80. Mutual Indwelling and Zeal as Effects of Love

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

Mutual Indwelling (Mutua Inhaesio) #

Definition: A more intimate and inward union than mere physical contact or presence; the interpenetration of lover and beloved through affection and knowledge.

Two Operational Levels:

Through the Knowing Power (Vis Cognitiva) #

• The beloved dwells in the lover’s mind through continuous remembrance and meditation
• The lover penetrates into the beloved through deeper, more intimate understanding (beyond superficial grasping)
• Example: Understanding Mozart requires studying his compositional techniques repeatedly—penetrating to understand how he combines melodies rather than merely hearing them
• The Holy Spirit “searches even the deep things of God” (scrutinizing divine mysteries) as the paradigm of this penetration

Through the Desiring Power (Vis Appetitiva) #

• The beloved is in the lover through agreement (convenientia) and affection (affectio)
• Love is described as intimus (inward), rooted in the bowels (viscera) of charity
• In love of wanting (amor concupiscentiae): The lover seeks to possess the beloved perfectly and inwardly (as in wine tasting—understanding ingredients, not just surface enjoyment)
• In love of friendship (amor amicitiae): The lover regards the friend’s goods and evils as his own; the friend becomes “another self”

Zeal (Zelus) as Fourth Effect of Love #

Definition: Zeal arises from the intensity of love and consists in actively repelling whatever is contrary or repugnant to what is loved.

Two Forms:

Zeal of Envy #

• Arises from the love of wanting (concupiscence) when intensely pursued
• The lover moves against impediments to possessing or enjoying the beloved thing
• Motivated by rivalry when goods cannot be wholly possessed by many (e.g., political office, excellence)
• Is mixed with hatred because it seeks to exclude others from the good

Zeal for the Beloved (True Zeal) #

• Arises from the love of friendship when intensely pursued
• The lover moves against whatever is repugnant to the friend’s good
• Seeks to defend, protect, and promote the beloved’s welfare
• Example: Defending one’s children from harm, or having zeal for God by opposing things contrary to His honor and will
• Not motivated by jealousy over possession, but by concern for the beloved’s welfare

Key Arguments #

First Objection to Mutual Indwelling #

Objection: If something is contained in another, the container cannot be in the contained (like wine in a bottle)—therefore mutual indwelling seems impossible.

Response: Different senses of in apply. Mutual indwelling operates through affection and knowledge, not material containment. According to diverse ways, something can be both containing and contained (as genus is in species and species in genus).

Second Objection to Mutual Indwelling #

Objection: Only reason can make distinctions and penetrate inwardly; therefore, the desiring power cannot cause mutual indwelling.

Response: Reason’s grasping (the knowing power) precedes affection (the desiring power). Reason is like the needle; the heart (desiring power) follows like the thread. The heart cannot penetrate without the knowledge that reason provides.

Third Objection to Mutual Indwelling #

Objection: Mutual indwelling requires mutual love, but Romeo loves Rosalind without her loving him—therefore mutual indwelling cannot be a universal effect of love.

Response: There are three ways of understanding mutual indwelling (through knowing, through desiring, through mutual reciprocal love). The third way is not found in every love; the first two can exist without reciprocation.

Objections to Zeal #

First Objection: Zeal causes contention and fighting; but love is peaceful—so zeal cannot be an effect of love.

Response: The zeal of envy causes contention, but this is about a different object than love itself. True zeal (for the beloved’s good) causes one to move against impediments for the thing loved.

Second Objection: The good is communicable and should not breed jealousy; yet zeal seems to exclude others from sharing the beloved.

Response: Zeal arises when goods cannot be wholly possessed by many. But for goods that can be wholly possessed by many (like knowledge of truth), no one is jealous. If jealousy arises concerning truth, it is only about excellence in understanding it, not about the truth itself, which remains shareable.

Third Objection: Zeal involves hatred as much as love; therefore it is not properly an effect of love.

Response: Zeal arises from the intensity of love, which naturally repels whatever is repugnant to the object loved. The hatred present in zeal of envy is secondary; the primary motive is the intensity of love.

Important Definitions #

• Mutua Inhaesio: Mutual indwelling; the interpenetration of lover and beloved through affection and knowledge; more intimate than mere union or physical presence
• Intimus: Inward; love is characterized as interior and rooted in the heart/bowels (viscera)
• Affectio: Agreement or suitability between lover and beloved; the emotional accord in which the beloved exists in the lover’s heart
• Convenientia: Agreement or harmony; the fitting relationship between lover and beloved
• Zelus: Zeal; intensity of love manifesting as active repulsion of impediments to what is loved
• Amor Concupiscentiae: Love of wanting; the desire to possess something good for oneself
• Amor Amicitiae: Love of friendship; the desire for the friend’s good for the friend’s own sake
• Ecstasis: Being placed outside oneself; a state in which one transcends one’s normal knowledge or desire

Examples & Illustrations #

Musical Examples #

• Mozart’s Fourth Movement: Warren Murray explaining how Mozart combines four melodies together; understanding this requires penetrating beyond surface hearing to grasp compositional technique
• Don Giovanni Ball Scene: Mozart combines three different dances simultaneously—requires penetrating study to appreciate the compositional genius
• Magic Flute: Berquist’s experience of not penetrating the work on first hearing, but gradually understanding Mozart’s excellence through repeated listening

Wine Tasting #

• A connoisseur does not merely enjoy wine superficially but seeks to understand its ingredients and composition
• Brother Mark’s ability to identify components in wine through deeper penetration and knowledge
• Example of penetrating inwardly into what one loves, seeking to understand its inner nature

Personal Examples #

• Barbed Wire Fence: Berquist’s zeal in defending his property from a dangerous neighbor through removing the barbed wire and installing a proper fence—zeal arising from love of children’s safety
• American Legion Trespassers: Anecdote of a neighbor’s extreme response to trespassing (“I shoot trespassers”), illustrating misplaced or excessive zeal
• Fast Food: Getting fast food is not ecstasy because the good sought (food) is ultimately brought back to oneself; it is a qualified going-out, not ecstasy proper

Literary Examples #

• Romeo and Rosalind vs. Romeo and Juliet: Romeo has mutual indwelling with Rosalind through his knowledge and desire, but without reciprocation; with Juliet, he achieves the third mode of mutual indwelling through reciprocal love
• Shakespeare’s Macbeth: “He’s planted thee”—the impression one person makes on another’s heart illustrates how the beloved dwells in the lover
• Our Lord’s Zeal: “The zeal of your house has eaten me up” (John 2)—Christ’s intense love for the temple moved him to correct its misuse; he is “eaten up” by good zeal in defending God’s honor

Questions Addressed #

Q: How can mutual indwelling be possible if containing and contained are contradictory? A: Mutual indwelling operates through different senses of in: affectional/emotional inhabitation and cognitive inhabitation, not material containment.

Q: Can the desiring power cause indwelling if only reason can penetrate inwardly? A: Reason precedes and enables the desiring power to penetrate; reason is the needle, the heart the thread following it.

Q: Must mutual indwelling require mutual love? A: No. The first two modes (knowing and desiring) can exist unilaterally. Only the third mode requires mutual reciprocal love.

Q: How is zeal compatible with love if it produces fighting and contention? A: Zeal of envy is opposed to love, but true zeal (for the beloved’s good) is an intense effect of love manifesting as opposition to impediments.

Q: Why is one not jealous of another’s knowledge of truth? A: Because truth is wholly possessable by many; one person’s knowing truth does not prevent another from knowing it. Jealousy arises only when a good cannot be wholly possessed by many.