thought himself, in his interior strength, to be a great master in
matters of love. Accustomed to control his own passions, to be
deceitful, and to beat about the bush, he believes he is the exclusive
possessor of the real secret how passions are to be managed. He
advances under cover of ambiguous expressions, and he advances in
safety; for he is patient, and waits till he has gained a footing in
habits and in customs. He laughs in his sleeve at our impassioned
vivacity, imprudent frankness, and ungoverned impetuosity, which cause
us to pass wide of the mark.

If love was the art of surprising the soul, of subjugating it by
authority and insinuation, and of conquering it by fear, in order to
gain it by indulgence, so that, when wearied and drowsy with exertion,
it may allow itself to be enveloped and caught in an invisible net; if
this were love, then certainly the priest would be its great teacher.

Clever masters! learn from ignorant and unskilful men, that with all
your little arts, you have never known what is this sacred thing. It
requires a sincere heart, and loyalty in the means, as its first
condition; the second is, that generosity which does not wish to
enslave, but rather to set at liberty and fortify what it loves; to
love it in liberty, leaving it free to love or not to love.

Come, my saints! and listen to worldly men on this subject: to
dramatists, to Moliere, and to Shakspeare. These have known more about
it than you. The lover is asked who is the loved object? of what name?
of what figure? and of what shape? "_Just as high as my heart_."

A noble standard, which is that of love, as well as that of education,
and of every kind of initiation: a sincerely wished-for equality, the
desire of raising the other person to one's own height, and of making
her one's equal, "Just as high as one's heart." Shakspeare has said
so; Moliere has done so. The latter was, in the highest degree, "the
educating genius;" one who wishes to raise and set free, and who loves
in equality, liberty, and intelligence. He has denounced as a crime
that unworthy love which surprises the soul by keeping it apart in
ignorance, and holding it as a slave and captive.

In his life, conformable to his works, he gave the noble example of
that generous love, which wishes that the person loved should be _his
equal, and as much as himself_, which strengthens her, and gives her
arms even against himself. This is love, and this is