« Love is an activity, not a passive affect; it is a "take part in" and not a "let yourself be caught". In a very general way, one can explain its activeness by saying this: love is essentially to give, not to receive. »

« By "activity," according to the modern meaning of this word, we usually mean an action that, by an expenditure of energy, effects a change in an existing situation. Thus a man is considered active if he does business, studies medicine, works at the chain, builds a table, or engages in sports. All of these activities have this in common that they have an external goal to achieve. What is not taken into account is the motivation of the activity. Consider, for example, a man driven to unceasing work by a deep sense of insecurity and loneliness - or another driven by ambition or thirst for money. In all these cases, the individual is a slave to a passion, and his activity is in fact a "passivity" because he is pushed; he is a victim, not an actor. On the other hand, a man who stands still and contemplates, with no other intention or objective than to experience himself and his uniqueness with the world, is considered "passive" because he is not "doing" something. In reality, this attitude of concentrated meditation represents the highest activity, an activity of the soul, which is made possible only by inner freedom and autonomy. Thus, in the modern sense, the concept of activity refers to an expenditure of energy for the achievement of external objectives, while in another sense it refers to the implementation of powers inherent to man, regardless of the need for an external change. This second sense of the concept of activity, Spinoza formulated very clearly. It distinguishes among the affects those who are active and passive, "actions" and "passions". In the exercise of an active affect, man is free, he is master of his affect; in the exercise of a passive affect, man is pushed, the object of a motivation of which he himself is not aware. Thus Spinoza comes to affirm that virtue and power are one and the same thing. Envy, jealousy, ambition, all kinds of greed, are passions; love is an action, the practice of a human power that can only be exercised in freedom and never under the effect of coercion. »

« Responsibility could easily degenerate into domination and possessiveness if there were only a third component of love: respect. Respect is neither fear nor reverential fear; it means, in accordance with the root of the word ("respicere - look"), the ability to perceive a person as he is, to be aware of his unique individuality. It is to be concerned that the other person can grow and flourish from his own fund. »