‘Legis et Amor’

By Wilhelm Matthew A. Tan

            This essay is one of the hardest essays the writer had ever written. As the reader goes on, it will be evident why.

GR No. 49549 (Chua Qua vs Clave) has my most favorite line in all Supreme Court decisions I have read. “The heart has reasons of which reason does not know.”

Falling in love needs no justification whatsoever. The first question people would ask is why. “Why do you like her?” Next, what. “What do you see in her?” Oftentimes, it’s normal to have an answer in a heartbeat. If not, a few moments of thinking time suffice, enough to answer the query, more than enough to paint an image of the most wonderful girl in the galaxy. In all honesty, we must admit to ourselves that we are caught off guard by the question. Thankfully, it is a question that would not incur the wrath of the inquirer, and a response of “Are you willing to bet your grades with your silence?” is completely unnecessary.

There are rare occurrences, though, when we cannot answer. Do we love them for their adorable quirkiness, or the pretty face that trumps all who win the grandest pageants? We do not know, because indeed, we cannot formulate even the shallowest reasons as to why they’ve effortlessly nabbed our feelings. Is it not enough that their mere existence is reason enough to gain affection for them? When we want to grab a pen and paper to write letters and proses for our muses, the most difficult part is forming the ideas which would eventually be interlocking lines of why they are angels descending from heaven, and that their more human sides are what draw us to them.

We do not care about their past. Despite them telling us that pursuing them is a whimsical fantasy, and that we would not accept them for who they really are, the conscious choice of carrying on is made. While it is man’s nature to gain something for themselves, we offer them unconditional love. The advice of the closest confidant is thrown to the wind, our friends left shaking their heads. When questioned, we quote Chua-Qua vs Clave to their astonishment and occasional amusement.

Wilhelm Matthew A. Tan is a psychology student in Iloilo.