The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori) · 13 of 49 · tr. L. Williams
First Dialogue-l
Besides which, because he does not believe that all which is not, could not be, he prays the divine light, that by its beauty, which ought not to be entirely concealed, at least according to the capacity of whoever beholds it, and by his love, which, perchance, is equal to so much beauty (equal, he means, of the beauty, in so far as he can comprehend it) that it surrender itself to pity, that is, that it should do as those who are compassionate, and who from being capricious and gloomy become gracious and affable and that it prolong not the evil which results from that privation, and not allow that its splendour, for which it is so much desired, should appear greater than that love by means of which it communicates itself, seeing that in it all the perfections are not only equal but are also the same.
In fine, he begs that it will no further sadden by privation, for it can kill with the glance of its eyes and can also with those same give him life.
Ces.
Does he mean that death of lovers, which comes from intense joy, called by the Kabalists, mors osculi, which same is eternal life, which a man may anticipate in this life and enjoy in eternity?
Mar.
He does.
VIII.
Mar.
It is time to proceed to the consideration of the following design, similar to those previously brought forward, and with which it has a certain affinity.
There is an eagle, which with two wings cleaves the sky; but I do not know how much and in what manner it comes to be retarded by the weight of a stone which is tied to its leg.
There is the legend: Scinditur incertum.
It is certain that it signifies the multitude, number and character (volgo) of the powers of the soul, to exemplify which, that verse is taken: Scinditur incertum studia in contraria vulgus.
The whole of which character (volgo) in general is divided into two factions; although subordinate to these, others are not wanting, of which some appeal to the high intelligence and splendour of rectitude, while others incite and force in a certain manner to the low, to the uncleanness of voluptuousness and compliance with natural desires.
Therefore says the sonnet: 48.
I would do well—to me 'tis not allowed.
With me my sun is not, although I be with him, For being with him, I'm no more with myself: The farther from myself—the nearer unto him; The nearer unto him, the farther from myself.
Once to enjoy, doth cost me many tears, And seeking happiness, I meet with woe.
For that I look aloft, so blind am I.
That I may gain my love, I lose myself.
Through bitter joy, and through sweet pain, Weighted with lead, I rise towards the sky.
Necessity withholds, goodness conducts me on, Fate sinks me down, and counsel raises me, Desire spurs me, fear keeps me in check.
Care kindles and the peril backward draws.
Tell me, what power or what subterfuge Can give me peace and bring me from this strife, If one repels, the other draws me on.
The ascension goes on in the soul through the power and appulsion in the wings, which are the intellect, or intellectual will upon which she naturally depends and through which she fixes her gaze toward God, as to the highest good, and primal truth, as to absolute goodness and beauty.
A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.
The passage describes a hierarchy of soul powers ascending toward the highest good.
Augustinian and Plotinian doctrine that evil has no positive being of its own but is a lack, distortion, or absence of the good — denying ontological dualism while preserving moral seriousness.
The text explicitly states that evil results from privation rather than having positive being.
Sufi self-effacement in God — the via by which the lover is unmade as a separate ego and recovered as God's act; specifies the practice/event rather than mystical_union's resulting state.
The lover states that in gaining love they lose themselves, indicating self-effacement.
Bruno's eroici furori — a passionate, ennobling spiritual ardor that drives the soul toward divine wisdom; distinguished from base or animal passions by its orientation to infinite truth.
The passage is from Bruno's Gli Eroici Furori and describes the passionate spiritual ardor driving the soul toward divine wisdom.
Diotima's staged ascent from love of beautiful bodies → beautiful souls → beautiful pursuits → beautiful knowledge → Beauty itself; the canonical scala amoris that grounds Plotinus's On the Beautiful and Bruno's Eroici Furori — distinct from generic spiritual_ascent in that eros is the specific motive force.
The text describes an ascent through beauty and love toward God, mirroring the scala amoris central to Bruno's work.
The human being as a small-scale image of the entire cosmos; the body, soul, and intellect mirroring the structure of the heavens and the divine — distinct from correspondence in that it makes the human the privileged mirror.
The powers of the soul reflect cosmic forces such as Necessity, Fate, and Goodness.
The felt condition of exile from one's divine origin — Rumi's reed flute torn from its bed, Plotinus's 'we have forgotten,' the Gnostic forgetfulness; the affective wound that complements return_to_source and gives the return its motive.
The soul experiences strife and privation, indicating a felt condition of exile from the divine.
The doctrine — central to Eastern Orthodox and Maximian theology — that the human person is progressively transformed into a partaker of the divine nature by grace, not merely justified or united in passing ecstasy.
The text mentions anticipating eternal life in this life through union with the divine.