E3DA6
Definition of an Emotion — Part III
Latin
Amor est lætitia concomitante idea causæ externæ.
Explicatio: Hæc definitio satis clare amoris essentiam explicat; illa vero auctorum qui definiunt amorem esse voluntatem amantis se jungendi rei amatæ, non amoris essentiam sed ejus proprietatem exprimit et quia amoris essentia non satis ab auctoribus perspecta fuit, ideo neque ejus proprietatis ullum clarum conceptum habere potuerunt et hinc factum ut eorum definitionem admodum obscuram esse omnes judicaverint. Verum notandum cum dico proprietatem esse in amante se voluntate jungere rei amatæ, me per voluntatem non intelligere consensum vel animi deliberationem seu liberum decretum (nam hoc fictitium esse demonstravimus propositione 48 partis II) nec etiam cupiditatem sese jungendi rei amatæ quando abest vel perseverandi in ipsius præsentia quando adest; potest namque amor absque hac aut illa cupiditate concipi sed per voluntatem me acquiescentiam intelligere quæ est in amante ob rei amatæ præsentiam a qua lætitia amantis corroboratur aut saltem fovetur.
English (Elwes 1883)
Love is pleasure, accompanied by the idea of an external cause.
Explanation: This definition explains sufficiently clearly the essence of love; the definition given by those authors who say that love is the lover's wish to unite himself to the loved object expresses a property, but not the essence of love; and, as such authors have not sufficiently discerned love's essence, they have been unable to acquire a true conception of its properties, accordingly their definition is on all hands admitted to be very obscure. It must, however, be noted, that when I say that it is a property of love, that the lover should wish to unite himself to the beloved object, I do not here mean by wish consent, or conclusion, or a free decision of the mind (for I have shown such, in II. xlviii., to be fictitious); neither do I mean a desire of being united to the loved object when it is absent, or of continuing in its presence when it is at hand; for love can be conceived without either of these desires; but by wish I mean the contentment, which is in the lover, on account of the presence of the beloved object, whereby the pleasure of the lover is strengthened, or at least maintained.
Modern English
Love is joy accompanied by the idea of an external cause.
Explanation: This definition captures the essence of love clearly enough. Those authors who define love as the lover's will to unite with the beloved are expressing a property of love, not its essence. Because they had not perceived love's essence clearly enough, they could form no clear concept of this property either, which is why their definition has universally been judged very obscure. It must be noted, however, that when I say it is a property of love that the lover wills to unite with the beloved, I do not mean by "will" a consent or deliberation or free decree of the mind (for I have shown such things to be fictitious (E2P48)), nor the desire to be united with the beloved when absent or to remain in the beloved's presence when present, for love can be conceived without either of these desires. By "will" I mean the contentment that is in the lover by reason of the beloved's presence, through which the lover's joy is strengthened or at least sustained.