(43) "Although I had resolved never to give in writing to any person the secret of the Ancient Sages, yet notwithstanding out of peculiar affection and love to you, I have taken it upon me, to which the nearness of our relation obliges me, and especially because this temporal life is short, and Art is very dark and you may therefore not attain the wished for end;--but my Son because so precious a jewel belongs not to swine; and also this so great a gift of God may be treated carefully and Christianlike, in consideration thereof I do so largely declare myself to thee.

(35) And Jacob, my brother, also, I shall love above all flesh ; for I have not a brother in all the earth but him only : and this is no great merit for me if I love him ; for he is my brother, and we were sown together in thy body, and together came we forth from thy womb, and if I do not love my brother, whom shall love?

(36) And love one another, my sons, your brothers3 as a man who loveth his own soul, and let each seek in whathe may benefit his brother, and act together on the earth ; and let them love each other as their own souls.

(7) "Straighten thy legs, and upward raise thee, brother," He answered: "Err not, fellow-servant am I With thee and with the others to one power. If e'er that holy, evangelic sound, Which sayeth 'neque nubent,' thou hast heard, Well canst thou see why in this wise I speak. Now go; no longer will I have thee linger, Because thy stay doth incommode my weeping, With which I ripen that which thou hast said. On earth I have a grandchild named Alagia, Good in herself, unless indeed our house Malevolent may make her by example, And she alone remains to me on earth."

(6) Now love is conceived in many ways, in the form of meekness, of mildness, of patience, of liberality, of freedom from envy, of absence of hatred, of forgetfulness of injuries. In all it is incapable of being divided or distinguished: its nature is to communicate. Again, it is said, "If you See the beast of your relatives, or friends, or, in general, of anybody you know, wandering in the wilderness, take it back and restore it; and if the owner be far away, keep it among your own till he return, and restore it." It teaches a natural communication, that what is found is to be regarded as a deposit, and that we are not to bear malice to an enemy. "The command of the Lord being a fountain of life" truly, "causeth to turn away from the snare of death." And what? Does it not command us "to love strangers not only as friends and relatives, but as ourselves, both in body and soul?" Nay more, it honoured the nations, and bears no grudge against those who have done ill. Accordingly it is expressly said, "Thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian, for thou wast a sojourner in Egypt;" designating by the term Egyptian either one of that race, or any one in the world. And enemies, although drawn up before the walls attempting to take the city, are not to be regarded as enemies till they are by the voice of the herald summoned to peace.

(2) And one reason is this, why that I bid thee hide from God the desire of thine heart. For I hope it should more clearly come to His knowing, for thy profit and in fulfilling of thy desire, by such an hiding, than it should by any other manner of shewing that I trow thou couldest yet shew. And another reason is, for I would by such a hid shewing bring thee out of the boisterousness of bodily feeling into the purity and deepness of ghostly feeling; and so furthermore at the last to help thee to knit the ghostly knot of burning love betwixt thee and thy God, in ghostly onehead and according of will.

(2) Nevertheless, in this work he hath no leisure to look after who is his friend or his foe, his kin or his stranger. I say not but he shall feel some time—yea, full oft—his affection more homely to one, two, or three, than to all these other: for that is lawful to be, for many causes as charity asketh. For such an homely affection felt Christ to John and unto Mary, and unto Peter before many others. But I say, that in the time of this work shall all be equally homely unto him; for he shall feel then no cause, but only God. So that all shall be loved plainly and nakedly for God, and as well as himself.

(77) But behold! it is not I that have made Way for this, but thy Desire and highly raised lofty Lust has moved the Deity to reveal to thee the Desire of thy Heart, in the highest Simplicity in the greatest Depth, that it may be a Witness against thee, and Denunciation of the earnest severe Day of God.

(32) Therefore if thou wilt have an open Gate into the Deity, then thou must move, stir and walk in God's Love; this I have let down here for thy Consideration. Now observe,

(91) Behold the Spirit will here a little present before thy Eyes what Manner of Love, Humility, and courteous Friendliness there is in thee, thou fair angelical Bride; behold, I pray thee, thy Dress, Ornament, and Attire, What excellent Delight and Pleasure may thy Bridegroom take in thee, thou beloved Angel, that dancest daily with the Devil?

(6) I cannot at all write it in thy Heart, for it is not for every Man's Capacity, Understanding and Apprehension, especially where the Spirit stands in the House of Wrath, and does not qualify, operate, or unite with the Light of God. But I will show it to thee in an earthly Similitude, that thou mightest if possible get a little into the deep Sense.

(5) And then thou from Piccarda might'st have heard Costanza kept affection for the veil, So that she seemeth here to contradict me. Many times, brother, has it come to pass, That, to escape from peril, with reluctance That has been done it was not right to do, E'en as Alcmaeon (who, being by his father Thereto entreated, his own mother slew) Not to lose pity pitiless became. At this point I desire thee to remember That force with will commingles, and they cause That the offences cannot be excused. Will absolute consenteth not to evil; But in so far consenteth as it fears, If it refrain, to fall into more harm. Hence when Piccarda uses this expression, She meaneth the will absolute, and I The other, so that both of us speak truth." Such was the flowing of the holy river That issued from the fount whence springs all truth; This put to rest my wishes one and all. "O love of the first lover, O divine," Said I forthwith, "whose speech inundates me And warms me so, it more and more revives me,

(61) Now, Lucifer! come on, with thy Love; how hast thou behaved thyself? Is thy Love also such a Well-spring or Fountain as this? We will now view that also, and examine what Manner of loving Angel thou art turned into. Observe,

(2) Yet it seemeth that He would not leave thee thus lightly, for love of His heart, the which He hath evermore had unto thee since thou wert aught: but what did He? Seest thou nought how Mistily and how graciously He hath privily pulled thee to the third degree and manner of living, the which is called Singular? In the which solitary form and manner of living, thou mayest learn to lift up the foot of thy love; and step towards that state and degree of living that is perfect, and the last state of all.