J. Maritain: To confuse 'loving' with 'seeking to please'

"It has never been recommended to confuse "loving" with "seeking to please"… ...Salome pleased Herod's guests; I can hardly believe she was burning with love for them. As for poor John the Baptist... ...she certainly did not envelop him in her love."

~Jacques Maritain: The Peasant of the Garonne.

Salome Presented with the Head of St. John the Baptist. By Leonaert Bramer.

Oil on canvas, 1630's; Musée des Beaux-Arts, Nimes.