Pojęcie miłości w traktacie „De Trinitate” Ryszarda z opactwa św. Wiktora

Abstract

The article discusses the question how we should understand the notion of love (amor, dilectio, caritas) in one of the eminent trinitarian scholastic speculations: in De Trinitate of Richard of St Victor († 1173). The notion of perfect love permits him to elaborate arguments for the plurality of divine persons and that the persons can be only three. The essence of the possibly highest love consists in the giving to another person all that can be transmited. In such love the loving person should not keep anything for himself or herself. If they do so, their love would not be perfect in the highest possible degree. Such love exists only in God and it is the charity in highest degree. He is the supreme source of human self-transcending love. A particular Richard of St Victor’s contribution to the notion of love is the discovering of the three qualites (trina proprietatum distinctio, De Trinitate III 19) of love (charity). The first is the unremunerated love (amor gratuitus). It occurs when one person gives all and gets nothing in return. The second is the due love (amor debitus). It occurs when one person gets all of another person and nothing gives in return. The third is the mixed love (amor permixtus), it is the unremunerate and due love (amor gratuitus et debitus). It occurs when one person disinterestedly gives all to another person and gratuitously gets from another person. These are the qualités of divine persons: The Father has the unremunerated love, the Son — the mixed love, and the Holy Spirit - the due love. The other very important contribution of Richard of St Victor to the notion of love is the definition of the supreme degree of charity, the notion of the beloved with (condilectus). It is a central term in his reasoning about the third person in the Trinity. Mutual love shared with the third (condilectio) is required for the compaction of the love of two persons that love the third one in perfect unanimity. It is harmonious and open love of the other person. The Holy Spirit is considered as the beloved with. But it seems that in Richard of St Victor’s theory every person of the Trinity could be considered as beloved with through the two other persons. Is notion of love is very important for contemporary dogmatic theology as far as it employs the notion of love in the description of the mystery of the Trinity. It is important for the right understanding of love in matrimony and in the family. It is inspiring not only for the dogmatics.