"For the lover always dwells with his beloved, continuously directed by a divine madness. This is why the beloved must understand that not only in this life, but also in the next, countless favors will be heaped upon him."
Eastern cultures have a long tradition in using sexuality not only for pleasure and procreation, but also as a way to grow spiritually. During the Renaissance in Italy, many people became intrigued with this very link between sexuality and spirituality. A vision of the human body as a work of beauty and the pursuit of love in all its forms began to spread through society.
The 14th century welcomed a rebirth of interest in the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome. Scholars recovered manuscripts that had been in the keeping of monasteries during the Middle Ages. Artists and architects looked closely at buildings and statuary from the time of the Roman empire, and they became fascinated with ideals of classical composition and beauty.
Artists admired sculptures of the gods and goddesses of the Greco-Roman world. The perfectly proportioned bodies of these ancient statues affirmed Plato's idea that that the physical world is a representation of a perfect and changeless Divine world. Thousands of nudes were painted and sculpted during the Renaissance. In the hands of the great artists, the fragile, primal, naked human form gained a divine perfection, one that seemed to transcend mortality.
Nude images decorated both public and private spaces. Italian aristocrats had their villas adorned with frescoes and statues. Michelangelo created his giant David to stand in the center of Florence; his Adam, to grace the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The physical body could now be accepted as part of the manifestation of God, the One Supreme Being.
Marsilio Ficino, who made the first complete translation of the works of Plato from Greek into Latin during the 15th century, found similarities in the Platonic and Christian concepts of love. He taught that human love and friendship in its highest form, which he called Platonic love, can mirror the soul's love for God.
Influenced by Ficino's teachings, educated men and women began talking and writing about sexual love in terms of spiritual bonds. They said that sexual relationships, when true love existed, could be a stepping stone to Divine love. Renaissance writers spoke of two kinds of physical love.
The first kind was driven by lust, in which one person uses another for immediate gratification. This kind of selfish physical love, which could satisfy the body's appetite but not the soul's desire for union, could only bring the individual down to the level of animals. Once completed, this kind of love could even turn to hate.
Another kind of love, true love, was said to exist when two people wished to unite their souls as well as their bodies. Since physical love can never bring about the lasting union of two souls, in this kind of relationship sexual union can't quell the flames of desire. On the contrary, it only serves to increase it. Therefore, this kind of love was said to be limitless and eternal.
Erotic longing is really a longing to merge with something greater than ourselves, they said. For isn't every kind of human love a force that holds the promise of taking us beyond the limitations of our individual selves? Therefore, they reasoned, carnal love is of the same essence as divine love, and, when used for the highest good of both partners, contains the seeds of immortality.
