ABSTRACT
Love is recognized as a universal expression of effect, and it has become an aspect of European cultural identity. In European culture, love as a traditional expression of emotion has been cultivated through the written word; it is the text which influences the spiritual vitality of society. The text has enabled love to become a universal spiritual value, without which it is impossible to imagine contemporary human society. It is interesting that the Baltic Germans living in Latvia cultivated the tradition of romantic and sentimental love known in Western Europe. In the Latvian culture there is not noted any contrast between the sacred and profane. The Christian idea of sin, as evidenced in historical texts, was never accepted or understood by the Latvians. Looking from this perspective, traditional Latvian society seems pragmatic in respect to love and romantic feeling, but more sensitive regarding the erotic aspects.
