Divine violence needs a mediator, Cicero insisted. It needed to be transformed from violence into love. Into love? we asked, amazed. Into love! Cicero said. The lightning had to be directed towards the ground of the creaturely condition. Which is to say, towards love.
Love!? But what did Cicero mean by love? Something on fire? Passion, raging? The love of the neighbour, Cicero said. That was how the world was to be redeemed. Redeemed! we exclaimed. We didn’t want it redeemed. Only burnt up. Only destroyed …
The world was the old order, and we wanted the new one! we said. The new world, that would be revealed after the flames! Cicero was impressed by our faith, but she did not agree. This world needs mending and fixing and repairing, Cicero said, not destroying. It needs to be lifted from the lower realms, not plunged more deeply into them.
Work in Progress 