CES. It would seem that we have nothing more to consider upon this
proposition. Let us see now, how this quiver and bow of Eros display the
sparks around, and the knot of the string, which hangs down with the
legend, which is: Subito, clam.
MAR. Well do I remember having seen it expressed in the sonnet. But let
us read it first.
50.
Eager to find the much desired food,
The eagle towards the sky spreads out his wings
And warns of his approach both bird and beast,
The third flight bringing him upon the prey.
And the fierce lion roaring from his lair
Spreads horror all around and mortal fear;
And all wild beasts, admonished and forewarned,
Fly to the caves and cheat his cruel jaw.
The whale, ere he the dumb Protean herd
Hungry pursues, sends forth his nuncio,
From caves of Thetys spouts his water forth.
Lions and eagles of the earth and sky,
And whales, lords of the seas, come not with treachery,
But the assaults of Love come stealing secretly.
The animal kingdom is divided into three, and is composed of various
elements: the earth, the water, the air, and there are three
species--beasts, fishes, and birds. Into three kinds are the principles
of nature settled and defined, in the air the eagle, on earth the lion,
in the water the whale; of the which, each one, as it displays more
strength and command over the others, makes a show of magnanimous
action, or apparently magnanimous. Therefore it is observed, that the
lion, before he starts on the hunt trumpets forth his roar, which
resounds through the whole forest, like to the poetical description of
the fury-hunter.
At saeva e speculis tempus dea nacta nocendi,
Ardua tecta petit, stabuli et de culmine summo
Pastorale canit signum, cornuque recurvo
Tartaream intendit vocem, qua protinus omne
Contremuit nemus, et silvae intonuere profundae.
The eagle again, before he proceeds to his venery, first rises straight
from the nest in a perpendicular line upwards, and generally speaking at
the third time he swoops from above with greater impetus and swiftness
than if he were flying in a direct line, so that at the time when he is
gaining the greatest velocity of flight, he is able also to speculate
upon his success with the prey, and after three inspections he knows
whether he will succeed or fail.
CES. Can one imagine why, if at the first his prey presents itself
before his eyes, he does not instantly pounce upon it?
MAR. No; unless it be to see whether anything better, or more easily
taken, comes to sight. At the same time I do not believe that this is
always so, but most often it is. But to return. Of the whale it is
manifest that, being such a huge animal, he cannot divide the waters
without making his presence known through the repulsion of the waves,
besides which there are several species of this fish, that when they
move or breathe, spout forth a windy tempest of water. Thus from these
three principal species of animals, the inferior kinds have warning to
enable them to get away, so that they do not conduct themselves as
deceivers and traitors. But Love, who is stronger and greater and who
has supreme dominion in heaven, on earth, and in the seas, and who in
comparison ought perhaps to show greater magnanimity, as he also has
more power, does nothing of the kind, but assaults and wounds suddenly
and swiftly.
Labitur totas furor in medullas,
Igne furtivo populante venas,
Nec habet latum data plaga frontem;
Sed vorat tectas penitas medullas,
Virginum ignoto ferit igne pectus.
As you perceive, the tragic poet calls him a furtive fire, an unknown
flame. Solomon calls it furtive waters. Samuel named it the whisper of a
gentle wind. The which three significations show with what sweetness,
gentleness, and astuteness, in seas, on earth, in sky, does this fellow
come and tyrannize over the whole universe.
CES. There is no vaster empire, no worse tyranny, no better dominion, no
more necessary magistracy, nothing more sweet and dear, no food to be
found more hard and bitter, no deity more violent, no god more pleasing,
no agent more treacherous and false, no author more regal and faithful,
and, in fine, it seems to me that Love is all and does all, of him all
may be said, and all may refer itself to him.
MAR. You say well. Love then, as he who works chiefly through the
sight, which is the most spiritual of all the senses, and which reaches
swiftly the known ends of the earth, and without stretch of time takes
in the whole horizon of the visible, comes to be quick, furtive, sudden
and instantaneous. Besides which, we must remember what the ancients
say, that Love precedes all the other gods, and therefore it is no use
to imagine that Saturn shows him the way except by following him. Now
must we find out, whether Love appears and makes himself known
externally, whether his home is the soul itself, his bed the heart
itself, and whether he consists of the same composition as our own
substance, the same impulse as our own powers. Finally everything
naturally desires the beautiful and the good, and therefore it is
useless to argue and discuss, because the affection informs and confirms
itself, and in one instant desire joins itself to the desirable, as the
sight to the visible.