest metaphysical  
lovers1 ,dante1 ,goethe and             
,michelangelo1 freely created the       
objects of their love2 the ,protestant  
,goethe--whom some people even accuse of
 paganism--clung more closely than      
either of the others to the ,mary of    
,catholicism 7in the final scene of     
,faust74 ,the worship of the ,madonna is
 the love of great solitary souls1      
and--as is proved by ,goethe--of the    
great souls in the hours of their last  
solitude4  ,while there was only        
unindividualised sexual instinct1 the   
chastity of woman was of no account2 we 
have seen that neither the ,eastern     
nations nor the ,greeks attached any    
value to it4 ,the woman who had best    
fulfilled her vocation as a mother1 was 
the woman most highly respected4 ,in the
 ,east1 as well as with ,jews and       
,romans1 a woman could be divorced by   

her husband for sterility4 ,the only    
women who were1 to some extent1         
appreciated for their own sakes1 were   
the ,greek hetaerae4 ,but when          
asceticism became a moral value1        
chastity1 too1 was regarded as a virtue1
 and personal love between two          
individuals invested it with a profound 
significance4 ,henceforth woman should  
no longer be regarded as the vehicle for
 the gratification of male sensuality2  
it should be her mission to lead the    
lover to spiritual perfection4 ,the     
fusion of the older ideal of womanhood1 
the mother 7acknowledged and sanctioned 
by religion in the mother of the        
,saviour71 with the newer ideal1 the    
,virgin1 created the ideal of the late  
,middle ,ages3 the virgin with the      
,child4 ,here the natural vocation of   
woman and the fantastic mission laid    
upon her by man were united in a        
paradoxical higher intuition1 and it is 
superfluous to point out that the most  
irreligious minds of the ,renascence1 as

 well as those of all later eras1 have  
to this day worshipped this ideal1 and  
never wearied of representing it under  
new forms4  ,but the worship of the     
,virginal ,mother contains another      
element1 an element of which man in his 
contact with woman is deeply conscious3 
the element of mystery4 ,to a man a     
young girl1 untouched by the faintest   
breath of sensuality1 has a quality of  
strangeness and mysteriousness 7this is 
probably a result of ,european          
sentiment71 and at all times the woman  
who has become a mother has been        
regarded with a slight feeling of       
superstitious awe4 ,in the ,virginal    
,mother these two vaguely reverential   
feelings are blended2 she is a strange  
and awe-inspiring being1 and man1       
divining a mystery1 bows down before    
her4  ,otto ,weininger was the first to 
give us a psychology of the cult of the 
,madonna1 and he did it in a manner     
which proved his entire comprehension of
 this peculiar sentimental disposition4 

,he realised and pointed out the        
contrast between sexuality and eroticism
 7his terms for sexual impulse and      
love71 but in accordance with his       
extreme mental disposition he left these
 two principles in irreconcilable       
conflict1 while ,i regard their         
antithesis merely in the light of a     
transient phase which will be followed  
by a reconciling synthesis4 ,weininger  
is1 ,i believe1 in conflict with        
spiritual reality when 7guided by       
ethical1 not psychological              
considerations7 he proposes the theory  
that a man endows the beloved woman with
 all the lofty values he desires for    
himself4 ,he projects his ideal of an   
absolutely perfect being on another     
human being1 and this and nothing else  
is the meaning of his love4 ,to bestow  
all the qualities one would like to     
possess1 but never can quite possess1 on
 another individual1 to make it the     
representative of all values1 that is to
 love4 ,it is a commonplace experience  

that genuine love will awaken in the    
soul new and transcendent emotions1     
compared to which all previous          
experience appears petty and            
insignificant4 ,the waves of this       
emotion are able to carry the lover to  
the infinite1 or at least his emotion   
will help him to divine the infinite4   
,he sees1 unexpectedly1 his inmost soul 
revealed to him1 he has exceeded the    
limits upon which he has hitherto looked
 as a matter of course2 the barrier     
between him and the universe has fallen1
 the whole world belongs to him2 the    
egoist becomes less selfish1 the cruel  
man gentle1 the dullard clairvoyant2    
every man feels that he has become      
greater and more human4 ,this is neither
 illusion nor projection1 nor is it a   
subtle1 psychical deception--it is sober
 reality4 ,weininger's suspicion of a   
delusion is nothing but the result of   
his ascetic solipsism1 refusing to      
accept another being's help in his      
striving for perfection1 a consequence  

of the one-sided1 sterile cult of his   
individual soul1 a noble but puerile    
pride refusing to be indebted to the    
world and to his fellow-men1 the        
fanatical1 metaphysical dualism which is
 so often met with in the second stage  
of eroticism1 and to which stage he     
belongs4  ,weininger shrank from the    
idea that an individual might be made   
the means to an end1 instead of being an
 end in itself4 ,in my opinion his      
justification for the translation of    
this formula--framed by ,kant for pure  
ethics--to empirical psychology1 is     
doubtful4 ,to use an individual only as 
a means to an end which is alien to his 
inmost being1 is certainly immoral4 ,but
 all social life is based on a mutual   
relationship of means and ends2 a man is
 an end in himself at the same time that
 he is a means to other individuals and 
the community4 ,the teacher is a means  
as far as his pupils are concerned2 the 
poet is a means in respect to all who   
seek in his writings information or     

recreation4 ,to carry the stigmatisation
 of these facts to a logical conclusion1
 one would have to call it immoral to   
accept anything from parents or         
teachers2 one would have to reject every
 good influence--which always comes from
 outside--and become completely absorbed
 in the cult of one's own soul4 ,one    
would even have to object to being born1
 and would have to create one's self out
 of nothing4 ,it has always been        
regarded as the splendid privilege of   
great men to exert an ennobling         
influence on others--why1 therefore1    
should the influence of a beloved woman 
on her lover be objectionable8          
,weininger's error in the sphere of     
eroticism arises from the fact of his   
imprisoning love in a formula which is  
by no means applicable to it4 ,in love  
the mutual relationship of means and    
ends does not exist1 the lover feels    
that the beloved is always an end in    
herself in the highest sense2 he would  
find it impossible inwardly to establish

 such a relationship between himself and
 her2 very frequently himself1 his      
well-being and his life1 are of no      
account to him if he can serve her4     
,weininger's assertion that at the      
consummation of love every woman is     
merely the means of gratifying a man's  
passion1 is simply not true4 ,on the    
contrary1 it is a characteristic of     
genuine love that the physical embrace  
is of no great importance1 does not even
 rise to full consciousness4 ,the       
personality of the beloved is           
everything1 physical sensation nothing4 
,weininger identifies love with passion 
and his argument is easily refutable by 
the experience of many4 ,in love there  
is neither means nor end2 if1 however1  
categoric formulas must be used1 one    
might speak of a reciprocal action4     
,equally erroneous is his corresponding 
assertion that the artist loves a woman 
spiritually1 that is1 in the sense of   
deifying her1 for the purpose of drawing
 from her inspiration for his work4 ,if 

he loves her1 then his love is the alpha
 and omega of his striving1 and if love 
inspires him to achieve a masterpiece1  
the effect of love on him must be       
considered great and good1 because it is
 a creative effect4  ,the extreme       
individualistic ideal would lead to an  
absolutely unproductive view of life4   
,asceticism stands condemned because it 
is unproductive4 ,i may regard an       
,indian fakir who has become so godlike 
that he can sustain life on six grains  
of rice a day1 and draw breath once     
every quarter of an hour--to say nothing
 of speech or cleanliness--as a very    
strange individual2 but ,i see nothing  
positive or important in him4 ,the road 
which leads from the individual to the  
universal cannot be the rejection of the
 world2 it must be its perfection1      
resulting from productivity of mind1 or 
soul1 or deed4 ,he who on principle     
refuses to be productive1 condemns      
himself to annihilation in the higher   
sense4 ,i admit that he who works at his

 own perfection does good work1 too2 but
 it is the inexplicable secret of all   
truly creative labour--in the highest as
 well as in the lowest sense--that it   
must ultimately affect the world and    
eternity4 ,the strongest emotions1 the  
inner illumination of the mystic and the
 love of the great erotic1 have been    
conceived in the heart of hearts2 and   
have ultimately grown beyond their      
creator1 from the individual to the     
universal4 ,the more intimate and       
powerful the creative impulse has been1 
the more retarded and abundant may1     
perhaps1 be the effect4 ,but the chain  
which links the great soul to humanity  
cannot be broken1 the work will make    
itself manifest--the work of deed1 the  
work of the mind1 the work of love--,i  
do not say to the public1 but to life1  
to the world4 ,the creative personality 
alone is the father of the objective    
values of civilisation4  ,the great love
 which led ,dante1 ,goethe and ,wagner  
to the summits of humanity is in the    

highest sense positive and creative4    
,and he who realises that love is not   
subject to sexual impulse1 who knows it 
as something purely personal1 foreign   
and even hostile to the genus1 must     
admit that it is one of the very highest
 of values4 ,a contrary ethic is        
sterile1 ,indian1 unproductive1 not     
,european4 ,i am well aware that        
,weininger did not explicitly draw this 
conclusion2 but he rejects spiritual    
love because it endows the lover with   
new capacities1 the capacities of growth
 and perfection1 and he is therefore in 
the last resort a representative of     
philosophic nihilism4   7c7 ,dante and  
,goethe  ,the worship of woman found its
 climax in ,dante4 ,through the work of 
his youth1 the ,vita ,nuova and his     
masterpiece1 ,the ,divine ,comedy1 we   
can trace step by step the stages of the
 road1 beginning with a glimpse of a    
young girl in ,florence1 and ending with
 the incorporation of a woman into the  
world-system4 ,we are face to face with 

an extraordinary process of evolution4  
,the young girl he had seen a few times1
 and who died in her youth1 goes on     
growing and developing in his soul1     
until1 at last1 in him the will to raise
 woman above time into eternity1 the    
will to make her a member of the divine 
system1 reaches its full realisation4   
,what had been begun by the troubadours 
and fully comprehended by the poets of  
the sweet new style1 reached completion 
in ,dante1 and1 was henceforth an       
eternal value for all humanity4  ,we see
 that the later troubadours were        
inclined to blend the lady of their     
heart with the universal ,lady of       
,heaven2 the need of deifying the loved 
woman was at the root of many dubious   
growths1 and possibly these early poets 
were also to some extent influenced by  
their dread of the ,inquisition 7which  
never gained much importance in ,italy74
 ,the new poets deepened this feeling1  
stripped it of all externalities1 and   
appeared before the adored simply as    

lovers4 ,they did not require the       
dogmatic support of the ,church1 their  
own feeling was sufficient guarantee4   
,dante1 moreover1 was possessed by a    
craving for an absolutely perfect and   
consistent world-system1 and had1       
besides1 the power to build it up and   
people it with sublime intelligences4   
,and in this system1 the crown and      
perfection of the mediaeval-,catholic   
conception of the universe1 he assigned 
to the love of his youth a high and     
permanent place by the side of the      
deities4 ,dante thus raised his         
individual feeling to a universal dogma1
 and enriched the ,catholic heaven by   
his personal love4 ,what for two hundred
 years had been a dream and a desire1   
had become a matter of faith and truth4 
,now1 and not until now1 love and       
religion were one2 the love of a woman  
had been included in the system of      
eternal verities1 and had become        
identical with the love of immortality4 
,love which moves the sun and all the   

stars was acknowledged as a fundamental 
feeling4 ,the anchoring of the          
subjective in the eternal was achieved  
in this metaphysical setting3 the       
deification of the beloved2 and no      
greater gift was ever vouchsafed to man 
than the creation of metaphysically true
 beings and values4 ,all that had been  
done before had merely prepared the     
ground for this great deed3 the         
enshrinement of the beloved in the heart
 of the divine secrets4  ,the ,vita     
,nuova1 which is at once a glorified    
historical record and the greatest      
testimony of metaphysical love1         
emphasises from the outset the          
inspiring1 purifying influence emanating
 from the beloved2 ,beatrice is the     
destroyer of all evil and the queen of  
all virtue4 ,when ,i saw her coming     
towards me and could hope for her       
salutation1 the world held no enemy for 
me1 yea1 ,i was filled with the fire of 
brotherly love to such an extent1 that  
,i was ready to forgive anybody who had 

ever offended me4 ,and whoever had      
begged me for a gift1 ,i should have    
replied3 ,love6 and my face would have  
been full of humility4 ,even before his 
love had been translated to the world   
beyond1 he portrayed spiritual love as  
hardly any other poet before or after   
him4 ,the women of ,florence ask ,dante3
 ,why doest thou love this lady1 seeing 
that thou canst not even bear her       
presence8 ,tell us1 for the end of such 
love must be incomprehensible to men4   
,and he replies3 ,ladies1 the end and   
aim of my love is but the salutation of 
that lady2 therein ,i find that         
beatitude which is the goal of my       
desire4 ,and now that it has pleased her
 to deny me her salutation1 my whole    
happiness is contained in that which can
 never perish4 ,and the women3 ,tell us1
 then1 wherein lies such happiness8 ,in 
the words that praise my lady 7that is  
to say in the emotion which is an end in
 itself and in its artistic expression74
 ,the lover never exchanged a word with 

her2 had he done so1 attempting to      
establish a reciprocal relationship1    
,beatrice1 bereft of his idealising     
love1 would have had to descend from her
 pedestal and show herself a girl like  
all the rest4 ,not until after her      
deification has become an established   
fact1 does ,beatrice 7in the beginning  
of the ,divine ,comedy7 remember her    
lover and come to save him4 ,in one of  
his poems ,dante says that not every    
woman could inspire such a love1 but    
only a woman of peculiar nobility of    
character4 ,it is very apparent that    
,dante1 at first1 was not sure of       
himself1 and that he only gradually     
discovered the new consciousness which  
was stirring his soul2 with every       
chapter the beloved recedes to a greater
 distance and becomes more sacred to    
him4  ,it is quite in keeping with all  
this that our knowledge of this girl of 
eighteen is very vague and uncertain4   
,some of ,dante's commentators believe  
her to have been a figment of his brain1

 a woman who never lived1 or an allegory
 of wisdom1 virtue1 the ,church1        
theology1 etc4 ,but at the death of her 
father ,beatrice again behaves like any 
other earthly maiden4 ,there is a grain 
of truth in every one of these theories1
 for ,dante was a great scholastic as   
well as a great poet1 and in more       
advanced years he felt a need somehow to
 connect the love of his youth with the 
system of the ,church2 this could be    
done in an allegorical way without being
 inwardly untruthful4  ,vague forces1   
which the lover himself realises as     
mysterious1 run high in the ,vita ,nuova
 and in the poems2 the lover has        
hallucinations in sleep and sickness4   
,in the third canzone ,dante speaks of  
the impossibility of comprehending what 
gave him a glimpse of the nature of his 
mistress4 ,it was a foreboding of new   
and great things1 struggling slowly and 
gradually to take shape1 for the        
creation of a world-system1 one of whose
 supporting pillars was personal love of

 an individual1 was an unprecedented    
achievement4 ,when she speaks a spirit  
inclines from heaven4 ,the angels       
implore ,god to call this miracle into  
their midst1 but ,god wills that they   
shall have patience until the ,hope of  
the ,blessed appears4       ,love says  
of her can there be mortal thing        
,at once adorned so richly and so pure8 
,then looks on her and silently affirms 
,that heaven designed in her a creature 
new4                                    
7,transl4 by ,c4 ,,lyell47  ,again and  
again recurs the motif of her beauty    
before which the world must fall        
prostrate4 ,in a sonnet not included in 
the ,vita ,nuova he says3       ,in     
heaven itself that lady had her birth1  
,i think1 and is with us for our behoof2
      ,blessed are they who meet her on 
the earth4                              
7,transl4 by ,d4,g4 ,,rossetti47  ,the  
lover has a foreboding of the fate      
awaiting him3 ,i have set my feet into  
that phase of life from whence there is 

no return4 ,he divines the sorrow to    
which love has predestined him4 ,but    
others1 too1 divining that this man     
expects more1 perhaps1 of love than     
others1 ask him to explain to them the  
essence of love1 and he answers them    
with the famous sonnet3       ,amor e   
cor gentil sono una cosa      7,love and
 the gentle heart are but one thing47   
,the death of ,beatrice is accompanied  
by the same phenomena as was the death  
of ,christ3 the sun lost its brilliance1
 stars appeared in the sky1 birds fell  
to the ground1 dead1 the earth trembled2
 ,god visibly intervened in the course  
of nature4       ,for from the lamp of  
her meek lowlihead      ,such an        
exceeding glory went up hence1          
,that it woke wonder in the ,eternal    
,sire1      ,until a sweet desire       
,entered ,him for that lovely           
excellence1      ,so that ,he bade her  
to ,himself aspire2      ,counting this 
weary and most evil place      ,unworthy
 of a thing so full of grace4           

7,transl4 by ,d4,g4 ,,rossetti47  ,in   
the #bith chapter1 which we1 to-day1 do 
not readily understand1 ,dante          
established by a system of symbolical   
numbers a connection between ,beatrice  
and the ,trinity2 the deification of the
 beloved had been achieved in thought   
and emotion1 religion enriched by a new 
divinity4 ,love1 weeping1 has filled my 
heart with new knowledge1 he says1 at   
the conclusion of the work of his youth4
 ,i repeat what ,i have already said in 
another place1 and supported by passages
 from the ,divine ,comedy3 ,it was never
 ,dante's intention to write fictitious 
poems in our meaning of the term1 but at
 every hour of his life he was convinced
 that he was proclaiming the pure truth2
 he knew himself to be the chosen       
vehicle for the interpretation of the   
eternal system of the world4  ,at the   
conclusion of the ,vita ,nuova1         
,beatrice is a divine being1 devoid of  
all emotion--enthroned in ,heaven2 in   
the ,comedy she becomes her lover's     

saviour and redeemer1 and through him a 
helper of all humanity4 ,the love of the
 youth had found no response in the     
heart of the ,florentine maiden1 but the
 soul of the glorified woman was        
inspired by love of him4 ,she trembles  
for him1 and when ,mary's messenger     
admonishes her3 ,why doest thou not help
 him who has loved thee so much8 she    
sends ,virgil to him as a guide and     
finally herself leads her redeemed lover
 to ,god4 ,now she responds to his love2
 she has even wept for him4 ,this       
ultimately fulfilled1 but always        
chastely hidden longing for love in     
return1 gives the woman-worship of      
,dante a peculiarly noble charm4 ,at the
 end of his journey through life he     
prays to her1 who has again disappeared 
from his sight1 and his last confession 
is3 ,into a free man thou transform'st a
 slave4  ,love's greatest miracle has   
been made manifest in him2 it has       
transfigured and purified him1 and made 
of the slave of the world and its       

desires1 a personality--the fundamental 
motif of love4  ,there is a close       
connection between the metaphysical love
 of ,dante and ,goethe's confession in  
the last scene of ,faust1 which reveals 
the poet's deepest conviction1 his final
 judgment of life4 ,the confessions of  
both poets are identical to the smallest
 detail4 ,the ,divine ,comedy represents
 the journey of humanity through the    
kingdoms of the world in a manner unique
 and representative1 applicable alike to
 all men1 in the sense of the ,catholic 
,middle ,ages4 ,the fundamental idea of 
,faust is again the desire of man to    
find the right way through the world4   
,here also the journey through life is  
intended to be typical2 it is undertaken
 five hundred years later2 the scene is 
laid for the most part on the surface of
 the earth1 but the ultimate goal of the
 wayfarer is ,heaven4 ,hell1 instead of 
being a subterraneous region1 is        
embodied in a presence1 accompanying and
 tempting man2 modern man has no        

faithful guide2 he must himself seek the
 way which to the man of the ,middle    
,ages was clearly indicated in the      
,bible4 ,the love of his youth 7which in
 the case of ,dante fills a book in     
itself7 is merely an episode at the     
beginning of the tragedy--the lover     
wanders through all the kingdoms of the 
world1 finally to return home to the    
beloved4  ,the last scene of ,faust is  
an unfolding of metaphysical love into  
its inherent multiplicity2 its summit is
 the metaphysical love of woman4 ,all   
human striving is determined and crowned
 by the saving grace of love4 ,faust has
 no longer a specific name2 he has      
dropped everything subjective1 and is   
briefly styled a lover2 like ,dante1 he 
has become representative of humanity4  
,the hour of death revives the memory of
 the love of his youth1 apparently      
forgotten in the storm and stress of a  
crowded life1 yet never quite           
extinguished in the heart of his heart4 
,margaret is present and guides him 7as 

,beatrice guided ,dante7 upward1 to the 
,eternal-,feminine1 that is to say1 to  
the metaphysical consummation of all    
male yearning for love4 ,the love from  
on high saves ,faust as it has saved    
,dante4 ,the blessed boys 7who1 as well 
as the angels1 are present in both      
poems7 singing3       ,whom ye adore    
shall ye      ,see face to face4#b  are 
again referring to the transcendently   
loving lover4 ,like ,beatrice1 ,margaret
 intercedes for him 7intercession for   
her lover has always been woman's       
profoundest prayer7 with the ,queen of  
,heaven3       ,incline1 oh incline1    
,all others excelling1      ,in glory   
aye dwelling1      ,unto my bliss thy   
glance benign2      ,the loved one      
ascending1      ,his long trouble       
ending1      ,comes back1 he is mine6   
,these words are more intimate and human
 than the words of ,beatrice1 but       
fundamentally they mean the same thing4 
,dante1 meeting ,beatrice again1 says3  
,and o'er my spirit that so long a time 

,had from her presence felt no          
shuddering dread1      ,albeit my eyes  
discovered her not1 there moved      ,a 
hidden virtue from her1 at whose touch  
,the power of ancient love was strong   
within me4#c  ,but when he who has said 
so much beholds her face to face1 he is 
stricken dumb4  ,beatrice receives      
,dante from his guide and herself       
unveils to him the mysteries of life4   
,similarly ,margaret beseeches the      
,virgin3       ,to guide him1 be it     
given to me      ,still dazzles him the 
new-born day6  and receives from on high
 the command which the symbolically     
burdened ,beatrice knows intuitively3   
,ascend1 thine influence feeleth he1    
,he'll follow on thine upward way4  ,as 
,beatrice approaches1 the angels sing3  
,oh6 ,turn      ,thy saintly eyes to    
this thy faithful one1      ,who to     
behold thee many a wearisome pace       
,hath measured4  ,and with the          
fundamental feeling of ,dante's ,divine 
,comedy ,faust concludes3       ,the    

ever-womanly      ,draws us above4  ,the
 earthly love of his youth is fulfilled 
in the dream of metaphysical love1 in   
the dream of a divine woman4 ,the genius
 creates1 at the conclusion of his life1
 the fulfilment of all longing4 ,it may 
sound paradoxical1 but ,faust--like     
,dante and ,peer ,gynt--unconsciously   
sought ,margaret in the hurly-burly of  
the world2 not the young girl whom he   
had seduced and deserted1 but the       
,eternal-,feminine1 the purely spiritual
 love1 which in his youth he divined1   
but destroyed1 bound by the shackles of 
desire4 ,to ,dante1 to whom life and    
poem were one1 as well as to            
,goethe-,faust1 the memory of first love
 remained typical of all genuine1       
profound feeling2 with ,dante love and  
,beatrice are identical4 ,in the soul of
 these two men metaphysical love1 the   
longing for the eternal in woman1 which 
they did not find on earth1 gradually   
awoke to life4 ,both place the glorified
 mistress by the side of another woman1 

the ,catholic ,queen of ,heaven4 ,in    
,dante's1 as well as in ,goethe's       
,paradise two women1 a personal one and 
a universal one1 are loved and adored4  
,the second woman1 too1 has her         
exclusive1 ecstatic worshipper4 ,st4    
,bernard1 the ,doctor ,marianus of      
,dante1 prostrating himself before her1 
addresses to her the sublime prayer     
which begins3       ,oh1 ,virgin6       
,mother6 ,daughter of thy ,son6  and in 
,faust we meet again the ,doctor        
,marianus burning--as the representative
 of the totality of her                 
worshippers--with the sacred joy of love
 7,dante says       ,the ,queen of      
,heaven for whom my soul      ,burns    
with love's rapture7  and pronouncing   
the most beautiful prayer to the        
,madonna which the world possesses1 and 
which is almost identical with ,dante's3
       ,virgin1 pure from taint of      
earth1      ,mother1 we adore thee1     
,with the ,godhead one by birth1        
,queen1 we bow before thee6  ,and1      

prostrated before her3       ,penitents1
 her saviour-glance      ,gratefully    
beholding1      ,to beatitude advance1  
,still new pow'rs unfolding6      ,thine
 each better thought shall be1      ,to 
thy service given6      ,holy ,virgin1  
gracious be1      ,mother1 ,queen of    
,heaven6  ,in the ,divine ,comedy ,st4  
,bernard prays3       ,so mighty art    
thou1 ,lady1 and so great1      ,that he
 who grace desireth and comes not       
,to thee for aidence1 fain would have   
desire      ,fly without wings4  ,the   
,chorus mysticus could equally well form
 the conclusion of the ,comedy4 ,the    
inadequate which to fulness groweth1 is 
what the ,provenals already1 in their   
time1 realised as folly1 as a paradox3  
the metaphysical love of woman1 for ever
 remaining dream and longing1 always    
unfulfilled1 the eternal-feminine4  ,as 
the ,mater ,gloriosa appears1 ,dante    
exclaims3       ,thenceforward what ,i  
saw      ,was not for words to speak1   
nor memory's self      ,to stand against

 such outrage on her skill4  ,and       
,goethe3       ,in starry wreath is seen
      ,lofty and tender1      ,midmost  
the heavenly queen1      ,known by her  
splendour4  ,here the sacred fire of    
love1 metaphysical eroticism1 has       
reached its absolute climax4 ,the       
universe is represented by a divine     
woman1 and man1 abandoning himself to   
her1 worships her4 ,goethe's ,faust     
concludes at this point1 but ,dante went
 further1 right into the heart of the   
eternal glory of the ,deity1 there to   
lose himself4  ,i have previously said  
that the last scene of ,faust was the   
final unfolding of the manifold blossom 
of metaphysical eroticism1 and ,i will  
proceed to establish my point4 ,hitherto
 ,i have used the term metaphysical     
eroticism always in its narrow sense of 
love of woman4 ,henceforth ,i shall use 
it in its broader meaning of mystical   
love in general1 all love that is       
projected on the transcendental and the 
divine4 ,emotion is the specific domain 

of humanity1 its power1 its essence4    
,and in the profoundest emotion1 in     
love1 a connection between the temporal 
and the eternal may be divined4 ,hence  
the ,christian mystery of mysteries1    
,god giving ,his ,son to the world for  
love of humanity2 ,god unable to        
approach the world other than as a      
lover--sacrificing ,himself for the sake
 of love4 ,we cannot conceive the       
,sublime with any other principal       
function than that of love2 for love is 
the deepest and profoundest emotion of  
the human heart1 and1 in accordance with
 the first postulate1 must therefore be 
the soul of the universe4 ,on this point
 all mystics and all metaphysical       
ecstatics are agreed2 ,god is love is   
written in the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john4   
,love which moves the sun and all the   
stars1 stands at the termination of     
,dante's masterpiece3 and in ,faust the 
,pater ,profundus confesses3       ,so  
love1 almighty1 all-pervading1          
,does all things mould1 does all        

sustain4  ,he is still wrestling for    
divine love2 he still has to fight      
against the temptations of doubt 7of    
thought71       ,oh1 ,god6 ,my troubled 
thoughts composing1      ,my needy heart
 do thou illume6  ,but the true         
enthusiastic lover of the divine1       
compelled to annihilate himself so as to
 become absorbed in ,god1 the lover who 
no longer knows the difference between  
pain and delight1 is represented by the 
,pater ,ecstaticus3 ,the condition of   
rest is foreign to him1 ceaselessly     
moving up and down1 he sings3           
,joy's everlasting fire1      ,love's   
glow of pure desire1      ,pang of the  
seething breast1      ,rapture a        
hallowed guest6      ,darts pierce me   
through and through1      ,lances my    
flesh subdue1      ,clubs me to atoms   
dash1      ,lightnings athwart me flash1
      ,that all the worthless may       
,pass like a cloud away1      ,while    
shineth from afar1      ,love's gem1 a  
deathless star6  ,these ejaculations    

completely exhaust the emotional life of
 the self-destructive metaphysical      
erotic--he is conscious of nothing but  
his passion of love which eclipses all  
else4 ,with him the second form of      
metaphysical love1 the love-death1 is   
reached4 ,goethe1 in creating this      
character1 must have had in his mind the
 unique ,jacopone da ,todi4 ,for this   
rapturous love was the keynote of       
,jacopone's character1 his whole life   
was one great ecstasy3       ,my heart  
was all to broken1      ,as prostrate ,i
 was lying1      ,with dear love's fiery
 token      ,swift from the archer      
flying2      ,wounded1 with sweet pain  
soaken1      ,peace became war--and     
dying1      ,my soul with pain was      
soaken1      ,distraught with throes of 
love4       ,in transports ,i am dying1 
,oh6 ,love's astounding wonder6--       
,for love1 his fell spear plying1       
,has cleft my heart asunder4            
,around the blade are lying      ,sharp 
teeth1 my life to sunder1      ,in      

rapture ,i am dying1      ,distraught   
with throes of love4  ,and3       ,oh1  
,love6 oh1 ,love6 oh1 ,jesus1 my desire1
      ,oh1 ,love6 ,i hold thee clasped  
in sweet embrace6      ,oh1 ,love6      
embracing thee1 could ,i expire6        
,oh1 ,love6 ,i'd die to see thee face to
 face4      ,oh1 ,love6 oh1 ,love6 ,i   
burn in rapture's fire1      ,i die1    
enravished in the soul's embrace4  ,the 
legend has it that the heart of         
,jacopone broke with the intensity of   
love4 ,this would have been a love-death
 of cosmic grandeur4  ,before ,jacopone 
,st4 ,bernard1 in whom all the          
radiations of metaphysical eroticism are
 traceable1 was consumed by similar     
emotions4 ,some of his ,latin poems very
 much resemble the poems of his         
successor3       ,oh1 most sweet ,jesu1 
,saviour blest1      ,my yearning       
spirit's hope and rest1      ,to thee   
mine inmost nature cries1      ,and     
seeks thy face with tears and sighs4    
,thou1 my heart's joy where'er ,i rove1 

,thou art the perfecting of love2       
,thou art my boast--all praise be thine1
      ,jesu1 the world's salvation1     
mine6        ,then his embrace1 his holy
 kiss1      ,the honeycomb were naught  
to this6      ',twere bliss fast bound  
to ,christ for aye1      ,but in these  
joys is little stay4       ,this love   
with ceaseless ardour burns1      ,how  
wondrous sweet no stranger learns2      
,but tasted once1 the enraptured wight1 
,is filled with ever new delight4       
,now ,i behold what most ,i sought2     
,fulfilled at last my longing thought2  
,lovesick1 my soul to ,jesus turns1     
,and all my heart within me burns4      
7,transl4 by ,t4,g4 ,,crippen47  ,we    
read in his writings3 ,blessed and      
sacred is he to whom it has been given  
to experience this in his earthly life2 
even if he have experienced it only     
once1 for the space of a fleeting       
minute4 ,for to melt away completely1 as
 it were1 as if one had ceased to exist1
 to be emptied of self1 dissolved in    

holy emotion1 has not been given to     
mortal life1 but is the state of the    
blessed4  ,i shall have to refer to both
 men in a future chapter1 when ,i shall 
examine the degenerate growths of       
metaphysical eroticism2 for the ardour  
of their souls was frequently kindled by
 sexual imaginings2 in the case of      
emotional mystics it is often difficult 
to distinguish between sensual          
conceptions and the pure love of ,god 7a
 fact which does not1 however1 justify  
the superficial opinion that all        
mysticism is diverted sexuality74  ,it  
is obvious that this love of ,god is not
 the original creation of the lover1 as 
is the deifying love of woman1 but the  
mystic love whose self-evident object is
 ,god or eternity4 ,jacopone's 7and     
later on ,zinzendorf's7 love of ,jesus1 
though projected on a historical        
personality1 was fundamentally the same 
thing4 ,the love of ,god also--and in   
this connection ,i might mention ,jacob 
,boehme1 ,alphonso da ,liguori1         

,novalis--is metaphysical eroticism2 but
 ,i have restricted my subject to the   
metaphysical love of woman1 and shall   
not overstep my limits4 ,i will merely  
elucidate a little more the last scene  
of ,faust4  ,pater seraphicus1 a title  
given both to ,st4 ,francis and to      
,bonaventura--requires but a few words3 
he1 too1 praises metaphysical love1 the 
essence of the supreme spirits4         
,thus the spirits' nature stealing      
,through the ether's depths profound2   
,love eternal1 self-revealing1          
,sheds beatitude around4  ,but even the 
more perfect angels cannot free         
themselves from the dualism of all      
things human 7body and soul7--an        
unmistakable confession of metaphysical 
dualism3       ,parts them ,god's love  
alone1        ,their union ending4  ,the
 identity of the last scene of ,faust1  
,goethe's masterpiece1 and the          
conclusion of ,dante's ,divine ,comedy1 
is so obvious that ,i do not think any  
one could deny it4 ,i have pointed out  

the thought underlying both works1 and  
could easily advance further proof of   
their similarity1 but ,i will keep      
within the limits of the last scene     
which contains the totality of          
metaphysico-erotic yearning1 and ,i     
contend that it is very remarkable that 
a lifetime after the composition of     
,margaret1 ,faust 7and with him ,goethe7
 very old1 very wise1 and a little cold1
 having had love-affairs with           
demi-goddesses1 and having finally      
renounced the love of woman1 found his  
mission and his happiness in            
uninterrupted1 productive activity4 ,he 
has discovered the final value in work4 
,but the long-forgotten heaven opens and
 the love of his youth comes to meet    
him4 ,stripped of everything earthly1 a 
divine being1 she still loves him and   
shows him the way to salvation1         
presented under the aspect of the       
,eternal-,feminine--exactly as in the   
,divine ,comedy4 ,there must be a reason
 for the uniformity of feeling in the   

case of the two greatest subjective     
poets of ,europe 7,shakespeare was      
greater than either1 but he was quite   
impersonal71 for the logical possibility
 that ,goethe imitated ,dante1 and      
borrowed his supreme values from him1   
cannot be maintained for a moment4      
,their mutual characteristic is the     
longing for metaphysical love4 ,when    
these great lovers experienced for the  
first time the sensation of love1 their 
hearts were thrown open to the universe1
 they had the first powerful experience 
of eternity1 and they became poets4 ,the
 first love and the cosmic consciousness
 of genius were simultaneously present1 
they were one in their inmost soul4     
7,with the philosopher it is a different
 matter1 for to him the love of woman is
 not fraught with the same tremendous   
significance47 ,this experience of first
 love1 awakening the consciousness of   
eternity1 remained to them for all time 
interwoven with religion and            
metaphysics--interwoven1 that is to say1

 with all transcendent longing4 ,and    
though the aged ,faust had believed it  
to be buried in the dark night of       
forgotten things1 it was still alive in 
his inmost heart1 and the dying man's   
vision of the ,divine took colour and   
shape from it4  ,the source of both     
great poems was the poet's will to      
assimilate the world and recreate it1   
impregnated with his own soul2 the      
secret motive powers were the mystic    
love of eternity and the love of woman  
which had outgrown this world and       
aspired to the next4 ,to ,goethe1       
thirsting to give a concrete shape to   
his yearning1 ,god and eternity were too
 intangible1 too remote and             
incomprehensible--but the woman he loved
 with religio-erotic intensity was      
familiar to him4 ,the ,eternal-,feminine
 is thus not fraught with               
incomprehensibility1 but is rather1 and 
this necessarily1 the final conclusion4 
,for this conclusion is a profession of 
metaphysical eroticism1 that is to say1 

the ,eternal-,feminine in               
contradistinction to the                
,transitory-,feminine4 ,both ,dante1 the
 devout son of the ,middle ,ages1 and   
,goethe1 the champion of modern culture1
 demand1 in virtue of the inherent right
 of their genius1 the consummation of   
their mystic yearning for love in       
another life1 and achieve the creation  
of the divine woman4 ,precisely because 
,margaret was nothing but a little      
provincial1 ,goethe could sublimate her 
into a new being1 for the greater the   
tension between reality and the vision  
of the soul1 the greater is the task and
 the more gigantic the creative power   
which such a task may develop4 ,it has  
been said that1 in this scene1 ,goethe  
revealed leanings towards ,catholicism4 
,i do not pretend to deny it offhand1   
but ,i must insist on these leanings    
being understood in the sense of my     
premises4 ,goethe took from tradition   
those elements which were able to       
materialise his spiritual life and gave 

them a new interpretation4 ,we are      
justified in believing that he accepted 
nothing but what was conformable to his 
nature2 the ,madonna represented his    
profoundest feeling and1 like ,dante 7,i
 attribute the greatest importance to   
this71 he created a new deity1 moulded  
in the shape of his first love1 and     
placed it by the side of the universal  
,queen of ,heaven1 the ,madonna of the  
,catholic ,church1 transformed by love4 
,the emotional life of both poets agrees
 fundamentally4 ,they differ not so much
 in feeling as in thought and in faith4 
,dante possessed unshakable faith in the
 reality of his visions2 eternal love in
 the shape of ,beatrice was awaiting    
him2 his vision was pure1 eternal truth4
 ,the vision of ,goethe1 on the other   
hand1 was poetic longing1 tragical1     
because the vision of the transcendent  
came to the modern poet only in rare    
hours4 ,where ,dante possessed1 ,goethe 
must seek1 strive and err4  ,the        
deifying love of woman is1 as we have   

seen1 the extreme development of the    
second stage1 in which sexual impulse   
and spiritual love are strictly         
separated1 in which man despises and    
fights his natural instinct1 or abandons
 himself to it--which is the same in    
principle--while his soul1 worshipping  
love1 soars heavenward4 ,this dualism of
 feeling corresponds to the persistent  
dualism of ,christianity and the whole  
mediaeval period4 ,but as ,goethe is    
frequently looked upon as a monist1 my  
proposition that he was a dualist in    
eroticis will possibly be rejected1 in  
spite of the fact that his emotional    
life is revealed to us with great       
lucidity4 ,his first important work1 his
 ,werther1 which is also one of the most
 important monuments of sentimental     
love1 contains the germs of love as we  
understand it2 the love which is no     
longer content to look upon sexuality   
and soul as two opposed principles1 but 
strives to blend them in the person of  
the beloved4 ,i will revert to ,werther 

later on4 ,this third stage1 love in the
 modern sense1 is programmatically      
established 7as it were7 in ,elective   
,affinities1 but all the rest of the    
very abundant evidence of his emotional 
life exhibits the typically dualistic   
feeling4 ,many of his early poems       
evidence sexuality pure and simple2 in  
the ,venetian ,epigrams and in the      
,roman ,elegies it is even held up as a 
positive value4 ,in the third ,elegy1   
for instance1 the poet's sensuality is  
linked directly to the famous lovers of 
antiquity1 and everything which aspires 
beyond it is rejected4 ,in the same way 
his ,west-,eastern ,divan is            
characterised by a gay sensuality with  
homo-sexual tendencies4  ,the sensual   
quality of ,goethe's eroticism was      
partly spent in his relationship with   
,christiane ,vulpius4 ,the following    
passage1 which forms an interesting     
counterpart to ,goethe's famous         
correspondence with ,charlotte von      
,stein1 is taken from a letter written  

to ,christiane ,vulpius during his      
absence from home4 ,the beds everywhere 
are very wide1 and you would have no    
reason for complaint1 as you sometimes  
have at home4 ,oh1 my sweet heart6      
,there is no such happiness on earth as 
being together4  ,if ,christiane        
represented sensuality1 unrelieved by   
any other feeling1 ,frau von ,stein     
represented the most important object of
 ,goethe's craving for spiritual love4  
,these two liaisons were to some extent 
contemporaneous2 the ,roman ,elegies and
 the famous letters to ,charlotte von   
,stein were written at the same period4 
,when she reproached him with his       
love-affair with ,christiane1 he replied
 with consistent dualism3 ,and what sort
 of an affair is it8 ,whose interests   
are suffering by it8 ,frau von ,stein1  
his senior by seven years1 was          
thirty-four years old1 and mother of    
seven children when ,goethe first met   
her4 ,according to ,schiller she can    
never have been beautiful1 and in a     

letter to ,koerner the latter says3     
,they say that their relationship       
7,goethe's and ,charlotte von ,stein's7 
is absolutely pure and irreproachable4  
,it was a great mistake ever to regard  
this relationship as anything but a     
purely spiritual one2 ,goethe never felt
 any passion for ,charlotte2 he called  
her his sister1 the guide of his soul2  
he told her of his little love-affairs  
and was never jealous of her husband4   
,the following are a few typical        
passages culled from his letters1       
arranged chronologically3 ,my only love 
whom ,i can love without torment6 ,then1
 quite in the spirit of the dolce stil  
nuovo3 ,your soul1 in which thousands   
believe in order to win happiness1 ,the 
purest1 truest and most beautiful       
relationship which 7with the exception  
of my sister7 ever existed between me   
and any woman4 ,the relationship between
 us is so strange and sacred1 that ,i   
strongly felt1 on that occasion1 that it
 cannot be expressed in words1 that men 

cannot realise it4 ,the following       
passage written by ,goethe when he was  
thirty1 might have been written by      
,guinicelli or by ,dante3 ,you appeared 
to me like the ,madonna ascending into  
heaven2 in vain did the abandoned       
mourner stretch out his arms1 in vain   
did his tearful glance plead for a last 
return--she was absorbed in the         
splendour surrounding her1 longing only 
for the crown hovering above her head4  
,i long to be purified in triple fire so
 as to be worthy of you4 ,he addresses a
 prayer to her and says3 ,on my knees ,i
 implore you to complete your work and  
make a good man of me4 ,while writing   
,tasso1 ,i worshipped you4 ,charlotte   
knew intuitively what he desired of her1
 and remained silent and passive like   
the ,madonna4 ,not a single sensual1 or 
even passionate word1 replied to all    
these utterances4  ,in the course of    
time the relationship between the lovers
 became one of equality2 the note of    
adoration disappeared1 and the keynote  

of his letters became friendship and    
familiarity4 ,farewell1 sweet friend and
 beloved1 whose love alone makes me     
happy4 ,in another letter he said that  
all the world held no further prize for 
him1 since he had found everything in   
her4 ,and just as spiritual love        
approached more and more the mean of a  
familiar friendship1 so was his         
sexuality concentrated on a single      
woman1 on ,christiane1 in this          
connection1 too1 seeking a mean4 ,but it
 is an important point that the         
fundamental dualistic feeling remained  
unchanged4 ,there was no woman in       
,goethe's life in regard to whom he     
arrived at1 or even aspired to1 the     
blending of both emotions in a higher   
intuition4  ,even before his friendship 
with ,frau von ,stein1 at the time of   
his engagement to ,lili ,schoenemann1   
,goethe experienced a spiritual love for
 a girl he had never seen4 ,he calls    
,countess ,auguste ,stolberg his angel1 
his only1 only maiden1 his golden child1

 and says3 ,i have an intuition that you
 will save me from great tribulation1   
and that no other being on earth could  
do it4 ,these letters also contain the  
significant passage3 ,miserable fate    
which has denied me a happy mean4 ,and  
touching the love of his youth1 ,lotte1 
,goethe wrote to ,kestner3 ,i really had
 no idea that all that was in her1 for  
,i always loved her far too much to     
observe her4  ,the ,princess in ,tasso  
and ,iphigenia who delivers ,orestes    
from unrest and insanity1 are modelled  
on ,charlotte4 ,tasso is unmistakably a 
fantastic woman-worshipper1 a fact of   
which ,leonore is fully aware3          
,now he exalts her to the starry        
heavens1      ,in radiant glory1 and    
before that form      ,bows down like   
angels in the realms above4      ,then1 
stealing after her1 through silent      
fields1      ,he garlands in his wreath 
each beauteous flower4       ,he loves  
not us--forgive me what ,i say--        
,his lov'd ideal from the spheres he    

brings      ,and does invest it with the
 name we bear4      ,he has relinquished
 passion's fickle sway1      ,he clings 
no longer with delusion sweet      ,to  
outward form and beauty to atone        
,for brief excitement by disgust and    
hate4#d  ,and ,tasso says3              
,my very knees      ,trembled beneath me
 and my spirit's strength      ,was all 
required to hold myself erect1      ,and
 curb the strong desire to throw myself 
,prostrate before her4 ,scarcely could  
,i quell      ,the giddy rapture4  ,the 
significant avowal addressed by ,dante  
to ,beatrice3 ,into a free man thou     
transform'st a slave1 the seal of all   
great spiritual love1 was repeated by   
,goethe in his letters to ,charlotte1   
and is again repeated in ,tasso3        
,over my spirit's depths there comes a  
change2      ,relieved from dark        
perplexity ,i feel1      ,free as a god1
 and all ,i owe to you4  ,very          
interesting is also a remark which      
,goethe made to ,eckermann3 ,woman is a 

silver vessel in which we men lay golden
 apples4 ,i did not deduce my idea of   
woman from reality1 but ,i was born with
 it1 or ,i conceived it--,god knows how4
 ,these notable words1 deliberately     
pronounced1 reveal ,goethe's feeling    
very clearly2 he knows that there is a  
little self-deception in his attitude   
towards woman1 but he consciously and   
lovingly clings to it4 ,his             
pronouncements are not contradictions2  
it is natural1 almost essential1 that in
 the soul of the highly-gifted and      
highly-developed representative of a    
mature civilisation the whole wealth of 
human emotions should be revivified4 ,he
 possesses all psychical qualities--at  
least potentially--and one element after
 the other regains life and becomes     
productive4 ,we shall see this with     
startling clearness when we come to     
examine the emotional life of ,richard  
,wagner4 ,the intimate connection       
between the individual and the entire   
evolutionary process of the race will   

then become evident4  ,it is remarkable 
that ,dante1 too1 wrote a poem clearly  
expressive of the fact that the beloved 
woman does not actually possess the     
qualities ascribed to her1 but that she 
has been endowed with them by the       
imagination of her lover4  ,i shall     
discuss the emotional life of only one  
other poet in detail1 and that one is   
,michelangelo4 ,for the most part the   
poets whose emotions were akin to that  
of ,dante and ,goethe were men who      
created their ideal woman because       
reality left them unsatisfied4 ,in      
passing ,i will mention ,beethoven1 and 
his touching letter to his immortal love
 7,my angel1 my all1 my ,i671 whose     
name1 in spite of all the strenuous     
attempts to discover it1 is to this day 
not known with any certainty2 even if it
 should ever be discovered1 ,beethoven's
 immortal love will yet remain a figment
 of his brain1 based on a human woman4  
,together with ,beethoven1 we may notice
 the other great old bachelor           

,grillparzer1 and his eternal fiance    
,kathi ,frhlich1 and the critical       
,hebbel1 who at the time of composing   
,genovefa wrote in his diary3 ,all      
earthly love is merely the road to the  
heavenly love4   ,before closing this   
chapter1 ,i must draw attention to a    
strange fact in connection with the     
psychology of races4 ,all nations       
endowed with fair mental gifts and a    
sympathetic understanding of nature1    
have in the period of their youth and   
anthropomorphistic and animistic thought
 worshipped light1 and its source1 the  
sun1 as the supreme deity1 the giver of 
joy and abundance4 ,all the benevolent  
deities of the ,arians were celestial   
beings1 all the malevolent divinities   
spirits of darkness3 ,olympian gods and 
the demons of the netherworld--,aesir   
and ,giants4 ,to the nave mind of the   
,indo-,germanic races it appeared a     
matter of course that the sun1 the      
conqueror of night and winter1 the      
fertilizing1 life-giving deity1 should  

be worshipped as the active male        
principle1 and represented as a god1    
while on the other hand the moon was    
usually conceived as a female deity4 ,in
 primitive ,christianity ,christ1 as the
 bringer of light1 was worshipped under 
the symbol of the sun4 ,thus we         
naturally find in the old and new       
,indo-,germanic languages the           
designation of the sun--or the          
sun-god--of the masculine gender4 ,in   
the following words our word sun is     
easily recognisable3       ,savar and   
svari 7the oldest ,indo-,germanic       
tongue74      svar and surya 7,sanscrit2
 savitar--the sungod74      saval 7the  
oldest ,european language74      savel  
7,gracco-,italian74      sol 7,latin and
 related languages74  ,in the ,germanic 
languages and in the                    
,prussian-,lithuanian both genders      
occur4 7,gothic sunnan and ,old         
,high-,german sunno74 ,sol in the ,norse
 ,edda is a female deity1 and the       
,anglo-,saxon sol is also feminine4 ,the

 transition from the male to the female 
gender was achieved in the              
,middle-,high-,german language of the   
twelfth and thirteenth centuries1 and   
the ,german language is the only one in 
which the word sun is feminine4 ,as the 
old ,teutonic deities of light were male
 7,baldur and ,sigurd71 this change of  
gender must seem strange4 ,the ,germanic
 tribes at all times observed natural   
phenomena with the greatest attention1  
borrowed their ethical symbols from     
nature and used natural objects to      
represent their highest values4 ,the    
change of gender of the supreme symbol  
of divinity1 the sun1 can only be       
explained by the fact that in the period
 of woman-worship the highest value was 
no longer felt as male but as female1   
that secretly a goddess had usurped the 
place of a god4 ,very likely the        
minnesingers finally fixed the female   
gender when it had become problematical1
 and worshipped the loved woman under   
the divine symbol of ,lady ,sun4  ,the  

great erotic1 ,heinrich of ,morungen1   
says in one of his poems that his lady  
is radiant as the sun at break of day4  
,and also3       ,my lady shines into   
the heart      ,as through the glass the
 sun does shine2      ,thus the beloved 
lady mine      ,is sweet as ,may1 full  
of delight1      ,unclouded sunshine1   
golden light4  ,mary1 who had been      
called ,maris ,stella1 the morning star1
 gradually assumed the symbol of the    
all-conquering sun4 ,suso1 in one of his
 poems1 still clinging to the older     
epithet1 makes use of a metaphor        
corresponding to the breaking of the sun
 through clouds4 ,when the radiant      
morning star1 ,mary1 broke through the  
suffering of thy darkened heart1 it was 
saluted with gladness and with these    
words3 ,greeting1 beautiful1 rising     
morning star1 from the fathomless depths
 of all loving hearts6 ,but he also     
calls ,mary3 ,thou dazzling mirror of   
the ,eternal ,sun6 ,and his ,biography  
contains the following beautiful        

passage3 ,and his eyes were opened and  
he fell on his knees1 saluting the      
rising morning star1 the tender queen of
 the light of heaven2 as the little     
birds in the summer time salute the day1
 so he saluted the luminous bringer of  
the eternal day1 and he spoke his       
salutation not mechanically1 but with a 
sweet low singing of his soul4 ,this is 
pure and genuine nature-worship mingled 
with the worship of ,mary4  ,so much for
 ,suso4 ,in ,goethe's ,faust1 ,doctor   
,marianus prays3       ,in thy tent of  
azure blue1      ,queen supremely       
reigning1      ,let me now thy secret   
view1      ,vision high obtaining4  ,it 
is obvious that here the ,queen of      
,heaven and the sun are conceived as    
one4 ,eichendorff makes use of the      
metaphor3       ,the sun is smiling     
languidly      ,like to a woman wondrous
 sweet4  ,the typically un-,teutonic    
modern poet1 ,alfred ,mombert1 on the   
other hand1 conceives the sun as a      
youth1 and contrary to all custom1 calls

 a poem3 ,der ,sonnengeist 7the         
sun-spirit74  ,the great ,italians1     
also1 were not unaware of this change of
 the sex of the supreme value2 at the   
conclusion of the ,paradise there is a  
passage 7in ,st4 ,bernard's prayer7     
which points to a connection in ,dante's
 mind between the sun and the ,queen of 
,heaven3       ,the love that moves the 
sun in heaven6   7d7 ,michelangelo4  ,in
 ,michelangelo we meet the spirit of    
,plato and the plastic genius of ,greece
 raised to a higher plane and lit by the
 peculiar glory of ,christianity--the   
conception of the soul as an absolute   
value4 ,michelangelo was thrilled by a  
passionate love of beauty2 beauty       
absolute1 eternal and immutable4 ,he    
felt profoundly the need of salvation1  
and he possessed an unprecedented power 
of spiritual vision4 ,in the end1 added 
to all these things1 came consuming love
 for a woman1 love raised to the pitch  
of self-destruction1 an adoration which 
entitles us to regard him1 next to      

,dante1 as the greatest metaphysical    
lover of all times4  ,at the court of   
the ,medici at ,florence1 ,ficinio had  
founded a ,platonic ,academy1 where     
,plato's works and the writings of      
,plotinus--his greatest pupil--were     
after two thousand years translated and 
elucidated4 ,many read and a few        
understood1 but only in ,michelangelo   
did the spirit of ,platonic ,hellenism  
revive and become productive2 the       
,platonic ideal of a purely masculine   
culture1 aesthetically and spiritually  
perfect1 illumined his soul2 once again 
the unconditional cult of beauty and the
 love of the perfect male form1 which   
speaks to us from the ,dialogues1       
quickened an imagination1 and boyhood   
and youth were portrayed in a manner    
which has never since been equalled4    
,nearly all ,michelangelo's youthful    
male figures--with the exception1       
perhaps1 of the gigantic ,david--deviate
 from the decidedly masculine and       
approach the mean1 the human in the     

abstract2 thus they seem to us imbued   
with a quality of femininity2 they even 
exhibit decidedly female                
characteristics4 ,i have in mind first  
and foremost the youths depicted on the 
ceiling of the ,sistine ,chapel 7the    
most soulful adolescent figures in the  
world71 but also ,bacchus1 ,st4 ,john1  
,adonis and the figures in the          
background of the ,holy ,family at      
,florence4 ,cupid and ,david ,apollo 7in
 the ,bargello7 are almost              
hermaphroditic1 and even the ,adam1 and 
the unfinished ,slaves in the ,bobili   
,gardens exhibit female characteristics4
 ,without going further into detail ,i  
would draw attention to the breasts and 
thighs1 which positively raise a doubt  
on the question of sex4 7,i am referring
 to the two youths above the ,erythrean 
,sybil47 ,seen from a distance they     
create the impression of female figures1
 while the youth above ,jeremiah is a   
perfect ,hellenic ephebos4 ,on the other
 hand--with the exception of two of his 

early ,madonnas and1 perhaps1 ,eve--he  
has not given us one glorified female   
figure2 all his women are characterised 
by something careworn and unlovely2 some
 of his old women--most strikingly the  
,cumaic ,sybil--are depicted with       
absolutely masculine features1 masculine
 figures and gigantic musculature4 ,his 
ideal was the ,hellenic ideal1 was a    
human form neither man nor woman2 all   
extremes1 but also all peculiarities and
 everything personal1 were1 if not      
completely suppressed1 at any rate      
pushed into the background4 ,we regard  
this ideal1 which is alien to our       
inherent nature1 with a feeling akin to 
contempt1 for the modern ideal is male  
and female1 but it nevertheless was of  
great moment in the obliteration of sex 
and the accentuation of the purely      
human4 ,the ,platonic 7and also         
,michelangelo's7 love of young men was  
in its essence pure love of humanity1   
love of the perfect human body and the  
perfect human soul1 whose greatest      

harmony was achieved in the adolescent4 
,moreover1 the superior mental endowment
 of the boy made an intelligent         
conversation--so highly appreciated by  
,platonists and neo-,platonists--       
possible1 whereas with a girl a man     
could only jest4  ,civilisations and    
individuals inclining to erotic male    
friendships are endowed with great      
plastic talent4 ,artists and poets whose
 genius lies in the direction of the    
plastic arts rather than in music1      
frequently have homo-sexual leanings4 ,a
 musical talent1 however1 is as a rule  
accompanied by the love of woman4 ,i    
know of no great musician1 or great     
lyrical poet1 inclined to erotic        
friendships with men4 ,the simple song  
suggests the love of woman1 the         
artificial metre1 let us say the ,greek 
rhythm1 the love of man4 ,i am1 however1
 merely pointing out this connection1   
without drawing any conclusions4  ,the  
poems addressed by ,michelangelo to     
,tommaso dei ,cavalieri breathe a deep  

longing for friendship and complete     
surrender1 but above all things for a   
return of affection2 all barriers       
between the friends must be thrown down1
 for one soul is living in two bodies4  
,these poems are calm and well-balanced1
 and differ greatly from the rest of his
 poetry4       ,if each the other love1 
himself foregoing1      ,with such      
delight1 such savour and so well        
,that both to one sole end their wills  
combine4                                
7,transl4 by ,j4,a4 ,,symonds47         
,michelangelo painted ,ganymede for     
,tommaso1 and even at a ripe old age he 
addressed poems to ,cechino ,bracci1 who
 died at the age of seventeen4  ,his    
contempt of woman1 without which the    
spirit of classical ,greece1 too1 is    
unthinkable1 formed a parallel to his   
male friendships4  ,in the prime of his 
life the ,platonic element was          
superseded by the other great element   
which stirred his soul so profoundly4   
,exceeding the perfection of form of    

antique statuary1 his later works throb 
with a spiritual and passionate life    
quite peculiar to him2 an inward fire   
seems to consume his ardent figures4    
,they are not creatures of this earth1 a
 breath of eternity has touched them2   
they are an embodiment of the ,platonic 
heritage which accounts all earthly     
things as symbols of eternal beauty1    
fertilised and glorified by a deep      
mourning over human destiny and a       
longing for deliverance4 ,and when his  
years were already beginning to decline1
 ,vittoria ,colonna came into his life1 
a semblance and symbol of divine        
perfection4 ,the love which took        
possession of him transformed his whole 
life and lifted it into religion4 ,in   
his tempestuous soul this first love1   
coming so late in life1 far exceeded    
human limits2 it became adoration and   
religious ecstasy4 ,michelangelo1 who   
could not tolerate in friendship any    
other relationship than that of complete
 self-surrender and equality1 threw     

himself into the very dust before his   
love and debased himself almost to      
self-destruction4  ,his book of poems is
 filled with an unspeakable longing for 
the perfection of earthly beauty and for
 eternity2 and his beloved mistress is  
the sole symbol of this metaphysical    
climax4 ,earthly beauty is but an       
imperfect semblance of the divine       
beauty1 the embodiment of which is his  
love4 ,we meet all the familiar motives2
 he is nothing before her2 he is        
unworthy of existence2 he is like the   
moon receiving her light from the sun2  
love has raised him from his base       
condition and is teaching him the       
futility of all he had hitherto valued4 
,yea1 well ,i see what folly 'twere to  
think      ,that largess dropped from   
thee like dews from heaven      ,could  
ever be paid by work so frail as mine4  
7,transl4 by ,j4,a4 ,,symonds47  ,and of
 love he says3       ,from loftiest     
stars shoots down a radiance all their  
own1      ,drawing the soul above1      

,and such1 we say1 is love4             
7,transl4 by ,,harford47  ,his poems1   
which would proclaim him a great poet if
 he were not an even greater sculptor1  
breathe an emotion unsurpassed in its   
intensity4 ,they reveal to us in an     
almost unique manner the emotional      
process which culminated in the         
deification of the beloved4 ,if we did  
not know that ,vittoria ,colonna was an 
historical individual1 not much younger 
than ,michelangelo himself1 and 7if we  
are to credit her portrait7 a very plain
 woman with a large masculine nose1 we  
might be tempted to believe her to be a 
mythical personage like ,beatrice       
,portinari1 or ,margaret in ,faust4 ,but
 the conviction that all true perfection
 was centred only in her1 now faced his 
art and threw its terrible shadow over  
it4  ,michelangelo conceived love in the
 ,platonic sense1 wrote his friend and  
biographer1 ,condivi2 but this is only a
 part of the truth4 ,in the heart of    
,michelangelo there took place the      

tremendous reconciliation between the   
,greek cult of beauty and the religion  
of the beyond2 he blended the finest    
blossom of ,hellenism with the          
profoundest spirit of ,christianity2 he 
sublimated ,plato and ,dante into a     
higher intuition2 the eroico furore of  
his contemporary1 ,giordano1 had found  
an embodiment4 ,the two great rays which
 illuminated his life3 the perfect      
earthly beauty to which destiny had     
called him1 and the boundless religious 
longing1 the last fundamental force of  
his soul1 converged in the glorified    
woman4 ,vittoria appeared to him as the 
solution of the world-discord1 a        
solution which he had no right to       
expect1 a miracle4 ,she was the greatest
 experience of his great life1 an       
experience which almost broke him4 ,more
 than once the thought of ,vittoria     
filled him with sudden dread4 ,in her he
 had seen ,god and the world in one4    
,the powerful effect of this on so      
self-reliant a character1 a man who had 

been unable to find much sympathy with  
patrons and friends1 to whom women had  
meant nothing1 may easily be imagined4  
,all at once he had found a centre1 and 
more than that--a solution of all the   
discords of life1 of the eternal dualism
 of the earthly and the divine4 ,his    
love was not the love of a youth        
stretching out feelers to the world     
beyond1 but the final creed of a lonely 
life which had known nothing but beauty 
and divinity4 ,with the passion         
characteristic of him1 he threw himself 
into this new experience and made it his
 fate1 flinging world and art aside4    
,before ,vittoria he ceased to be a     
sculptor and became a worshipper4  ,we  
realise the great difference between    
this worship and the worship of ,dante4 
,the latter formed the consciousness of 
eternity1 and became a poet1 early in   
life4 ,he never doubted the profoundest 
truth1 the metaphysical importance of   
his love2 but in the case of            
,michelangelo1 the love of an old man   

was the last event in a life consumed by
 restlessness4 ,the adoration of this   
mysogynist was almost an act of despair2
 not a sweet delivery from doubt1 but a 
source of fresh shocks4 ,it             
problematised his whole previous        
existence and nullified the work of his 
life4 ,for before this new              
experience--perfection1 met in the      
flesh--art broke down4 ,the greatest of 
sculptors never made an attempt to      
imprison the beauty which had appeared  
to his soul in marble or in canvas1     
deeply convinced that such an           
achievement was beyond the power of     
earthly endeavour4  ,before ,vittoria   
,michelangelo became deeply conscious of
 his inmost self2 she gave direction to 
his longing and was its symbol2 she was 
the perfection for which he had always  
striven--and he despaired of his art4   
,thy beauty it befell in yonder spheres3
      ,a symbol of salvation1           
bright'ning heaven      ,th' ,eternal   
,artist sent it down to earth2      ,if 

it diminish1 years succeeding years1    
,my love will lend it but a greater     
worth4      ,age cannot fade the beauty 
,god has given4  ,and the conviction    
that only the idea of eternal beauty has
 any value1 and that all earthly things 
are as nothing before it1 became        
stronger and more tormenting4 ,one      
instance from many3       ,as heat from 
fire1 from loveliness divine      ,the  
mind that worships what recalls the sun1
      ,from whence she sprang1 can be   
divided never4                          
7,transl4 by ,j4,a4 ,,symonds47  ,in the
 same way he realised the futility of   
earthly love compared to metaphysical   
love3       ,the one love soars1 the    
other downward tends1      ,the soul    
lights this while that the senses stir4 
,and3       ,the highest beauty only ,i 
desire4  ,it is extraordinary1 however1 
that even this ecstatic adorer vaguely  
suspected that he himself might be the  
creator of the beauty which he saw in   
his mistress4 ,in a sonnet he asks      

,cupid whether her beauty really exists1
 or whether it is a delusion of his     
senses1 and he receives the reply3      
,the beauty thou discernest all is hers2
      ,but grows in radiance as it soars
 on high4                               
7,j4,a4 ,,symonds47  ,it is             
indescribably tragic to watch           
,michelangelo slowly despairing of his  
own genius and art1 and becoming more   
and more dominated by the thought of the
 futility of all earthly things and all 
earthly beauty4 ,the religious          
conception of eternity and transcendent 
beauty1 the forma universale became his 
last refuge4 ,after ,vittoria's death   
,michelangelo said to ,condivi3 ,i have 
only one regret and that is that ,i     
never kissed ,vittoria's brow or lips   
when she lay dying4 ,more and more he   
brooded on sin and salvation1           
incarnation and crucifixion4 ,the       
beloved mistress had become the sole    
herald of eternal truths4 ,melancholy   
and mourning took possession of his soul

 with an iron grip2 he could conceive of
 only one happiness1 death closely      
following on birth4 ,but the thought of 
death again was seized and symbolised   
with the old artistic passion3          
,and cleansed by fire1 ,i shall live for
 ever4       ,and as the flames are     
soaring to the sky1      ,i1 changed and
 purified1 shall soar to heaven4        
,oh1 blissful day6 ,when in a single    
flash      ,time slips away into        
eternity--      ,the sun no longer rides
 across the skies4444  ,michelangelo was
 conscious of his near kinship with     
,dante2 he illustrated a copy of the    
,divine ,comedy which1 unfortunately1 is
 lost1 and wrote a poem on ,dante in    
which the following lines occur3        
,were ,i but he6 ,born for like         
lingering pains1      ,against his      
exile1 coupled with his good1      ,i'd 
gladly change the world's inheritage4   
7,transl4 by ,j4,a4 ,,symonds47  ,the   
paintings in the ,sistine ,chapel1 with 
their materialised thoughts of destiny1 

retribution and eternity1 originated in 
a feeling akin to the feeling underlying
 the ,divine ,comedy4 ,both here and    
there the creation of celestial and     
infernal spirits was the outcome of the 
infinite longing of the artistic        
imagination4 ,both men could spend the  
human and creative passions with which  
their souls were thrilled only on the   
supreme and universal4 ,the eternal     
destiny of man1 fate1 sin1 the futility 
of all earthly things1 the relationship 
of the world to ,god1 love surpassing   
all human limits and aspiring to the    
eternal--these are the common objects   
over which they brooded4 ,but while it  
was given to ,dante to create his       
picture of the world in harmony with his
 own soul1 and account it a true        
representation of the world-system2     
while his world was a definite place    
with a beginning and an end1 and his    
life-work remained in harmony with his  
own soul1 and the universe1             
,michelangelo's lacerated soul could    

find peace only in the ultimate truth1  
which filled his heart1 and to which he 
yearned to give plastic life1 only to be
 unsatisfied after achieving it4 ,george
 ,simmel1 in a profound work1 draws our 
attention to the infinite melancholy    
which overshadows all ,michelangelo's   
figures1 because his genius aspired to  
express the inexpressible4 ,even the    
supremest plastic representation of the 
passion and longing for the             
transcendental which thrilled his soul  
did not satisfy him4 ,this tragedy is   
the tragedy of the metaphysical erotic  
overflowing its own specific domain4    
,dante's faith in the absolute value of 
his work and in the truth of the        
consummation of his love in             
eternity--which was the sustaining power
 of his life--remained unshaken1 but    
,michelangelo lost his faith in his     
work2 art and love forsook him and      
withdrew into a transcendental world    
which he could divine1 but could not    
grasp4 ,his faith was no blissful       

certainty2 he knew no more than the dark
 aspect of things2 the imperfection of  
even the sublimest1 of his art and his  
love4  ,shakespeare's genius could      
breathe life into all things human1 and 
he found satisfaction in doing so4      
,michelangelo's creative1 plastic power 
seemed illimitable2 he possessed all the
 gifts an artist could possibly have1   
but from year to year his conviction of 
the futility of all earthly things grew 
to a profounder certainty4 ,he had      
knocked at the iron gate of humanity    
with his hammer and his chisel2 they had
 broken into fragments and sorrow made  
him dumb4 ,there is a stage in the life 
of every genius when he comes to this   
gate1 when he has to show his           
credentials and reveal the inmost kernel
 of his being4 ,dante attempted to grasp
 the transcendental in one gigantic     
vision1 ,goethe timidly shrank back from
 it4  ,in examining the prophets and    
youths in the ,sistine ,chapel1 or the  
chained men in the ,louvre1 who seem    

unable to bear existence1 and are       
therefore slaves of the earth2 or in    
contemplating the half-finished slaves  
in the ,boboli ,gardens1 who seem almost
 to burst the stone in their wild       
longing for a higher life2 or in reading
 his last sonnets1 we can conceive a    
vague idea of the deep melancholy       
darkening the life of this man1 a gloom 
which was not the melancholy of the     
individual1 but of all humanity1 unable 
and unwilling to deceive itself further4
 ,can there be a greater tragedy than   
the tragedy of this incomparable artist1
 looking back at the work of his        
lifetime with despair8       ,for art   
and wit and passion fade and vanish1    
,countless achievements1 ever new and   
great1      ,are naught but dross within
 the sight of heaven4  ,to ,vasari he   
sent a sonnet denouncing the artistic   
passion which abandons itself completely
 to art3       ,now know ,i well that   
that fond phantasy      ,which made my  
soul the worshipper and thrall      ,of 

earthly art is vain4                    
7,transl4 by ,j4,a4 ,,symonds47  ,faith1
 is to him the mercy of mercies1 for he 
has never possessed its deepest         
conviction4  ,but the passion which     
burned in him remained unquelled to the 
last3 his soul is torn between love and 
the thought of death4       ,flames of  
love      ,and chill of death are       
battling in my heart4  ,he longed to    
break away from love and find peace1 and
 he called on death for delivery1 but in
 vain3       ,burdened with years and   
full of sinfulness      ,with evil      
customs grown inveterate1      ,both    
deaths ,i dread that both before me     
wait1      ,yet feed my heart on        
poisonous thoughts no less4             
7,transl4 by ,j4,a4 ,,symonds47  ,and   
later on he thanks love again for being 
his deliverer1 and not death4           
,michelangelo poured all his heart into 
these last sonnets4 ,we see his solitary
 and heroic age overshadowed by the     
thought of death4 ,his whole soul is    

wrapped in gloom2 art is vanity1 love is
 sorrow1 the thought of the futility of 
all things frames the portrait of his   
love with a wreath of black laurel4 ,he 
ponders on his life1 and comes to the   
conclusion that       ,among the many   
years not one was his4  ,this man1 the  
supremest creative genius the world has 
known1 accused himself of having wasted 
his life4  ,no song of praise ever rose 
to the ,deity from ,michelangelo's      
heart1 as it did at least once or twice 
during his lifetime from the heart of   
,beethoven4 ,he never had one hour of   
true inward peace4 ,he represents the   
metaphysical world-feeling which 7in    
addition to love7 is the foundation of  
the deification of woman1 but it has    
grown into immensity1 and has been      
lifted to a higher plane2 not only love1
 but all life is felt as fragmentary and
 pointing to a world beyond4 ,if at an  
earlier stage it was the love of woman  
which could not find its consummation on
 earth1 it is now the whole of our      

earthly life and all our aspirations    
which can only attain to their highest  
meaning and to final truth in a         
metaphysical existence4 ,the tragedy of 
metaphysical love has deepened into the 
supreme tragedy of life4  ,,footnotes3  
#b ,the quotations from ,faust are from 
the translation of ,anna ,swanwick4  #c 
,the quotations from the ,divine ,comedy
 are from the translation of ,henry     
,francis ,cary4  #d ,the quotations from
 ,tasso are from the translation of     
,anna ,swanwick4     ,,chapter ,,iii    
,,perversions ,,of ,,metaphysical       
,,eroticism  7a7 ,the ,brides of ,christ
   ,hitherto ,i have confined myself to 
the analysis of the emotional life of   
man1 but there are two other points     
which must be taken into account4 ,the  
first is the question of woman's        
attitude towards the lofty position     
assigned to her by man2 the second and  
more important one is the question as to
 whether the women of that period       
exhibit in their emotional life any     

traces of a feeling akin to the         
deification of their sex8 ,the reply to 
the first question is simple enough4    
,naturally the adoration and worship of 
their lovers could not have been        
anything but pleasant to women4 ,there  
is a poem by the talented ,provenal     
,countess ,beatrix de ,die1 which       
betrays genuine sorrow at the infidelity
 of her friend1 and at the same time    
leaves no doubt that she--and probably a
 great many others--took the eulogies   
showered upon them by the enraptured    
poets1 literally4 ,once again woman     
accepts the position thrust upon her by 
man1 not this time the position of a    
drudge1 but that of a perfect and       
godlike being4 ,countess ,beatrix       
credits herself with all the qualities  
with which the imagination of her       
worshipper had endowed her1 as if they  
were unquestionable facts4       ,hence 
all my songs will be with sadness       
fraught4      ,my lover fills my soul   
with bitter woe1      ,and yet is all   

the happiness ,i know4      ,my grace   
and favour all avail me naught4      ,my
 sparkling wit1 my loveliness supreme1  
,they cannot hold his love and tender   
thought1      ,of all my lofty worth    
bereft ,i seem4  ,but far more          
interesting than this psychological     
misunderstanding on the part of the     
much-lauded sex1 is the question as to  
whether the emotional life of woman     
matured anything that can be called a   
worship of man8 ,the answer to this is a
 decided no4 ,at no time in the history 
of woman do we find even the smallest   
indication of a parallel phenomenon2 the
 profound and tragic dualism of the     
,middle ,ages--one result of which was  
the spiritual love of woman--passed her 
by without touching her4 ,in the        
feminine soul conflict apparently       
results not in tragedy and productivity1
 but in morbidness and hysteria4  ,it   
may be argued that the love of ,jesus1  
which inspired both the nuns of the     
,middle ,ages and those of a later      

period1 represents a type of            
man-worship2 but in examining all these 
more or less famous nuns and ascetics we
 find1 instead of genuine spirituality1 
a concealed and often morbid condition1 
which in some cases degenerated into    
hysteria4 ,the dualistic period1 the age
 of metaphysical love1 made no          
impression upon the female soul4 ,there 
can be no doubt that the emotional life 
of woman1 in strict contrast to the     
emotional life of man1 has had no       
evolution1 and can therefore have no    
history4 ,it is unadulterated nature    
and1 in its way1 it is perfect4  ,in    
studying the female mystics1 we find an 
imitation of metaphysical eroticism     
sufficiently transparent to be easily   
recognised1 even by the layman1 as      
belonging to the domain of pathology4   
,these ecstatics were animated not by a 
pure1 but by an impure spirit4          
,perverted sensualists1 they believed   
their hearts to be filled with spiritual
 love4 ,contrary to the striving of the 

greater number of the men1 who raised   
their love into heaven so as to keep it 
pure1 and made it one with their        
religious aspirations1 all the figures  
and symbols of religion were used by    
these women as an outlet and a foil to  
their sexuality4 ,the loving soul       
repairing to the nuptial chamber is the 
transparent veil of desire              
half-concealed by religious conceptions4
 ,women have described similar          
situations in metaphors which--for      
sensuous passion--leave nothing to be   
desired1 even the famous love-potion of 
,tristan is not wanting4  ,the material 
is abundant1 and ,i have repeatedly     
touched upon it in previous chapters4   
,at the period of great mystical        
enthusiasm 7the twelfth and thirteenth  
centuries7 this morbid love of ,god was 
a sinister attendant phenomenon of true 
mysticism4 ,whole convents were seized  
by epidemics of hysteria1 the women     
writhed in convulsions1 flogged each    
other1 sang hymns day and night and had 

hallucinations--for all of which the    
love of ,god1 or the temptation of the  
devil1 were made responsible4  ,among   
the more notable of these pseudo-mystics
 are ,christine ,ebner 7the author of a 
book entitled1 ,on the ,fullness of     
,mercy71 and ,mary of ,oignies1 a       
passionate worshipper of ,christ who    
mutilated herself in her ecstasies and  
who1 on her deathbed1 still sang3 ,how  
beautiful art ,thou1 oh1 my ,lord ,god6 
,a shining exception among the ,german  
nuns of that time was ,mechthild of     
,magdeburg1 a woman of rare gifts4 ,she 
was a genuine mystic1 but she1 too1     
revelled in fervent1 sensuous metaphors1
 and it would be an interesting task to 
separate the two elements in her case2  
but1 having admitted her genuine        
mysticism in a previous chapter1 ,i will
 here restrict myself to a few          
quotations which show her from her other
 side4 ,her ,dialogue between ,love and 
the ,soul abounds in passages like the  
following3 ,tell my beloved that his    

chamber is prepared1 and that ,i am sick
 with love of him4 ,the closer the      
embrace1 the sweeter the kisses4 ,then  
,he took the soul into ,his divine arms1
 and placing ,his fatherly hand on her  
bosom1 ,he gazed into her face and      
kissed her right well4 ,mechthild1 too1 
was ready to die with love4  ,everyone  
of the most celebrated ,brides of       
,christ belonged to the ,latin race2    
they were hysterics1 and as such have   
long been claimed by the psychopathist4 
,the love of ,jesus professed by        
,catherine of ,siena 7#acdg-achh71 a    
clever politician1 who was in           
correspondence with the leading         
statesmen of her time1 found vent in    
passages like the following3  ,i desire1
 then1 that you withdraw into the open  
side of the ,son of ,god1 who is a      
bottle so full of perfume that even the 
things which are sinful become fragrant4
 ,there the bride reclines on a bed of  
fire and blood4 ,there the secret of the
 heart of the ,son of ,god is revealed  

and made manifest4 ,oh6 ,thou           
overflowing cup1 refreshing and         
intoxicating every loving and yearning  
heart4 ,i long to behold the body of my 
,lord6 ,and straightway the bridegroom  
appeared to her1 opened his side and    
said to her3 ,now drink as much of my   
blood as thou desirest4  ,but the saint 
who enjoyed the greatest fame--partly on
 account of her frequent portrayal by   
the plastic arts--was doubtless ,st4    
,teresa 7,teresia de ,jesus71 a ,spanish
 nun 7#aeae-aehb74 ,during childhood and
 early youth she suffered from serious  
illnesses1 and on one occasion was even 
believed to be dead4 ,before ,i felt the
 presence of ,god1 she says in her      
biography1 ,i experienced for some time 
a very delightful sensation1 a sensation
 which ,i believe one is partly able to 
produce at will 7671 a pleasure which is
 neither quite sensuous1 nor quite      
spiritual1 but which comes from ,god4   
,she describes in her ,life four stages 
of prayer1 which gradually lead the soul

 to ,god3 ,there is no joy to be        
compared with the joy which the ,lord   
giveth to the soul in its exile4 ,so    
great is this delight that frequently it
 seems that the least thing would make  
it forsake the body for ever4 ,when the 
soul seeks ,god in this way1 the saint  
feels with supreme delight her strength 
ebbing away and a trance stealing over  
her until1 devoid of breath and all     
physical strength she can only move her 
hand with great pain4 ,the delights     
experienced by her are described in     
great detail and very sensuous language2
 hysterical conditions1 such as painful 
convulsions1 and hallucinations1 are    
represented as religious phenomena4 ,it 
is dreadful what one has to suffer from 
confessors who do not understand these  
things1 she says in one of her writings 
with deep regret4  ,st4 ,teresa relates 
her life with the well-known long-winded
 self-complacency of the hysterical     
subject4 ,she frequently had visions of 
,jesus1 and again and again she         

emphasised the beauty of his hands4     
,standing by my side1 he said to me3 ',i
 have come to thee1 my daughter1 ,i am  
here2 it is ,i2 show me thy hands4' ,and
 it seemed to me that he took my hands  
in his1 and laid them in his side4      
',behold my wound1' he said1 'thou art  
not separated from me2 bear this brief  
exile on earth4444' etc4  ,on one       
occasion she had a vision of an angel   
whom she describes as follows3 ,he was  
not tall but small1 very beautiful1 his 
face so radiant that he seemed to be one
 of the highest angels1 who are1 ,i     
believe1 all fire 444 in his hand he    
held a golden spear1 at the point of    
which was a little flame2 he appeared to
 thrust this spear into my heart again  
and again2 it penetrated my entrails1   
and as he drew it out he seemed to draw 
them out also1 and leave me on fire with
 a great love of ,god4 ,the pain was so 
intense that ,i could not but sigh      
deeply2 yet so surpassing was the       
sweetness of this pain that it made me  

wish never to be without it4 ,it is not 
physical1 but spiritual pain1 although  
the body often suffers greatly from it4 
,the caressing love between ,god and the
 soul is so sweet that ,i implore ,him  
of ,his mercy to let all those          
experience it who believe that ,i am    
lying4  ,the treatise ,thoughts of the  
,love of ,god on some ,words of the     
,song of ,songs is crowded with purely  
sensuous passages4 ,in accordance with  
the general custom1 she interprets this 
navely sensual ,semitic poem            
allegorically1 becomes tremendously     
excited in meditating on the kiss of the
 beloved and discusses the question of  
what the soul should do to satisfy so   
sweet a bridegroom4  ,in the pamphlet   
,the ,fortress of the ,soul and its     
,seven ,dwellings1 ,st4 ,teresa         
describes similar states of mind3 ,the  
bridegroom commands the doors of the    
dwellings to be closed and also the     
gates of the fortress and its           
surrounding walls4 ,in freeing the soul 

from the body1 he stops the body's      
breathing so that1 even if the other    
senses are not quite deadened1 speech is
 impossible4 ,at other times all        
sensuous perceptions disappear          
simultaneously2 body and hands grow     
rigid and it seems as if the soul had   
left the body1 which is scarcely        
breathing4 ,this condition is of short  
duration4 ,the rigidity passes away to  
some extent1 the body slowly regains    
life1 the breath comes and goes1 only to
 die away again and thus endow the soul 
with greater freedom4 ,but this deep    
trance does not endure long4 ,she       
continues to describe her ecstasies and 
is careful to point out the complete    
fusion of supreme delight and bodily    
pain4 ,perhaps no hysterical subject has
 ever described her states of mind so   
well4 ,her avowal 7made in a letter to  
,father ,rodrigue ,alvarez7 of her      
complete unconsciousness of her body is 
quite in harmony with those states of   
rapture4 ,she wrote a number of         

spiritual love-songs which are said to  
be conspicuous for their ardour and     
beauty2 probably they have never been   
translated from the original ,spanish4  
,finally there is the famous ,madame    
,guyon 7#afdh-agag71 who--in addition to
 many other works--wrote a very detailed
 autobiography4 ,she lived with her     
husband1 whom she treated with coldness1
 finding her sole joy in her spiritual  
intercourse with ,god4 ,i desire only   
the divine love which thrills the soul  
with inexpressible bliss1 the love which
 seems to melt my whole being4 ,god     
burns her with ,his fire and still      
trembling with delight1 she says to     
,him3 ,oh1 ,lord6 ,the greatest         
libertine1 if ,thou didst make him      
experience ,thy love as ,thou didst make
 me experience it1 would forswear carnal
 pleasure and strive only after ,thy    
divine love4 ,i was like a person       
intoxicated with wine or love1 unable to
 think of anything but my passion1 etc4 
,the fact that she sought in this love  

the pleasure of the senses is very      
apparent4  ,we are not concerned here   
with the problem of how far these women 
may be regarded as pathological cases2  
all of them were filled with a vague    
feminine desire for self-surrender1     
which they projected on a celestial     
being1 either because they did not come 
into contact with a suitable terrestrial
 object1 or because the impulse was     
abnormal from the beginning4 ,but their 
spiritual love never rose above empty   
sentimentality and hysterical rapture4  
,all of them1 and some of them were     
highly gifted1 were thrilled with the   
love of ,jesus1 they had visions of the 
sweet wounds of the ,saviour1 and so on2
 but their emotion did not kindle the   
smallest spark of creative power4 ,the  
,queen of ,heaven1 on the other hand1   
was a free creation of spiritually      
loving poets and monks4  ,the women     
imitated metaphysical love and distorted
 it2 sexual impulse1 arrogantly         
attempting to reach beyond the earth1   

reigned in the place of spiritual1      
deifying love4  ,i have included these  
phenomena not for their own sakes1 but  
to indicate my boundary-line1 for very  
frequently these women are cited as     
genuine mystics4 ,even ,schopenhauer    
mentions these saints in one breath with
 ,german mystics and ,indian            
philosophers2 he calls ,madame ,guyon a 
great and beautiful soul whose memory ,i
 venerate4 ,and yet there can be no     
doubt that it is not the fictitious     
object of love which is conclusive1 but 
the emotion of the lover3 the sensualist
 can approach ,god and the ,virgin with 
inflamed senses1 but to the lover every 
woman is divine4  ,the result of this   
chapter is as far as our investigation  
is concerned1 negative4 ,the deifying   
love of man has no parallel phenomenon  
in the emotional life of woman4   7b7   
,,sexual ,,mystics4  ,sexual mysticism  
is a contradiction in itself1 because   
true mysticism has nothing whatever to  
do with sexuality4 ,but frequently      

suppressed sexuality1 secretly          
luxuriating1 takes possession of the    
whole soul1 and a religious construction
 is put on the results4 ,the sexually   
excited subject attributes religious    
motives to his ecstasy4 ,i have no      
hesitation in asserting that the        
majority of these ecstasies--especially 
in the case of women--are rooted in     
sexuality1 and that this so-called      
mysticism is nothing but a deviation or 
wrong interpretation of the sexual      
impulse4 ,the same thing applies to the 
flagellants of the declining ,middle    
,ages1 and some ,protestant sects of    
modernity4 ,the raptures of ,st4 ,teresa
 and ,madame ,guyon1 also1 belong to    
this category1 however much the fact may
 be concealed by pseudo-religious       
conceptions4 ,i have no doubt that      
,eastern mysticism1 too1 grew up on a   
sexual foundation1 but 7as ,i have done 
all along7 ,i will limit my subject to  
the civilisation of ,europe4  ,this     
counterfeit mysticism1 fed from dubious 

sources and calling itself love of ,god1
 taints the pure intuitions of some of  
the genuine mystics and metaphysical    
erotics2 they were not always able to   
steer clear of spurious outgrowths4     
7,here1 too1 the psychological navet of 
mediaeval times must to some extent be  
held responsible47 ,conspicuous amongst 
these is ,st4 ,bernard of ,clairvaux1   
who in his ,sermones in ,canticum took  
the ,song of ,songs as a base for       
mystically-sexual imaginings4  ,there is
 nothing really new in this direction4  
,but ,i will cite a few stanzas written 
by ,st4 ,bernard which might equally    
well have come from one of the amorous  
nuns3             ,,to ,,the            
,,side-,,wound ,,of ,,christ4           
,lord1 with my mouth ,i touch and       
worship ,thee1      ,with all the       
strength ,i have ,i cling to ,thee1     
,with all my love ,i plunge my heart in 
,thee1      ,my very life blood would ,i
 draw from ,thee1      ,oh1 ,jesus6     
,jesus6 ,draw me unto ,thee6       ,how 

sweet ,thy savour is6 ,who tastes of    
,thee1      ,oh1 ,jesus ,christ1 can    
relish naught but ,thee6      ,who      
tastes ,thy living sweetness lives by   
,thee2      ,all else is void2 the soul 
must die for ,thee1      ,so faints my  
heart--so would ,i die for ,thee6       
7,transl4 by ,,emily ,,mary ,,shapcote47
  ,the greatest religious poet of all   
times after ,st4 ,bernard was ,jacopone 
da ,todi1 who also1 though rarely1      
revelled in fervid utterances4 ,the     
,latin hymn1 ,stabat ,mater ,speciosa1  
ascribed to him1 is spurious4 ,i quote a
 translation taken from the ,rosary of  
the ,b4,v4,m4       ,other ,virgins far 
transcending1      ,virgin1 be not thou 
unbending1      ,to thy humble          
suppliant's suit4       ,grant me then1 
to thee united1      ,by the love of    
,christ excited1      ,here to sing my  
jubilee4  ,but he is undoubtedly the    
author of the following stanzas3        
,soaring upwards love-enkindled1        
,does the soul rejoice1 afire      ,in  

her glad triumphant flight4             
,earthly cares to naught have dwindled1 
,love's sweet footfall's drawing nigh   
her      ,to espouse his heart's        
delight4      ,all transformed and naked
 quite1      ,laughing low1 with joy    
imbued1      ,pure1 and like a snake    
renewed1      ,love divine will ever    
tend her4  ,but poems like the following
 undoubtedly originated in a truly      
religious and pure sentiment3           
,enwrapt in love thine arms ,him fast   
enfolding1      ,so closely clasp ,him  
that they loose ,him never2      ,and in
 thy heart ,his sacred image holding1   
,far from the path of sin thou'lt       
journey ever4      ,his death in twain  
shall blast thy callous heart      ,as  
once the solid rock ,he rent apart4     
,the most distinguished among the fervid
 lovers of ,god of later times were the 
saints ,jean de la ,croix1 ,alfonso da  
,liguori1 and ,franois de ,sales4 ,the  
,tract of the ,love of ,god1 written by 
,franois de ,sales1 surpasses everything

 ever achieved in this direction4  ,i   
will not dilate further on this barren  
aspect of emotionalism so easily        
traceable through the later centuries in
 many a ,catholic and ,protestant       
sentimentalist1 but will conclude this  
chapter with a brief discussion of      
,novalis4 ,if ,i mention this poet in   
this connexion it is not because ,i     
desire to depreciate his genius1 but    
because1 possessing as he did1 in a rare
 degree1 depth of feeling and power of  
expression1 he is an important witness  
of an unusual type4 ,true1 here and     
there his poems are reminiscent of      
,jacopone1 but he is not sufficiently   
ingenuous1 and is altogether too morbid 
to be classed with that ardent fanatic4 
,he shares with ,jacopone and other     
poets the yearning to grasp             
transcendental things with the senses1  
to approach the ,deity with a love which
 cannot be called anything but sensuous4
 ,novalis' ,hymns to the ,night are the 
most magnificent example of this perfect

 interpenetration of sensuous and       
transcendental love1 and at the same    
time represent a complete fusion of the 
love he bore to his fiance1 who died    
young1 and the worship of ,mary4 ,night 
has opened infinite eyes in us1 and we  
behold the secret of love unfolding     
itself in the heart of this poet1 at    
once unique and pathetic1 lofty and     
morbid4 ,the whole universe he conceives
 as a female being for whose embrace he 
is longing4 ,it is a new emotion3       
neither the chaste worship of the       
,madonna1 nor the sexually-mystic       
striving to embrace with the soul4 ,the 
night gives birth to a foreboding which 
excites and soothes all vague desires4  
,the lover thus soliloquises of the     
night3       ,in infinite space4        
,thou'dst dissolve1      ,if it held    
thee not1      ,if it bound thee not1   
,and thrilled thee1      ,that afire    
,thou begettest the world4      ,verily 
before thou art ,i was1      ,with my   
sex      ,the mother sent me      ,to   

live in thy world1      ,and to hallow  
it      ,with love4  ,here the ancient1 
mystical longing to become one with ,god
 is conceived under the symbol of the   
night4 7,a symbol which we shall meet   
again1 magnified1 in ,wagner's          
,tristan47       ,lo6 ,love has burst   
its prison4      ,no parting now shall  
be1      ,and life's full tide has risen
      ,like to a boundless sea4         
,one night of love supernal1      ,only 
one golden song1      ,and the face of  
the ,eternal      ,to light our path    
along4  ,in addition1 ,novalis was a    
perfect woman-worshipper4 ,he loved the 
,middle ,ages and ,catholicism4 ,the    
reformation killed ,christianity2       
henceforth ,christianity has ceased to  
exist4 ,catholicism preached nothing but
 love for the holy1 beautiful ,lady of  
,christianity1 who1 endowed with divine 
virtue1 was able to deliver all loyal   
hearts from the most terrible dangers4  
,he wrote hymns to ,mary in the style of
 the pietists1 emphasising more         

especially the principle of             
motherliness3       ,oh1 ,mary6 ,at thy 
altar      ,a thousand hearts lie prone1
      ,in this drear life of shadows    
,they yearn for thee alone4      ,all   
hoping to recover      ,from life's     
distress and smart1      ,if thou1 oh   
holy ,mother1      ,wilt take them to   
thy heart4  ,he idolised his fiance1 who
 died young4 ,her memory shall be my    
better self1 a sacred image in my heart 
before which a sanctuary lamp is ever   
burning1 and which will save me from the
 temptations of the ,evil ,one4 ,and    
through the mouth of ,heinrich of       
,ofterdingen he proclaims3 ,my beloved  
is the abbreviation of the universe2 the
 universe is the elongation of my       
beloved4 ,heaven has given you to me to 
worship4 ,i adore you1 you are a saint1 
you are divine glory1 you are eternal   
life6  ,this sentimental worship of     
woman1 combined with an all-transcending
 insatiable sensuousness1 produced the  
peculiar sexually-mystic world-feeling  

which is so characteristic of him4      
,night deeply moves his soul1 longing1  
the memory of the beloved woman1        
adoration for the ,virgin1 his fantastic
 conception of an incarnated universe   
are fused into one great emotion3       
,praise to the ,queen of the ,world6    
,the lofty herald      ,of the sacred   
world4      ,the patroness      ,of     
rapturous love6      ,thou art coming1  
beloved--      ,night has descended--   
,my soul is ravished--      ,over is    
this earthly journey      ,and thou art 
mine again4      ,i gaze into thy dark1 
deep eyes1      ,and see naught but love
 and happiness4      ,we sink down on   
the altar of the night1      ,the soft  
couch--      ,the veil falls1      ,and 
kindled by the rapturous embrace1       
,glows the pure fire      ,of the sweet 
sacrifice4  ,the climax and unique      
example of sensuousness1 unsurpassed for
 its symbols of the physical embrace1 is
 the hymn3 ,few know the ,secret of     
,love4 ,it is too long to give in full4 

,the following are a few stanzas3       
,would that the ocean      ,blushed6    
,and in fragrant flesh      ,melted the 
rock6      ,infinite is the sweet       
repast1      ,never satisfied is love2  
,nor close1 nor fast enough      ,can it
 hold the beloved4      ,by ever more   
tender lips      ,transformed1 the past 
ecstasy      ,grows closer1 more        
intimate4      ,rapturous love          
,thrills the soul2      ,hungrier and   
thirstier      ,grows the heart4        
,and thus the transports of love        
,endure for ever4  ,here the remotest   
limit has been reached--sensuousness    
seems to flow into eternity1            
voluptuousness would shatter the world  
to pieces and create a new relationship 
of things4 ,before this poem all        
ecstasies of sensuousness masquerading  
as cosmic emotion are dull and timid4   
,the transcendent symbols of            
,catholicism are used to guide the      
insatiable sensuous imagination to      
metaphysics4 ,who can say that he       

understands the nature of blood8        
,novalis may ask this question4 ,it is  
truly blood1 human blood1 longing to    
gush forth and pulsate through the body 
of the universe4       ,in time to come 
all will be body      ,one body2        
,in celestial blood1      ,float the    
enraptured twain4  ,the human blood has 
become celestial blood2 the             
voluptuousness of man1 the              
voluptuousness of the world1 and because
 the whole world is one body1 it needs  
no duality2 sexuality which has become a
 cosmic law rules over humanity1 ,god1  
,christ and the universe4 ,this hymn is 
the immortalisation of voluptuousness4  
,if the love-death is the               
immortalisation of love unable to find  
satisfaction on earth1 so its           
counterpart1 cosmic sensuousness is1 in 
the last sense1 orientalism4 ,only a    
genius could invent a new1 symbolic     
language to express feelings so alien to
 the ,european4 ,earthly sensuality did 
not satisfy ,novalis1 voluptuousness    

detached from man1 voluptuousness in    
itself1 was his dream and his           
religion--the supremest creation ever   
achieved by sexuality intensified into a
 cosmic emotion4  ,i think that ,i have 
now made clear the fact that the        
emotional life of man is rooted in two  
elements1 completely distinct from the  
beginning3 the sexual impulse and       
personal love4 ,it is in studying the   
love of the transcendental1 that        
culminating point of so many feelings   
springing from various sources1 that the
 inherent contrast between the two      
fundamental principles becomes most     
apparent2 and that we realise why they  
have always been intermingled both in   
theory and in reality4  ,we have last   
examined the attempt of sexuality to    
possess itself of the whole universe2 we
 will now turn our attention to the true
 union of both erotic elements4 ,this   
union occurred at the time when ,goethe 
and ,novalis were bringing spiritual    
love and cosmic sensuousness to their   

highest summit4     ,,the ,,third       
,,stage  7,the ,unity of ,sexual        
,impulse and ,love7  ,,chapter ,i4      
,,the ,,longing ,,for ,,the ,,synthesis4
   ,humanity inherited the              
pairing-instinct from the animal-world2 
but as differentiation progressed1 this 
instinct tended to restrict itself to a 
few individuals--sometimes even to a    
single representative only--of the other
 sex4 ,in the beginning of the twelfth  
century a new and unprecedented         
emotion--spiritual love of man for woman
 based on personality--made its         
appearance1 and until modern times the  
two fundamental erotic principles       
existed side by side without inner      
relationship4 ,sexuality with its       
various manifestations has existed from 
the beginning2 the ultimate object of   
sexual intercourse is pleasure2 but here
 and there1 and parallel with sexual    
pleasure1 there have been1 in varying   
degrees of intensity1 instances of      
spiritual love4 ,in the second half of  

the eighteenth century there            
appeared--timidly at first1 but         
gradually gaining in strength and       
determination--a tendency to find the   
sole course of every erotic emotion in  
the personality of the beloved1 a       
longing no longer to dissociate sexual  
impulse and spiritual love1 but to blend
 them in a harmonious whole4            
,personality should knit body and soul  
together in a higher synthesis4 ,the    
first signs of this longing became      
apparent in the period of the ,french   
revolution2 7we find traces of it in the
 works of ,rousseau and in ,goethe's    
,werther72 it was developed by the      
romanticists and represents the typical 
form of modern love with all its        
incompleteness and inexhausted          
possibilities4 ,the achievement of this 
eagerly desired unity1 which would be   
synonymous with the victory of          
personality over the limitations of body
 and soul1 is the great problem of      
modern time in the domain of eroticism4 

,the characteristic of this third stage 
of eroticism is the complete triumph of 
love over pleasure1 the neutralisation  
of the sexual and the generative by the 
spiritual and the personal4 ,the        
physical and spiritual unity of the     
lovers has become so much supreme erotic
 reality1 that the line of demarcation  
between soul and senses is completely   
obliterated4 ,in extreme cases--which   
are not at all rare--the bodily union is
 not realised as anything distinct1     
specifically pleasurable2 it does not   
occupy a prominent position in the      
complex of love2 sensuous pleasure1 the 
universal inheritance from the animal   
world1 has been vanquished by           
personality1 the supreme treasure of    
man4 ,the characteristic of the first   
stage was the unquestioned sway of one  
of the elements of erotic life1 sensual 
gratification 7this stage has1 of       
course1 never ceased to exist71 as well 
as the aesthetic pleasure in the beauty 
of the human form4 ,the second stage    

gave prominence to all those spiritual  
qualities which were most appreciated1  
virtue1 purity1 kindness1 wisdom1 etc41 
because love rouses and embraces        
everything in the human soul which is   
perfect4 ,in the third stage1 sensuous  
pleasure and spiritual love no longer   
exist as separate elements2 the         
personality of the beloved in its       
individuality is the only essential1    
regardless as to whether she be the     
bringer of weal or woe1 whether she be  
good or evil1 beautiful or plain1 wise  
or foolish4 ,personality has--in        
principle--become the sole1 supreme     
source of eroticism4 ,in this stage     
there is no tyranny of man over         
woman--as in the sexual stage--no       
submission of man to woman--as in the   
stage of woman-worship2 it is the stage 
of the complete equality of the sexes1 a
 mutual giving and taking4 ,if sexuality
 is infinite as matter1 spiritual love  
eternal as the metaphysical ideal1 the  
synthesis is human and personal4        

,before the eighteenth century1 this new
 erotic union did not exist as a        
phenomenon of civilisation1 but         
occasionally we find it anticipated or  
vaguely alluded to4 ,some of the early  
,german minnesingers 7such as ,dietmar  
von ,aist and ,krnberg7 sometimes       
betray1 especially when speaking through
 the medium of a woman1 sentiments      
prophetic of our modern sentimental     
ballads4 ,the following verses by       
,albrecht of ,johansdorf1 express the   
reciprocity characteristic of modern    
love3       ,when two hearts are so     
united      ,that their love can never  
wane1      ,then ,i ween no man should  
blight it1      ,death alone should part
 the twain4  ,even more modern in       
sentiment are the following stanzas3    
,this is love's measure3      ,two      
hearts and one pleasure1      ,two loves
 one love1 nor more nor less1      ,and 
both right full of happiness4      ,in  
woe one woe1      ,and neither from the 
other go4  ,though ,walter von der      

,vogelweide adopted the contemporaneous 
conception of love as the source of     
everything good and noble 7,tell me what
 is ,love87 he never quite accepted it3 
,love is the ecstasy of two fond hearts1
      ,if both share equally1 then love 
is there4  ,more ancient evidence even  
is the definition of marriage by the    
scholastic ,hugo of ,st4 ,victor1 who   
had leanings towards mysticism3         
,marriage is the friendship between man 
and woman1 he says4  ,my knowledge of   
the subject cannot1 of course1 be       
unexceptional1 but ,i do not believe    
that personal love of the third stage1  
that is1 the blending of both erotic    
elements1 was quite definitely expressed
 before the second half of the          
eighteenth century4 ,we may be justified
 in maintaining that the tension between
 sexuality and spiritual love had been  
slackening in the course of the         
centuries1 that sexuality was conceived 
as less diabolical1 and love as less    
celestial than heretofore2 but the      

principle had remained unchanged4 ,only 
the female portraits of ,leonardo da    
,vinci are deserving of special mention2
 the great artist was possibly the first
 who artistically divined1 if he did not
 achieve1 the synthesis4 ,the           
exceptional position always granted to  
his women--particularly to his ,mona    
,lisa--must doubtless be ascribed to    
this premonition4 ,we may be certain    
that ,leonardo not only as artist1 but  
as lover also1 was ahead of his time2   
but he must be regarded as an isolated  
instance4 ,the three stages apply to the
 eroticism of man only4 ,his emotion    
soared from brutality to divinity1 and  
then gradually became human2 his feeling
 alone has a history4 ,the force which  
seized1 moulded and transformed him1 had
 no influence over woman4 ,compared to  
man1 she is to-day what she was at the  
beginning1 pure nature4 ,her lover has  
always been everything to her2 never    
merely a means for the gratification of 
the senses1 nor1 on the other hand1 a   

higher being to whom she looked up and  
whom she worshipped with a purely       
spiritual love2 but at all times he     
possessed her undivided love1 unable in 
its nave simplicity to differentiate    
between body and soul4 ,the higher      
intuition1 the object of the supreme    
erotic yearning of man1 for the         
possession of which he has struggled for
 centuries1 and even to-day does not    
fully possess1 has always been a matter 
of course to her4 ,she whose truest     
vocation is love1 received from nature  
that which the greatest of men have     
striven hard to win and only half       
succeeded in winning4 ,man's profound   
dualism is alien to her2 her            
greatness--but also her limitation--lies
 in the simplicity and infallibility of 
her instinct1 which has had no evolution
 and is consequently not liable to      
produce atavisms and aberrations4 ,she  
is hardly conscious of the chasm between
 sexual instinct and personal love4     
,wherever this is not so1 we may find   

intellectual greatness 7as for instance 
in the case of the ,empress ,catherine  
of ,russia71 but as a rule we find only 
morbidness1 despondency and callousness4
 ,to the normal woman the phenomena of  
dualistic eroticism appear              
unintelligible1 even unwholesome4 ,the  
unity of love is a matter of course to  
her1 so that the third stage is         
practically male acquiescence to female 
intuition4  ,even in our time1 when so  
much is said and written about modern   
woman and her claims1 her feeling is    
still perfect in itself2 compared to the
 discord and heterogeneity of man1 she  
represents simplicity and harmony4 ,both
 purely spiritual worship and           
undifferentiated sexual desire are      
exceptions as far as she is concerned   
and must still be regarded as abnormal4 
,this unbroken1 determinative female    
eroticism may possibly be explained 7as 
,weininger explains it7 by woman's      
sexuality1 which is absolute1 and does  
not rise above the horizon of distinct  

consciousness1 but ,weininger's dualism 
is in this direction attempting to value
 and standardise something which in its 
essence is alien to his standard4       
,psycho-physical unity1 then1 is the    
basic characteristic of female          
eroticism1 but the state of affairs in  
the case of male eroticism is a very    
different one4 ,a study of the gradual  
origin of the erotic elements will      
facilitate a better understanding of the
 relevant phenomena4  ,in the case of   
woman1 the primary sexual instinct      
pervades the whole being2 it has been   
refined and purified without any great  
fluctuations or changes2 in the case of 
man it has always been restricted to    
certain regions of his physical and     
psychical life1 and an entirely novel   
experience was required before it could 
win to the final form of personal love4 
,this prize1 in his case1 is therefore  
enhanced by the fact of being the       
outcome of a long conflict2 the reward  
of a task still showing the traces of   

the struggle and pain of centuries4 ,the
 truth of the words ,pleasure is        
degrading had been established by       
experience4  ,a few historical          
instances1 illustrating female          
eroticism1 will uphold my contention4   
,in the remote days of ,greek antiquity1
 we find an example of undivided wifely 
love in ,alcestis1 whose devotion to her
 husband sent her to voluntary death in 
order to lengthen his life4 ,wifely     
devotion accomplished what parental love
 could not achieve4 ,the ,alcestis of   
,euripides represents a feeling very    
familiar to us4 ,penelope1 the faithful 
martyr1 is a similar instance4  ,at the 
time when spiritual love1 accompanied by
 eccentricities and ,latin treatises1   
gradually1 and amidst heavy conflict1   
struggled into existence1 the soul of   
woman was already glowing with the      
emotion which we1 to-day1 realise as    
love4 ,i have three witnesses to prove  
this statement4 ,the ,lais of the       
,french poetess ,marie de ,france1 based

 on ,breton and ,celtic motifs1 are     
permeated by a sweet sentimentality1    
very nearly related to the sentiment of 
our popular ballads4 ,they tell of      
simple feelings1 of love and longing and
 the grief of love4 ,one of her lais    
treats the touching story of ,lanval and
 ,guinevere1 and another an episode of  
,tristan and ,isolde4       ,de ,tristan
 et de la reine1      ,de leur amour qui
 tant fut fine1      ,dont ils eurent   
mainte doulour      ,puis en moururent  
en un jour4  ,the nave sentiment of     
these poems forms a delicious contrast  
to the contemporaneous mature and       
subtile art of ,provence1 and the entire
 erudite armoury of love4  ,a great     
baron declared that only the man who    
could carry his daughter in his arms to 
the summit of a certain mountain--an    
impossible feat--should win her hand in 
marriage4 ,no man possessed strength to 
carry her farther than half way4 ,but   
the knight whom she loved secretly went 
out into the world1 and after years of  

searching1 discovered a magic potion    
able to endow him who quaffed it with   
enormous strength4 ,full of joy he      
returned home and1 his beloved in his   
arms1 began the laborious ascent4       
,strong and jubilant1 he laughed at the 
potion4 ,but after a while1 feeling his 
strength ebbing away1 the maiden        
implored him3 ,drink1 ,i beseech thee1  
beloved6 ,my heart is strong1 to drink  
were waste of time4 ,and again she      
pleaded3 ,drink now1 beloved1 thy       
strength is diminishing fast4 ,but he1  
eager to win her only by his own effort1
 staggered on and reached the summit1   
only to sink to the ground and expire4  
,the maiden1 throwing herself on his    
lifeless body1 kissed his eyes and lips 
and died with him4  ,we recognise in    
this simple tale the new form of love1  
mutual devotion1 and the thought of the 
consummation of this love1 the          
,love-death1 which was not definitely   
realised until six hundred years later4 
,it originated in the ,celtic soul1 as  

the worship of woman originated in the  
,romanesque 7the ,teutonic soul shared  
in the development of both74 ,it was a  
dream of the suppressed ,celtic race1   
spending its whole soul in dreams and   
producing visions of such depth and     
beauty that even we of to-day cannot    
read them without being profoundly      
moved4  ,next there are three           
love-letters written in ,latin by a     
,german woman of the twelfth century4   
,in very touching words she tells her   
lover that the love of him can never be 
torn out of her heart4 ,i turn to you   
whom ,i hold for ever enclosed in my    
inmost heart4 ,she promises and claims  
faithfulness until death3 ,among        
thousands my heart has chosen you1 you  
alone can satisfy my longing1 and you   
will never find my love wanting4 ,i     
trust myself to you1 all my hope is     
centred in you4 ,i could say a great    
deal more1 she concludes1 but there is  
no need of it4 ,and then follow the     
charming ,german stanzas3       ,thou to

 me and ,i to thee1      ,knit for all  
eternity4      ,in my heart art thou    
imprisoned1      ,and ,i threw away the 
key4      ,nevermore canst thou be free4
  ,in the third letter she drops the    
formal ,latin and addresses him in      
intimate1 simple ,german4 ,but the man's
 replies are clumsy and strange1 and    
plainly evidence his uncertainty of     
himself3 ,you have put a human head on a
 horse's neck1 and the beautiful female 
form ends in an ugly fish's tail4 ,it   
looks as if a parting were inevitable4  
,but the most touching testimony from   
the ,middle ,ages is the famous love    
story of ,ablard and ,hlose4 ,we        
probably possess no older document of   
the passionate devotion of a woman1     
differing in nothing from the sentiment 
of the present age1 than the letters of 
,hlose4 ,ablard persuaded her to take   
the veil and repent in a convent the sin
 of voluptuousness--but she knows       
nothing of ,god--her whole soul is      
wrapped up in her lover3 ,i expect no   

reward from ,god1 for what ,i did was   
not done for love of ,him4444 ,i wanted 
nothing from you but yourself2 ,i       
desired only you1 not that which        
belonged to you2 ,i did not expect      
marriage or gifts2 ,i did not seek to   
gratify my desires and do my will1 but  
yours1 and well you know that ,i am     
speaking the truth6 ,the name of wife   
may seem sacred and honourable to you1  
but ,i prefer to be called your mistress
 or even your harlot4 ,the more ,i      
degraded myself for your sake1 the more 
,i hoped to find grace in your eyes4444 
,i renounced all the pleasures of the   
world to live only for you2 ,i kept     
nothing for myself but the desire to    
belong entirely to you4 ,ablard's       
replies are pious sermons and           
theological treatises2 he thinks of the 
love of the past only as the cursed     
desires of the flesh1 the snare in which
 the devil had caught them1 and urges   
,hlose to thank ,god that henceforth    
they are safe4 ,my love which entangled 

both of us in sin1 he says in one of his
 letters1 deserves not the name of love1
 for it was naught but carnal lust4 ,i  
sought in you the gratification of my   
sinful desires1 etc4 ,he blessed the    
savage crime committed on him because it
 saved him for ever from the sin of     
voluptuousness4 ,what ,hlose loved and  
treasured as her sweetest memory1 was to
 him hell and devil's work4 ,he wrote to
 her almost as if in mockery3 ,what     
splendid interest does the talent of    
your wisdom bear to the ,lord day after 
day6 ,how many spiritual daughters you  
have borne to ,him6 ,what a terrible    
loss it would have been if you had      
abandoned yourself to the lust of the   
flesh1 had borne1 with travail1 a few   
earthly children1 while now1 with joy1  
you bear a great number of daughters for
 the kingdom of ,heaven4 ,you would have
 remained a woman like all the rest1 but
 now you are far exalted even above men4
 ,this correspondence plainly reveals   
the tragedy of the lacerated man of the 

,middle ,ages1 as compared to the       
never-varying woman1 emerging perfect   
from the hands of nature4 ,a long and   
toilsome road still stretches out before
 him2 she had reached the goal1 without 
a struggle1 at the outset4 ,how strange 
is this cry of a mediaeval nun3 ,it     
seems as if the world had grown old1 as 
if all men and all living creatures had 
lost their freshness1 as if love had    
grown cold not in many1 but in all      
hearts4  ,what was really the final     
cause of the hostility to sensuousness  
displayed by dualistic mediaeval        
,christianity8 ,was it not contained in 
eroticism itself8  ,this hostility was  
based on the fact that the world knew as
 yet only spiritual love and its        
antithesis1 the sexuality which man     
shares with the animals2 the only       
salvation1 not merely in the ,christian 
sense1 but from the point of view of    
every lofty conception of civilisation1 
lay in the victory over animalism4 ,the 
contempt of and the struggle against the

 lower form of eroticism animating the  
dualistic period was absolutely         
consistent2 asceticism represents the   
highest form of culture attainable by   
that period4 7,the rejection of         
spiritual love was an inconsistency on  
the part of the clergy47 ,the principle 
of personality was the fundamental      
principle of ,christianity2 this is     
clearly expressed by the fact that      
,christianity regarded the soul as the  
supreme value4 ,and what is the soul but
 the consciousness of human personality 
conceived navely as substance8 ,in the  
light of this higher intuition          
sensuousness was bound to appear base   
and degrading4  ,it is therefore        
historically correct1 though essentially
 an error1 to regard ,christianity as   
the religion of asceticism1 for the     
asceticism of the ,middle ,ages was     
nothing but the immature stage of the   
principle of personality4 ,directly     
spiritual love was no longer in         
opposition to sexuality1 directly a     

synthesis had been effected1            
,christianity should have drawn the     
obvious conclusion from its fundamental 
principle and acknowledged love1 which  
united the hostile elements4            
,protestantism did so1 half-heartedly4  
,luther's vacillating attitude towards  
sexuality is typical of this indecision4
 ,at heart he could not justify         
sexuality2 he regarded it1 in the same  
way as did the ,fathers of the ,church1 
as an evil with which one had to make   
terms4 ,his sanction of marriage was    
nothing but a crooked and ill-founded   
compromise2 and as he remained at the   
old dualistic standpoint1 it could not  
have been otherwise4 ,but the moment the
 new sensuous-supersensuous form of love
 had come into existence1 it behoved    
,christianity1 as the religion of       
personality1 to acknowledge it4  ,after 
this digression ,i return to the period 
of the inception of the third stage of  
love4 ,if ,i were writing a history of  
eroticism1 ,i should now have to        

describe the rococo period1 a period    
essentially rationalistic and devoted to
 pleasure1 a period which believed in   
nothing but the obvious and understood  
love only in the sense of sensual       
pleasure4 ,if sensuality had hitherto   
been evil--at least theoretically--it   
now became obscene4 ,stripped of every  
grand and cosmic feature1 it degenerated
 into the principal form of amusement4  
,the eighteenth century1 though         
instructive and interesting to the      
student of eroticism1 produced nothing  
new4 ,under the undisputed sway of      
,france1 a period of sensuality set in1 
unparalleled by any other epoch in the  
history of the race1 except1 perhaps1   
the early oriental epoch2 even the      
gynecocratic family of remote antiquity 
was openly revived by the ladies of     
,paris4 ,casanova was the sexual hero of
 the age 7as he is to some extent the   
hero of our present impotent epoch74    
,indefatigable in the pursuit of woman  
and successful until old age1 he was a  

well-bred sexualist without subtlety or 
depth4 ,the ,vicomte de ,valmont1 the   
hero of ,choderlos de ,laclos' famous   
and realistic novel ,les ,liaisons      
,dangereuses1 an absolutely cold and    
cunning seducer1 was its god4 ,they were
 seconded by the pleasure-loving ,ninon 
de l',enclos1 who was still desired at  
the age of eighty4  ,this               
ultra-refinement was followed by the    
loathing of civilisation and love of    
nature expressed by ,rousseau1 ,werther 
and ,hlderlin2 closely allied to these  
passions was sentimental love1 the      
direct precursor of our modern          
conception of love4 ,its peculiarity lay
 in the fact that although spiritual in 
its source1 it yearned for              
psycho-physical unity1 and was therefore
 always slightly discordant4 ,rousseau  
was the first exponent of this romantic 
nature cult and sentimental love of     
woman4 ,he represents the sharp recoil  
from the frivolity of the ancien rgime1 
and the beginning of the third stage of 

love4 ,his ,nouvelle ,hlose 7#agei7 was 
probably the first work in which        
sentimental love found expression4 ,in  
,goethe's ,werther 7#aggd71 which is a  
faithful portrayal of the poet's        
personal feelings1 it was represented   
more powerfully4 ,werther's love was    
purely spiritual at its inception4      
,lotte is sacred to me4 ,all desire is  
silent in her presence4 ,but in the end 
he desires her with unconquerable       
passion2 a dream undeceives him about   
the nature of his feelings1 and as he   
clasps her in a passionate embrace he is
 conscious of having reached the summit 
of his longing4 ,this would seem the    
goal of modern love1 embodying all its  
previous stages4 ,it is interesting to  
find embodiments of the extreme poles in
 two incidental characters2 one has been
 driven mad by his adoring love for a   
woman and wanders about the fields in   
,november to gather flowers for his     
queen2 the other is a young peasant who 
kills his rival in jealous rage4 ,but   

,werther himself1 steering a            
middle-course between these two         
extremes1 walks straight into modern    
love1 which means death to him4  ,both  
the ,new ,hlose and ,werther are1       
sentimentally1 efforts to reach the     
synthesis via the soul4 ,friedrich      
,schlegel1 in his famous ,lucinda       
7#agii71 tried the opposite way4 ,he has
 been savagely attacked for it by one   
side and lauded to the skies by the     
other1 and when the emancipation of the 
flesh became the motto of the day1 he   
was glorified as a martyr4 ,the         
philosopher and theologian              
,schleiermacher saw in ,lucinda a       
delivery from the tyranny of centuries4 
,love has become whole again and of one 
piece1 he exclaims1 joyfully calling the
 poem a vision of a future world ,god   
knows how distant4 ,love shall come     
again2 a new life shall unite and       
animate its broken limbs2 it shall rule 
the hearts and works of men in freedom  
and gladness1 and supersede the lifeless

 phantoms of fictitious virtues4        
,schleiermacher also voiced the idea of 
the synthesis3 ,and why should we be    
arrested in this struggle 7i4e41 between
 love as the flower of sensuousness and 
the intellectual mystical component of  
love71 when in all domains we are       
striving to bring the ideas1 born by the
 new development of humanity1 into      
harmony with the result of the work of  
past ages8 ,his ,confidential ,letters  
on ,schlegel's ,lucinda have made the   
,protestant pastor ,schleiermacher the  
philosopher of the third stage of       
eroticism1 as the chaplain ,andreas was 
the theorist of the second4 ,the third  
stage gained its first footing amongst  
the ,german romanticists4 ,women were   
largely instrumental in achieving its   
victory4 ,i will not go into detail but 
will confine myself to mentioning in    
passing the names of ,jean ,paul1       
,henrietta ,herz1 ,brentano1 ,sophy     
,mereau1 ,dorothy ,vest1 ,schelling1    
,friedrich ,gentz4 ,w4 von ,humboldt    

records a conversation which he had in  
the year of the ,revolution with        
,schiller4 ,the latter unhesitatingly   
professed his faith in the unity of     
love4 ,it 7the blending of love and     
sensuality7 is always possible and      
always there4 ,but ,humboldt was        
diffident1 unable fully to grasp the new
 conception4 ,i said that it would sever
 the most beautiful1 most delicate      
relationships1 that it was too          
heterogeneous to admit of coherence2 but
 my principal argument was that in the  
majority of cases it was out of the     
question4444  ,there is a document from 
the year #aggi which contains in its    
entirety the modern conception of       
harmonious love1 together with its      
ecstatic apotheosis1 the love-death1 a  
document which puts the later theorising
 romanticists and ,lucinda completely in
 the shade4 ,i am referring to the only 
one of ,gottfried ,august ,brger's      
letters to ,molly1 which has been       
preserved4 ,it contains the following   

passages3 ,i cannot describe to you in  
words how ardently ,i embrace you in the
 spirit4 ,there is in me such a tumult  
of life that frequently after an        
outburst my spirit and soul are left in 
such weariness that ,i seem to be on the
 point of death4 ,every brief calm      
begets more violent storms4 ,often in   
the black darkness of a stormy1 rainy   
midnight1 ,i long to hasten to you1     
throw myself into your arms1 sink with  
you into the infinite ocean of delight  
and--die4 ,oh ,love6 oh ,love6 what a   
strange and wonderful power art thou to 
hold body and soul in such unbreakable  
bonds6444 ,i let my imagination roam    
through the whole world1 yea1 through   
all the heavens and the ,heaven of      
heavens1 and examine every delight and  
compare it to you1 but by the ,eternal  
,god6 there is nothing ,i desire so     
ardently as to hold you1 sweetest and   
heavenliest of all women1 in my arms4   
,if ,i could win you by walking round   
the earth1 naked and barefoot1 through  

thorns and thistles1 over rocks and snow
 and ice1 and1 on the point of death1   
with the last spark of life1 sink into  
your arms and draw new life and         
happiness from your loving bosom1 ,i    
should consider that ,i bought you for a
 trifle4  ,to adduce more historical    
evidence of modern love would serve no  
purpose2 in the next chapter ,i shall   
discuss its metaphysical consummation1  
the love-death4 ,but ,i will briefly    
point out the not quite obvious         
difference between synthetic love and   
sexuality projected on a specific       
individual4 ,in several of the higher   
animals the sexual instinct is to some  
extent individualised1 but nevertheless 
it is no more than instinct1 seeking a  
suitable mate for its gratification4    
,all the well-known theories of sexual  
attraction1 from ,schopenhauer to       
,weininger1 accounting love as nothing  
but a mutual supplementing of two       
individuals for the purpose of the best 
possible reproduction of the species1 do

 not apply to love in the modern sense1 
but to the sexual impulse2 they         
completely disregard the individual1 and
 are only aware of the species2 they    
apprehend individualisation as an       
instrument in the service of the race4  
,but genuine personal love is not       
kindled by instinct2 it is not          
differentiated sexual impulse2 it       
embraces the psycho-physical unity of   
the beloved without being conscious of  
sexual desire4 ,it shares with the      
purely spiritual love the eagerness of  
man to raise and glorify the beloved    
woman1 without ulterior motive or       
desire4 ,this distinction may be called 
hair-splitting1 and ,i admit that it is 
frequently impossible to make it in     
practice1 but it is important in        
principle because it goes back to       
origins and finds in the metaphysical   
climax of the third stage1 the          
love-death1 its practical anti-generic  
proof4 ,but with all this it is of      
common occurrence that spiritual and    

sensual love are at different times     
projected on one and the same woman4    
,schopenhauer's instinct of             
philoprogenitiveness has to-day become  
an article of faith with the learned and
 unlearned4 ,schopenhauer was the first1
 probably1 to conceive the idea that    
love was the consciousness of the       
unconscious instincts in the service of 
the species1 and had no other content or
 purpose than the will of the species to
 produce the best possible offspring4   
,in a chapter of his principal work1    
entitled ,the ,metaphysics of ,love1 he 
essayed to promulgate and prove his     
theory in detail4 ,all love1 however    
ethereal it may pretend to be1 is rooted
 solely in the sexual instinct2 it is   
nothing more nor less than specialised1 
strictly speaking individualised1 sexual
 desire4 ,schopenhauer's conception of  
love does not rise above this           
specialised impulse4 ,he calmly ignores 
all phenomena such as those ,i have     
described because they do not fit his   

theory4 ,with the exception of his cheap
 observation that contrasts attract each
 other 7which is the pith of all his    
truths7 he does not adduce the smallest 
evidence for the truth of his myth of   
the genius of the species spreading his 
wings over the coming generation4       
,however much the results of breeders   
may be applicable to the human species1 
they have nothing to do with love1 and  
the believers in the theory of the      
instinct of philoprogenitiveness are    
silent on the subject of the best and   
most suitable subject for the purpose2  
is it the law-abiding citizen8 the      
restless reformer8 or the artist and    
thinker8 ,strange to say1 the legend of 
the instinct of philoprogenitiveness1   
intuitively conscious of the right way1 
is to-day accepted even by scientists   
who are in sympathy neither with        
,schopenhauer's nor with any other      
metaphysic4 ,it is taken for granted    
that love can only serve the purpose of 
the species2 the fact that this theory  

is both metaphysically and              
scientifically unsound is ignored4 ,for 
even leaving the genius of the species  
out of the question1 his intelligent    
comprehension of the composition of the 
next generation is nevertheless devoutly
 believed in4 ,even ,nietzsche1 that    
arch-individualist1 was completely under
 the spell of this dogma1 as is proved  
by many of his utterances1 for instance1
 by the well-known socialistic          
definition of marriage as the will of   
twain to create that which is higher    
than its creators1 and also by his      
theory that man is not an end in himself
 but a bridge to something else4        
,nietzsche's pronouncement that he has  
not yet found the woman whom he would   
like to be the mother of his children1  
echoes the philosophy of ,schopenhauer1 
the superstition of the genius of       
philoprogenitiveness4 ,the intrinsic    
worth of love without any ulterior      
motive1 without a view to pleasure or to
 offspring1 seems to have been unknown  

to ,nietzsche4 ,schopenhauer's hero puts
 the purport of love not in the actual  
individual1 but in a conception1 and    
annihilates the value of the individual 
and the unique4 ,every great emotion is 
an end in itself1 and whatever we may   
read into it of purposes and            
expediencies1 is an invention1 and      
independent of the emotion itself4 ,the 
aim of the purely spiritual love of the 
second stage was not propagation1 and   
yet it was an emotion whose loftiness   
cannot easily be surpassed4 ,with the   
deification of woman love reached far   
beyond the beloved into infinitude1 and 
the phenomenon of the love-death renders
 all the supposed generic purpose of    
love impossible4 ,but even if we ignored
 love altogether and admitted the       
existence of the sexual instinct only1  
its mysterious endeavour in the interest
 of the species would still remain pure 
imagination1 and a conception far       
inferior to that of the winged god of   
love4 ,the instinct does not possess a  

trace of discretion1 takes no interest  
in the weal and woe of humanity1 but is 
utterly selfish1 seeking its own        
gratification and nothing else4  ,the   
theory which fits so well into          
,schopenhauer's metaphysics has1 without
 it1 neither sense nor support4 ,there  
is no instinct of philoprogenitiveness1 
but rather a pairing-instinct1 and in   
addition to this a conscious desire for 
offspring4 ,the difference between these
 two instincts is great1 for as a rule1 
the pairing-instinct is not accompanied 
by a wish for children 7that it should  
be so unconsciously is a theory not     
worth considering seriously71 and the   
longing for children very frequently    
exists without any sexual desire2 to    
manufacture an instinct out of those two
 inherently dissimilar impulses is      
fantastic metaphysics and not spiritual 
reality4 ,the history of antiquity      
furnishes ample proof of my contention1 
for in the days of the remote past the  
sexual impulse had its special domain1  

as well as the wish for progeny1 which  
was often regarded in the light of a    
duty4  ,the legend of the instinct of   
philoprogenitiveness which is to-day so 
universally believed1 is undoubtedly the
 result of the general feeling that     
sexual intercourse as such is base and  
degrading4 ,but because of the more or  
less clear consciousness that sexual    
intercourse is really what is most      
desired in love1 and because of the lack
 of courage openly to admit it1 attempts
 are made to justify it from a social   
standpoint4  ,the task of establishing  
the equilibrium between love and        
sensuousness has not yet been           
accomplished4 ,what is so often realised
 as the sexual trouble has its origin in
 the fact that the higher stage has not 
yet been finally reached4 ,there is an  
infinite number of unions1 all of which 
have a flaw4 ,witness modern literature 
with its indefatigable treatment of     
eroticism4 ,if a complete unity is ever 
to be established1 then doubtless it    

will be the privilege of the ,germanic  
race to achieve it1 for the ,neo-,latin 
nations mean by love either the         
individualised instinct1 or the rare1   
purely spiritual love4 ,but it is not   
likely that the third stage will become 
a universal condition2 in all           
probability it will1 for a long time to 
come1 be limited to special individuals1
 and even then only to specific phases  
of their lives4 ,the feeling of the     
great majority of men has not changed2  
it is primitively sexual2 in the state  
of mind which is called to be in love it
 is centred on an individual woman1 to  
be1 after a time1 gradually stifled by  
other interests4 ,the emotional life of 
the majority of women1 on the other     
hand1 is still what it was in remotest  
antiquity4 ,love impels woman into the  
arms of a man to whom she remains       
faithful1 until slowly her instincts are
 transformed into love for her children4
 ,but in the case even of the average   
woman1 body and soul are equally        

affected2 there is no more terrible     
moment in a woman's life than the one in
 which she discovers that the man to    
whom she has given herself has merely   
used her as a means for gratification4  
,harmoniously organised woman has given 
herself to a merely sexual man who      
sought in her only the satisfaction of  
his senses4 ,this also is the cause of  
the horror with which the normal woman  
regards the prostitute1 for the latter  
has made of herself a means for the     
gratification of male sexuality1 losing 
thereby her inherent harmony and        
individuality4 ,and it is also the      
reason why1 in spite of ethical         
convictions and logical conclusions1 we 
should have different standards for the 
loyalty of the husband and the loyalty  
of the wife2 in man sexuality is a      
distinct element1 an element1 it is     
true1 which we do not value1 but which  
nevertheless exists and has1 as we have 
seen1 a historical root4 ,when a man    
gives way to his instincts1 his         

individuality is not only not destroyed1
 but it is hardly affected4 ,it is very 
different in the case of the woman2 with
 her1 emancipated sexuality is          
synonymous with inward annihilation1 for
 it has not the support of the past and 
cannot exist independently4 ,a man's    
spiritual annihilation from the         
emotional sphere is unthinkable because 
his organisation is naturally           
heterogeneous4 ,the mere sexualist      
represents a past stage of male         
eroticism which has been largely        
overcome1 but he is rarely so completely
 under the spell of sexuality that he   
cannot highly develop other parts of his
 entity4 ,the double morality has1      
therefore1 an objective reason 7though  
perhaps not a higher justification71 and
 would only be unjustifiable if man had 
achieved a complete erotic unity4  ,the 
more complicated life becomes1 the more 
numerous and complex are the relations  
between individuals and groups4 ,a man  
is a member of a trades union2 he has   

political1 artistic1 sporting and social
 relations2 he may be a collector or    
interested in certain social phenomena1 
etc4 ,in modern civilisation every      
component part of the human personality 
is separated from the entire personality
 and brought into a systematic          
connection with similar component parts 
of other entities4 ,our social principle
 is division of labour1 not only in the 
community but also in the individual4   
,with one man one can talk only         
philosophy1 with another music1 with a  
third personal matters1 and so on4 ,but 
because in this way only one part of    
man1 and never the whole being1 can be  
satisfied at a time1 the desire to      
expend one's whole personality in one   
great achievement1 or in connection with
 another individual1 is increasing      
exactly in proportion as specialisation 
is increasing in the community and in   
the individual4 ,the more richly endowed
 and synthetic a man1 the more          
inappeasable will be his yearning to    

find the talents scattered broadcast    
over humanity combined in one           
personality1 and to give himself wholly 
and entirely to that personality4 ,the  
splitting up of man caused by our social
 conditions is one of the principal     
causes of the longing for the great and 
strong love which we hear so much       
discussed4 ,the yearning for the        
absolute1 for perfection1 no longer     
separating and selecting but embracing  
man as a whole1 annihilating body and   
soul in a higher intuition1 the longing 
for mutual self-surrender1 for giving   
and receiving an undivided self1 is     
growing stronger and stronger4 ,the idea
 of modern love1 a love embracing the   
whole breadth of human development1 is  
unequalled in human history4 ,a single  
person shall stand for all mankind4 ,the
 lover has always been all the world to 
woman1 but man has possessed many things
 in addition to the beloved4 ,our age   
claims 7wherever it understands its own 
eroticism7 that woman1 on her part1     

shall give to man all things in         
existence in a higher and purer form2   
not only complete satisfaction of the   
senses1 not only the lofty emotion of   
spiritual love1 but also friendship as a
 fellow-man2 she shall be to him the    
friend who meant so much to the ,greek  
and the ancient ,teuton4 ,it is         
self-evident that the true erotic of our
 time has very little to spare for      
friendship1 while on the other hand the 
man who is not erotic in the true sense 
of the word1 but merely sexual1 has     
generally a poor idea of woman and a    
great appreciation of male friendship4  
,but modern love does not only seek to  
combine all human relationships2 it     
would fain include work1 recreation1    
art4 ,the instinctive jealousy of every 
occupation which she does not share with
 her lover1 is nothing more than a      
loving woman's fear that the things     
which belong to him exclusively may     
become a danger to the unity of love4   
,whether such an all-absorbing love is  

possible in richly-endowed natures1 and 
whether it will not be the cause of new 
conflict1 are questions which cannot    
here be entered upon4 ,but one thing is 
certain3 the great love cannot find its 
consummation on earth4     ,,chapter    
,,ii  ,,the ,,love-,,death  7,,the      
,,second ,,form ,,of ,,metaphysical     
,,eroticism7   ,the craving for         
infinitude is latent in love2 its       
essence is the longing to reach beyond  
the attainable1 to find the meaning of  
the world in ecstasy4 ,the great erotic 
is a man whose inward being rests on    
emotion1 who must bring this emotion to 
its climax--and who is wrecked on the   
incompleteness of human feeling4 ,we    
recognise in him one of the tragic      
figures at the confines of humanity4    
,for it is the final tragedy of a soul  
impelled by the inexorable will to      
self-realisation1 to be broken on the   
wheel of human limitations4  ,the       
tragedy of the great man of action is   
less conditioned by principle than the  

tragedy of other types of greatness1    
because he is not limited by the        
universal restrictions of humanity1 but 
by individual and accidental ones4 ,he  
recognises1 partly because of his       
unmetaphysical constitution1 no limits  
to human activity1 and in gaining his   
individual object1 he reaches a relative
 end4 ,it is otherwise with the thinker1
 the artist1 the religious enthusiast   
and the lover4 ,the thinker possesses   
the highest intellectual endowments2 he 
represents cognisant humanity1 and his  
portion is the anguish of realising that
 the essence of being cannot be grasped 
by the intellect4 ,the great artist     
creates a masterpiece2 his heart is     
aglow with the ideal of perfect beauty  
beheld by none but him1 but his ideal   
eternally eludes him2 the saint has     
achieved perfection as far as perfection
 is possible to humanity1 and stands    
aghast at the burden of insufficiency   
which weighs down mankind2 the great    
erotic is the hero in the world of      

feeling1 his soul yearns for the        
consummation of his love--and already he
 has reached the confines of life4      
,there are various paths by which the   
erotic may travel towards perfection2   
they correspond to the principal erotic 
types4 ,i have devoted a special chapter
 to the seeker of love1 or the ,don     
,juan2 the woman-worshipper who cannot  
find satisfaction on earth has been     
dealt with already4 ,the great and rare 
lover1 however1 the exponent of the     
final form of love1 who loves a woman of
 flesh and blood with every fibre of his
 being1 differs very essentially from   
either of these types4 ,the profounder  
the emotional depth of the soul1 the    
greater is the difficulty of finding a  
complementary being4 ,the erotically    
undifferentiated nature 7whose          
intellectual level may1 however1 be a   
high one7 finds1 and in case of loss    
replaces1 the complementary being       
comparatively easily4 ,the difficulty   
both of finding and of substitution     

increases in proportion to the          
differentiation and the intensity of    
feeling4 ,the true erotic1 once he has  
found his complementary being1 is       
overwhelmed by the will to the perfect  
realisation of his passion4 ,it appears 
with the unanswerable logic of the      
unique and final1 carrying in its train 
supreme happiness and infinite sorrow4  
,a love able to deliver a soul from its 
solitude is rare2 once there1 the whole 
world is as nothing to it4 ,all life is 
embraced and brought under its spell4   
7,in this connection ,i need only       
mention ,michelangelo47 ,a lover of this
 type surrenders himself to love        
unconditionally--love shall completely  
annihilate1 completely renew him4  ,but 
it is just in this overwhelming love    
that the impassable barrier becomes     
apparent4 ,the lovers are two beings and
 not one indivisible entity4 ,the       
fundamental fact of individuality stands
 between them as the last obstacle to   
their complete union4 ,the more intense 

the emotion1 the more desperately it    
tilts against this barrier1 against the 
impossibility of complete mutual        
absorption1 and the more passionately it
 demands another common form of         
existence4 ,individuality and the       
eternal duality of being is felt as a   
curse4 ,the lovers cannot endure the    
thought of continuing life as distinct  
personalities4  ,the great erotic who1  
against all expectation1 finds the being
 to whom he can surrender himself       
unreservedly and with a sense of        
immortality1 discovers within himself   
the supreme and only happiness1 and by  
that very fact has himself become the   
source of his unhappiness4 ,personality1
 the greatest gift bestowed upon the    
children of man1 has flashed its light  
upon the tragedy of life3 solitude1     
eternal duality4 ,the soul recognises   
with unspeakable dismay in its own      
fundamental principle the cause of its  
isolation and the impossibility of final
 union with the beloved4 ,the supreme   

value of ,european civilisation1 the    
value of complete personality1 into     
whose gradual development and perfecting
 all human forces had been built1 and in
 whose interest countless sacrifices had
 been made1 knows itself as the cause of
 supreme suffering1 as an element which 
ought on no account to exist4 ,not its  
completion1 but its annihilation is what
 should really be desired4 ,we have here
 arrived at the very confines of        
humanity4 ,if the great thinker has     
found the boundaries of all knowledge in
 the limitations of the intellect1 and  
is thus the representative of the human 
mind with its unattainable goal3        
knowledge of the secret of being1 the   
erotic has gone a step further4 ,he has 
found the boundary in the very          
perfection of his personality and1 to   
him1 the barrier is unendurable4 ,in the
 rare love of the rare personality is   
discovered the eternal separateness of  
the ego2 only the destruction of its    
origin1 the annihilation of itself1     

might1 perhaps1 throw down the barrier  
which separates the lovers4 ,inevitably 
there arises in the soul the desire and 
the will to escape1 together with the   
beloved1 the insufferable solitude of   
existence2 to achieve in death what life
 denies2 to realise another1 a higher   
condition1 divined in dreams and seen in
 visions2 to become one with the        
beloved1 to transform all human         
existence into a new1 divine universal  
existence3 ,then ,i myself am the world6
 ,everything individual1 all life1 is   
blotted out2 the death of the lovers    
from love and through love is the mystic
 portal of a higher state of being4 ,it 
is the last ecstasy of unity--the       
love-death--an ecstasy which life cannot
 give because it must always be wrecked 
on duality4 ,it is the despairing       
attempt to escape from separateness1 to 
effect a delivery which to human        
understanding seems final1 and it is    
characteristic that ,wagner1 who made   
the problem of redemption peculiarly his

 own1 should have expressed this attempt
 uniquely and with unparalleled         
grandeur4  ,it would be a mistake to    
read into the idea of the love-death a  
rejection of the ,european view of life1
 a denial of the world-feeling of       
personality1 and a victory of the       
impotent philosophy of the ,east which  
exalts non-existence above existence    
7that is to say1 individual existence74 
,for the essence of the love-death is   
contained in the determination of       
personality to realise itself in a new  
and positive form of existence4 ,it is  
felt as the final synthesis1 exactly as 
7in other spheres7 the union of the     
ideal with the personal is seen as the  
perfection of human life4 ,how would it 
be possible at once to annihilate and to
 transcend the individual soul1 the     
source of personal love1 if this soul   
were not first presupposed as the       
essential and supreme value8 ,where     
personal love does not exist1 as in the 
,orient and ,japan1 the thought of the  

love-death would be an absurdity4 ,the  
burning of ,indian widows is a          
phenomenon widely differing from the    
love-death4 ,the ,indian widow slavishly
 abandons a life which has become       
aimless through her master's death2 she 
does not make a sacrifice in the true   
sense of the word1 and is not actuated  
by love4  ,the complete unity of the    
lovers is possible on earth for a brief 
hour and it will1 in most cases1 satisfy
 erotic yearning4 ,it can be realised in
 two ways3 by the blissful rest of the  
lovers in each other1 which silences all
 desires and apparently robs time of its
 tyranny4       ,the heart is still1 and
 nothing can disturb      ,the deepest  
thought1 the thought to be her own4     
says ,goethe2 and a newer poet3         
,close around me1 wondrous being1       
,wind thy magic veil oblivion1      ,all
 my heart from unrest freeing1      ,let
 there be untroubled calm4       ,give  
me peace2 the helter skelter      ,of   
the wide world has gone by2      ,and   

this narrow1 silent shelter      ,holds 
the potent healing balm4  ,by the side  
of this idyllic consummation of the     
longing for love1 there is the other1   
the ecstatic consummation of mutual     
rapture4 ,it almost blots out individual
 consciousness in the singly 7no longer 
doubly7 felt1 body and soul entrancing  
ecstasy2 it is such sheer delight that  
pleasure is no longer perceived as a    
distinct element1 but rather is there   
the consciousness of a complete         
transformation of life4 ,pleasure1      
which1 a great psychologist maintains1  
craves eternity is annihilated in its   
perfection1 knows no more of itself1 and
 is a part of the lovers' sense of      
complete unity4 ,it does not crave      
eternity2 such a craving is its last    
stage but one1 the outer court 7further 
than which ,nietzsche as far as         
eroticism is concerned never            
penetrated72 in the innermost sanctuary 
pleasure disappears2 it has no longer   
any meaning1 it becomes void before the 

new consciousness4 ,the supreme ecstasy 
of great love proves that the summit of 
human emotion is beyond pleasure and    
pain1 and does not acknowledge the      
limitations of bodily existence4 ,thus1 
of necessity1 the rapture of love must  
engender the idea of its own eternity1  
the destruction of individual           
consciousness4 ,i will quote in this    
connection a few verses by ,erika       
,rheinsch3       ,to open now my lips   
were vain indeed1      ,nor word nor    
even kiss could e'er confess      ,what 
sighs and joy and grief and happiness   
,would flash from me to you with        
lightning speed4       ,nor hope nor    
pray'r can still the soul's desire1     
,for ,god ,himself can never join us    
twain2      ,my bitter tears fall on my 
heart like rain      ,and cannot quench 
its all-consuming fire4       ,oh6 ,now 
to break the spell--the storm to breast 
,with broken heart and life-blood ebbing
 fast1      ,bearing the pangs of death 
for you1 at last1      ,dark troubled   

love--at last thou wert at rest6  ,we   
perceive that love can no longer content
 itself with the penultimate--it must   
dare the last heroic step which creates 
beyond body and soul something new and  
final1 for ,god ,himself can never join 
us twain4 ,the love-death is the last   
and inevitable conclusion of reciprocal 
love which knows of no value but itself1
 and is resolved to face eternity1 so   
that no alien influence shall reach it4 
,the two powers1 love and death1 tower  
above human life fatefully and          
mysteriously2 an isolated experience    
cannot appease them1 they involve the   
whole existence4 ,to the individual who 
loves with an all-absorbing love1 and to
 the individual on the point of death1  
everything dwindles into insignificance4
 ,before the majesty of the love-death  
life breaks down1 to be laid hold of and
 transcended in a new 7divined7 sphere4 
,the thought of the love-death1 the will
 that the world should be governed by   
love1 is the most unconditional         

postulate of feeling ever laid down4    
,for the love-death is the definite and 
irrevocable victory of emotion2 it is   
ecstasy as a solution of the            
world-problem and the world-process4 ,it
 is human to regard love and death as   
antitheses2 to consider them far removed
 from each other2 marriage and funeral  
are the poles of social life4 ,the      
ecstasy of the love-death1 however1     
owing to its all-transcending claim1    
unites the two poles4 ,the climax of    
life shall also be its end4  ,it is     
here1 in the voluntary surrender of life
 in order to attain a divined unity1 and
 not in the union of begetting and      
destroying1 that the frequently assumed 
connection between love and death is to 
be found4 ,voluptuousness and death are 
not interlinked1 as is so frequently    
asserted since ,novalis 7not on the     
higher plane of eroticism71 but         
voluptuousness has immolated itself1 has
 been annihilated in the love-death4    
,the view that begetting and destroying 

are related functions1 is based on the  
supposition that love is bound up with  
propagation4 ,this is the fateful error 
of the modern theory of love1 a         
rationalistic1 metaphysical abstraction1
 which touches no corresponding chord in
 the human soul4 ,to base the           
relationship of love and death on an    
association of becoming and declining is
 a beautiful idea1 but nothing more4    
,modern synthetic love produces this    
relationship in its metaphysical        
perfection out of itself2 it is foreign 
alike to pure sexuality and to spiritual
 love4 7,wherever the desire to destroy 
is found hand in hand with sensuality1  
morbid instincts are at play47  ,it     
frequently occurs that lovers commit    
suicide together because external       
circumstances prevent their union4 ,this
 is a step corresponding to suicide from
 offended vanity or incurable disease2  
life has become unbearable to the       
individual haunted by a fixed idea1 and 
he throws it away4 ,but this has nothing

 whatever to do with the love-death2 it 
is a purely negative act of despair1    
whereas the love-death is an altogether 
positive act1 namely1 the will to win to
 a higher 7and to the intellect         
inconceivable and paradoxical7          
metaphysical unity4 ,the love-death     
aspires to perform a miracle4 ,it has1  
possibly1 never been realised in its    
full greatness2 the evidence of the     
common death of ,heinrich von ,kleist   
and ,henrietta ,vogel must be rejected4 
,during the last days of his life       
,kleist was wrapped up in the idea of   
their common death1 and in a letter to  
his cousin1 ,marie von ,kleist1 he says3
 ,if you could only realise how death   
and love strive to beautify these last  
moments of my life with heavenly and    
earthly roses1 you would be content to  
let me die4 ,i swear to you ,i am       
supremely happy4 ,in the same letter he 
speaks of the most voluptuous of deaths4
 ,and yet it was no real love-death1    
that is to say1 death following as a    

necessary corollary in order that love  
may be consummated4 ,kleist as well as  
,henrietta had separately resolved to   
commit suicide1 and when they--almost   
accidentally--heard of this mutual      
intention1 they conceived the idea of   
the new voluptuousness of a common      
death4 ,love did not play a very great  
part in this4 ,kleist further says in   
the same letter3 ,her resolution to die 
with me drew me1 ,i cannot tell you with
 what unspeakable and irresistible      
power1 into her arms4 ,do you remember  
that ,i asked you more than once to die 
with me4 ,but you always said ',no4'    
,from this and other passages it is     
clear that ,kleist would have taken his 
life in any case1 and that he only      
seized this specific opportunity to     
plunge into the ecstasy of a common     
death4  ,the thought of the love-death  
is often present in the hearts of       
individuals who are genuinely in love4  
,we read in ,schlegel's ,lucinda3 ,there
 7in a transcendental life7 our longings

 may perhaps be satisfied4 ,and in      
,lenau's letters to ,sophy the same     
thought is more than once apparent4     
,the idea reached perfection and        
immortality in ,wagner's ,tristan and   
,isolde4 ,it is ,wagner's world-famous  
deed to have lived through and embodied 
this complex of emotion for the first1  
and so far for the last time2 his lovers
 are in a superlative degree            
representative of human love2 they      
typify the climaxes of human emotion4   
,wagner has immortalised the            
metaphysical form of synthetic love2 his
 importance to synthetic love surpasses 
,dante's importance to deification4     
,already in the first act the exchange  
of love-potion and death-draught is     
profoundly significant3 both ,tristan   
and ,isolde seek death because they are 
alarmed by the external obstacles to    
their love4 ,but the thought of death   
and love1 the foreboding that their love
 can find rest only in the ultimate1 in 
finality1 has been in their hearts from 

the outset4 ,together they receive new  
life from love1 and together love leads 
them1 step by step1 to death4 ,in the   
profoundest sense no exchange of potions
 has taken place1 but the power of the  
love-potion has made them conscious of  
what was latent in their souls1 waiting 
to burst into life4 ,at the very moment 
when ,isolde proffers ,tristan the      
death-draught1 the conviction flashes   
into his soul that she is giving him    
death through love3 ,when thy dear hand 
the goblet raised1 ,i recognised that   
death thou gav'st4 ,and in the same way 
,isolde3 ,from golden day ,i sought to  
flee1 in darkest night draw thee with   
me1 where my heart divined the end of   
deceit1 where illusion's haunting dream 
should fade1 to drink eternal love to   
thee1 joined everlastingly1 to death ,i 
doom'd thee4  ,the second act leads them
 further and further into the coils of  
their love2 they are more and more      
convinced that death alone is left to   
them1 step by step they discover the    

secret of the mystical union--and yet   
they are still completely imprisoned    
within the limits of their personalities
 and cannot quite understand the        
miracle3 ,how to grasp it1 how to grasp 
it1 this great gladness1 far from       
daylight1 far from sadness1 far from    
parting8 ,for it is the profoundest     
secret of the world which here must be  
guessed by love--the final unity of two 
souls and through it unity with all     
life4 ,clearer and clearer and more and 
more compelling looms the thought of a  
common death1 until it is grasped and   
comprehended2 the lovers realise that to
 be completely one they must surrender  
their lives1 and that by losing life    
they can lose nothing essential4 ,all   
death can destroy is that which divides 
us4 ,ultimately ,tristan pronounces the 
final decision1 and ,isolde repeats it  
word by word1 follows it step by step   
like a sleep-walker1 so as to make it   
quite her own4 ,thus should we die no   
more to part1 in endless joy1 one soul1 

one heart1 never waking1 never haunted  
by pale fear1 in love undaunted1 each to
 each united aye1 dream of love's       
eternity4 ,the grand1 artistic symbol   
for this state of consciousness touches 
metaphysic4 ,wagner introduces night as 
the visible emblem of an existence in a 
world--inconceivable by our             
senses--beyond the grave1 in contrast to
 the earthly day1 to the day's deceptive
 glamour4 7,nietzsche later on adopted  
this symbol midnight as the emblem of   
everything lofty47 ,the lovers who in   
their day-consciousness believed that   
they hated each other1 now that they are
 walking towards eternal night divine   
that which is beyond the reach of their 
separated selves1 beyond all illusion   
and duality4 ,the duality is outwardly  
expressed by their different names1     
separated and united by the little word 
and4 ,all at once the knowledge dawns   
upon them that great love cannot be     
consummated in the day of the world1 but
 that it points to a life beyond4 ,they 

have discovered the final meaning of    
life and the world--the annihilation of 
individual life and death through       
love--analogous to the last wisdom of   
the mystic3 ,to become ,god4 ,i myself  
am the world4 ,death is the inevitable  
corollary of supreme love4 ,but as they 
tremblingly yearn for and await the     
inconceivable1 earth once more stretches
 out her arms to them1 the dream of     
metaphysical existence melts slowly     
away4 ,in the orchestration phantoms of 
the day1 dreams of morning1 suppress the
 new1 the divined conception4  ,at the  
opening of the third act the motif for  
horns and violas gradually ascending and
 dying away1 expresses the unspeakable  
dreariness and senselessness of material
 life1 after its profound meaning1 the  
re-creation of the world by love1 has   
been lost4 ,this feeling of absolute    
senselessness dominates the awakening   
sleeper2 ,tristan1 interpreting it in   
the sense of ,schopenhauer as the       
universal aimlessness of the world and  

of life1 is merely expressing the doom  
of his own longing for the supreme3 he  
has divined and has lost the loftiest   
value4 ,wagner intuitively perceives    
that sin is a component part of the     
supreme sublimation of love and         
personality2 ,tristan must curse himself
 and the beloved woman because love1 as 
the last consequence of sin1 demands the
 love-death1 which can never find       
completion2 ,the terrible draught myself
 ,i have brewed it6 ,a curse on thee1   
terrible draught6 ,a curse on him who   
brewed it6  ,in the music at the end of 
the third act1 which is known by the    
7not quite relevant7 title of ,isolde's 
,love-death1 ,wagner1 after previously  
expressing by ,tristan's last words1 ,do
 ,i near light8 the inadequacy of the   
physical senses--attempts to describe   
the metaphysical condition of the unity 
of love1 which to our consciousness can 
only have the negative characteristics  
of the unthinkable and intangible--the  
unconscious4 ,this he tried to          

accomplish artistically by making use of
 the senses1 by trying to convey in     
terms of sound1 light1 scent1 what he   
understood by this complete immersion in
 the swirling totality of cosmic        
life--in des ,weltatem's wehendem ,all4 
,the essence of this condition is that  
the duality of the souls1 and finally   
the multiplicity of the world1 is       
resolved in a higher unity4 ,but as we  
are concerned with the emotional life of
 the lovers and not with vague          
metaphysical propositions1 we may say   
that such a death is not a being dead1  
destroyed1 annihilated1 dispersed1 but a
 being transformed1 perfected in love4  
,the amazing phenomenon of this complex 
of feeling is the fact that real life   
has become unbearable1 and that another 
life is created without the least regard
 to possibility or truth2 it is as if   
the emotion of the lovers were endowed  
with divine1 creative power4  ,those who
 realise the love-death as a necessity  
of their inmost being1 resemble the     

great ecstatic whom earthly life can no 
longer satisfy1 because he is conscious 
of a force compelling him to enter into 
a higher cosmic existence4 ,his inmost  
experience is the annihilation of the   
individual soul in ,god2 he aspires to a
 direct pouring of the soul into the    
divine love4 ,those who die in love are 
directly seeking complete unity with    
each other1 and only indirectly1 through
 this unity1 the divined annihilation in
 metaphysical being4 ,the love-death is 
the erotic1 bi-human form of mystic     
ecstasy1 and could not be evolved until 
the highest form of love had been       
developed4  ,metaphysical eroticism is a
 product of the spirit of ,europe1 for  
it is linked to personality whose will  
is the immortalisation of love4         
,orientalism neither comprehends nor    
appreciates this emotion1 for it lacks  
the foundation of the culture of        
personality4 ,the ,semite1 the ,indian  
and the ,japanese experience only the   
rapture of the senses2 and              

gratification1 restlessly revolving     
round itself between enjoyment and      
exhaustion1 is condemned to eternal     
sterility4 ,all religio-sexual orgies of
 which history tells us are so many     
attempts of sensuality to possess itself
 of a higher intuition--vain attempts1  
because casual intercourse and the      
annihilation of the individual can never
 produce new values4 ,according to      
,hegel the immanent sense of everything 
that happens in the world is the destiny
 of the individual to grow from slavery 
into freedom2 but is it not rather the  
meaning of increased culture that man   
should realise himself as an individual 
7which is by no means a contradiction to
 the first proposition78 ,metaphysical  
eroticism is the completion of          
personality in love4 ,simultaneously    
with the birth of personality originated
 the deification of woman2 the          
destruction of the most highly evolved  
personality1 the last painful           
consequence of its blessed-unblessed    

nature1 gives birth to the conception of
 the love-death4 ,like antique          
torch-bearing genii the two metaphysical
 forms of love stand at the head and the
 feet of self-conscious man4 ,here and  
there erotic emotion1 transcending all  
limitations1 becomes the pathway leading
 to the ultimate secrets of life3       
deification creates a supernatural      
female being as the erotic              
representative of everything divine4    
,this is a productive act1 erotic1      
artistic and religious at the same time4
 ,it produces out of its own fulness new
 forces for the service of higher       
ideals2 it creates a new world of       
emotion with new contents4              
,simultaneously with the projection of  
the love of woman into eternity were    
sown the seeds of those great things on 
which the higher spiritual life of      
to-day is based4 ,deification demands   
shape and individuality beyond the      
earthly sphere1 in eternity4 ,but from  
one side it is love1 love without       

response 7unless the lover finds        
response in and through artistic        
expression71 the eroticism of the       
solitary man1 and it occurs as such to  
this day in rare minds4 ,woman-worship  
is the natural and the highest form of  
love for the man who does not seek his  
own perfection in duality--a reciprocal 
relationship with another being--but    
solitarily1 and yet not1 as the mystic1 
shapelessly1 but rather in a love       
definitely projected on another being4  
,the dream of the perfect woman is the  
only erotic dream which reality can     
never disappoint1 for it makes no claim 
on reality4 ,doubtless it is to some    
extent paradoxical that the inherently  
social feeling1 anchored in duality1    
should be experienced and perfected     
solitarily1 that it should waive all    
claim to response and reciprocity1 to   
all appearances the most important      
elements of love4  ,the love-death      
corresponds more completely to the      
erotic ideal inasmuch as it is founded  

on absolute equality in reciprocity4 ,it
 finds its climax not in solitude but in
 the company of the beloved4 ,the idea  
of complete abandonment is revolting to 
the solitarily loving individual2 the   
lover whose whole soul turns to the     
beloved cannot understand the love of   
the solitary soul2 it appears to him    
unnatural and cold1 perhaps meaningless 
and crazy4 ,woman does not know true    
solitude1 the thought of deification is 
foreign to her nature2 she attains to   
the supreme only with and through man2  
it is easier to her to give herself to  
her lover entirely1 and even to follow  
him into death4 ,but in this connection 
,i am unable to suppress a doubt as to  
whether the fundamental emotion of the  
mystical world-union is altogether      
present in woman1 whether she really    
divines behind her lover--eternity4     
,while deification is universally       
creative1 while it is fresh as the      
spring and full of faith1 the love-death
 with its gloomy pathos demands the     

entire individual and destroys          
everything but itself4 ,it has no       
creative power1 for there is nothing    
beyond it4 ,one may justly maintain that
 the love-death realises the            
mystico-ecstatic religious emotion1     
while in the deification of woman the   
religious need to worship finds         
satisfaction4 ,both are combinations of 
love and religion1 both are metaphysical
 eroticism1 paradoxical and yet logical 
conclusions of human emotion4  ,the     
overwhelming longing which is connected 
at least with the first stages of a     
great love1 may be interpreted in       
another1 in a social sense4 ,love is the
 intensest and most direct relationship 
which can exist between two beings1 and 
the impossibility of realising its final
 longing represents the most genuine    
tragedy of life among men and women of  
the social world4 ,the need which impels
 two beings to each other lacks1 in this
 union too1 the possibility of complete 
consummation4 ,and if the most powerful 

of all social emotions 7and as many     
believe the root of all others7 suffers 
from an inner duality1 to how much      
greater an extent must the less intense 
feelings which unite individuals share  
the same lot6 ,humanity1 wherever it is 
comprehended profoundly and spiritually1
 not economically1 carries within itself
 the germ of its tragical imperfection4 
,whatever social relationship we may    
enter1 we find that it has a flaw1 and  
the more genuine and profound the       
relationship1 the less dictated by      
utilitarian considerations 7which in    
this connection correspond to the       
element of sensuality in eroticism71 the
 more painfully does this flaw make     
itself felt1--whether it be in          
friendship1 in the relationship of      
master and man1 or in free              
companionship4 ,every relationship      
between individuals is stricken with the
 curse of incompleteness--even love     
cannot escape this fate4 ,love enforces 
in the deification of woman a           

transcending of earthly life--and it    
throws itself into the last embrace of a
 common death--that is to say1 it       
shudderingly admits the impossibility of
 its consummation4     ,,chapter ,,iii  
,,the ,,conflict ,,between ,,sexuality  
,,and ,,love  ,the ,seeker of ,love and 
,the ,slave of ,love   ,it is obvious   
that even an equilibrium between        
sexuality and love cannot always be     
established1 while a genuine and        
complete unification is very unusual and
 may1 perhaps1 be called utopian4 ,in   
the previous chapters ,i have dealt with
 the blending of both elements in the   
highest form of eroticism2 in the       
following ,i will attempt to throw light
 on some of the principal phenomena     
resulting from a defective union of     
sexuality and love1 phenomena which ,i  
am convinced have never been correctly  
interpreted4 ,i allude to perversions   
which are not inherently pathological1  
although they are as a rule only        
observed and described in their         

pathological form4  ,the fundamental    
form of so-called sadism may be         
discovered in an erotic type which ,i   
will call the seeker of love4 ,a lover  
of this type is characterised by an     
unappeasable longing for pure1 spiritual
 love2 he passes from woman to woman in 
the hope of realising this desire1 but  
owing to his own material disposition he
 is unable to do so4 ,time after time he
 succumbs to sexual promptings4 ,thus   
groping1 frequently quite               
unconsciously--for a fictitious being1  
he hates every woman whose fate it is to
 rouse his desire1 for each one cheats  
him out of that which he seeks4 ,a      
genuine illusionist1 he knows nothing of
 the woman of flesh and blood1 and      
continues seeking his ideal1 only to be 
again and again disappointed4 ,he blames
 every woman he conquers for what is    
really his own insufficiency2 he        
despises her or revenges himself on her1
 punishes and ill-treats her2 we        
recognise the true ,don ,juan and his   

morbid caricature1 the sadist4 ,but even
 the most brutal representative of this 
type may still be psychologically       
described as a man who seeks spiritual  
love in woman after woman and1 finding  
only sexuality1 revenges himself on her4
 ,quite a number of men harbour sadistic
 feelings for only one woman1 and that  
the one to whom they owe their great    
disillusionment4 ,doubtless many men    
have almost lost the psychical roots of 
their perversions and are completely    
involved in physical acts4 ,there is    
nothing remarkable in this fact2 it     
occurs in every sphere of human life4   
,the vague instinct of revenge on woman 
animates also1 though perhaps           
unconsciously1 the pathological sadist4 
,there is one thing which the seeker of 
love and the woman-worshipper have in   
common3 both seek a higher ideal far    
beyond the woman of every-day life2 but 
while the worshipper safeguards the     
purity of his feeling by putting the    
greatest possible distance between him  

and the object of his worship 7and is   
therefore never disappointed71 the      
seeker of love1 blinded by the illusion 
that he has at last found the object of 
his quest1 draws every woman towards him
 and again and again discovers that he  
is nothing but a sensualist4 ,every     
fresh conquest destroys his dream       
afresh1 and he revenges himself1 if he  
is a ,don ,juan1 by despising and       
disgracing the unfortunate victim1 and  
if he is a sadist1 by maltreating her4  
,and yet he never entirely loses his    
illusion2 he craves for complete        
satisfaction1 and as he is incapable of 
self-knowledge1 he never abandons the   
hope of meeting the woman he seeks4 ,he 
differs very little from the type       
represented by ,sordello1 who loved one 
woman spiritually1 but regarded all the 
others from the standpoint of sex4 ,it  
is the tragedy of ,don ,juan to revolt  
from the low erotic sphere which is his 
portion1 and where he rules supreme1 and
 for ever to aspire to a realm from     

which he is shut out4 ,he is convinced  
that with the help of a woman he may    
redeem himself--and sinks deeper and    
deeper into the slough of his own       
sensuality4 ,he becomes malevolent1     
cruel and callous2 the pleasure whose   
slave he is repels him3       ,from     
craving to enjoyment thus ,i reel1      
,and in enjoyment languish for desire4  
,he is insatiable1 but not as the       
primitive hedonist1 whose natural       
element is pleasure1 but because he     
again and again mistakes pleasure for   
love4 ,he knows only women1 and thus he 
sins against personality and the love   
which is the outcome of personality4    
,the opinion that ,don ,juan is no more 
than a votary of pleasure is not worthy 
of criticism2 the famous ,casanova1 for 
instance1 has nothing in common with    
him4 ,casanova was a sensualist without 
psychical complexity and without        
tragedy4 ,his sole endeavour was to     
wring the utmost measure of enjoyment   
out of life4 ,he knew the woman of      

reality and did not waste his time in   
running after phantoms4 ,in his old age 
he revelled in the after-taste and      
settled down to write his memoirs4 ,don 
,juan1 on the contrary1 has such a      
loathing for all the women he betrays1  
that he hardly remembers them1 and      
certainly has the strongest             
disinclination to evoke their memory4   
,casanova was an entirely unmetaphysical
 and unproblematical nature4 ,his       
philosophy is clearly expressed in the  
preface to his ,memoirs3 ,i always      
regarded the enjoyment of sensual       
pleasures as my principal object2 ,i    
never knew a more important one4        
,casanova1 who1 strange to say1 enjoys  
such high erotic honours1 was merely an 
ordinary1 very successful man of the    
world1 and is of no importance to the   
subject in hand4 ,but even the greater  
and wilder ,vicomte de ,valmont 7the    
hero of the famous novel of ,choderlos  
de ,laclos7 is in spite of all his art  
and esprit and perverse principles no   

seeker of love and no ,don ,juan1 but a 
fop and a braggart1 seducing women in   
order to boast of his success4 ,he is   
moreover only a representative of the   
bored ,upper ,ten of the ancien rgime1  
and not by any means unique4            
,thoughtful critics contend that ,don   
,juan was an autocrat1 a destroyer1 a   
criminal nature with satanic tendencies1
 bent on the enslavement of women1 on   
their social and moral death2 that      
conquest only1 not enjoyment1 was his   
passion4 ,i do not altogether reject    
this interpretation1 but it fastens too 
exclusively on the external and the     
obvious1 and overlooks the essential4   
,what is the reason of his preposterous 
procedure8 ,is he really actuated by the
 evil desire to injure the women he     
woos8 ,such a motive may occur          
occasionally 7the ,vicomte de ,valmont  
was so constituted71 but it cannot be   
regarded as the guiding principle of a  
life--and above everything its pettiness
 is the exact reverse of so great and   

demoniacal a character as ,don ,juan4   
,were he conqueror in the highest sense1
 then--ascetic and proud--he would be   
content with the mere consciousness of  
victory4 ,but his whole attitude belies 
the idea of a conqueror2 he is not in   
the least interested in the women to    
whom he makes love4 ,they are as        
necessary to him as the air he breathes1
 but they are unable to give him what he
 seeks4 ,at the moment of disappointment
 he abandons them in disgust1 innocent  
of any despotic desires 7which would    
pre-suppose interest74 ,as far as he is 
concerned1 women exist only for the     
purpose of quickening something in his  
soul4 ,but his soul remains dead2 divine
 love has no part in him1 he cannot be  
saved and is doomed to eternal          
damnation4  ,but what is the reason why 
women cannot resist him8 ,let us first  
settle the point as to why women are    
attracted to men4 ,i will answer this   
question briefly1 and though my answer  
may appear dogmatical1 it need not      

therefore be wrong4 ,women know very    
little of man1 but there is one thing   
they feel with unfailing certainty1 and 
that is whether their sex is of great or
 of small significance to him4 7,i am   
only alluding to the general effect of  
men on women1 not to genuine personal   
love which is always incommensurable47  
,the greater the importance a man       
attaches to women1 the more readily do  
they respond to his influence4 ,they are
 attracted by his erotic will1 not by   
one or the other of his spiritual or    
physical qualities4 ,women cannot resist
 a man to whom they mean much1          
everything4 ,it is as if they were      
compelled to throw themselves into the  
chasm of his vacuity--every fresh victim
 with the fond hope of filling it--but  
all of them perish4 ,and yet1 at the    
moment of their defeat they are         
supremely happy1 for they experience the
 full intensity of his passion and the  
boundlessness of his longing4 ,the      
erotic craving of a man simply means    

that women are to him the most important
 thing in life4 ,women instinctively    
yield to that man who most eagerly      
desires them4 ,the coarse sensualist1 to
 whom all women are alike1 attracts     
sensual women1 not exactly because they 
find in him the satisfaction of their   
craving1 but because they themselves act
 on him indiscriminately4 ,but a woman  
will adapt herself with the greatest    
ease to the needs of the differentiated 
erotic 7for instance1 she will become   
really sentimental to please the man who
 prefers sentimental women71 for she    
loves to give herself to the man who    
most desires her and as he desires her4 
,don ,juan1 animated by illimitable     
erotic yearning1 is therefore the       
undisputed master of the other sex4 ,he 
has the power of bestowing absolute     
happiness1 even if only for a brief     
hour1 because in his boundless love     
7which is projected on anything but her7
 a woman receives the supreme value4    
,maybe he would be saved if a woman     

denied herself to him--maybe he would   
cease to be a seeker of love and become 
a worshipper1 for he could not refuse to
 believe in the woman who rejected him2 
but it is his fate that no woman he woos
 can resist him1 that all throw         
themselves into his arms without an     
exception and without a struggle4  ,thus
 the seeker of love1 too1 though in a   
restricted sense1 may be regarded as a  
metaphysical erotic1 for he loathes     
sexuality--his portion--and yearns for a
 higher form of love4 ,he shares this   
attitude with the slave of love1 who is 
also a sensualist and a would-be lover4 
,the slave of love imitates the attitude
 of the worshipper1 but he infallibly   
sinks into the sexual sphere4 ,what the 
psychopathist since ,kraft-,ebbing      
designates as masochism1 is the         
pathological degeneration of this       
particular emotion1 which is very common
 and appears in various forms1 but does 
not seem to me to be at all morbid4     
,certainly it is morbid when a man      

allows himself to be insulted1 bound and
 flogged1 but it is fairly normal when  
his passionate admiration is roused by  
an imperious woman1 who passes him by   
like a queen without even noticing his  
abject adoration2 when he longs to kneel
 down before her and kiss her feet1     
which in reward would spurn him4 ,quite 
normal1 too1 is the boyish happiness in 
serving an admired and adored woman     
7,kraft-,ebbing calls this pageism7     
described so beautifully in             
,dostoievsky's novel1 ,a ,young ,hero1  
and fairly common among troubadours and 
minnesingers4 7,i need only mention     
,ulrich von ,lichtenstein47 ,there are  
numerous degrees of this feeling--we    
frequently come across it in the novels 
of ,dostoievsky1 ,jacobsen1 ,strindberg1
 ,d',annunzio1 and others--but the      
essence of it is always contained in the
 fact that the man1 although yearning to
 worship the beloved woman1 cannot      
maintain himself in the sphere of       
spiritual love1 and aspires to direct   

physical contact4 ,his attitude1 which  
closely imitates purely spiritual love1 
cannot be other than sexual4 ,the       
blending of love and sexuality together 
with the incapacity of effecting a real 
synthesis1 the confusion of value and   
pleasure is most clearly shown in the   
masochist--far more clearly than in the 
case of the 7rare7 seeker of love4 ,the 
outward modes preferred by the          
individual are a matter of indifference2
 for the most part they are symbolical  
acts1 indicating the lover's inferiority
 and the loftiness and power of his     
mistress4 ,what is really of importance 
is the spiritual attitude which induces 
him to commit these strange acts1 and in
 these we find the characteristic       
attitude of the woman-worshipper3 that  
of the slave before his queen4 ,the     
slave of love is a sensualist incapable 
of approaching woman in a normally      
manly1 instinctive and natural way1 but 
requiring the pose of the spiritual     
worshipper4 ,one might be tempted to    

believe that he harboured the secret    
wish to atone for his incapacity of     
feeling a pure love by being degraded   
and ill-treated4 ,thus from a human     
point of view the slave of love is a    
higher type than the seeker of love2 all
 his transgressions1 the fault of his   
morbid disposition1 come home to him2 he
 takes the blame of his sin upon his own
 shoulders1 while the seeker of love    
revenges himself on his victims for his 
own shortcomings4 ,the seeker of love is
 by nature polygamous1 while the slave  
of love is1 as a rule1 monogamous 7and  
consequently has little success with the
 opposite sex74 ,both aspire to a union 
of sensual and spiritual eroticism1 but 
in both cases the union is a failure4   
,all the repulsive and terrible         
manifestations of these perversions     
which have been recorded1 can easily be 
shown to fit my theory4 ,in             
psychological research it is merely a   
question of selecting the great types   
from the mass of phenomena and          

determining them correctly4  ,the       
so-called fetichist1 too1 whose passion 
is roused by indifferent objects which  
belonged1 or might belong1 to the       
beloved1 or in fact to any woman1 is a  
variant of the slave of love4 ,the      
classical representative of fetichism is
 the mediaeval knight who carried a     
handkerchief1 a glove1 or any other     
article of clothing belonging to his    
lady1 next to his heart1 thus believing 
himself proof against evil influences4  
,there we see already spiritual love    
groping for material objects in order to
 gain earthly support2 not every man is 
a ,dante1 not every man is capable of   
keeping his soul free from the taint of 
this earthly sphere4 ,but even the      
plait-cutter1 so well known to the      
reader of newspapers1 the collector of  
garters1 and similar desperadoes1       
require a relic1 a fetich which they    
apparently worship4 ,to the same        
category belongs the idolatrous cult    
which some men1 especially artists--but 

also madmen--practise with female       
pictures and statues 7more especially   
with heads74 ,in this case the          
fundamental feeling of the love of      
beauty1 which we know as an essential   
factor of purely spiritual eroticism1 is
 made to serve sensual purposes4 ,the   
desired illusion of spiritual worship is
 facilitated1 and is protected from     
self-revelation1 owing to the fact that 
a painted head rouses in the normal     
individual no passion1 but inspires him 
with purely spiritual sentiments4  ,i   
have briefly touched on this subject    
because my theory of the two roots of   
eroticism permits of a new1 and in my   
opinion plausible1 explanation of erotic
 perversions2 one might even go as far  
as to say that the existence of         
perversions follows as a necessary      
consequence2 that they must exist       
because it obviously cannot always be   
possible to maintain a harmonious       
balance of sensuality and love4 ,this   
chapter is therefore a necessary        

supplement to the previous ones in which
 the perfection of modern love is dealt 
with4 ,the seeker of love and the slave 
of love are phenomena of dualistic      
eroticism incapable of attaining to     
unity4 ,for this reason they neither    
existed in antiquity1 nor do we find    
genuine examples of them in the female  
sex4 ,all female perversions closely    
examined are hysteria--that is to say1  
want of inner balance--in various forms2
 a woman's subjection to the will of a  
man is in very many instances a natural 
symptom1 and cannot be regarded as      
perverse4 ,and thus we again perceive   
that the eroticism of woman is more     
harmonious and natural than that of the 
eternally groping and eternally erring  
man4     ,,chapter ,,iv  ,,the ,,revenge
 ,,of ,,sexuality  ,the ,demoniacal and 
the ,obscene   ,in conclusion ,i will   
attempt to elucidate a group of         
phenomena which play a part1 important  
though often ignored1 in the emotional  
life of the present day4 ,they are      

related to the subject under discussion1
 inasmuch as they1 too1 are the result  
of a lack of harmony between            
sensuousness and love4 ,as long as      
sensuousness is felt and understood as a
 natural element1 and one which does not
 under normal circumstances enter       
consciousness as a distinct principle1  
the emotional sphere which may be       
designated as demoniacal-sexual and     
obscene1 does not exist4 ,not until     
sensuousness is confronted by a higher  
principle1 a now solely acknowledged    
spiritual-divine principle1 will natural
 life1 and particularly normal          
sexuality1 be stigmatised as low and    
ungodly1 even as demoniacal4 ,in        
proportion as the conception of ,god    
became more spiritual and divine1 the   
conception of the devil became more     
horrible2 the higher the soul soared1   
the deeper sank the body4 ,this         
philosophy of pure spirituality was     
expressed by ,st4 ,bernard of ,clairvaux
 in the following words3 ,oh1 soul1     

stamped with the image of ,god1 adorned 
with ,his semblance1 espoused to faith1 
endowed with ,his spirit1 redeemed by   
,his blood1 the compeer of angels1      
invested with reason--what hast thou in 
common with the flesh1 for which thou   
must suffer so much8444 ,and yet it is  
thy dearest companion6 ,behold1 there   
will come a day when it shall be a      
miserable1 pallid corpse1 food for      
worms6 ,for however beautifully it may  
be adorned1 yet it is nothing but flesh6
 ,the man of the later ,middle ,ages1   
and especially the cleric1 who was      
completely dominated by the contrast of 
the ascetic and the sexual1 feared the  
devil more than he loved ,god1 and      
regarded the sensual temptations which  
beset his excited1 superstitious and    
eternally unsatisfied imagination as    
sent by the devil4 ,the navet of        
sensuality had passed away for ever2 as 
goodness was looked upon as divine and  
supernatural1 nature and natural        
instincts were condemned4 ,man was torn 

asunder4  ,but the devil was not only   
feared1 he was also worshipped4 ,a      
devil-worship1 the details of which have
 been little studied1 existed from the  
tenth to the fourteenth century 7when it
 reached its climax71 side by side with 
the worship of ,god4 ,the greater the   
dread of heresy and witchcraft1 the     
greater became the number of men who1   
despairing of salvation1 prostrated     
themselves before the devil1 whom they  
seemed unable to escape 7a single evil  
thought was sufficient to doom their    
souls to eternal damnation71 in the hope
 that he would at least save their      
bodies from the stake and vouchsafe them
 the pleasures of this world4 ,satan    
promised his worshippers unlimited      
pleasure2 he became the redeemer of     
those whom the clergy persecuted4 ,it is
 asserted that his worship consisted in 
an obscene parody of the ,mass2         
according to ,michelet1 the body of a   
female worshipper served as the altar on
 which a toad was consecrated and       

partaken of instead of the ,host4 ,the  
adept solemnly renounced ,jesus and did 
homage to ,satan by kissing his image4  
,asceticism and libertinism always go   
hand in hand4 ,they are convertible     
principles rending their victim4        
,temptation is the fundamental motif of 
this condition4 ,the devil was believed 
to send out his servants to win new     
souls2 monks were visited by demons in  
the shape of a voluptuous woman1 the    
succubus2 ,satan himself1 or one of his 
emissaries1 disguised as a fashionable  
gentleman1 the incubus1 appeared to the 
nuns4 ,undoubtedly the dreams of        
over-excited men and women played a very
 important part in this connection2 many
 hysterical women felt the devil's kiss 
and embrace4 ,all these women were      
themselves convinced of the truth of    
their hallucinations and imaginings1 and
 once the belief in witchcraft was      
firmly established 7in the thirteenth   
century7 the obvious atonement for their
 hysteria was the stake4  ,the fear of  

witches1 which existed parallel with the
 love of the ,madonna1 was typical of   
the declining ,middle ,ages4 ,the first 
,christian centuries knew neither the   
,lady of ,heaven in the later meaning of
 the word1 nor did they know anything of
 witches4 ,in the reign of ,charlemagne 
the penalty for the belief in witchcraft
 was death4 ,at all times man has       
exhibited a tendency to see in woman    
either a celestial or an infernal being1
 and nowhere was this tendency more     
strongly developed than in the soul of  
the mediaeval dualist3 he created the   
beloved and adored ,queen of ,heaven1   
the mediator between ,god and humanity  
and1 as her counterpart the witch1 the  
despised and dreaded seducer1 a being   
between man and devil4 ,powerless to    
effect a reconciliation between         
spiritual love and sensuous pleasure1 he
 required two distinct female types as  
personifications of the two directions  
of his desire2 love and the pleasure of 
the senses could have nothing in common1

 and once the highest value was realised
 in the spiritual love of woman1        
pleasure could not appear otherwise than
 degraded1 sinful and diabolical4 ,in   
this respect1 also1 woman submitted     
without a murmur to the dictates of male
 will4  ,mary and the devil became more 
and more the real hostile powers of the 
thirteenth century2 the classical time  
of woman-worship was also the climax of 
the fear of the devil and witchcraft4   
,the ,dominican monks who1 above all    
other orders1 contributed to the spread 
of the cult of ,mary1 proceeded1 soon   
after the establishment of the          
,inquisition1 against the witches1 the  
enemies of ,mary4 ,in the second half of
 the thirteenth century the persecution 
of heresy gradually gave way to the     
persecution of witchcraft4  ,i will not 
go into these well-known details1 for   
the psychical position is clear enough3 
to the man whose heart is filled with   
the love of good and the spiritual love 
of woman1 sensuousness will appear as   

dangerous and perilous1 and will have at
 the same time the glamour of the       
demoniacally-sexual4 ,it is the         
diabolical element of dualistic         
consciousness in the sphere of          
eroticism4 ,many people of the present  
day will not be able to understand this 
feeling1 for it pre-supposes a          
completely inharmonious emotional life4 
,the consciousness of the obscene is    
allied to the conception of the         
demoniacal2 it accompanies modern       
synthetic love as its temptation and its
 shadow4 ,in personal love sensuality   
and soul are no longer independent1     
contrasted principles2 personality1     
taking the spiritual as its foundation1 
includes the sensuous4 ,in this highest 
stage all eroticism not hallowed by     
mutual affection is felt as             
unpardonable4 ,the purely sexual        
principle continues to exist1 but       
whenever it appears in its impersonal   
and brutal crudity as an element hostile
 to personality1 it creates the         

consciousness of the obscene4 ,the      
obscene is1 therefore1 the purely       
sexual1 not in its nave normality1 but  
as a force inimical to a value1 as a    
rule to the value of personality4 ,the  
obscene expresses scorn and hatred for  
personal love4 ,it is the seduction of  
the primitive which is no longer        
something earlier1 but something baser  
7for every age must gauge all things by 
its own standard74 ,the aesthetic       
principle--in this connection the sense 
of the beauty of the human form--so     
powerful an element in nave sensuality  
as well as in every other form of       
eroticism1 is excluded1 because in this 
particular condition the beauty of the  
human body is not objectively realised1 
but is looked upon with the eyes of the 
senses4 ,the moment personality is      
acknowledged as the only decisive factor
 in erotic life1 chaotic impersonal     
sensuality stands condemned4 ,the       
obscene is the darker aspect of modern  
love1 and without modern love it could  

not exist4 ,its essence is negative1 is 
the tendency to caricature and mock the 
highest form of love4 ,the photograph of
 a nude woman is not obscene2 but if the
 face is hidden1 and thus the personal  
moment intentionally eliminated in      
favour of the generic element1 it       
approaches the obscene4 ,this accounts  
for the widely felt pleasure in obscene 
pictures2 the beholder is not personally
 engaged1 he can enjoy these pictures   
without taking upon his shoulders any   
kind of responsibility4 ,even that      
minimum of respect which the very dregs 
of humanity may claim is not required of
 him4 ,the picture is capable of        
affording pleasure without claiming a   
grain of human kindness4 ,thus it would 
seem that sensual pleasure is possible  
without any sacrifice of the inwardly   
professed higher eroticism1 a sacrifice 
which might be a bar to a primitive     
relationship with a woman of flesh and  
blood4 ,actually1 however1 it is not    
possible1 for with the surrender to the 

base source of enjoyment1 the spiritual 
position is abandoned1 and personally   
conceived humanity inwardly annihilated4
  ,it follows from the foregoing that   
the fascination of the obscene can only 
be fully felt by one who has completely 
acknowledged the principle of           
personality in eroticism1 and who has   
also latent within him the possibility  
of erotic dualism4 ,the more highly     
evolved the emotional life of a man 7all
 these considerations apply only to a   
man in whom the possibility of dualism  
is latent71 the more will he realise the
 purely sexual1 the emphasis of the     
element of pleasure1 as something       
unseemly and disagreeable2 something    
which he ought to deny himself1 but     
which attracts him with the irresistible
 fascination of the obscene4 ,the man   
who surrenders himself navely to        
sensuality does not realise it as       
obscene1 but the man who1 conscious of  
his higher concept1 strives against it1 
experiences the reaction of sensuality  

with the full force of its perverse     
seduction4 ,even if only for a brief    
space1 he annihilates the higher element
 and gives himself up to the pleasure of
 the base and degraded4  ,in this       
connection we are face to face with the 
strange but still logical fact1 that a  
man who has completely attained to the  
third stage of love1 feels even the     
purely spiritual love as odious in its  
incompleteness4 ,it strikes him as      
unnatural and forced1 a feeling which   
must1 however1 not be confused with the 
ordinary contempt of spiritual love4    
,primitively constituted man knows only 
undifferentiated sexuality4 ,he enjoys  
the nude1 and sees no difference between
 a ,venus by ,titian and an ordinary    
photograph of a nude figure2 the        
aesthete1 and more especially the       
artist1 can never understand that a work
 of art may be sensually stimulating4   
,that it may be so will always be       
bluntly denied by an individual capable 
of enjoying a beautiful form1 but to the

 uncultivated mind the picture of the   
female body will only evoke memories of 
pleasure4 ,this feeling1 however1 is    
quite distinct from the obscene2 it is  
neither hostile to the higher spiritual 
life1 nor is it criminal2 it is natural 
and harmonious4 ,but the same feeling   
may become obscene if a man1 aware of   
higher aesthetic values1 ignores art and
 enjoys the picture merely as a         
representation of a nude figure4 ,here1 
too1 the seduction lies in a demoniacal 
element1 namely in the destruction of   
the aesthetic value4 ,the destructive   
characteristic of the obscene wars      
against all higher conceptions2 it is   
the revenge of chaotic sex deposed by a 
higher principle1 and has the special   
charm of secret wrong-doing4  ,i might  
go even further1 and maintain that      
because modern love does not admit      
pleasure as its foundation and content1 
and because the craving for pleasure is 
deeply rooted in human nature1 love     
favours to a high degree the desire to  

reserve a sphere for pleasure distinct  
from personal love4 ,this region is the 
obscene1 and one might prophesy that it 
will grow in proportion as the principle
 of personal love acquires dominion2 for
 pleasure will always need an           
undisturbed retreat untroubled by higher
 demands4 ,this can only be found in the
 sphere of the obscene in which the     
element of personality is entirely      
eliminated4  ,modern man is beset by    
another peculiar temptation4 ,the beauty
 of woman1 which in the days of the past
 was regarded as sacred1 can be made a  
means of pleasure1 and thus drawn from  
the realm of values into the realm of   
sensuality4 ,this is a breach with the  
principle of personal love1 for to the  
latter the beauty of a woman is so much 
part and parcel of the whole personality
 that it cannot be enjoyed separately1  
that indeed it can hardly be noticed as 
a distinct element4 ,this cleavage has  
become so nearly universal that we are  
hardly conscious of its profound        

perversity4 ,it is the arch-sin of all  
higher eroticism to realise beauty not  
as the undetachable and self-evident    
outward form of a beloved soul1 but as a
 means of heightening pleasure4         
,although in its essence it is the same 
thing as the examination of a work of   
art merely for the sake of the pleasure 
it affords to the senses1 the offence is
 here aggravated because personality is 
involved4 ,this degradation of the      
higher values1 whether of nature1 art1  
beauty1 knowledge1 kindness1 religion or
 the human soul1 to serve the ends of   
sensual pleasure is the expression of a 
perversity which is possibly the most   
radical and characteristic of our age4  
,to-day the soul of a woman has         
frequently the same effect on man as her
 physical beauty2 he enjoys it as a     
subtile charm instead of respecting it  
as a mystery4  ,i can hardly expect to  
make my meaning quite clear to the      
multitude1 but the tendency to enjoy    
beauty of form or soul as a distinct    

element represents a rupture with the   
principle of synthetic love1 the love   
which does not separate but realises the
 personality of the beloved as an       
indivisible entity4 ,the enjoyment of   
beauty as a separate element            
pre-supposes a conscious1 spiritual     
division1 not only of the beloved1 but  
also of the lover1 and is therefore the 
destruction of the principle of unity4  
,aesthete and libertine alike sink to   
the lower level of pleasure1 and their  
emotions become obscene4 ,there is no   
question of a division when ,tristan in 
his vision of ,isolde exclaims1 ,how    
beautiful thou art6 ,for great love can 
create the beauty of the beloved out of 
its own soul4  ,prudery is based on a   
similar duality4 ,it expresses a        
consciousness that the nude can only be 
alluring1 obscene1 indecent1 and should 
therefore be feared and avoided4 ,it is 
the defensive weapon of sexually        
excited1 for the most part1 slightly    
hysterical women1 against the purely    

sexual1 whose sphere they often extend  
amazingly4 ,prudery conceives sexuality 
as a distinct1 restricted complex in    
consciousness4 ,such division is alien  
to woman and1 where it exists1 a        
hysterical condition1 a condition of    
inner discord1 is clearly indicated4 ,we
 may take it that the obscene which     
affects normal men1 affects only        
hysterical1 inwardly discordant women   
who try to take shelter behind prudery4 
,to the normal woman the obscene does   
not exist as a spiritual principle2 she 
turns with a feeling of displeasure from
 all the lower sexual manifestations1   
and even finds them absurd4 ,the        
elimination of personality of eroticism1
 the charm of which is felt by even the 
most highly differentiated man1 has     
always been foreign to woman--she lacks 
the duality of erotic emotion which man 
is slowly and laboriously striving to   
overcome--a still further proof of the  
unbroken1 synthetic emotion of woman4   
,,conclusion  ,,the ,,psychogenetic     

,,law  ,the ,individual as an ,epitome  
of the ,human ,race   ,the biogenetic   
law of ,ernst ,haeckel teaches us that  
the human embryo passes through all the 
stages of development traversed by its  
ancestors in their evolution from the   
lower forms of the animal world4        
,although each successive stage         
completely replaces the preceding one1  
the latter is there as its organic      
supposition4 ,man is not born as a human
 being until he has travelled over the  
principal portions of the road to       
evolution4 ,this law1 which establishes 
the natural connection of the individual
 with the whole chain of organisms1 is  
continued in a psychogenetic law1 not   
founded on the heredity of the blood but
 on the heredity of culture 7and        
therefore quite independent of the      
doctrine of the origin of species74 ,in 
the course of his development the       
individual repeats the psycho-spiritual 
stages through which the species has    
passed4 ,but while the human body cannot

 sustain life until it is perfectly     
developed1 the degrees of psychic       
perfection vary very considerably2 not  
every individual reaches perfection2    
most men attain to some degree1 but     
there are others who do not even acquire
 the rudiments4  ,it would be an        
attractive and grateful task to point   
out the halting-places of the human race
 in the life of the individual2 to fix  
the moment when for the first time in   
his life the child says ,i--a moment    
which usually occurs in his second year1
 and represents the humanisation of the 
race1 the great intuition1 when         
primitive man1 divining his spiritual   
nature1 severed himself from the        
external world2 to perceive the         
child--like its primitive ancestors in  
their day--treating all weaker creatures
 which fall into its hands with almost  
bestial cruelty2 to watch the boyish    
games reflecting the period when the    
nations lived on war and the chase1     
their eagerness to draw up rules and    

regulations and create gradations of    
rank and marks of distinction4 ,i am not
 able to carry out such a task in detail
 and1 moreover1 as ,i am dealing with   
the erotic life only1 such a proceeding 
would be out of place here4  ,the       
psychogenetic law1 then1 comes to this3 
,every well-developed male individual of
 the present day successively passes    
through the three stages of love through
 which the ,european races have passed4 
,the three stages are not traceable in  
all men with infallible certainty1 there
 are numerous individuals whose         
development in this respect has been    
arrested1 but in the emotional life of  
every highly differentiated member of   
the human race they are clearly         
distinguishable1 and the greater the    
wealth and strength of a soul1 the more 
perfectly will it reflect the history of
 the race4 ,the evolution of every      
well-endowed individual presents a rough
 sketch of the history of civilisation2 
it has its prehistoric1 its classical1  

its mediaeval1 and its modern period4   
,many men remain imprisoned in the past2
 others are fragmentary1 or appear to be
 suspended in mid-air1 rootless4 ,the   
spirit of humanity has lived through the
 past and overcome it1 so as to be able 
to create its future4  ,the gynecocratic
 stage actually survives to this day in 
the nursery4 ,here the mother rules     
supreme2 the father is an intruder1 the 
brothers are dominated by their sisters1
 often their juniors4 ,women mature at  
an earlier age than men2 this assertion 
applies with equal force to individual  
and sex in connection with the history  
of civilisation4 ,after he has left the 
nursery1 there follows in the life of   
the boy a period during which he        
associates only with his school-friends1
 shuns the society of his mother and    
sisters1 and is ashamed of his female   
relatives4 ,this represents the revival 
of the men's unions of remote antiquity 
in the life of the individual of the    
present day4  ,at the period of puberty 

the sexual instinct makes itself felt   
for the first time2 as a rule1 if its   
nature is not recognised1 it is         
accompanied by restlessness and         
depression4 ,i do not believe that the  
instinct is1 as soon as it appears1     
directed to the other sex1 or anything  
else outside the individual4 ,this fact 
cannot be explained by want of          
opportunity1 shyness or bad example2    
there is a positive reason for it2 the  
longing for a member of the other sex is
 still unfelt4  ,between his twentieth  
and thirtieth year a man is often       
dominated by an enthusiastic spiritual  
love quite unconnected with the         
sensuality which has hitherto ruled his 
emotions4 ,i will not elaborate the     
growth of this love and the new feelings
 which arise in connection with it2 just
 as in the remote past the sense of     
personality was born as the centre of a 
new consciousness1 so the individual now
 undergoes a period of purification and 
regeneration2 through the love for his  

mistress he discovers his inmost self1  
of which1 until now1 he had been        
practically ignorant4 ,the generative1  
undifferentiated impulse is supplanted  
by the love for an individual and       
stigmatised as base and contemptible4   
,guincelli's words characterising the   
second erotic stage of the race3 ,amor e
 cor gentil sono una cosa1 to-day apply 
to the second stage in the life of the  
individual4 ,it also occurs that in the 
heart of a man whom reality has failed  
to satisfy an ideal woman gradually wins
 life and shape4 ,sometimes it is the   
idealised counterpart of an actual      
woman1 but not infrequently it is a     
vague1 unsubstantial shadow4 ,here we   
have the deification of the woman       
reproduced in the heart of the          
individual4 ,to illustrate my point1 ,i 
will quote the very pertinent           
conversation between ,foldal1 the       
embittered old clerk1 and ,john ,gabriel
 ,borkman 7,ibsen74       ,borkman3     
,indeed6 ,can you show me one who is any

 good8       ,foldal3 ,that's just the  
point4 ,the few women ,i've known are no
      good at all4       ,borkman3 7with
 a sneer7 ,what's the good of them if   
you don't know      them8       ,foldal 
7excitedly73 ,don't say that1 ,john     
,gabriel6 ,isn't it a      magnificent1 
an ennobling thought1 to know that      
somewhere1 far      away1 never mind    
where1 the true woman lives8            
,borkman 7impatiently73 ,stop your high 
falutin' nonsense6       ,foldal 7hurt73
 ,high falutin' nonsense8 ,you call my  
most sacred      belief high falutin'   
nonsense8  ,in conclusion ,i should like
 to mention here that ,i look upon ,otto
 ,weininger as a tragic victim of the   
second stage of love which--in our      
days--is sick with an almost            
insurmountable inner insufficiency4     
,there is no need to elaborate my       
subject further and point out that--the 
first stage passed--the prime of life   
brings with it the fusion of sexuality  
and love4 ,this union is the inner      

meaning of marriage in the modern       
sense--whether it is rarely or          
frequently realised is beside the point4
  ,in previous chapters ,i have         
illustrated various phenomena of the    
emotional life by showing their         
reflections on the lives of two or three
 distinguished men4 ,in conclusion ,i   
will endeavour to point out the         
reproduction of all the erotic stages   
through which the race has passed1 in   
the psychical evolution of ,richard     
,wagner1 and their immortalisation in   
his works4 ,we shall recognise in him   
the erotic representative of modern man1
 a personality in whom all that which as
 a rule is vague and only half          
expressed1 has become great and typical4
 ,love has been the leitmotif of his    
life4 ,the concluding phrase of the     
crude fairy tale ,die ,feen 7,the       
,fairies71 composed by the youth of     
nineteen1 is3 the infinite power of     
love1 and the last words written down   
two days before his death1 were3        

love--tragedy4  ,the opera ,das         
,liebesverbot 7,the ,prohibition to     
,love71 written in #ahcd1 is eminently  
symptomatic of the first stage4 ,it is a
 coarser rendering of that bluntest of  
all ,shakespearean plays1 ,measure for  
,measure2 its sole subject is the       
pursuit of sensual pleasure1 in which   
all indulge1 and the ridiculing of those
 who appear to yearn for something      
higher4 ,to detail the contents of the  
text--it cannot be called a poem--would 
serve no purpose2 biographically1 but   
not artistically interesting1 it        
exhibits with amazing candour the first1
 purely sexual1 stage of the young man  
of twenty-one4 ,it was the period when  
young ,germany's device was the         
emancipation of sensuality4 ,wagner     
himself says that his conception was    
mainly directed against ,puritan cant1  
and led to the bold glorification of    
unrestrained sensuality4 ,i was         
determined to understand the grave      
,shakespearean subject only in this     

sense4 ,and in his ,autobiographical    
,sketch he says3 ,i learned to love     
matter4 ,in addition to this ,wagner    
gives us the following synopsis of a    
7lost7 libretto1 ,die ,hochzeit 7,the   
,wedding71 written at an earlier period3
 ,a youth1 madly in love with his       
friend's fiance1 climbs through the     
window into her bedroom1 where the      
latter is awaiting the arrival of her   
lover2 the fiance struggles with the    
frenzied youth and throws him down into 
the yard1 where he expires4  ,the       
second1 discordant1 stage of love is    
embodied in ,tannhuser1 composed when   
,wagner was twenty-nine years of age4   
,there is probably no modern work of art
 in which the mediaeval feeling of      
dualism in the scheme of the universe   
has been expressed with greater pathos4 
,we see man tossed between heaven and   
hell1 between the worshipped saint and  
seductive sensuality1 impersonated by a 
she-devil4 ,a man of the ,middle ,ages  
would have recognised in this work the  

tragedy of his soul4 ,wagner had planned
 the opera before he had really reached 
the second period1 under the title of   
,der ,venusberg 7,the ,mountain of      
,venus71 and in this earlier version the
 purely sexual occupied a far more      
prominent place1 probably in closer     
conformity with the old legend4 ,for    
here ,tannhuser returns to ,venus       
unsaved and defying the eternal values1 
determined to renounce a higher life and
 give himself up to the pleasure of the 
senses for all eternity4 ,this idea was 
retained in a later version up to the   
decisive final turn2 the purely         
spiritual love for ,elizabeth eventually
 overcomes the unrestrained instinct4   
,as the despairing monk of mediaeval    
times1 apparently abandoned by the love 
of ,god1 turned to ,satan and worshipped
 him1 so ,tannhuser1 cast out of the    
,kingdom of ,heaven by the words of the 
,pope1 and renounced by ,elizabeth1     
again gives himself up to sensuality1   
which is here contrasted with spiritual 

love1 and represented as demoniacal4    
,tannhuser is not vacillating between   
the love of two women--a spiritualised  
and a sensual love2 he is wavering      
between the purely spiritual love of    
,elizabeth and promiscuous sexuality    
represented by ,venus1 not centring on  
her as an individual1 but diffused1 as  
it were1 through her whole kingdom4 ,the
 dualism which rends the whole universe 
is strongly and uncompromisingly        
emphasised in text and music1 and       
,wagner himself explained to the opera  
singer1 ,schnorr von ,carolsfeld1 that  
the main characteristic of the principal
 part was the intensest expression of   
delight and remorse without any         
intermediate stage of feeling1 changing 
abruptly and decisively4 ,the closing   
words of the first scene3 ,my salvation 
lies in ,mary6 are the real turning     
point of the drama4 ,as abrupt as his   
desertion of ,venus for ,mary1 is his   
return to her in the third act4 ,by the 
side of ,mary is placed the more human1 

the more earthly but yet idealised form 
of ,elizabeth1 a figure closely         
resembling ,beatrice and ,margaret4     
,the music of ,tannhuser 7more          
especially the overture7 expresses the  
contrast between the two erotic         
world-elements with striking abruptness4
 ,the harmonious and musically perfect  
motive of religious yearning 7the chorus
 of the pilgrims7 which forms the       
beginning and the end of the overture1  
is assailed by the briefer motives of   
sensuous seduction and ecstasy of the   
middle2 the quivering1 tickling passages
 of the violins play round the sacred   
music of the chorale like so many       
seductive elves4 ,the ,venusberg music  
is probably the most perfect expression 
of pure sensuality which has ever been  
reached in the world of music2 it is the
 complete translation of sensual craving
 and sensual rapture into the language  
of music4 ,in the ,venusberg music      
composed for the performance in ,paris1 
this motive is still more richly        

elaborated1 and the recently published  
sketches for the scene in the ,venusberg
 contain a number of details which were 
eliminated from the later version4 ,here
 bestial and demoniacal sensuality1 not 
content with human couples1 nymphs1     
maenads1 sirens and fauns1 calls for    
beings half-brute1 half-human1          
represented by centaurs and sphinxes1   
for black goats1 cats1 tigers1 panthers1
 and so on1 finally for obscene         
representations of antique legends1 such
 as ,leda and the ,swan1 ,europa and the
 ,bull1 symbols and illustrations of the
 climax of perversion4 ,it is a         
magnificent1 poetico-musical picture of 
untrammelled sexuality1 whose queen is  
,woman1 the priestess of voluptuousness1
 represented by ,venus4 ,tannhuser's    
yearning for humanity and divinely pure 
love gives to this world a tinge of the 
demoniacal1 for the latter is nothing   
but natural sensuality regarded from a  
higher standpoint1 in this case from the
 point of view of spiritual love4       

,whenever it is opposed to the          
transcendental1 the natural is conceived
 as dangerous and diabolical4 ,at the   
moment of the abrupt inner change in    
,tannhuser1 ,venus and her world must   
vanish like a phantom of the night4 ,a  
consuming1 voluptuous excitement kept my
 blood and nerves tingling while ,i     
sketched and composed the music of      
,tannhuser4444 says ,wagner in one      
place1 and in another he confesses that 
sensual pleasure1 while attracting and  
seducing him1 filled him with           
repugnance4 ,he speaks of his longing to
 satisfy my craving in a higher1 nobler 
element which1 unpolluted by the        
sensuality so characteristic of modern  
life and art1 appears to me as something
 pure1 something chaste and virginal1   
unapproachable and intangible4 ,what    
else can this longing for love1 the     
noblest feeling ,i am capable of1 be1   
than the yearning to leave this world of
 facts behind me and become absorbed in 
an element of infinite1 transcendental  

love1 to which death would be the       
gate4444  ,the dualism in the music of  
,tannhuser is consistently maintained4  
,the two elements war against each other
 without ever merging into one4 ,those  
parts of the music which characterise   
,elizabeth are full of noble pathos and 
a little sentimental4 ,at the beginning 
of the second act she is not yet        
herself2 she can still laugh like a     
light-hearted girl1 but when she again  
succumbs to ,tannhuser's unearthly 7and 
to her fatal7 charm1 and realises how   
irrevocably he has surrendered himself  
to ,venus1 she rises to true greatness  
and resolutely faces the swords         
unsheathed to punish the offender4      
,before our eyes she is transformed into
 the saint who realises her mission and 
is ready to take her burden upon her2   
more heroic than ,beatrice or ,margaret1
 she points to him who laughingly       
stabbed her heart1 the road to          
salvation4 ,like her two predecessors   
,elizabeth prays to ,mary for the       

salvation of her lover--the prayer for  
the beloved has ever been woman's truest
 and most fervent prayer4  ,the thought 
of achieving a man's salvation through a
 great and steadfast love1 is the       
subject of the ,flying ,dutchman1 and   
plays1 as is well known1 an important   
part with ,wagner4 ,strange to say he   
has for this very reason frequently been
 scoffed at by those who call themselves
 admirers of ,goethe4 ,dante-,goethe's  
great problem of salvation is           
represented in ,tannhuser with the      
utmost lucidity4 ,the essence of it is  
that love can positively intervene in   
the life of a man whose soul is turned  
towards it1 but who is confused and     
beset by temptations4 ,his vacillating  
heart feels the love which is brooding  
over him and ultimately abandons itself 
to it1 to be saved by its unswerving    
loyalty4 ,maybe this is as much a       
miracle as grace1 but it is also a      
psychical fact1 because the love which  
yearns for the sinner awakens and       

increases not only his faith in its     
power to help1 but also in his own      
strength2 darkness and evil dismay him  
and he turns towards the light4 ,in     
,tannhuser this spiritual condition1    
which is of such primary importance in  
the last scene of ,faust1 is clearly    
expressed2 his love for ,elizabeth has  
been strong enough to kill desire       
kindled in his heart again and again by 
,venus2 yet again he is on the point of 
succumbing to his senses4 ,the vision of
 ,venus appears before his eyes1 but at 
,wolfram's exclamation1 ,elizabeth6 he  
realises in a flash that ,elizabeth has 
been praying for him day and night1 and 
has given her life to save him4 ,before 
this sudden illumination the power of   
,venus sinks into nothing2 divine love  
falls into his darkness like a ray of   
light--,oh1 sacred love's eternal       
power6--it quickens his own love which  
is striving upwards1 and with the words3
 ,saint ,elizabeth1 pray for me6 he     
sinks to the ground4 ,his way1 like     

,faust's1 although one-sidedly          
emotional1 leads from chaos and sin to  
pure love and salvation1 not through his
 own strength but by the help vouchsafed
 to him in the love of his glorified    
mistress4  ,by the side of the          
struggling1 suffering ,tannhuser1 tossed
 hither and thither between ,god and the
 devil1 between ,elizabeth and ,venus1  
stands ,wolfram1 the untempted          
woman-worshipper4 ,the two extremes     
clash upon each other in the contest of 
the minnesingers4 ,tannhuser1 at war    
with himself1 exasperated by the calm1  
matter-of-fact way in which ,wolfram    
sings the praise of spiritual love1     
rushes to the other extreme and bursts  
into rapturous praise of the goddess of 
love and the pleasure of the senses4 ,i 
need not lay stress on the fact that at 
that time of his life ,wagner's own     
heart was the arena in which the        
conflict was fought out2 a work like    
,tannhuser is not made1 it is conceived 
in the innermost soul of its creator4   

,every one of ,wagner's great works     
bears the unmistakable stamp of         
sincerity and intensity1 while with     
,goethe1 on the other hand1 it is not   
difficult to distinguish the genuine    
ones1 that is to say1 those which were  
written under the pressure of a         
compelling impulse1 from those which    
owed their existence to the intellect   
rather than to the soul4  ,tannhuser    
immortalises the adolescence of the     
,european races of mankind2 the third   
stage is not even anticipated4          
,lohengrin1 the principal interest of   
which is other than erotic1 represents a
 transitional phase between the second  
and the third stage2 body and soul are  
no longer regarded as warring against   
each other2 a greater harmony beyond    
either is dimly divined4 ,lohengrin has 
set out from a distant1 transcendental  
kingdom to find earthly happiness in    
,elsa's love--but he is doomed to       
disappointment4 ,i will not analyse the 
theme1 but rather quote a few passages  

from ,wagner3 ,lohengrin is seeking the 
woman who is ready to believe in him2   
who will not ask him who he is and      
whence he comes1 but love him as he is  
and because he is so4444 ,lohengrin's   
only desire is for love1 to be loved1 to
 be understood through love4 ,in spite  
of the superior development of his      
senses1 in spite of his intense         
consciousness1 he desires nothing more  
than to live the life of an ordinary    
citizen of this earth1 to love and be   
loved--to be a perfect specimen of      
humanity4 ,wagner further speaks of his 
longing to find the woman2 the female   
principle1 quite simply1 for ever       
appearing to him under new forms2 the   
woman for whom the ,flying ,dutchman    
longed in his unfathomable distress2 the
 woman who1 like a radiant star1 guided 
,tannhuser from the voluptuous caverns  
of the ,venusberg to the pure regions of
 the spirit1 and drew ,lohengrin from   
his dazzling heights to the warm bosom  
of the earth4 ,we find here the new form

 of love1 not yet fully comprehended but
 desired and anticipated in art4  ,in   
,tristan and ,isolde it is attained     
completely and in its highest           
perfection4 ,we possess in ,wagner's    
letters to ,matilda ,wesendonk1 and in  
the diary written for her1 the documents
 of the personal experience out of which
 ,tristan grew1 and which unfold one of 
the most touching love-stories4 ,as ,i  
have already discussed ,tristan and     
,isolde in a previous chapter1 ,i will  
here only quote a passage from a letter 
written by ,wagner and addressed to     
,liszt at the time of his first meeting 
with ,matilda2 it fully expresses the   
harmony of the third stage4 ,give me a  
heart1 a mind1 a woman's love in which  
,i can plunge my whole being--who will  
fully understand me--how little else ,i 
should need in this world6  ,it is very 
significant that side by side with      
,tristan we have ,die ,meistersinger1   
composed a little later on4 ,here the   
third stage of love is realised in its  

idyllic possibility2 the synthesis has  
been given the shape of middle-class    
matter-of-factness1 that is to say1 the 
fulfilment of love in marriage3 ,i love 
a maid and claim her hand6 ,for this    
reason the work1 although the           
fundamental idea is not erotic1 is      
entitled to be placed by the side of    
,tristan with its demand for the        
absolute metaphysical consummation of   
love4  ,it is an amazing fact that the  
same genius should have experienced and 
portrayed both stages so perfectly4     
,doubtless ,tannhuser and ,tristan are  
the most personal self-revelations of   
the great lover1 pulsating with passion1
 and far remote from the colossal       
objective world of the ,niebelungs1 the 
lofty serenity of ,lohengrin and the    
wisdom of ,parsifal4  ,wagner had       
finished the ,ring before he conceived  
the idea of ,tristan and ,isolde4 7,it  
was printed in #aheb47 ,in the former he
 intentionally raised the value of love 
and its position in the universe to a   

problem1 embodying his knowledge of the 
world1 and more especially of the modern
 world1 in supernatural1 mythical       
figures4 ,the greatest ambition of man  
is power and wealth1 the symbol of which
 is a golden ring4 ,gold in itself is   
innocent--elementary--a bauble at the   
bottom of the river1 a toy for laughing 
children2 but the insatiable thirst for 
power and wealth has robbed it of its   
harmlessness and made it the tool and   
symbol of tyranny4 ,only a being        
completely in the grip of the greed for 
riches and dominion1 a being who looks  
upon the world and all men as objects to
 be bent to his will1 and who has       
consequently renounced love1 could have 
thus enslaved the world4 ,love does not 
impair the worth of a fellow-creature1  
but sets him above all things2 a lover  
cannot be entirely selfish2 his feeling 
at least for his mistress1 and through  
her for the rest of the world1 must be  
pure and unselfish4 ,the struggle       
between these two most powerful         

instincts1 both in the race and in the  
heart of the individual 7,wotan71 is the
 incomparable subject of this tragedy4  
,the whole world-process is represented 
as a struggle between the apparently    
great1 who are yet the slaves of gold   
and authority1 and the truly free man   
who serves love1 and on whom ambition   
has no hold4  ,the representatives of   
the petty1 greedy1 toiling human vermin1
 who readily renounced love for the sake
 of wealth1 because the latter will     
always buy lust and pleasure1 are the   
,niebelungs1 the dwellers in the        
,netherworld who never see the sun4     
,they have but one standard3 money2 one 
supreme value3 power1 the gift of       
wealth4 ,mime bewails his people 7the   
small tradesmen as it were71 as follows2
 ,light-hearted smiths we used to       
fashion gems and trinkets for our wives1
 gorgeous jewels1 the ,niebelungs'      
pretty trifles--we laughed at the       
labour4 ,but ,alberich1 the capitalist1 
through the magic of the ring1 has      

usurped the power and enslaved his      
fellows4 ,now the felon compels us to   
creep in the heart of the mountains to  
labour for him4 ,there we must delve and
 explore and despoil1 plunder and smelt 
and hammer the metal1 restlessly toiling
 to increase his treasure4 ,the really  
daemonic property of the gold is that   
everybody succumbs to its seduction and 
strives to possess it4 ,the former nave 
joy of living1 embodied in the          
,rhine-daughters1 and their not yet     
humanised song1 which seems to come     
direct from the heart of nature1 is     
destroyed by the theft of the           
,rhine-gold4 ,what till then had been a 
serenely shining star of the deep1 has  
been transformed into a means by which  
to win authority4 ,the programme of the 
greedy and tyrannous never varies2      
,alberich proclaims it2 ,the whole world
 will ,i win1 and it is his daemonic    
will to depreciate love and set up power
 as the only value1 so that nobody shall
 doubt his greatness and unique genius4 

,as ,i renounce love1 so all shall      
renounce it1 with gold have ,i bought   
you1 for gold shall you crave4 ,love    
shall die and lust shall take its place2
 he will force even the wives of the    
gods to do his will1 for his wealth has 
made him master of the whole world4     
,compared to his restless activity1 the 
giant ,fafner is stupid2 he is incapable
 of transforming gold into power2 he    
merely enjoys its possession1 content   
with the consciousness of his wealth4   
,but the curse of ,alberich1 the first  
who transmuted the shining metal into   
money1 rests on gold and power4 ,it     
shall not bring gladness--who has it be 
seared by sorrow1 who lacks it devoured 
by envy4444 ,the curse of the eternal   
concatenation3 tyranny--slavery1 the    
care which accompanies wealth and the   
envy of the have-nots1 can only be      
lifted from the world by a man who is   
inwardly free1 who is neither master nor
 slave4 ,siegfried understands the song 
of the birds and the elementary beings1 

the ,rhine-daughters2 he is a stranger  
to human desires and passions4 ,i       
inherited nothing but my body--and      
living it is consumed4 ,he is proof     
against the magic of the ring2 the only 
value he knows is love4 ,alberich1 his  
opponent1 says1 in speaking of him3 ,my 
curse has no sting for the mettlesome   
hero1 for he knows not the worth of the 
ring2 he squanders his prodigal         
strength1 laughing and glowing with love
 his body is burning away4 ,half way    
between ,alberich1 the inwardly         
worthless wielder of power1 and         
,siegfried1 the truly free man1 the     
embodiment of all virtue1 who is        
murdered by the powers of darkness1     
stands ,wotan1 in whose heart both      
motives1 authority and love1 are        
struggling for supremacy1 who will      
renounce neither love nor power4        
,artistically and symbolically the      
salvation of the world from the curse of
 greed and tyranny is brought about by  
the restitution of the ring1 and its    

dissolution in the pure waters of the   
river from whence it had been taken2 the
 gold is given back to the              
,rhine-daughters1 to fulfil again its   
original purpose1 namely1 to delight the
 heart of man with its dazzling sheen4  
,thus ,wagner1 the greatest and most    
inspired exponent of love among modern  
artists1 declared that of all values    
love was the greatest4 ,his intuitive   
genius left all the doctrines formulated
 by ,schopenhauer and ,buddha far behind
 and definitely rejected pessimism as a 
creed4 ,there is an interesting letter  
from him to ,matilda ,wesendonk1 written
 while he was composing the music of    
,tristan1 and containing modifications  
of ,schopenhauer's philosophy which he  
considered requisite4 ,it is a question 
of pointing out the road to salvation   
which no philosopher1 not even          
,schopenhauer1 discovered1 the road     
which leads to the perfect pacification 
of the will through love2 ,i do not mean
 abstract love for all humanity1 but    

true love1 based on sexual love1 that is
 to say love between man and woman4  ,in
 ,parsifal1 the last and most mature of 
all his works1 ,wagner is breaking new  
ground4 ,here love between man and woman
 is deposed from the exalted position it
 hitherto held1 subordinated to the     
metaphysical purpose of the world1 that 
is to say1 the purpose of attaining to  
perfection1 and absorbed in a higher    
association of ideas4 ,sexual love has  
undergone a change1 it is no longer love
 in the true sense1 but the             
unconditional love of the mystic4 ,the  
enigmatical figure of ,kundry is not the
 impersonation of one woman1 she is     
woman herself4 ,the incarnation of      
everything female1 she embodies the     
sensuous1 seductive and destructive     
element together with the contempt of   
the man who falls under her spell1 as   
well as the motherly1 and finally the   
humbly-administrative principle1 which  
so far had not yet become a part of the 
erotic ideal4 ,she is both positive and 

negative1 a blind tool of the element of
 evil which prompts man to forget his   
higher mission 7reminiscent of the      
second mediaeval period71 and           
passionately yearning for salvation4    
,she dies before the ,holy ,grail1 the  
religious ideal made visible4 ,beside   
,kundry there are the flower-maidens1   
navely sensuous beings1 who blossom like
 the flowers and fade again1 unconscious
 and irresponsible4 ,i refrain from a   
discussion of this work1 which would    
lead too far1 and only maintain that the
 music1 corresponding to the text1 is   
entirely unerotic and unsentimental1    
absolutely pure and religious4 ,the love
 of a man for a woman has been          
superseded by love for the absolute and 
supernatural4 ,thus1 after ,wagner had  
experienced all the stages of love      
through which humanity has passed1 and  
embodied them in his works1 he reached a
 new point of view1 a stage to which we 
have not yet attained and which1 very   
likely1 we are not even able fully to   

understand4 ,this fourth stage--not     
unlike ,weininger's ideal--is the       
overthrow of the female and earthly     
element in man by a voluntary surrender 
to the metaphysical4  ,wagner's last    
position1 taken up quite deliberately1  
permits of two explanations which ,i    
will point out without pressing either  
of them4 ,only a man possessing both the
 wisdom of the aged ,wagner and a       
knowledge of the evolution of the race1 
and the road which still stretches out  
in front of it1 would be entitled to    
speak a decisive word4 ,the first       
obviously is that ,wagner divined a last
 stage in the emotional life of man1 a  
period which has outgrown sexual love   
and replaced it by mysticism4 ,in       
conjecturing a potential fourth stage1  
the three previous ones must be regarded
 as one4 ,the second explanation is that
 ,wagner's feeling in his last work is  
no longer representative of the feeling 
of the race1 but is1 as it were1 a      
personal matter1 at least in so far as  

love is concerned4 ,for although the    
principal subject in ,parsifal is not   
love1 yet it plays a very prominent part
 in it4 ,i am only touching upon these  
two alternatives4 ,but if the latter    
debatable point be omitted1 my analysis 
of ,wagner's emotional life must have   
shown in which sense the inspired man   
may be rightly regarded as typical of   
the race4 ,he leads the broadest and at 
the same time the most personal life1   
and yet he manifests in it something    
which is far greater1 far more universal
 and representative4  ,my argument      
proves that the evolution as well as the
 aberrations of love have affected man  
alone and1 roughly speaking1 to this day
 affect only him4 ,he is the ,odysseus1 
wandering through heaven and hell1      
ultimately to return home1 perhaps1 to  
where woman1 the unchangeable1 is       
awaiting him4 ,that which has been      
woman's natural endowment from all      
beginning1 the blending of spiritual and
 sensual love1 man looks upon and       

desires to-day as his highest erotic    
ideal4 ,his chaotic sexual impulse1 the 
inheritance of the past1 appears to him 
low and base in the presence of her in  
whom sexuality has always been blended  
with love2 his worship1 intensified     
until it reached the metaphysical1 seems
 to him unfounded and eccentric before  
her who has ever been and ever will be  
entirely human1 and who is perfect in   
his eyes because she possesses what he  
is striving after4 ,this and nothing    
else is the meaning of the vague        
statement that in all matters pertaining
 to love woman occupies a higher        
position than man4 ,she is always the   
same2 he is always new and              
problematical2 never perfect1 he falls  
into error and sin where she cannot err1
 for her instinct is nature herself1 and
 she knows not the meaning of sin4      
,whatever burden man has laid upon her1 
she has borne it patiently and silently2
 she has allowed him to worship her as a
 goddess and stigmatise her as a fiend1 

while all the time she remained         
problemless and natural1 inwardly remote
 from the aberrations in which her      
intellect believed so readily4 ,the     
conclusion which we have to draw1 and   
which touches the foundation of the     
psychology of both sexes1 is that only  
man's emotions have a history1 while    
those of the woman have undergone no    
change4  ,if there is a law by which the
 human race is reproduced in the        
individual1 then the so-called atavism  
in the shape of abnormality cannot be   
the sudden1 or apparently sudden        
reappearance of conditions which once   
were normal and then disappeared2 rather
 must it be the final arrest of an      
individual on a previous and lower      
stage1 preventing him from reaching our 
standard in one or the other emotional  
sphere4 ,the more humanity a man has in 
him1 the more perfectly will he repeat  
in his life the stages through which the
 race has passed1 or1 in other words3   
the oftener that which once quickened   

the heart of man is repeated and        
surpassed1 the greater is the           
possibility that new things may grow out
 of it4 ,atavism therefore is not so    
much the persistence of the earlier as  
the absence of the later stages4 7,this 
agrees with ,freud's conception of the  
neurotic subject47  ,it is obvious that 
the three stages of love are merely the 
expression of a period in one definite  
direction4 ,the emotions of antiquity   
were entirely earthly1 obvious and      
impersonal2 the ,middle ,ages1 on the   
other hand1 attached value only to the  
world beyond the grave and matters      
pertaining to the soul4 ,the beauty of  
spring was to them but a reflexion of   
another beauty4       ,how glorious is  
life below6      ,what greater glories  
may the heavens hold6  sings ,brother   
,john characteristically4 ,but our      
period is conscious of the need of      
realising all our desires1 and attaining
 to the highest possible spiritual      
perfection in this earthly life1 and    

this not by destroying the transcendent 
ideals1 but by stripping them of their  
metaphysical character1 and bringing    
them to bear on this life1 so that it   
may become a higher and holier one4 ,the
 will of our intellectual heroes is not 
the rejection of the doctrine of the    
survival of the soul1 but the           
comprehension of past transcendental    
values1 so that they may become a safe  
guide to us in this earthly life2 a more
 perfect blending of realism and        
idealism2 the glorification of life     
under the aspect of eternity4 ,this     
applies to love as well3 the thought of 
the infinite1 eternal love must         
transfigure and ennoble all that which  
is natural and human4  ,if my theories  
are correct1 they prove the ontological 
character of historical evolution and   
the value of the study of history for   
the comprehension of the human soul4 ,i 
have shown in a specific and highly     
important domain that that which we are 
fond of regarding as the characteristic 

quality of man was not present from the 
beginning1 but has gradually been       
evolved in historical time4 ,in other   
words3 history can and must teach us the
 origin and evolution of the spirit and 
soul of man1 as anthropology teaches us 
the construction of the body4 ,in       
philosophically approaching history1 it 
must not be our object to discover what 
has been1 but what has become1 how we   
became and what we are4 ,the science of 
history which loses sight of its bearing
 on our time1 content with its knowledge
 of the past1 is antiquarian and dead2  
at the most it has aesthetic value1 but 
it is worthless as far as the history of
 civilisation is concerned4 ,only that  
which has been productive in the past1  
which has had a quickening influence1   
producing new values1 is historical in  
the highest sense4 ,it creates a new and
 close relationship between psychology  
and history4 ,the principal purpose1 or 
one of the principal purposes of        
psychology1 that is the knowledge of the

 construction of the normal human being1
 has received a new possibility of      
solution3 every essential quality which 
the human race has evolved in the course
 of history must be present in every    
normally developed individual of our    
time4 ,the normal man of to-day is not  
the normal man of the past2 every       
successive century finds him richer and 
more complex1 but he can always be      
discovered intuitively in history4 ,in  
this sense history is an auxiliary      
science of psychology1 or rather1 the   
psychology of the human race1 for the   
evolution of the psychology of the      
individual--which has been studied very 
little--is merely an abbreviated history
 of the evolution of the psychology of  
the species4 ,a past period of          
civilisation can be traced in the life  
of every fully developed man1 and vice  
versa the stages in the life of the     
individual point the way in history4    
,if it can be established that the      
fundamental emotions of the human heart 

originated in historical time1 the      
widely spread1 but unproved1 theory that
 everything great and decisive existed  
from the beginning will be contradicted4
 ,the other complementary assertion that
 nothing which once existed ever quite  
disappears1 must be admitted2 nothing   
perishes in the soul of man2 its        
position with regard to the whole is    
merely shifted by newly intervening     
motives and values2 and even when it    
does not change its fundamental         
character1 it becomes a different thing 
in the whole complex of the soul4       
,sexuality1 which in the remote past was
 a matter of course1 unassailable by    
doubt1 became problematical and         
demoniacal as soon as it entered into   
relationship with the new factors of    
erotic life4 ,an existence in harmony   
with nature was possible as long as the 
human race was still in evolution1 and  
not yet conscious of itself4 ,but as    
soon as intellect and self-consciousness
 had been evolved1 civilisation became  

possible4 ,nature has no history in the 
sense of the origin of values2 in the   
case of still uncivilised tribes every  
new generation is a faithful            
reproduction of the preceding one4      
,certainly there is modification caused 
by adaptation to the environment1 but   
there are no moral values1 and          
consequently there is no history4  ,i   
have attempted to explain why tragedy is
 inseparable from love in its highest   
intensity1 to show the limits which     
check all deep emotion and the yearning 
which would overstep them4 ,the         
emotional life of man1 which is capable 
of infinite evolution1 can only find    
satisfaction on its lower1 animal       
stages4 ,hunger1 thirst1 and sexual     
craving can be satisfied without much   
difficulty1 and therefore no tragic     
shadow falls on the first stage4 ,but   
the emotion which overwhelms the soul   
cannot be appeased4 ,not only the great 
thinker's thirst for knowledge1 the     
mystic's religious yearning1 the        

aesthetic will of the rare artist1 but  
also the love and longing of the        
passionate lover must reach beyond the  
attainable to the infinite4 ,this earth 
is the kingdom of mean actions1 mean    
emotions and mean men4 ,and the lover1  
unable to bear its limits1 creates for  
himself a new world--the world of       
metaphysical love4