It
is self-evident that the true erotic of our time has very little to
spare for friendship, while on the other hand the man who is not erotic
in the true sense of the word, but merely sexual, has generally a poor
idea of woman and a great appreciation of male friendship. But modern
love does not only seek to combine all human relationships; it would
fain include work, recreation, art. The instinctive jealousy of every
occupation which she does not share with her lover, 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 love. Whether such an all-absorbing
love is possible in richly-endowed natures, and whether it will not be
the cause of new conflict, are questions which cannot here be entered
upon. But one thing is certain: the great love cannot find its
consummation on earth.
CHAPTER II
THE LOVE-DEATH
(THE SECOND FORM OF METAPHYSICAL EROTICISM)
The craving for infinitude is latent in love; its essence is the longing
to reach beyond the attainable, to find the meaning of the world in
ecstasy.
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