Theophilus or Love Divine

Pierre Du Moulin's 1623 treatise offers a rigorous, methodical examination of what it means to love God - not as abstract doctrine, but as lived spiritual reality. Written for the devout Protestant reader seeking to move beyond mere intellectual assent toward genuine affection for the divine, the work dissects the nature of divine love through three interlocking frameworks: five degrees of increasing intimacy, five marks that distinguish authentic love from its counterfeits, and five aids that strengthen and sustain the believer's heart. Du Moulin, a French Huguenot theologian of considerable learning, combines Reformation theology with practical spiritual direction, producing something neither dry systematic theology nor mere devotional anecdote. The text reflects the era's conviction that the love of God is not a passive disposition but an active discipline, requiring vigilant self-examination and deliberate cultivation. For readers drawn to the great spiritual classics of Christian mysticism and reformation piety, this treatise rewards careful attention with its honest accounting of love's difficulties and its stubborn insistence that divine affection, though demanding, remains attainable.