Dialogue on Divine and Human Love

...only of brothers and relatives, but also fathers and mothers and their own wives, which does not happen among irrational animals.
SO. Tell me the difference regarding the third cause of love—that is, benefit Italian: beneficio. In this philosophical context, it refers to an act of kindness, a gift, or a service rendered from one to another.. PH. Benefit is the reason why one person loves another, just as it is among animals, but in this I wish to praise irrational creatures more; for they are found to love more out of gratitude for the benefit received than out of hope of receiving one in the future. However, the avarice Greed or the excessive desire for wealth, which Philo argues disrupts the natural flow of gratitude. of men who are not virtuous makes them move more readily for the hope of a single benefit than for gratitude for many already received. And this cause of benefit is so broad that it seems to comprise the majority of the others. SO. In that fourth cause—being of the same species—tell me if there is any difference between humans and irrational animals. PH. Naturally, humans love one another as other animals of the same species do, and especially those who are of the same homeland or land. But humans do not have such true and firm love as irrational animals; for even the fiercest and most cruel animals do not use cruelty toward those of their own species: the lion does not prey upon another lion, nor does the serpent bite another serpent with venom. But humans receive more evil and offenses from other humans than from all other animals, or from any other contrary things in the universe. Envy—human envy—and the human sword do more harm than all the rest of accidental and natural things. This is the cause of the corruption of natural love among men: avarice and the care they have for superfluous things, from which enmity Hostility or hatred; the opposite of friendship. is generated—not only between those distant in different homelands, but even between those of the same province, the same city, and the same house; between brothers and brothers, fathers and sons, husbands and wives. To these, add still other human superstitions that are the cause of cruel enmities. SO. You have yet to speak of the final cause of love—that is, companionship, and whether in that there is some difference between humans and irrational animals. PH. Companionship and conversation Italian: società & conversazione. In the Renaissance, "conversation" meant more than just talking; it referred to the whole manner of living and interacting with others. have greater force in human love and friendship than in that of animals, because it is more internal, as speech makes it much more penetrating into the minds of men; and even when one is absent, the impression remains longer in the memory than it does in irrational creatures. SO. I have understood how all these five causes of love found in irrational animals are also found in...