Date: 1257

"Finally, love, which is the gravitational force of the soul and the origin of all spiritual attraction, tends toward self with ease, but reaches out to the neighbor with effort, and to God with still greater pain."

— St. Bonaventure [born Giovanni di Fidanza] (1217-1274)

Date: 1257

"This disease denies to the soul the life of grace; [it denies it] the enabling rectitude of all the virtues; it inclines the soul in a certain measure toward every kind of sin."

— St. Bonaventure [born Giovanni di Fidanza] (1217-1274)

Date: 1257

"By means of this suffering, inflicted by a real fire, the souls are cleansed of the guilt and dross of sin, and also of its sequels."

— St. Bonaventure [born Giovanni di Fidanza] (1217-1274)

Date: 1257

"Now, because actual sin offends God's majesty, damages the Church, and distorts the divine image stamped on the soul - especially if the sin is mortal, although venial sin will tend to do the same; and because offense calls for punishment, damage for repair, and distortion for purification: ther...

— St. Bonaventure [born Giovanni di Fidanza] (1217-1274)

Date: 1259

In our minds "the divine image shines."

— St. Bonaventure [born Giovanni di Fidanza] (1217-1274)

Date: 1319

"Only two men of all // Are truly just--whose words the rest ignore, / For the triple sparks of envy, greed, and pride / Ignite their hearts."

— Dante, Alighieri (1265-1321)

Date: 1474

The soul is like a mirror in which the divine image can be seen

— Marsiglio Ficino [Marsilius] (1433-1499)

Date: 1474

The human mind is a spark...

— Marsiglio Ficino [Marsilius] (1433-1499)