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| That He Who Loves His Brother, Loves God; Because He Loves Love Itself, Which is of God, and is God.
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Chapter 8.—That He Who Loves
His Brother, Loves God; Because He Loves Love Itself, Which is of
God, and is God.
12. Let no one say, I do not know
what I love. Let him love his brother, and he will love the same
love. For he knows the love with which he loves, more than the
brother whom he loves. So now he can know God more than he knows
his brother: clearly known more, because more present; known more,
because more within him; known more, because more certain. Embrace
the love of God, and by love embrace God. That is love itself,
which associates together all good angels and all the servants of
God by the bond of sanctity, and joins together us and them
mutually with ourselves, and joins us subordinately to Himself. In
proportion, therefore, as we are healed from the swelling of pride,
in such proportion are we more filled with love; and with what is
he full, who is full of love, except with God? Well, but you will
say, I see love, and, as far as I am able, I gaze upon it with my
mind, and I believe the Scripture, saying, that “God is love; and
he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God;”691
but when I see love, I do not see
in it the Trinity. Nay, but thou dost see the Trinity if thou seest
love. But if I can I will put you in mind, that thou mayest see
that thou seest it; only let itself be present, that we may be
moved by love to something good. Since, when we love love, we love
one who loves something, and that on account of this very thing,
that he does love something; therefore what does love love, that
love itself also may be loved? For that is not love which loves
nothing. But if it loves itself it must love something, that it may
love itself as love. For as a word indicates something, and
indicates also itself, but does not indicate itself to be a word,
unless it indicates that it does indicate something; so love also
loves indeed itself, but except it love itself as loving something,
it loves itself not as love. What therefore does love love, except
that which we love with love? But this, to begin from that which is
nearest to us, is our brother. And listen how greatly the Apostle
John commends brotherly love: “He that loveth his brother abideth
in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.”692
It is
manifest that he placed the perfection of righteousness in the love
of our brother; for he certainly is perfect in whom “there is no
occasion of stumbling.” And yet he seems to have passed by the
love of God in silence; which he never would have done, unless
because he intends God to be understood in brotherly love itself.
For in this same epistle, a little further on, he says most plainly
thus: “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and
every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that
loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love.” And this passage
declares sufficiently and plainly, that this same brotherly love
itself (for that is brotherly love by which we love each other) is
set forth by so great authority, not only to be from God, but also
to be God. When, therefore, we love our brother from love, we love
our brother from God; neither can it be that we do not love above
all else that same love by which we love our brother: whence it may
be gathered that these two commandments cannot exist unless
interchangeably. For since “God is love,” he who loves love
certainly loves God; but he must needs love love, who loves his
brother. And so a little after he says, “For he that loveth not
his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not
seen”?693
because the
reason that he does not see God is, that he does not love his
brother. For he who does not love his brother, abideth not in love;
and he who abideth not in love, abideth not in God, because God is
love. Further, he who abideth not in God, abideth not in light; for
“God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.”694
He therefore
who abideth not in light, what wonder is it if he does not see
light, that is, does not see God, because he is in darkness? But he
sees his brother with human sight, with which God cannot be seen.
But if he loved with spiritual love him whom he sees with human
sight, he would see God, who is love itself, with the inner sight
by which He can be seen. Therefore he who does not love his brother
whom he sees, how can he love God, whom on that account he
does not see, because God is love, which he has not who does not
love his brother? Neither let that further question disturb us, how
much of love we ought to spend upon our brother, and how much upon
God: incomparably more upon God than upon ourselves, but upon our
brother as much as upon ourselves; and we love ourselves so much
the more, the more we love God. Therefore we love God and our
neighbor from one and the same love; but we love God for the sake
of God, and ourselves and our neighbors for the sake of
God.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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