Biscoctum Amoris.

XIII.

Eccl.2. Mala.3.¹ Isa.1.² Iacob.1.³
FIli accedens ad seruitutem Dei, sta in Iustitia
& timore & prepara animam tuam ad tenta-
tionem. Deprime cor tuum & sustine, & inclina
aurem tuam & excipe verba intellectus, & ne fe-
stines in tempus obductionis; sustine sustenta-
tiones Dei, coniungere Deo & sustine vt crescat
in nouissimo vita tua: omne quod tibi applicitum
fuerit, accipe, & in dolore sustine, & in humilitate
tuâ patientiam habe, quoniam in igne probatur
aurum & argentum, homines vero receptabiles
in camino humiliationis. Amor est quasi ignis
conflans & quasi herba fullonum: & sedebit con-
flans & emundans argentum & purgabit filios
Leui; excoquet ad purum scoriam tuam & aufe-
ret omne stannum cordis tui. Vret cor tuum sicut
vritur argentum, & probabit illud sicut probatur
aurum: beatus vir qui suffert tentationem, quo-
niam cum probatus fuerit, accipiet coronam,
quam repromisit Deus diligentibus se.

[112a] ↓

Tanquam aurum in fornace.

L'amour veut cuire en sa fournaise: Ce coeur a l'ardeur de sa braise.

113 ↓

Biscuit de l'Amour.
XIII.
Qu' il est ioly ce diuin boulanger:
Mais croyéz vous, qu' il oseroit manger
Ce cœur, qu' il cuit au milieu de son four?
Cela s'entend: car il à tousiours fain;
Et ne se paist iamais que de ce pain,
Qu' il cuit luy mesme au feu de son Amour.

Con el biscocho de Amor:
Si bien el puerto se alarga
Nunca el nauegar amarga.

Mijn siele wordt ghesuyvert hier/
Ghelijck het goudt in 's liefden vier.

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112

[112a]

113

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Translations

Love of the highest purity.⁴

My son, if thou come to serve the Lord, prepare thy soul for temptation. Set thy heart aright, and constantly endure, and make not haste in time of trouble. Cleave unto him, and depart not away, that thou mayest be increased at thy last end. Whatsoever is brought upon thee take cheerfully, and be patient when thou art changed to a low estate. For gold is tried in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of adversity. Love is like a refiner's fire and like fullers soap. It will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and it will purify the descendants of Levi.⁵ It will smelt away your dross⁶ as with lye and remove all the alloy of your heart.⁷ It will prove by fire your heart just like silver is tested. And its quality will be established just like that of silver is: happy the man who endures temptation, because once his quality is proven, he will receive the crown God promised in return to those who love Him.

Like gold in the furnace.

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Literature

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Sources and parallels

The soul and divine love in front of the fireplace; the fire connects the two: Unio amoris. [37] (in: anonymous, Amoris divini et humani antipathia (1628)) [Compare]
De Ziele spreeckt van den standt der goddeloosen [22] (in: Jan Luyken, Jesus en de ziel (1685)) [Compare]
De verlichte Ziele verklaert het uyterlijcke vernuft; het afscheyden eens rechtveerdigen [21] (in: Jan Luyken, Jesus en de ziel (1685)) [Compare]
Possibly based on, not mirrored: Biscoctum amoris. [24] (in: anonymous, Amoris divini et humani antipathia (1628)) [Compare]
Same copperplate, slightly altered, in: Liefde word gekent door tegenspoet [45] (in: Willem den Elger, Zinne-beelden der liefde (1703)) [Compare]

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References, across this site, to this page:

Biscoctum amoris. [24] (in: anonymous, Amoris divini et humani antipathia (1628))
Unio amoris. [37] (in: anonymous, Amoris divini et humani antipathia (1628))
Liefde word gekent door tegenspoet [45] (in: Willem den Elger, Zinne-beelden der liefde (1703))
De verlichte Ziele verklaert het uyterlijcke vernuft; het afscheyden eens rechtveerdigen [21] (in: Jan Luyken, Jesus en de ziel (1685))
De Ziele spreeckt van den standt der goddeloosen [22] (in: Jan Luyken, Jesus en de ziel (1685))

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Iconclass

Sacred love is to put a heart in a baker's oven

God's perfections [11A23]
fire (one of the four elements) [21C]
radiance emanating from persons or things [22C31]
heart [31A2221]
pushing something [31A2748]
adult woman [31D15]
smoke [41B162]
open fire, fire-place, stove (in kitchen) [41C2541]
kitchen-utensils (with NAME) [41C27(SPATULA)]
biscuits (+ variant) [41C6222(+0)]
baker [47B1811]
tools, aids, implements ~ crafts and industries (with NAME) [47D8(PEEL)]
Insatiableness (+ emblematical representation of concept) [56BB32(+4)]
(personifications and symbolic representations of) Love; 'Amore (secondo Seneca)' (Ripa) (+ clothed) [56F2(+123)]
(personifications and symbolic representations of) Love; 'Amore (secondo Seneca)' (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept) [56F2(+4)]
proverbs, sayings, etc. (with TEXT) [86(BISCOCTUM AMORIS)]

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Comments

commentary

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Notes

¹

Mlk. 3:2-3.

²

Is. 1:25 (excoquam).

³

Iac. 1:12; only 'accipiet coronam' has been taken literally from James.

⁴

'24 Karat love': biscoctum = 'heated/cooked twice' (cf. 'biscuit'). Metals so designated are rated to be of high quality or purity. 24 karat gold as measure of purity is pure gold.

⁵

'like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. It will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and it will purify the descendants of Levi', Mlk. 3:2-3; translation adapted from NRSV.

⁶

'scoria': dross, slag (LS).

⁷

'It will smelt away ... your heart': Is. 1:25, translation adapted from NRSV.

Biscoctum Amoris [55]

Facsimile Images

Translations

Literature

Sources and parallels

References, across this site, to this page:

Iconclass

Comments

Notes