The beloved was more and
more extolled; in her presence the lover became more and more convinced
of his insignificance; she was worshipped, deified. The overwhelming
emotion, the longing for metaphysical values which dominated the whole
epoch, had reached its highest characteristic, had reached perfection.
It proved the eternal quality of human emotion: the impossibility of
finding satisfaction, the striving towards the infinite; it soared above
its apparent object and sought its consummation in metaphysic. The love
of woman and the mystical love of God were blended in a profounder
devotion; love had become the sole giver of the eternal value and
consolation, yearned for by mortal man. Christianity had taught man to
look up; now his upward gaze lost its rigidity and beheld living
beauty--metaphysical eroticism had been evolved--the canonisation and
deification of woman. The ideal of the troubadours to love the adored
mistress chastely and devoutly from a distance in the hope of receiving
a word of greeting, no longer satisfied the lover; she must become a
divine being, must be enthroned above human joy and sorrow, queen of the
world.
Pages:
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245