286 ON THE NOTIONS OF EIGHT AND JUSTICE 



templation of beautiful things is pleasant 15 , and a picture 

 by Raphael moves him who understands it, although it 

 brings him no gain, so that it becomes dear and delightful 

 to him, inspiring in him something like love 16 ; so when 

 the beautiful thing is also capable of happiness, his feeling 

 for it passes into real love. But Divine love 1T excels 

 other loves, for God can be loved with the happiest result, 

 since nothing is happier than God and nothing more 

 beautiful or more worthy of happiness can be conceived 18 . 

 And since He possesses supreme power and wisdom, His 

 happiness not only becomes a part of ours (if we are wise, 

 that is, if we love Him) but even constitutes it 39 . But 

 since wisdom ought to direct charity, wisdom also requires 



sought for its own sake, and whatever is sought for its own sake 

 is pleasant. Other things are sought on account of what is 

 pleasant, that they may produce it, contribute to it, or remove 

 what is opposed to it. All men feel this whatever they may say, 

 or at any rate they do it, whatever they may feel.' Juris et aequi 

 elementa (Mollat, p. 30). 



is i w e gggjj beautiful things because they are pleasant. I define 

 a beautiful thing as that the contemplation of which is pleasant.' 

 loc. cit (Mollat, p. 31). 



16 ' He who finds pleasure in the contemplation of a beautiful 

 picture and would suffer pain if he saw it spoiled, even though it 

 belong to another man, loves it so to speak with a disinterested 

 love ; but this is not the case with him who thinks merely of 

 making money by selling or getting applause by showing it, 

 without caring whether it is spoiled or not, when it no longer 

 belongs to him/ Lettre a Nicaise (1698) (E. 791 b ; G. ii. 581). Cf. Kant, 

 Critique of Judgment, Part i. div. i. bk. i. 1-5. 



17 i.e. love for God. 



18 'He Himself is always happy and will never be a cause of 

 grief to us through His misfortune, nor will He be in need of our 

 help. And again, since He always does everything in the most 

 reasonable way, we can act in relation to Him otherwise than 

 in relation to those who, being carried away by their emotions, 

 follow no fixed rule of conduct and may even be offended by those 

 who are most anxious to honour them. But He is always content 

 with a good will and richly rewards all things well done or 

 intended, that is, all things which are in harmony with His 

 presumptive will/ De justitia, 5 (Mollat, p. 38). 



19 'The happiness of God constitutes . . . the whole of ours.' 

 (E. 790 a ; G. ii. 578.) 



