Power of love

Love, Andreas Capellanus assures us, improves the lover in every way – it makes him stronger, smarter, more virtuous, better looking.

And this isn’t just a conceit of the courtly lover tradition.  It’s biblical.

The lover in the Song leaps tall mountains in a single bound, just so he can get to his beloved (2:8).

And this, in turn, puts a fresh gloss on Paul’s declaration that the love of God, the Spirit, has been poured out in our hearts.