IN THIS WORLD, LOVE TAKES ITS ORIGIN, NOT ITS EXCELLENCE, FROM THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD
What has greater strength, I pray you, either love to make us look at the Beloved or sight to make us love him? Theotimus, knowledge is necessary to give existence to love. For we can never love what we do not know. In proportion to the knowledge attentiveness to good increases; love also makes greater growth provided there is nothing which prevents its movement. Nevertheless, many times it happens that knowledge produces sacred love. Then love does not remain within the limits of knowledge which is in the understanding. Love passes beyond and above knowledge and goes forward with greater force. Thus, in this mortal life we can have more love than knowledge of God. St. Thomas affirms it: “Often, the most simple and the women abound in devotion. They are more capable of divine love than the skillful and the learned."
The famous abbot of St. Andrews at Vercelli,[1] teacher of St. Anthony of Padua, in his Commentary on St. Denis repeats many times:" “Love penetrates where physical science is unable to reach." He continues: “Many Bishops of old penetrated the mystery of the Trinity, though they were not learned." In this regard, he admired his disciple, St. Anthony of Padua, “who without worldly knowledge had a very deep mystical theology. He was like another John the Baptist. We could call him a shining and burning lamp."
The saintly Brother Giles, one of the first companions of St. Francis [of Assisi], one day said to St. Bonaventure: “O, how happy you are among the learned, you know many things by which you praise God. But we simpletons, what can we do"? St. Bonaventure replied: “The grace to be able to love God is enough." Brother Giles asked again: “Can an ignorant person love God as much as the learned"? St. Bonaventure answered: “He can. Thus I tell you, a poor simple woman can love God as much as a doctor of theology." Brother Giles became ecstatic and cried out: “O, Poor and simple woman, love your Saviour. You can be as great as Bro. Bonaventure!" Then he remained in ecstasy for three hours.
The will indeed becomes aware of the good only through the medium of the understanding. But once good is perceived, the will has no need of understanding to practise love. For the power of pleasure which it feels or intends to experience by union with its object forcefully attracts it to love and the desire of enjoying it. Thus knowledge of good gives origin to love, but not its measure. The knowledge of an insult provokes anger. If it is not immediately extinguished, it becomes almost always more than the subject requires. Passions do not follow knowledge which arouses them. Often leaving knowledge behind, they advance without any measure or limit towards the object.
This happens even more forcefully in sacred love, since our will is not applied to love by a natural knowledge, but by the light of faith. Faith assures us of the infinite goodness of God. It gives us sufficient reason to love it with our whole strength. We dig the earth to find gold and silver. We are ready to do hard work at present for a good that is only hoped for. So, an uncertain knowledge puts us to an actual, real work. In so far as we discover mineral in the mine, we search for it always with greater earnestness. A little smell excites the hounds to chase. Thus, dear Theotimus, an obscure knowledge covered by many clouds like that of faith attaches us infinitely to the love of the goodness which it makes us aware of. How true is the exclamation of St. Augustine. “The ignorant take the heaven by storm" while many of the learned fall into the abyss of hell.
In your opinion, Theotimus, which of the two persons would love light more? Is it a person born blind who knows all the discourses of philosophers on light and all the praises they give to it? Or is it a ploughman with very clear sight feels and experiences the refreshing splendour of the beautiful rising sun? The first has greater knowledge. The second has greater enjoyment. This enjoyment causes a love that is more lively and energetic than simple knowledge from discourses. For the experience of a good makes it infinitely more lovable for us than all the knowledge which we could have of it. We begin to love by the knowledge which faith gives us of the goodness of God. Soon after, we taste and relish it by love. And love sharpens our taste and our taste refines our love. Thus we see the waves tossed by the winds press together and rise higher. It is as if the waves are vying with each other by the encounter they have with one another. Thus the taste of the good enhances love of it and love heightens the taste. Accordingly divine wisdom has said: Those who eat me will hunger for more, and those who drink of me will thirst for more (Sir 24:21). Who loves more, ask you, the theologian Occam whom some have termed the most subtle of mortals or St. Catherine of Genoa, an unlearned woman? Occam knew God by knowledge and St. Catherine by experience. The experience led her far ahead in seraphic love while Occam with his knowledge was quite far from this excellent perfection.
“We love sciences very much even before we know them," says St.Thomas, “with only a confused and general knowledge we have of them." We must say the same; that the knowledge of divine goodness applies our will to love. Since the will begins to move, its love goes on increasing by itself by the pleasure it feels by uniting itself to divine goodness. Before little children have tasted honey or sugar, it is difficult to make them receive it in their mouths. Once they have tasted its sweetness, they love it much more than we wish. They eagerly seek to get them always.
The will is attracted by the delight which it feels in its object. However, we must recognize that the will is drawn very strongly to unite with its object, if, on its part, the understanding presents goodness excellently. If so, the will is drawn and urged from all sides. It is urged by knowledge and attracted by delight. In fact, knowledge (science) by itself is not at all opposed to devotion but extremely useful for it. If they are united together, they help each other admirably. Yet it happens often, due to our wretchedness, that knowledge prevents the birth of devotion. It is because knowledge puffs up (1Cor 8:1) and makes one proud. Arrogance is opposed to all the virtues. It causes the utter destruction of devotion. The outstanding knowledge of a Cyprian, an Augustine, a Hilary, a Chrysostom, a Basil, a Gregory, a Bonaventure, a Thomas not only enlightened but also greatly refined their devotion. Even then their devotion has not only enhanced but also extremely perfected their knowledge.
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[1] Abbot Thomas called Gallus died in 1246. He wrote a Commentary on the divine names of Pseudo-Dionysius. It is not sure whether St. Anthony was his disciple. But the passage quoted by SFS is from the Commentary. See Pleiade, foot no.2 under p 618 on p.1736.