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The English word "love" can mean so many things to so many people in so many circumstances. The ancient Greek philosophers had five different words for "love," each with its own symptoms and prognoses. In attempting to discover the meaning of "true love," let us examine the different kinds of love and see if we can find which of these kinds of love we mean when we say, "I love you truly."

STORGE, PHILIO and AGAPE

Storge is love for your family, and implies a kind of loyalty. Philio is love for your friends, and again, is based on a kind of mutual loyalty. Agape, as used by the ancient Greeks, means an affection for something, like a pet or a car. Now, "agape," when used by New Testament writers, has a very different meaning, but it is particular to the New Testament, and not the ancient Greek writers. In the New Testament, agape means a kind of spiritualized love, a theistic and devoted love.

The similarity of these kinds of love is that they are all based on reciprocity, duty and loyalty. One loves ones friends because of common interests, shared experiences and understanding. But should that loyalty not be returned, or in some way betrayed, philio disappears. If you catch an uncle abusing your child in some way, storge is not gonna protect him. If your car starts breaking down, watch the agape start looking for a new object of affection.

In this sense, these kinds of love are purer, because they are based on a loyalty and duty that we must maintain in an ordered society. They are noble and good. Rarely do they foster and encourage unwholesome or harmful desires. But are they what we mean, when we talk about a "true love?"

CHARITAS

Charitas, from which English gets the word "charity," is a selfless love for which one expects no reciprocity. It is also indicative of a love that goes beyond who you know to effect mankind in general. One picks up a discarded candy wrapper not because of some selfish need, or chance for gain, but because one understands that doing something good for all of society is a loving act.

This kind of love is very different from storge, philio or agape because it is not based on duty or loyalty. By definition, there is no reward for charitas. One chooses to act according to charitas because one feels a higher calling to a superior love for mankind. When you donate money to a charity, not considering the possibility of a tax deduction (that would not be charitas, if you did), then you are doing something which goes beyond self-benefit, duty or

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