(details from "Psyche et l'Amour"), 1798 Baron Francois Gerard (1770-1837) Louvre Museum, Paris, France

I would argue that the French did well in naming this painting "Amour" or "Amor" instead of Love, Eros, or Cupid. Amor in Latin, French, Spanish, and other languages related to Latin expand the notion of "Love" to encompass a broader and deeper spectrum of "Love". In English, such is expressed in terms like affection, tenderness, attachment, empathy. Sex and Amor often are co-existent but not necessarily. While sex is often self-centered, Amor often reflects sentiments rooted in other than self - it is the feeling of one offering of another to become "one" as in terms like "I am yours". Perhaps, the virtual disappearance of Amor and amorous in the current English vocabulary is a reflection of the prevalence of "love" as a sexual matter is indicative of an emphasis on "self" expressed as lust. An emblem of Psyche and Cupid as an amorous couple is the butterfly. Its delicacy and frailty underscore its incompatibility with rape and violence. It is remarkable that in modern English there even is the expression of "hate-Love", to denote a from of sexual abuse of another.