Thus he who does not desire to procreate seems to aspire to the
possession of the beautiful in a higher degree. He who desires to
procreate does no doubt desire to procreate the beautiful; but his
desire indicates in him the presence of need, and dissatisfaction with
mere possession of beauty; He thinks he will be procreating beauty,
if he begets on that which is beautiful. They who wish to satisfy
physical love against human laws, and nature, no doubt have a natural
inclination as principle of a triple passion; but they lose their
way straying from the right road for lack of knowledge of the end to
which love was impelling them, of the goal of the aspiration (roused
by) the desire of generation, and of the proper use of the image of
beauty.[120] They really do ignore Beauty itself. They who love
beautiful bodies without desiring to unite themselves to them, love
them for their beauty only. Those who love the beauty of women, and
desire union with them, love both beauty and perpetuity, so long as
this object is not lost from sight. Both of these are temperate, but
they who love bodies for their beauty only are the more virtuous. The
former admire sensual beauty, and are content therewith; the latter
recall intelligible beauty, but, without scorning visible beauty,
regard it as an effect and image of the intelligible Beauty.[121] Both,
therefore, love beauty without ever needing to blush. But, as to those
(who violate laws human and divine), love of beauty misleads them to
falling into ugliness; for the desire of good may often mislead to a
fall into evil. Such is love considered as a passion of the soul.