Tans. That part or region of the will which is highest and most exalted, and where it becomes most strongly, clearly, and effectually kindled. He means that such affection is not as in its beginning, where it stirs, nor as at the end, where it reposes, but as in the middle, where it becomes fervid.
XIV.
Cic. But what means that glowing arrow, which has flames in place of a hard point, around which
is encircled a noose with the legend: "Amor instat ut instans"? Say, what does it mean?
Tans. It seems to me to mean that love never leaves him, and at the same time eternally afflicts him.
Cic. I see the noose, the arrow, and the fire. I understand that which is written: "Amor instat"; but that which follows I cannot understand—that is, that love as an instant, or persisting, persists; which has the same poverty of idea as if one said: "This undertaking he has feigned as a feint; he bears it as he bears it, understands it as he understands it, values it as he values it, and esteems it as he who esteems it."
Tans. It is easy for him to decide and condemn who does not even consider. That "instans" is not an adjective from the verb "instare," but it is a noun substantive used for the instant of time.
Cic. Now, what is the meaning of the phrase "love endures as an instant?"
Tans.. What does Aristotle mean in his book on Time, when he says that eternity is an instant, and that all time is no more than an instant?
Cic. How can this be, seeing that there is no time so short that it cannot be divided into seconds? Perhaps he would say that in one instant there is