All that had been done before had merely prepared the
ground for this great deed: the enshrinement of the beloved in the heart
of the divine secrets.
The _Vita Nuova_, which is at once a glorified historical record and the
greatest testimony of metaphysical love, emphasises from the outset the
inspiring, purifying influence emanating from the beloved; Beatrice is
"the destroyer of all evil and the queen of all virtue." "When I saw her
coming towards me and could hope for her salutation, the world held no
enemy for me, yea, I was filled with the fire of brotherly love to such
an extent, that I was ready to forgive anybody who had ever offended me.
And whoever had begged me for a gift, I should have replied: Love! and
my face would have been full of humility." Even before his love had been
translated to the world beyond, he portrayed spiritual love as hardly
any other poet before or after him. The women of Florence ask Dante:
"Why doest thou love this lady, seeing that thou canst not even bear her
presence? Tell us, for the end of such love must be incomprehensible to
men.
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