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Work #1767

On Loving God (De Diligendo Deo)

Bernard of Clairvaux
c. 1126–1141 · Latin
Treatise-letter, addressed to Cardinal Haimeric · Cistercian mystical theology

The measure of loving God is to love without measure — the soul's ascent through four degrees of love

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute On Loving God (De Diligendo Deo)
Time · Extent Both
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Finite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature not engaged
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality not engaged
Matter · Extent Finite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality not engaged
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Immediate
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Active
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency Personal
Observer · Moral Authority Scripture
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Finite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity not engaged

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

On Loving God (De Diligendo Deo)

Both eternal and temporal. The fourth degree of love is eschatological — fully realised only at the resurrection.

Space

On Loving God (De Diligendo Deo)

Finite, substantival, three-dimensional. Not a topic of philosophical analysis; the focus is interior.

Matter

On Loving God (De Diligendo Deo)

Substantival, conserved. The body is real and its resurrection is essential to the completion of love.

Observer

On Loving God (De Diligendo Deo)

Embodied, active, ascending through love. Knowledge of God is immediate in mystical experience.

Energy

On Loving God (De Diligendo Deo)

Finite, substantival, conserved. The cosmos is sustained by divine love.

Information

On Loving God (De Diligendo Deo)

Conserved at both scales. The soul is immortal; the fourth degree requires the resurrection of the body.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

On Loving God (De Diligendo Deo)

The treatise's claim that the highest love is "without measure" sits in tension with its own systematic structure of four precisely defined degrees. The fourth degree, attainable only at the resurrection, makes full mystical union an eschatological hope rather than a present possession — a qualification that distinguishes Bernard from more radical mystics.