ext_7678 ([identity profile] straussmonster.livejournal.com) wrote in [personal profile] sistermagpie 2004-11-17 08:50 am (UTC)

Hey, it's time to resurrect the Four Loves!

agape: often called 'Christian Love', I like the Latin caritas, as this is oddly hard to describe, but it's something like love for your fellow man. It can also be extremely intense, and is not necessarily a meek and mild abstraction.

storge: the least used one of the four, this is filial devotion/parental love for the child. Latin would most likely be pietas, and Aeneas is the great example.

eros: Latin amor, this is sexual love. The easiest one to define, and the one that is notably kept separate in most classical discussions but is (IMHO) often dragged into the other three when it shouldn't really be, in modern discourse.

philia: Latin amicitia, this is friendship, and is usually described as somewhat more personal than agape. This can also be extremely intense, but does not have the sexual component at all.

Hope that helps.

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