Five types of love

by Anton Wills-Eve


I recently came across some old notebooks from my school days and found the following few lines,jotted down in Latin, presumably from an RE or Ancient History lesson in the upper sixth form. Anyway I like the idea expressed and, for what it is worth, this my translation. The ideas are all the hermit’s.
From the ‘lex penta amore’ by Phillipus of Egypt (floreat circa.175 AD)—-I wish I could remember who he was!

There are five ways of loving and of responding to that love.Three are physical and two spiritual.

physical

1) heterosexual (From the first sight neither of you are in any doubt. You make love)
2) homosexual (Give in; or wonder whether you should restrain yourself; if you do your reward is usually a broken heart)  ;
3) In all cases, if unmarried, practise total abstention (lest the sin into which you lead the other should condemn you both to perdition.)

spiritual

1) You fall in love with God (if you live by the laws of his love for the whole of your life you naturally hope you will reach Heaven).
2) If you try to be good, but fail, whatever love you indulge in you will be judged by Him in His mercy. A very beautiful thing  indeed

I wish I could find further references to him and examples of his thought.

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