Section One. The Opinions of the Belletrists

Al-Nāshiʾ was asked to describe love and he said: “Love is divided into three parts: love for the soul, love for form, and love for movement. It is love for the soul that most completely comprehends the aspects of love and is the farthest removed from bother and weariness. Love for form is the sweetest to the senses and the most delectable to the sight. Love for movement is the most graceful to the glance and the most painful to the heart. However, love for form and love for movement are in most cases subordinate to love for the soul, even though they may at times occur independently. Thus one does not fall in love with a pictorial form, for there is no soul in it, nor any movement, [110] nor does one love lethargic eyes, for there are no glances in them.”

Al-Nuʿmān b. al-Mundhir asked al-Zarqaʾ bint al-Khussabout eros and she said: “It is of several varieties. One is madness, one is tenacity, and one is affectation. As for that which is affectation, it does not endure, and time effaces it in short order. It has no permanence, and affection for one loved in this way is not observed for long. As for that which is tenacity, in the beginning it is slight, but it becomes a mighty passion. When it gains a firm foothold, it grows as a fire grows when fed an abundance of firewood. As for that which is madness, it is a hidden malady and an oppressive burden that is relieved only by the expiration of one's appointed time.”

A certain man of letters described eros saying: “The way by which it comes in is hidden from the eye, and the way by which it proceeds lies veiled in the heart. The tongue cannot describe it, nor can eloquence portray it. It is something between magic and madness, obscure where it moves and hides.”

Similarly, a Bedouin once described eros as follows: [111] “Too hidden to be seen, too glorious to be hidden. It lies concealed like fire in stone: if you strike the stone, it sparks; if you do not, the fire remains unseen.”