Philosophy and Theology of Love According to St. Francis De Sales

This volume develops and makes more explicit what remains only implicit in the works of St. Francis de Sales. It focusses first on the difference between love of objects and love of persons, or love solely of someone's attributes and properties, and the love of the other for his sake. This distinction provides us with a better understanding of the relationship between nature and supranature, and within the supernatural order itself, the distinction between hope and charity. Secondly, according to St. Francis de Sales, love does not simply find the good already present; love is a creative power, it creates goodness and beauty and changes both the lover and the beloved.