Somewhat related, Simone Weil

[Ruth]

I just came across a sentence in 'waiting on God' from Simone Weil, in which she speaks about two countries, which seems related to the two cities of Augustine.

She writes : "the universe is a country. It is our only country here below. This thought is the essence of the wisdom of the Stoics. We have a heavenly country, but in a sense it is too difficult to love, because we do not know it; above all, in a sense, it is too easy to love, because we can imagine it as we please."

I thought this last remark is very interesting.

[Nemo]

Ruth wrote: "... in a sense, it is too easy to love, because we can imagine it as we please...."

I think Augustine demonstrates great power of imagination when he describes the attributes of God and the resurrected saints. Those attributes are wondrous and fascinating. I would never have imagined them myself. So if Weil is right, I cannot love God nor the heavenly city, because my power of imagination is non-existent.

[Nemo]

If I understand him correctly, Augustine’s notion of love is not imaginary but natural, akin to the Aristotelian notion of telos. We are naturally drawn to what we love because that is our ideal state. As he writes in the Confessions (XIII.10), “My weight is my love; by it am I borne wherever I am borne. By Your Gift we are inflamed, and are borne upwards.”