CHAPTER II
CHAPTER II
THE TITLE:
"DE REDUCTIONE ARTIUM AD THEOLOGIAM'
At the time when the Seraphic Doctor wrote the present trea tise, the term ars had passed through a great variety of meanings both within the school and without. True, it had never lost the original etymological meaning of "skill", "ability", "science", no more than had the Greek equivalent apsT/j, but its meaning was generalized in proportion as the school program extended. Even
St. Bonaventure goes back to Aristotle for his definition of ars as the habitus cum ratione factivus1. In the treatment of the ars mechanica, the term is used in the very restricted sense as set forth by Hugh of St. Victor in his Didascalica2, but in the title and body of the treatise, it carries a much wider signification.
The expression artes liberates, as used during the Middle Ages, does not denote what we understand by the term today, but rather those branches of knowledge which were taught in the schools of that time. Of the two groups into which these seven arts were arranged, the first group, called the artes triviales or trivium, embraced the sciences of language, of oratory, and of logic, better known as the artes sermocinales, or language studies; the second group, the quadrivium, known as the artes reales, or physicae, included arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music, or the mathematico-physical disciplines. The seven liberal arts are thus the members of a system which embraces language studies as the lower, the mathematical branches as the intermediate, and science properly so-called as the uppermost and final grade.
The connection of the artes with philosophy and wisdom was faithfully kept in mind during the Middle Ages. In accordance with the prevailing hierarchical conception of the various branches of human knowledge, they were valued as a preparation for philosophy rather than as independent branches of study. Hugh of St. Victor stresses this point when he says that the seven liberal arts are the best tools, the fittest entrance through which the 1 St. Bonaventure, In Hexaem., V. 13, t. V, p. 356; cf. Aristotle,
Ethica Nicom. VI, 4.
2 II, c. 21, Migne, P. L., t. 176, col. 760.
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way to philosophic thought is opened to the intellect3 — a view with which St. Thomas Aquinas is in perfect accord4. The special sciences, which were still in process of formation, were not marked off from one another nor separated from philosophy by definite boundary lines as they are today. They furnished the analytical data, the indispensable materials upon which philosophy built those synthetic conceptions which form its proper object.
For the academic development of the artes it was important that the universities accepted them as part of their curricula.
Among their faculties, the ordo artistarum, afterwards called the faculty of philosophy, was fundamental: Universitas fundatur in artibus. It furnished the preparation not only for the Faculty of Theology, but also for those of Law and Medicine5.
The Schoolmen well realized the intimate relations which should exist between science and philosophy and the need of bringing together these various studies into one and the same educational center. An idea of the scientific nature of the full course of philosophy may be gathered from a study of the regu lation issued by the Faculty of Arts at Paris, on the 19th of March,
1255, de libris qui legendi essent6. Commentaries on the various scientific treatises of Aristotle, especially on the first book on meteors, on the heavens, on plants and animals, on generation, on life and death, on sleep and waking, on the senses and sensation supplied the magistri with ample material for instruction on astronomy, botany, zoology, and physiology while Aristotle's
Physics introduced many problems of chemistry and physics as we understand the terms today. Hence the current notion that in the Middle Ages the sciences formed an integral part of philosophy.
It was not until the Thirteenth Century at the earliest that philosophy was separated from the liberal arts; and though at the time of St. Bonaventure, it constituted a science properly so-called and formed matter of separate instruction, still, the term was often used to denote the sum-total of purely natural sciences7. Taken
3 "Sunt enim (septem artes liberates) quasi optima quaedam instrumenta et rudimenta quibus via paratur animo ad plenam philosophicae veritatis notitiam." Eruditio Didascalica, Migne, P.L., t. 176, col. 768.
4 ". . . his (that is, the liberal arts) primum erudiebantur qui discere volebant philosophiam; et ideo in trivium et quadrivium distinguuntur eo quod his quasi quibusdam viis vivax animus ad secreta philosophiae introeat." In lib. de Trinitate, q. v., a. I (ed. Vives, p. 528, v. 28).
Quoted by De Wulf, Scholasticism Old and New, p. 80.
5 Cf. Willmann, Otto, "The Seven Liberal Arts," Catholic Encyclo pedia, Vol. I, p. 764.
6 De Wulf, Scholasticism Old and New, p. 81.
7 P. L6onard de Carvalho e Castro, O. F. M., "Saint Bonaventure le Docteur Franciscain," 1923, Etudes de TMologieHistorique, Paris, p.195.
THE TITLE: "DE REDUCTIONE ARTIUM AD THEOLOGIAM" 17
as an independent science, philosophy, according to the classi fication common to the Middle Ages and accepted by our Saint, included the nine disciplinary branches of rational, natural, and moral philosophy. The Seraphic Doctor uses the term in both the restricted and in the wider signification8. It would seem that in the selection and arrangement of his material in the present thesis, he had before him the Eruditio Didascalica in which his favored author Hugh states that philosophy embraces all knowl edge and accordingly defines it as disciplina omnium rerum humanarum atque divinarum rationes plane investigans9.
While the realm of sense perception or sensitive cognition had received careful attention by the scholars of earlier days and in his own time, St. Bonaventure draws it definitely within the scope of philosophical investigation under the title of lumen inferius.
Undoubtedly, the advancement of nature studies especially by the Oxford School and St. Albertus Magnus had brought this subject to the fore. The De Proprietatibus Rerum of Bartholomaeus
Anglicus, for example, devotes several chapters to the considera tion of the elements, the senses, and so forth10. In his Itinerarium, the Seraphic Doctor speaks of the first aspectus principalis . . . ad corpora externa, secundum quern vocatur animalitas seu sensualitas, and among the sex gradus ascensionis the first is sensus* 11.
Thus we see that the artes libcrales of classical days, even in their later medieval setting and content as advanced by Capella,
Cassiodorus, Alcuin, and St. Isidore, had long since been extended to comprise larger fields of investigation and speculation when
St. Bonaventure graced the cathedra12. By artes, then, the Sera phic Doctor means philosophy in the broad acceptation of the term; it is secular or world knowledge as contrasted with the knowledge of God, or theology. Aside from the primary scope intended by the author, namely, to raise souls heavenward, there enters into consideration another element — the controversy among teachers and students as to the position of philosophy and theology. St. Bonaventure had a clear mind on the subject. For him no sort of philosophy had a legitimate standing in the curri culum of studies if it disregarded revelation. Theology was the prime source of all knowledge, human and divine. Hence this
8 Ibid. g Lib. I. 5, Migne, P. L., t. 176, col. 744.
10 I am quoting the edition by Anthonius Koberger of Nuremberg, June 20, 1492, Cf. chapters III, IV, and V.
11 Opera Omnia, t. V, p. 297.
12 Cf. Rashdall's Medieval Universities, edited by Powicke and Emden, 3 vol., Oxford, 1936, passim; Willmann-Kirsch, The Science of Education, 2 vol., Beatty, Pa., 1921, passim; Willmann, art. "The Seven Liberal Arts" in Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. I, pp. 760-765.
2 St. Bonaventure, De Reductione
l8 DE REDUCTIONE ARTIUM AD THEOLOGIAM
little work has also an educational purpose. It clinches the thesis that theology is the fundamental factor and unit of all education.
For the proper understanding of the title it is well to remember that artes was the traditional name for the different secular subjects of the curriculum; that the scientia philosophica was still regarded as a movement or an attitude; that while taking gradual possession of the Facultas Ariium, as was only natural, this science likewise made its influence strongly felt in the department of Sacred
Scripture or Sacra Pagina, which at that time had become more generally known as theologia.
In order to understand the full import of the term theologia in the title of the present thesis, it is well to bear in mind the strife which was occasioned between the biblici and the sententiarii as the Liber Sententiarum gradually took its place on the cathedra alongside the Sacra Pagina. Roger Bacon, for example, inveighs vehemently against the Parisian Doctors for relegating the Word of God to an inferior position. Although the Holy Bible and the Sentences were the only official texts in the School of Theology13, it is quite evident that the Seraphic Doctor considers the Sacred text the source book par excellence of the sacra doctrina, videlicet theologia14 or, as he frequently puts it, sacra Scriptura sive theo logia. It would seem that, academically speaking, Sacra Pagina gradually came to denote a course, while theologia indicated the department or school.
The term reductio is used by St. Bonaventure in very different contexts15, but, as Gilson remarks, it invariably means the ex planation and classification of a reality which is incapable of separate subsistence and insufficient in itself, a reality, neverthe less, which is not identical with the substance with which it is connected and must, therefore, be distinguished from it. In the schools, the term was used as a factor of philosophical classi fication. The Seraphic Doctor was addressing academicians.
He was speaking of the different departments and sciences of the University program. Hence, his immediate purpose was to show the organic connection between the departments of Arts and Theology; in fact, to prove scientifically that the arts or all secular studies must be grouped under theology; that theology is the unifying and clarifying science of all the other sciences; that no philosophical knowledge is complete and adequate unless it is studied in the light of theological truth.
13 Rashdall, op. cit., Vol. I, p. 474.
14 Brevil., I, 1, t. V, p. 210.
15 Cf. Gilson, op. cit., p. 331 where he distinguishes and explains five cases of reduction.
PART TWO THE TEXT WITH
TRANSLATION AND GRAPH
DE REDUCTIONE ARTIUM AD THEOLOGIAM
1. Omne datum optimum et omne donum perfectum desursum est, descendens a Patre luminum, Iacobus in Epistolae suae primo capitulo. In hoc verbo tangitur origo omnis illuminationis, et simul cum hoc insinuatur multiplicis luminis ab ilia fontali luce liberalis emanatio. Licet autem omnis illuminatio cognitionis interna sit, possumus tamen rationabiliter distinguere, ut dicamus, quod est lumen exterius, scilicet lumen artis mechanicae; lumen inferius, scilicet lumen cognitionis sensitivae; lumen interius, scilicet lumen cognitionis philosophicae; lumen superius, scilicet lumen gratiae et sacrae Scripturae. Primum lumen illuminat respectu figurae artificialis, secundum respectu formae naturalis, tertium respectu veritatis intellectualis, quartum et ultimum respectu veritatis salutaris.
2. Primum igitur lumen, quod illuminat ad figuras artificiales, quae quasi exterius sunt et propter supplendam corporis indigentiam repertae, dicitur lumen artis mechanicae; quae, quia quodam modo servilis est et degenerat a cognitione philosophiae, recte potest dici exterius. Et illud septuplicatur secundum septem artes mechanicas, quas assignat Hugo in Didascalico, quae sunt scilicet lanificium, armatura, agricoltura, venatio, navigatio, medicina, theatrica. — Quarum sufficients sic accipitur. Quoniam omnis ars mechanica aut est ad solatium, aut ad commodum; sive aut est ad excludendam tristitiam, aut indigentiam; sive aut prodest, aut delectat, secundum illud Horatii:
Aut prodesse volunt, aut delectare poetae.
Et iterum:
Omne tulit punctum qui miscuit utile dulci.
Si est ad solatium et delectationem, sic est theatrica, quae est ars ludorum, omnem modum ludendi continens, sive sit in cantibus, sive in organis, sive in figmentis, sive in gesticulationibus cor poris. — Si vero ordinatur ad commodum sive profectum secundum exteriorem hominem, hoc potest esse aut quantum ad operimentum,
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1. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights, says James in the first chapter of his epistle. These words of Sacred Scripture not only indicate the source of all illumination but they likewise point out the generous flow of the manifold rays which issue from that Fount of light.
Notwithstanding the fact that every illumination of knowledge is within, still we can with reason distinguish what we may call the external light, or the light of mechanical art; the lower light, or the light of sense perception; the inner light, or the light of philosophical knowledge; and the higher light, or the light of grace and of Sacred Scripture. The first light illumines in regard to structure of artifacts; the second, in regard to natural forms; the third, in regard to intellectual truth; the fourth and last, in regard to saving truth.
2. The first light, then, since it enlightens the mind in re ference to structure of artifacts, which are, as it were, exterior to man and intended to supply the needs of the body, is called the light of mechanical art. Being, in a certain sense, servile and of a lower nature than philosophical knowledge, this light can rightly be termed external. It has seven divisions corresponding to the seven mechanical arts enumerated by Hugh in his Didascalicon, namely, weaving, armour-making, agriculture, hunting, navigation, medicine, and the dramatic art. That the abovementioned arts suffice (for us) is shown in the following way.
Every mechanical art is intended for man's consolation or for his comfort; its purpose, therefore, is to banish either sorrow or want; it either benefits or delights, according to the words of Horace:
"Either to serve or to please is the wish of the poets."
And again:
"He hath gained universal applause who hath combined the profitable with the pleasing."
If its aim is to afford consolation and amusement, it is dramatic art, or the art of exhibiting plays, which embraces every form of entertainment, be it song, music, poetry, or pantomime. If, however, it is intended for the comfort or betterment of the ex terior man, it can accomplish its purpose by providing either
. 21
DE REDUCTIONE ARTIUM AD THEOLOGIAM
aut quantum ad alimentum, aut quantum ad utriusque adminiculum. — Si quantum ad operimentum, aut illud est de materia molli et leni, sic est lanificium; aut de materia dura et forti, et sic est armatura sive ars fabrilis, quae continet omnem armaturam fabricatam sive ex ferro, sive ex quocumque metallo, sive lapide, sive ligno.
Si vero iuvat quantum ad cibum, hoc potest esse dupliciter: quia cibamur vegetabilibus, aut sensibilibus. Si quantum ad vegetabilia, sic est agricultural si quantum ad sensibilia, sic est venatio.—
Vel aliter: si iuvat quantum ad cibum, hoc potest esse dupliciter: aut iuvat quantum ad ciborum genituram et multiplicationem, et tunc est agricultural aut quantum ad cibi multiplicem praeparationem, et sic est venatio, quae continet omne genus praeparandi cibos et potus et sapores, quod pertinet ad pistores, coquos et caupones. Denominatur autem ab unius parte solum propter quandam excellentiam et curialitatem.
Si autem est in utriusque adminiculum, hoc est dupliciter: aut defectum supplendo, et sic est navigatio, sub qua continetur omnis mercatio sive pertinentium ad operimentum, sive ad ali mentum; aut removendo impedimentum et nocumentum, et sic est medicina, sive consistat in confectione electuariorum, sive potionum, sive unguentorum, sive curatione vulnerum, sive decisione membrorum, sicut est chirurgia. —- Theatrica autem est unica.
Et sic patet sufficientia.
3. Secundum lumen, quod illuminat nos ad formas naturales apprehendendas, est lumen cognitionis sensitivae, quod recte dicitur inferius, quia cognitio sensitiva ab inferiori incipit et fit beneficio lucis corporalis. Et hoc quintuplicatur secundum quinque sensus. — Quorum sufficientiam sumit Augustinus secundum naturam luminis elementorum in tertio super Genesi hoc modo: quia lumen sive lux faciens ad distinctionem rerum corporearum aut est in suae proprietatis eminentia et quadam puritate, et sic est sensus visus; aut commiscetur aeri, et sic est auditus; aut vapori et sic est odoratus; aut humori, et sic est gustus; aut terrae grossitiei, et sic est tactus. Spiritus enim sensibilis naturam luminis habet, unde in nervis viget, quorum natura est clara et pervia; et in istis quinque sensibus multiplicatur secundum maiorem et minorem depurationem. Itaque cum quinque sint corpora mundi simplicia, scilicet quatuor elementa et quinta essentia; ut homo
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covering or food, or by serving as an aid in the acquisition of either.
In the matter of covering, if it provides a soft and light material, it is weaving; if a strong and hard material, it is armour-making or metal-working, an art which extends to every tool or implement fashioned either of iron or of any metal whatsoever, or of stone, or of wood.
In the matter of food, mechanical art may benefit us in two ways, for we derive our sustenance from vegetables and from animals. As regards vegetables, it is farming; as regards flesh meats, it is hunting. Or again, as regards food, mechanical art has a twofold advantage: it aids either in the production and multi plication of crops, in which case it is agriculture, or in the various ways of preparing food, under which aspect it is hunting, an art which extends to every conceivable way of preparing foods, drinks, and delicacies — a task with which bakers, cooks, and innkeepers are concerned. The term "hunting" (venatio), however, is used for all these things because it has a certain excellence and court liness.
Furthermore, as an aid in the acquisition of each (clothing and food), the mechanical arts contribute to the welfare of man in two ways: either by supplying a want, and in this case it is navigation, which includes all commerce of articles of covering or of food; or by removing impediments and ills of the body, under which aspect it is medicine, whether it is concerned with the preparation of drugs, potions, or ointments, with the healing of wounds, or with the amputation of members, in which latter case it is called surgery. Dramatic art, on the other hand, is the only one of its kind. Thus the sufficiency (of the mechanical arts) is evident.
3. The second light, which enables us to discern natural forms, is the light of sense perception. Rightly is it called the lower light because sense perception begins with a material object and takes place by the aid of corporeal light. It has five divisions corres ponding to the five senses. In his Third Book on Genesis, Saint
Augustine bases the adequacy of the senses on the nature of the light present in the elements in the following way. If the light or brightness which makes possible the discernment of things cor poreal exists in a high degree of its own property and in a certain purity, it is the sense of sight; commingled with the air, it is hearing; with vapor, it is smell; with fluid, it is taste; with solidity of earth, it is touch. Now the sensitive life of the bod}7 partakes of the nature of light for which reason it thrives in the nerves, which are naturally unobstructed and capable of transmitting impressions, and in these five senses it possesses more or less vigor
DE REDUCTIONE ARTIUM AD THEOLOGIAM
omnes formas corporeas posset percipere, quinque sensus habet illis correspondentes; quia nulla fit apprehensio nisi per aliquam similitudinem et convenientiam organi et obiecti, pro eo quod sensus est natura determinata. — Est et alius modus sumendi sufficientiam sensuum, sed hunc approbat Augustinus, et rationabilis videtur, quia ad hanc sufficientiam simul concurrunt correspondentia ex parte organi, medii et obiecti.
4. Tertium lumen, quod illuminat ad veritates intelligibiles perscrutandas, est lumen cognitionis philosophicae, quod ideo interius dicitur, quia interiores causas et latentes inquirit, et hoc per principia disciplinarum et veritatis naturalis, quae homini naturaliter sunt inserta. Et hoc triplicatur in rationalem, naturalem et moralem. — Et sufficientia potest accipi sic. Est enim veritas sermonum, veritas rerum et veritas morum. Rationalis veritatem sermonum considerat, naturalis veritatem rerum, moralis veritatem morum. — Vel aliter: sicut in summo Deo est considerare rationem causae efficientis, formalis sive exemplaris, et finalis, quia "est causa subsistendi, ratio intelligendi et ordo vivendi"; sic in ipsa illuminatione philosophiae, quoniam illuminat aut ad cognoscendas causas essendi, et sic est physica; aut rationes intelligendi, et sic est logica; aut ordinem vivendi, et sic est moralis sive practica. —
Tertio modo sic: quia lumen cognitionis philosophicae illuminat ipsam intellectivam; hoc autem potest esse tripliciter: aut in quantum regit motivam, et sic est moralis; aut in quantum regit se ipsam, et sic est naturalis; aut in quantum regit interpretativam, et sic est sermocinalis; ut sic illuminetur homo ad veritatem vitae, ad veritatem scientiae et ad veritatem doctrinae.
Et quoniam tripliciter potest aliquis per sermonem exprimere quod habet apud se, ut scilicet notum faciat mentis suae conceptum, vel ut amplius moveat ad credendum, vel ut moveat ad amorem, vel odium: ideo sermocinalis sive rationalis philosophia triplicatur, scilicet in grammaticam, logicam et rhetoricam; quarum prima est ad exprimendum, secunda ad docendum, tertia ad movendum.
Prima respicit rationem ut apprehensivam; secunda, ut iudicativam; tertia, ut motivam. Et quia ratio apprehendit per sermonem congruum, iudicat per verum, movet per sermonem ornatum:
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according to the greater or less soundness of the nerves. And so, since there are in the world five simple substances, namely, the four elements and the fifth essence, man has for the perception of all these corporeal forms five senses well adapted to these substances, because, on account of the well-defined nature of each sense, apprehension can take place only when there is a certain conformity and fitness between the organ and the object.
There is another way of determining the adequacy of the senses, but Saint Augustine sanctions this method and it seems reasonable, since corresponding elements on the part of the organ, the medium, and the object lend joint support to the proof.
4. The third light, which enlightens man in the investiga tion of intelligible truths, is the light of philosophical knowl edge. It is called inner because it inquires into inner and hid den causes through principles of learning and natural truth, which are inherent in man. There is a triple diffusion of this light in rational, natural, and moral philosophy, which seems ade quate, since it covers the three aspects of truth — truth of speech, truth of things, and truth of morals. Rational philosophy considers the truth of speech; natural philosophy, the truth of things; and moral philosophy, the truth of conduct. Or we may consider it in a different light. Just as we find in the Most High God efficient, formal or exemplary, and final causality, since "He is the Cause of being, the Principle of knowledge, and the Pattern of human life," so do we find it in the illumination of philosophy, which enlightens the mind to discern the causes of being, in which case it is physics; or to grasp the principles of understanding, in which case it is logic; or to learn the right way of living, in which case it is moral or practical philosophy. We are now considering it under its third aspect. The light of philosophical knowledge illumines the intellectual faculty itself and this enlightenment may be threefold: if it governs the motive power, it is moral philosophy; if it rules itself, it is natural philosophy: if it directs interpretation, it is discursive philosophy. As a result, man is enlightened as regards the truth of life, the truth of knowledge, and the truth of doctrine.
And since one may, through the medium of speech, give ex pression to what he has in mind with a threefold purpose in view: namely, to manifest his thought, to induce someone to believe, or to arouse love or hatred, for this reason, discursive or rational philosophy has three sub-divisions: grammar, logic, and rhetoric.
Of these sciences the first aims to express; the second, to teach; the third, to persuade. The first considers the reasoning faculty as apprehending; the second, as judging; the third, as persuading.
Since the mind apprehends by means of correct speech, judges by
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hinc est, quod haec triplex scientia has tres passiones circa sermonem considerat.
Rursus, quoniam intellectus noster dirigi habet in iudicando secundum rationes formales, et hae tripliciter possunt considerari: vel in comparatione ad materiam, et sic dicuntur rationes formates; vel in comparatione ad animam, et sic intellectuales; vel in com paratione ad divinam sapientiam, et sic ideates: ideo naturalis philosophia triplicatur in physicam proprie dictam, in mathematicam et in metaphysicam; ita quod physica consideratio est circa rerum generationem et corruption em secundum virtutes naturales et rationes seminales; mathematica est circa considerationem formarum abstrahibilium secundum rationes intelligibiles; metaphysica, circa cognitionem omnium entium, quae reducit ad unum primum principium, a quo exierunt secundum rationes ideates, sive ad Deum in quantum principium, finis, et exemplar; licet inter metaphysicos de huiusmodi rationibus idealibus nonnulla fuerit controversia.
Postremo, quia regimen virtutis motivae tripliciter habet attendi, scilicet respectu vitae propriae, respectu familiae et respectu multitudinis subiectae; ideo moralis philosophia triplicatur, scilicet in monasticam, oeconomicam et politicam; quae distinguuntur secundum triplicem modum praedictum, sicut apparet ex ipsis nominibus.
5. Quartum autem lumen, quod illuminat ad veritatem salutarem, est lumen sacrae Scripturae, quod ideo dicitur superius, quia ad superiora ducit manifestando quae sunt supra rationem, et etiam quia non per inventionem, sed per inspirationem a Patre luminum descendit. Quod licet unum sit secundum intellectum litteralem, est tamen triplex secundum sen sum mysticum et spiritualem. In omnibus enim sacrae Scripturae libris praeter litteralem sensum, quern exterius verba sonant, concipitur triplex sensus spiritualis, scilicet allegoricus, quo docemur, quid sit credendum de Divinitate et human itate; moralis, quo docemur, quomodo vivendum sit; et anagogicus, quq docemur qualiter est
Deo adhaerendum. Unde tota sacra Scriptura haec tria docet, scilicet Christi aeternam generationem et incarnation em, vivendi ordinem et Dei et animae unionem. Primum respicit fidem, secundum mores, tertium finem utriusque. Circa primum insudare debet studium doctorum, circa secundum studium praedicatorum, circa tertium studium contemplativorum. Primum maxime docet
Augustinus, secundum maxime docet Gregorius, tertius vero docet Dionysius — Anselmus sequitur Augustinum, Bernardus sequitur
Gregorium, Richardus sequitur Dionysium, quia Anselmus in
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means of true speech, and persuades by means of embellished speech, with good reason does this triple science consider these three qualities in speech.
Again, since our intellect must be guided in its judgment by formal principles, these principles, likewise, can be considered under three aspects: in relation to matter, they are termed formal; in relation to the mind, they are termed intellectual; and in relation to Divine Wisdom, they are called ideal. Natural philosophy, therefore, is subdivided into physics proper, mathematics, and metaphysics. Thus physics treats of the generation and corruption of things according to natural powers and seminal causes; mathe matics considers forms that can be abstracted in their pure intelligibility; metaphysics treats of the cognition of all beings, which it leads back to one first Principle from which they pro ceeded according to the ideal causes, that is, to God, since He is the Beginning, the End, and the Exemplar. Concerning these ideal causes, however, there has been some controversy among metaphysicians.
Since the government of the motive power is to be considered in a threefold way, namely, as regards the individual, the family, and the state, so there are three corresponding divisions of moral philosophy: namely, ethical, economic, and political, the content of each being clearly indicated by its name.
5. Now the fourth light, which illumines the mind for the understanding of saving truth, is the light of Sacred Scripture.
This light is called higher because it leads to things above by the manifestation of truths which are beyond reason and also because it is not acquired by human research, but comes down by in spiration from the "Father of Lights''. Although in its literal sense it is one, still, in its spiritual and mystical sense, it is threefold, for in all the books of Sacred Scripture, in addition to the literal meaning which the words outwardly express, there is understood a threefold spiritual meaning: namely, the allegorical, by which we are taught what to believe concerning the Divinity and huma nity; the moral, by which we are taught how to live; and the anagogical, by which we are taught how to be united to God.
Hence all Sacred Scripture teaches these three truths: namely, the eternal generation and Incarnation of Christ, the pattern of human life, and the union of the soul with God. The first regards faith; the second, morals; and the third, the ultimate end of both.
The doctors should labor at the study of the first; the preachers, at the study of the second; the contemplatives, at the study of the third. The first is taught chiefly by Augustine; the second,
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ratiocinatione, Bernardus in praedicatione, Richardus in contemplatione — Hugo vero omnia haec.
6. Ex praedictis colligitur, quod licet ex primaria divisione quadruplex sit lumen desursum descendens; sunt tamen sex eius differentiae: scilicet lumen sacrae Scripturae, lumen cognitionis sensitivae, lumen artis mechanicae, lumen philosophiae rationalis, lumen philosophiae naturalis et lumen philosophiae moralis. Et ideo sex illuminationes sunt in vita ista et habent vesperam, quia omnis scientia destruetur; et ideo succedit eis septima dies requietionis, quae vesperam non habet, scilicet illuminatio gloriae.
7. Unde valde apte possunt reduci sex istae illuminationes ad senarium formationum sive illuminationum, in quibus factus est mundus, ut cognitio sacrae Scripturae primae formationi, scilicet formationi lucis, respondeat; et sic deinceps per ordinem. —
Et sicut omnes illae ab una luce habebant originem, sic omnes istae cognitiones ad cognitionem sacrae Scripturae ordinantur, in ea clauduntur et in ilia perficiuntur, et mediante ilia ad aeternam illuminationem ordinantur. Unde omnis nostra cognitio in eognitione sacrae Scripturae debet habere statum, et maxime quantum ad intellectum anagogiae, per quern illuminatio refertur iuDeum, unde habuit ortum. Et ideo ibi completus est circulus, completus est senarius, et propterea status.
8. Videamus igitur, qualiter aliae illuminationes cognitionum reduci habent ad lumen sacrae Scripturae. Et primo videamus in illuminatione cognitionis sensitivae, quae tota versatur circa cognitionem sensibilium, ubi tria est considerare: cognoscendi medium, cognoscendi exercitium, cognoscendi oblectamentum. —
Si consideremus medium cognoscendi, intuebimur ibi Verbum aeternaliter generatum et ex tempore incarnatum. Nullum enim sensibile movet potentiam cognitivam, nisi mediante similitudine, quae egreditur ab obiecto, sicut proles a pa rente; et hoc generaliter, realiter, vel exemplariter est necesse in omni sensu. Ilia autem similitudo non facit completionem in actu sentiendi, nisi uniatur cum organo et virtute; et cum unitur, nova fit perceptio, et per illam perceptionem fit reductio ad obiectum mediante similitudine ilia. Et licet non semper obiectum sentiatur, semper tamen, quantum est de se, gignit similitudinem, cum est in sua completione. — Per hunc etiam modum intellige, quod a summa mente.
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by Gregory; the third, by Dionysius. Anselm follows Augustine; Bernard follows Gregory; Richard (of Saint Victor) follows
Dionysius. For Anselm excels in reasoning; Bernard, in preaching; Richard, in contemplating; but Hugh (of Saint Victor) in all three.
6. From the foregoing statements it can be inferred that, although according to our first classification the light coming down from above is fourfold, it still admits of six modifications: namely, the light of Sacred Scripture, the light of sense perception, the light of mechanical art, the light of rational philosophy, the light of natural philosophy, and the light of moral philosophy.
And for that reason there are in this life six illuminations, and they have their twilight, for all knowledge will be destroyed; for that reason too there follows a seventh day of rest, a day which knows no evening, the illumination of glory.
7. Wherefore, very fittingly may these six illuminations be related to the six days of creation or illumination in which the world was made, the knowledge of Sacred Scripture corresponding to the creation of the first day, that is, to the creation of light, and so on, one after the other in order. Moreover, just as all those creations had their origin in one light, so too are all these branches of knowledge ordained for the knowledge of Sacred Scripture; they are contained in it; they are perfected by it; and by means of it they are ordained for eternal illumination. Wherefore, all our knowledge should end in the knowledge of Sacred Scripture, and especially is this true of the anagogical knowledge through which the illumination is reflected back to God whence it came.
And there the cycle ends; the number six is complete and con sequently there is rest.
8. Let us see, therefore, how the other illuminations of knowl edge are to be brought back to the light of Sacred Scripture.
First of all, let us consider the illumination of sense perception, which is concerned exclusively with the cognition of sense objects, a process in which there are three phases to be considered: namely, the medium^ of perception, the exercise of perception, and the delight of perception. If we consider the medium of perception, we shall see therein the Word begotten from all eternity and made man in time. Indeed, a sense object can stimulate a cognitive faculty only through the medium of a similitude which proceeds from the object as an offspring from its parent, and this by gene ration, by reality, or by exemplarity, for every sense. This simili tude, however, does not complete the act of perception unless it is brought into contact with the sense organ and the sense faculty, and once that contact is established, there results a new percept. Through this percept the mind is led back to the object
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quae cognoscibilis est interioribus sensibus mentis nostrae, aeternaliter emanavit similitudo, imago et proles; et ille postmodum, cum venit plenitudo temporis, unitus est menti et carni et hominis formam accepit, quod nunquam fuerat prius; et per ilium omnes mentes nostrae reducuntur ad Deum, quae illarn similitudinem
Patris per fidem in corde suscipiunt.
9. Si vero consideremus sensum exercitium, intuebimur ibi ordinem vivendi. Unusquisque enim sensus se exercet circa proprium obiectum, refugit sibi nocivum et non usurpat alienum. —
Per hunc modum tunc sensus cordis ordinate vivit, dum se ipsum exercet ad id, ad quod est, contra negligentiam; dum refugit sibi nocivum, contra concupiscentiam: et dum non usurpat sibi alienum, contra superbiam. Omnis enim inordinatio aut venit ex negligentia, aut ex concupiscentia, aut ex superbia. Ille enim ordinate vivit, qui vivit prudenter, temperanter et obtemperanter, ut refugiat negligentiam in operabilibus, concupiscentiam in appetibilibus, superbiam in excellentibus.
10. Si autem consideremus oblectamentum, intuebimur Dei et animae unionem. Omnis enim sensus suum sensibile conveniens quaerit cum desiderio, invenit cum gaudio, repetit sine fastidio, quia non satiatur oculus visit,, nec amis auditu impletur. — Per hunc etiam modum sensus cordis nostri sive pulcrum, sive consonum, sive odoriferum, sive dulce, sive mulcebre debet desideranter quaerere, gaudenter invenire, incessanter repetere. —
Ecce, quomodo in cognitione sensitiva continetur occulte divina sapientia, et quam mira est contemplatio quinque sensuum spiritualium secundum conformitatem ad sensus corporales.
11. Per hunc modum est reperire in illuminatione artis mechanicae, cuius tota intentio versatur circa artificialium productionem.
In qua ista tria possumus intueri, scilicet Verbi generationem et incarnationem, vivendi ordinem et Dei et animae foederationem.
Et hoc, si consideremus egressum, effectum et fructum; vel sic: artem operandi, qualitatem effecti artificii et utilitatem fructus eliciti.
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by means of the similitude. And even though the object is not always present to the senses, still the fact remains that the object by itself, when in its finished state, begets a similitude. In like manner, know that from the mind of the Most High, Who is knowable by the interior senses of our mind, from all eternity there emanated a Similitude, an Image, and an Offspring; and after wards, when "the fulness of time came". He was united to a mind and a body and assumed the form of man, which had never been before. Through Him the minds of all of us which receive that Similitude of the Father through faith in our hearts, are brought back to God.
9. If we consider the exercise of sense perception, we shall see therein the pattern of human life, for each sense applies itself to its proper object, shrinks from what may harm it, and does not usurp what does not belong to it. In like manner, the spiritual sense lives in an orderly way when it exercises itself for its own purpose, against negligence; when it refrains from what is harmful, against concupiscence; and when it refrains from usurping what does not belong to it, against pride. Of a truth, every disorder springs from negligence, from concupiscence, or from pride.
Surely then, he who lives a prudent, temperate, and submissive life leads a well-ordered life, for thereby he avoids negligence in things to be done, concupiscence in things to be desired, and pride in things that are excellent.
10. Furthermore, if we consider the delight of sense perception, we shall see therein the union of God and the soul. Indeed every sense seeks its proper sense object with longing, finds it with delight, and never wearied, seeks it again and again, because
"the eye is not filled with seeing, neither is the ear filled with hearing." In the same way, our spiritual senses must seek with longing, find with joy, and time and again experience the beautiful, the harmonious, the fragrant, the sweet, or the delightful to the touch. Behold how the Divine Wisdom lies hidden in sense per ception and how wonderful is the contemplation of the five spiritual senses in the light of their conformity to the senses of the body.
11. By the same process of reasoning is Divine Wisdom to be found in the illumination of the mechanical arts, the sole purpose of which is the production of artifacts. In this illumination we can see the eternal generation and Incarnation of the Word, the pattern of human life, and the union of the soul with God. And this is true if we consider the production, the effect, and the fruit of a work, or if we consider the skill of the artist, the quality of the effect produced, and the utility of the product derived therefrom.
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12. Si consideremus egressum, videbimus, quod effectus artificialis exit ab artifice, mediante similitudine existente in mente; per quam artifex excogitat, antequam producat, et inde producit, sicut disposuit. Producit autem artifex exterius opus assimilatum exemplari interiori eatenus, qua potest melius; et si talem effectum posset producere, qui ipsum amaret et cognosceret, utique faceret; et si effectus ille cognosceret suum opificem, hoc esset mediante similitudine, secundum quam ab artifice processit; et si haberet obtenebratos oculos cognitionis, ut non posset supra se elevari, necesse esset ad hoc, ut ad cognitionem sui opificis duceretur, quod similitudo, per quam productus esset effectus, condescenderet usque ad illam naturam, quae ab eo posset capi et cognosci. —
Per hunc modum intellige, quod a summo Opifice nulla creatura processit nisi per Verbum aetemum, "in quo omnia disposuit", et per quod produxit non solum creaturas habentes rationem vestigii, sed etiam imaginis, ut eidem assimilari possint per cogni tionem et amorem. Et quoniam per peccatum rationalis creatura oculum contemplationis obnubilatum habuit; decentissimum fuit, ut aeternum et invisibile fieret visibile et assumeret carnem, ut nos ad Patrem reduceret. Et hoc est quod dicitur Ioannis decimo quarto: Nemo venit ad Patrem nisi per me; et Matthaei undecimo:
Patrem nemo novit nisi Filius, et cui voluerit Filius revelare. Et ideo dicitur Verbum caro factum. Considerantes igitur illuminationem artis mechanicae quantum ad operis egressus, intuebimur ibi Verbum generatum et incarnatum, id est Divinitatem et humanitatem et totius fidei integritatem.
13. Si vero consideremus effectum, intuebimur vivendi ordinem.
Omnis enim artifex intendit producere opus pulcrum et utile et stabile; et tunc est carum et acceptabile opus, cum habet istas tres conditiones. — Iuxta haec tria necesse est reperiri tria in ordine vivendi, scilicet "scire, velle et impermutabiliter sive per severanter operari". Scientia reddit opus pulcrum, voluntas reddit utile, perseverantia reddit stabile. Primum est in rationali, secundum in concupiscibili, tertium in irascibili.
14. Si consideremus fructum, inveniemus Dei et animae unionem.
Omnis enim artifex, qui aliquod opus facit, aut facit, ut per illud
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12. If we consider the 'production, we shall see that the work of art proceeds from the artificer according to a similitude existing in his mind; this pattern or model the artificer studies carefully before he produces and then he produces as he has predetermined.
The artificer, moreover, produces an exterior work bearing the closest possible resemblance to the interior exemplar, and if it were in his power to produce an effect which would know and love him, this he would assuredly do; and if that effect could know its maker, it would be by means of the similitude according to which it came from the hands of the artificer; and if the eyes of the understanding were so darkened that it could not elevate itself to things above itself in order to bring itself to a knowledge of its maker, it would be necessary for the similitude according to which the effect was produced to lower itself even to that nature which the effect could grasp and know. In like manner, under stand that no creature has proceeded from the Most High Creator except through the Eternal Word, "in Whom He ordered all things," and by which Word He produced creatures bearing not only the nature of His vestige but also of His image so that through knowledge they might become like unto Him. And since by sin the rational creature had dimmed the eye of contemplation, it was most fitting that the Eternal and Invisible should become visible and take flesh that He might lead us back to the Father. Indeed, this is what is related in the fourteenth chapter of Saint John:
"No one comes to the Father but through Me," and in the eleventh chapter of Saint Matthew: "No one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and him to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." For that reason, then, it is said, "the Word was made flesh." Therefore, considering the illumination of mechanical art as regards the production of the work, we shall see therein the Word begotten and made incarnate, that is, the Divinity and the Humanity and the integrity of all faith.
13. If we consider the effect, we shall see therein the pattern of human life, for every artificer, indeed, aims to produce a work that is beautiful, useful, and enduring, and only when it possesses these three qualities is the work highly valued and acceptable.
Corresponding to the above-mentioned qualities, in the pattern of life there must be found three elements: "knowledge, will, and unaltering and persevering toil." Knowledge renders the work beautiful; the will renders it useful; perseverance renders it lasting.
The first resides in the rational, the second in the concupiscible, and the third in the irascible appetite.
14. If we consider the fruit, we shall find therein the union of the soul with God, for every artificer who fashions a work does
3 St. Bonaventure, De Reductione
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laudetur, aut ut per illud sibi aliquid operetur vel lucretur, aut ut in illo delectetur, secundum tria, quae sunt in appetibilibus, scilicet bonum honestum, conferens et delectabile. — Propter haec tria fecit Deus animam rationalem, ut ipsa eum, laudaret, ut ipsa illi serviret, ut ipsa in eo delectaretur et quiesceret; et hoc est per caritatem, in qua qui manet in Deo manet, et Deus in eo, ita quod est ibi quaedam mirabilis unio et ex unione mirabilis delectatio; quoniam, secundum quod dicitur in Proverbiis, deliciae meae esse cum filiis hominum. — Ecce, quomodo illuminatio artis mechanicae via est ad illuminationem sacrae Scripturae, et nihil est in ea, quod non praedicet veram sapientiam, et ideo sacra Scriptura frequenter talibus similitudinibus utitur satis recte.
15. Iuxta hunc etiam modum est reperire in illuminatione rationali philosophiae, cuius principalis intentio versatur circa sermonem. In quo est tria considerare secundum triplicem ipsius sermonis considerationem, scilicet respectu proferentis, ratione prolationis et respectu audientis sive ratione finis.
16. Si sermonem consideremus in respectu ad loquentem, sic videmus, quod omnis sermo significat mentis conceptum, et ille conceptus interior est verbum mentis et eius proles, quae nota est etiam ipsi concipienti. Sed ad hoc, quod fiat nota audienti induit formam vocis, et verbum intelligibile mediante illo indumento fit sensibile et auditur exterius et suscipitur in aure cordis audi entis, et tamen non recedit a mente proferentis. — Iuxta hunc modum videmus in Verbo aeterno, quod Pater aeternaliter ipsum concepit generando, secundum illud Proverbiorum octavo: Nondum erant abyssi, et ego iam concepta eram. Sed ad hoc, quod homini sensuali fieret cognoscibile, induit formam camis, et Verbum caro factum est et habitavit in nobis, et tamen remansit in sinu
Pair is.
17. Si vero consideremus sermonem ratione sui, sic intuebimur in eo ordinem vivendi. Ad complementum enim sermonis necessario ista tria concurrunt, scilicet congruitas, veritas, et ornatus. —
Et iuxta haec tria omnis actio nostra debet habere modum, speciem et ordinem; ut sit modificata per modestiam in exteriori opere, speciosa per munditiam in affectione, ordinata et ornata per rectitudinem in intentione. Tunc enim recte et ordinate vivitur, cum est intentio recta, affectio munda et operatio modesta.
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so that he may derive praise, benefit, or delight therefrom — a threefold purpose which corresponds to the three formal objects of the appetites: namely, a noble good, a useful good, and an agreeable good. It was for this threefold reason that God made the soul rational, namely, that of its own accord, it might praise
Him, serve Him, find delight in Him, and be at rest; and this takes place through charity. "He who abides in it, abides in God, and God in him," in such a way that there is found therein a kind of wondrous union and from that union comes a wondrous delight, for in the Book of Proverbs it is written, "My delights were to be with the children of men." Behold how the illumination of mechanical art is the path to the illumination of Sacred
Scripture. There is nothing therein which does not bespeak true wisdom and for this reason Sacred Scripture quite rightly makes frequent use of such similitudes.
15. In like manner is Divine Wisdom to be found in the illumination of rational philosophy, the main concern of which is speech. Here are to be considered three elements corresponding to the three aspects of speech itself: namely, the person speaking, the delivery of the speech, and its final purpose or its effect upon the hearer.
16. Considering speech in the light of the speaker, we see that all speech signifies a mental concept. That inner concept is the word of the mind and its offspring which is known to the person conceiving it; but that it may become known to the hearer, it assumes the form of the voice, and clothed therein, the intelligibile word becomes sensible and is heard without; it is received into the ear of the person listening and still it does not depart from the mind of the person uttering it. Practically the same procedure is seen in the begetting of the Eternal Word, because the Father conceived Him, begetting Him from all eternity, as it is written in the eighth chapter of the Book of Proverbs, "The depths were not as yet, and I was already conceived." But that He might be known by man who is endowed with senses, He assumed the nature of flesh, and "the Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us," and yet He remained "in the bosom of the Father."
17. Considering speech in the light of its delivery, we shall see therein the pattern of human life, for three essential qualities work together for the perfection of*speech: namely, suitability, truth, and ornament. Corresponding to these three qualities, every act of ours should be characterized by measure, beauty, and order so that it may be controlled by its proper measure in its external work, rendered beautiful by purity of affection, and regulated and adorned by uprightness of intention. For then truly does one live an upright and well-ordered life when his intention is
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18. Si vero consideremus sermonem ratione finis, sic est ad exprimendum, ad erudiendum et ad movendum; sed nunquam exprimit aliquid, nisi mediante specie, nunquam docet, nisi mediante lumine arguente, nunquam movet, nisi mediante virtute; et constat, quod hoc non fit nisi per speciem et lumen et virtutem intrinsecam, intrinsecus animae unita: et ideo concludit Augustinus, quod ille solus est verus doctor, qui potest speciem imprimere et lumen infundere et virtutem dare cordi audientis. Et hinc est, quod
"cathedram habet in caelo qui intus corda docet". — Sicut ergo nihil cognoscitur per sermonem perfecte, nisi mediante virtute, lumine et specie unitis animae; sic ad hoc, quod anima erudiatur ad Dei cognitionem per ipsius internam locutionem, necesse est, quod uniatur ei qui est splendor gloriae et figura substantiae eius, portans omnia verbo virtutis suae. — Ex quo patet, quam mira est haec contemplatio, per quam Augustinus in multis libris manuducit ad divinam sapientiam.
19. Secundum etiam hunc modum est reperire in illuminatione naturali philosophiae, cuius principalis intentio versatur circa rationes formates in materia, in anima et in divina sapientia. Quas tripliciter contingit considerare, scilicet secundum habitudinem proportions, secundum effectum causalitatis et secundum medium unionis; et secundum haec tria est reperire tria praemissa.
20. Si consideremus eas secundum habitudinem proportions, videbimus in eis Verbum aeternum et Verbum incarnatum. Rationes intellectuales et abstractae quasi mediae sunt inter seminales et ideates. Sed rationes seminales non possunt esse in materia, quin sit in ea generatio et productio formae; similiter nec in anima rationes intellectuales, quin sit generatio verbi in mente; ergo nec ideates in Deo, quin sit productio Verbi a Patre secundum rectam proportionem; hoc enim est dignitatis, et si convenit creaturae, multo fortius inferri potest de Creatore. Propter quod dixit
Augustinus, quod Filius Dei est "ars Patris". — Rursus, appetitus, qui est in materia, ordinatur ad rationes intellectuales, ut nullo modo perfecta sit generatio, nisi anima rationalis uniatur materiae corporali. — Per similem igitur rationem potest argui, quod summa perfectio et nobilissima in universo esse non possit, nisi natura, in qua sunt rationes seminales, et natura, in qua sunt rationes intellectuales, et natura, in qua sunt rationes ideales, simul concurrant in unitatem personae, quod factum est in Filii Dei in-
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upright, his affection pure, and his activity within its proper limit.
18. Considering speech in the light of its purpose, we find that it aims to express, to instruct, and to persuade; but it never ex presses except by means of a likeness; it never teaches except by means of a clear light; it never persuades except by power; and it is evident that these effects are accomplished only by means of an inherent likeness, light, and power intrinsically united to the soul. Therefore, Saint Augustine concludes that he alone is a true teacher who can impress a likeness, shed light, and grant power to the heart of his hearer. Hence it is that "he who teaches within hearts has his Chair in heaven." Now as perfection of speech requires the union of power, light, and a likeness within the soul, so, too, for the instruction of the soul in the knowledge of God by interior conversation with Him, there is required a union with Him who is "the brightness of his glory and the image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power." Hence we see how wondrous is this contemplation by which Saint Augustine in his many writings leads souls to Divine
Wisdom.
19. By the same mode of reasoning is the Wisdom of God to be found in the illumination of natural philosophy, which is concerned chiefly with the formal causes in matter, in the soul, and in the Divine Wisdom. These formal causes it is fitting to consider under three aspects: namely, as regards the relation of proportion, the effect of causality, and their medium of union; and in these three can be accordingly found the three (central ideas of the three senses of Holy Scripture) mentioned above.
20. Considering the formal causes according to their relation of proportion, we shall see therein the Word Eternal and the Word
Incarnate. The intellectual and abstract causes are, as it were, midway between the seminal and the ideal causes. But seminal causes cannot exist in matter without the generation and production of form; neither can intellectual causes exist in the soul without the generation of the word in the mind. Therefore, ideal causes cannot exist in God without the generation of the Word from the Father in due proportion. Truly, this is a mark of dignity, and if it becomes the creature, how much more so the Creator. It was for this reason that Saint Augustine said the Son of God is the "art of the Father". Again, the natural tendency in matter is so ordained toward intellectual causes that the generation is in no way perfect unless the rational soul be united to the material body. By similar reasoning, therefore, we come to the conclusion that the highest and noblest perfection can exist in this world only if a nature in which there are the seminal causes, and a
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carnatione. — Praedicat igitur tota naturalis philosophia per habitudinem proportionis Dei Verbum natum et incamatum, ut idem sit alpha et omega, natum scilicet in principio et ante tempora, incamatum vero in fine saeculorum.
21. Si vero consideremus rationes istas secundum effectum causalitatis, perpendemus ordinem vivendi: quoniam generatio non potest fieri in materia generabili et corruptibili secundum rationes seminales nisi beneficio luminis corporum supercaelestium, quae elongantur a generatione et corruptione, scilicet a sole, luna et stellis. — Per hunc etiam modum anima non potest opera viva facere, nisi suscipiat a sole, id est a Christo, gratuiti luminis beneficium, et nisi consequatur ipsius lunae, id est Virginis Mariae,
Matris Christi patrocinium, et nisi imitetur aliorum Sanctorum exempla; ex quorum concursu congregetur in ipsa opus vivum atque perfectum. Unde ordo vivendi pendet in tribus.
22. Si autem consideremus istas rationes secundum unionis medium, intelligemus, per quern modum fiat unio animae ad Deum.
Nam natura corporalis animae non potest uniri, nisi mediante humore, mediante spiritu et mediante calore, quae tria disponunt carnem, ut vitam suscipiat ab anima. — Secundum hoc etiam intelligitur, quod Deus non praestat vitam animae et unitur, nisi sit humida per gemitum compunctionis et pietatis, nisi sit spiritualis per contemptum omnis terrenitatis, nisi sit calida per desiderium patriae caelestis et ipsius dilecti. -— Ecce, qualiter in philosophia naturali latet sapientia Dei.
23. Penes modos praedictos est reperire in illuminatione philosophiae moralis lumen sacrae Scripturae: quoniam intentio moralis philosophiae principaliter versatur circa rectitudinem; versatur enim circa iustitiam generalem, quae, ut dicit Anselmus,
"est rectitudo voluntatis". Rectum autem habet tripliciter notificari, et secundum hoc tria praemissa lucent in consideratione rectitudinis. Uno modo dicitur "rectum, cuius medium non exit ab extremis". Si ergo in Deo est summa rectitudo et secundum se, et in quantum est principium, et in quantum est finis omnium; necesse est in Deo ponere mediam personam secundum se, ut una sit tantum producens, alia tantum producta, media vero producens et producta. Necesse est etiam ponere medium in egressu et regressu rerum; sed medium in egressu necesse est, quod plus teneat
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nature in which there are the intellectual causes, and a nature in which there are the ideal causes are simultaneously combined in the unity of one person, as was done in the Incarnation of the Son of God. Therefore all natural philosophjc by reason of the relation of proportion, predicates the Word of God begotten and become Incarnate so that He is the Alpha and the Omega, that is,
He was begotten in the beginning and before all time but became Incarnate in the fulness of time.
21. Now if we think of these causes according to the effect of causality, we shall be considering the pattern of human life, since generation by seminal causes can take place in generative and corruptible matter only by the beneficent light of the heavenly bodies which are far removed from generation and corruption, that is, by the sun, the moon, and the stars. So too the soul can perform no living works unless it receive from the sun, that is, from Christ, the aid of His gratuitous light; unless it seek the protection of the moon, that is, of the Virgin Mary, Mother of Christ; and unless it imitate the example of the other saints.
When all these concur, there is accomplished in the soul a living and perfect work; therefore the right order of living depends upon this threefold co-operation.
22. Moreover, if we consider these formal causes as regards their medium of union, we shall understand how union of the soul with God takes place, for the corporeal nature can be united to the soul only through the medium of moisture, (vital) spirit, and warmth—three conditions which dispose the body to receive life from the soul. So too we may understand that God gives life to the soul and is united to it only on the condition that it be moistened with tears of compunction and filial love, made spiritual by contempt of every earthly thing, and be warmed by desire for its heavenly home and its Beloved. Behold how in natural philo sophy lies hidden the Wisdom of God.
23. In the same way is the light of Sacred Scripture to be found in the illumination of moral philosophy. Since moral philosophy is concerned principally with rectitude, it treats of general justice which Saint Anselm calls the "rectitude of the will". The term
"right" has a threefold signification and accordingly, in the con sideration of rectitude are revealed the three central ideas (of the senses of Sacred Scripture) previously mentioned. In one sense of the word, that is called "right, the middle of which is not out of line with its extreme points." If then God is perfect rectitude and that by His very nature since He is the Beginning and the End of all things, it follows that in God there must be an inter mediary of His own nature so that there may be one Person who only produces, another who is only produced, but an intermediary
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se a parte producentis, medium vero in regressu, plus a parte redeuntis; sicut ergo res exierunt a Deo per Verbum Dei, sic ad completum reditum necesse est, Mediatorem Dei et hominum non tantum Deum esse, sed etiam hominem, ut homines reducat ad
Deum.
24. Alio modo dicitur rectum quod dirigenti se conformatur.
Et secundum hoc in consideratione rectitudinis conspicitur ordo vivendi. Ille enim recte vivit, qui dirigitur secundum regulas iuris divini. Et hoc est, quando voluntas hominis assentit praeceptis necessariis, monitis salutiferis, consiliis perfectis, ut probet homo, quae sit voluntas Dei bona et beneplacens et perfecta. Et tunc est rectus ordo vivendi, in quo nulla obliquitas potest reperiri.
25. Tertio modo dicitur rectum cuius summitas est sursum erecta, sicut homo habet staturam rectam. Et secundum hoc in consideratione rectitudinis manifestatur Dei et animae unio.
Cum enim Deus sit sursum, necesse est, quod apex ipsius mentis sursum erigatur. Hoc autem est, cum rationalis assentit primae veritati propter se et supra omnia, cum irascibilis innititur summae largitati, et cum concupiscibilis adhaeret bonitati; tunc qui hoc modo Deo adhaeret unus spiritus est.
26. Et sic patet, quomodo multiformis sapientia Dei, quae lucide traditur in sacra Scriptura, occultatur in omni cognitione et in omni natura. Patet etiam, quomodo omnes cognitiones famulantur theologiae; et ideo ipsa assumit exempla et utitur vocabulis pertinentibus ad omne genus cognitionis. Patet etiam, quam ampla sit via illuminativa, et quomodo in omni re, quae sentitur sive quae cognoscitur, interius lateat ipse Deus. -— Et hie est fructus omnium scientiarum, ut in omnibus aedificetur tides, honorificetur Deus, componantur mores, hauriantur consolationes, quae sunt in unione sponsi et sponsae, quae quidem fit per caritatem, ad quam terminatur tota intentio sacrae Scripturae, et per consequens omnis illuminatio desursum descendens, et sine qua omnis cognitio vana est, quia nunquam pervenitur ad Filium nisi per Spiritum sanctum, qui docet nos omnem veritatem; qui est benedictus in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
RETRACING THE ARTS TO THEOLOGY
who both produces and is produced. There is likewise need of an intermediary in the going forth and in the return of things: in the going forth, an intermediary which will be more on the part of the one producing; in the return, one which will be more on the part of the one returning. Therefore, as creatures went forth from God by the Word of God, so for a perfect return, it was necessary that the Mediator between God and man be not only God but also man so that He might lead men back to God.
24. In another sense, that is called "right" which is conformed to rule. Accordingly, in the consideration of rectitude there is seen the rule of life. For he indeed lives rightly who is guided by the regulations of the divine law, as is the case when the will of man accepts necessary precepts, salutary warnings, and counsels of perfection that he may thereby prove the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. And then is the rule of life right when no obliquity can be found therein.
25. In the third sense, that is called "right" the^summit of which is raised upward, as for instance, we say that man has an upright posture. And in this sense, in the consideration of rectitude there is manifested the union of the soul with God; for since God is above, it necessarily follows that the apex of the mind itself must be raised aloft. And indeed this is what actually happens when man's rational nature assents to the First Truth for His own sake and above all things, when his irascible nature strives after the Highest Bounty, and when his concupiscible nature clings to the Greatest Good. He who thus keeps close to God is one spirit with him. • 26. And so it is evident how the manifold Wisdom of God, which is clearly revealed in Sacred Scripture, lies hidden in all knowledge and in all nature. It is evident too how all divisions of knowledge are handmaids of theology, and it is for this reason that theology makes use of illustrations and terms pertaining to every branch of knowledge. It is likewise evident how wide is the illuminative way and how in everything which is perceived or known God Himself lies hidden within. And this is the fruit of all sciences, that in all, faith may be strengthened, God may be honored, character may be formed, and consolation may be derived from union of the Spouse with His beloved, a union which takes place through charity, to the attainment of which the whole purpose of Sacred Scripture, and consequently, every illumination descending from above, is directed—a charity without which all knowledge is vain because no one comes to the Son except through the Holy Ghost who teaches us all the truth, who is blessed forever.
Amen.
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PART THREE
COMMENTARY ON THE FOUR LIGHTS
INTRODUCTION
Besides being one of the foremost figures in the history of speculative mysticism and theology, St. Bonaventure was a philosopher. Scattered throughout the mass of his theological works are found numerous metaphysical discussions which have become part and parcel of the history of medieval philosophy.
Et haec est iota nostra metaphysica: de emanatione, de exemplaritate, de consummatione, scilicet illuminari per radios spirituales et reduci ad summum1. These few words embrace St. Bonaventure's whole system of metaphysics. Emanation treats of the universe created by God; exemplarism, of God as the Exemplar of all creation; consummation or reduction, of God as the goal of created beings who, illumined by His light, return to Him2.
Every great metaphysical system is faced with the problem of the origin of things. The groundwork upon which our Saint builds his metaphysics is the doctrine of the world by creation, a question which was the subject of much animated controversy in the Thirteenth Century. The idea of a universe created by God out of nothing from all eternity, an idea which St. Thomas Aquinas considered logically possible, seemed to St. Bonaventure so glaring a contradiction that he could not imagine a philosopher so in competent as to overlook it3. The world was created in tempore as an image of, and a witness to, the glory of its Creator. This doctrine in opposition to Aristotle, the Averroists, and the moderate solutions of Thomism, the Seraphic Doctor sets forth in his
Breviloquium4. A brief summary of his conception of the created 1 In Hexaem., I, 17, t. V, p. 332.
2 Cf. Gilson-Bohner, Die Geschichte der christlichen Philosophie, Paderborn, 1954, P486 ff3 "Ex quibus sequitur triplex caecitas vel caligo, scilicet de aeternitate mundi, ut videtur dicere Aristoteles secundum omnes doctores
Graecos, ut Gregorium Nyssenum, Gregorium Nazianzenum, Damascenum, Basilium, et commentatores omnium Arabum, qui dicunt, quod Aristoteles hoc sensit, et verba sua sonare videntur. Numquam invenies quod ipse dicat quod mundus habuit principium vel initium; immo redarguit Platonem, qui solus videtur posuisse tempus incepisse.
Et istud repugnat lumini veritatis." In Hexaem. VI. n. 3, t. V, p. 361.
Cf. Gilson, La Philosophie de S. Bonaventure, pp. 183-184.
4 "Circa quam (sc. creaturam mundi) haec tenenda sunt in summa: videlicet universitas machinae mundialis producta est in esse ex tempore et de nihilo, ab uno principio primo, solo et summo, eius potentia, licet sit immensa, disposuit tamen omnia in certo pondere, numero et mensura." Pars II, 1. t. V, p. 219.
DE REDUCTIONE ARTIUM AD THEOLOGIAM
universe may serve as a background for the better understanding of his epistemology.
In the production and constitution of the universe, St. Bonaventure assigns a leading role to light, the form of corporeity and the principle of action in all things. In his opinion, as in that of Robert Grosseteste, light does not need a faculty for its activity; by its very essence it is activity and can be defined as multiplicativa et diffusa sui. Any luminous point is capable of producing on all sides and propagating immediately a luminous sphere centered around it with a diameter proportioned to its intensity5.
This explains how the light of the empyrean could confer extension upon matter on the first day, and it is this power of light to multiply itself that still confers upon the things that it informs the activity that they manifest. St. Bonaventure does not give us the full theory on this point, but, since he allows that light is active by reason of its very essence, he must have recourse to a doctrine similar to that of the multiplication of species. The many recurrences of the term multiplicatio found in his Commentary leave little doubt that he followed the general doctrine of Grosseteste.
Besides the special forms which make them elements or compounds, all bodies have a primary form which constitutes their substantial being6. This form is the natural light, the most perfect of all corporeal forms7, which God created on the first day, three days, therefore, before the sun itself. Light is a subtle reality which penetrates bodies and confers upon them spatial extension; it is the principle of all their perfection — their beauty, color, and activity. In proportion to the degree in which they participate in this common form, bodies receive a more or less exalted rank in the order of nature. Thus the noblest of all bodies, the empyreal heaven, is the most luminous of all; the least noble, the earth, is the most opaque. All other substances rank between these two extremes, their place being determined by their participation in the form of light. St. Bonaventure thinks that the luminous form which confers first and specific perfection is not incompatible with forms which are principles of further perfections. Its function
5 "Quanto lumen est maius, tanto magis se diffundit et multiplicat; si ergo empyreum inter corpora est luminosum maxime, ergo maxime diffusivum." II Sent., 2, 2, 1, 2, fund. 4". t. II, p. 73.
6 "Duplex est informatio materiae corporalis, quaedam generalis, quaedam specialis: generalis per formam communem omnibus corporalibus, et haec est forma lucis, specialis vero alias formas sive elementares sive mixtionis." II Sent., d. 13, t. II, p. 310a. "Lux est natura communis reperta in omnibus corporibus tam caelestibus quam terrestribus."
II Sent., 12, 2, I, arg. 4, t. II, p. 302.
7 "Sed lux est nobilissima formarum corporalium, sicut in multis locis dicit Augustinus." II Sent., d. 13, a. 2, q. 2, t. II, 319a.
INTRODUCTION
is not to confer something which the form itself is capable of giving but rather to perfect the body by the influence which it exerts upon it; to conserve it once it has been formed; to fructify its form by stimulating its activity and concurring in all its operations. Instead of being absorbed and completed by sub sequent forms, this luminous form acts as a basis for them and enables them to fulfill their office. Under its influence the higher units are united with the new forms: the forma mixta of minerals which in turn is succeeded by the higher forma complexionata of plants, animals, and human bodies8. This theory applies not only to organic and inorganic substances, but also to the elements of nature. It is the traditional and common doctrine of the plurality of forms generally accepted at the time9.
Light is bright, agile, impassible, and penetrating10, but its most remarkable quality is its activity* 11; it can spread instantly in all directions and since it cannot be separated from prime matter, it involves the latter in its self-diffusion. This substantial radiation from a luminous source is found everywhere in the corporeal world. So vast is the sphere of its influence that no being of the sublunary Vorld is removed from its action. Its universal presence confers upon the material world a wonderful unity. Though imperceptible12, this substantial radiation of the luminous fountainhead is everywhere present in the realm of bodies organic and inorganic. Its presence in inferior beings is discovered only by its manifold effects. It penetrates the bowels of the earth and presides over the formation of minerals13; in virtue of its purity, it acts upon the spiritus that disposes matter to receive life14; its influence occasions animal generation, for it produces the vegetative and sensitive souls from the potency of matter and is an active principle in maintaining the life of these forms15. But light does still more; if we admit that it disposes
8 Itiner. II, 2, t. V, p. 300. 9 Cf. Gilson, op. cit., p. 267.
10 "Et quia lux habet quatuor istas proprietates, sicut patet in radio, scilicet claritatem, quia illuminat; impassibilitatem, quia nihil ipsam corrumpit; agilitatem, quia subito vadit; penetrabilitatem, quia corpor adiaphana sine eorum corruptione pertransit. " IV Sent. ,49,2,1,2,1, concl., t. IV, 1016a.
11 "Sed lux inter cetera corporalia est maxime activa." II Sent., 13, 2, 1, fund. 2, t. II, p. 317 b.
12 "Et haec virtus non est sensu perceptibilis.'' II Sent., 13, 3, 2, t. II, p. 328.
13 "Sic etiam dicunt philosophi quod corpus caeleste mediante suo lumine influit usque ad profundum terrae, ubi mineralia corpora generari habent." II Sent., 13, 3, 2. Concl. t. II, p. 328.
14 "Conformis est natura spiritus qui disponit ad vitam, ipsi luci caelesti quantum ad puritatem, et hacratione nata est recipere." II Sent.,
2, 2, 1, 2, ad 3m, t. II, p. 75.
15 "Sed lux corporis caelestis est principium educendi animam
DE REDUCTIONE ARTIUM AD THEOLOGIAM
bodies for the reception of life, we must regard it as an inter mediary or link between the soul and the body16.
Since light is the form of the primary body, it is fitting evidence of the Divine Wisdom that in the work of separation, the production of light should take first place. As we study its effects and the characteristics which distinguish it from other created things, especially its activity and illuminating power, we can easily see the foundation on which the comparison between the created light and the Uncreated Light is based. God created not only a corporeal light but also a spiritual light which bears a close resemblance to Himself, and with this likeness He endowed the human soul17. God acts upon the understanding, enlightening and illuminating it, for which reason we see an analogy between light and knowledge18. Finally, the life-giving properties of light19 cause us to liken it to the Eternal Light. We say "liken", but who can compare the creature with the Creator? In the light which is God, the form is wholly free from all admixture of materiality; even the created spiritual light, the soul, is not to be compared with the Purus Actus which is God20. The natural created light is the common form of all things21, but God, by virtue of His simplicity, cannot be the form of other beings22. The created light is diffused or multiplied, for it cannot shed all its brilliance in one illumination; the Divine Light, on the contrary, is perfectly reproduced in one single act, the Son. For St. Bonaventure,
"truth" and "light" are interchangeable terms: Ipsa divina veritas est lux23; lux animae veritas est2i. This study of the role vegetabilem et sensibilem, quae sunt formae substantiates." II Sent.,
13, 2, 2 fund. 4m, t. II, p. 319.
16 "Lux est illud quo mediante corpus unitur animae et anima regit corpus." II Sent., 15, 1, 3, oppos. 2. t. II, p. 379.
17 "Cum autem (lux spiritualis, quae Deus est), sit omnipotentissima, potest producere et facere lucem creatam aliquo modo conformem . . . Et sic intelligendum est in anima humana, quod ipsa habet lucem propriam." II Sent., 17, 1, 1, ad 6, t. II, p. 412 b, 413 a.
18 "Lux spiritualis est communis Creatori et creaturae secundum analogiam." II Sent., 13, 2, 1, t. II, p. 318 b.
19 "...necesse est, incorporeessedispositionem ad vitam, et haecest lucis abundantiaet claritas." IVSent., d.49,2,1,2, i.concl.t.IV.p. 1016a.
20 "Et quia Creator purus actus est, ideo potest reperiri in spiritualibus lux in omnimoda actualitate, ita quod nihil habeat de possibilitate materiae nec de tenebrositate ignorantiae." II Sent., 13, 2, 1 ad 4 t. II, p. 318 b.
21 "Si ergo lux formam dicit, non potest esse lux ipsum corpus, sed aliquid corporis." II Sent., 2, 1, t. II, p. 318 a.
22 "Lux enim spiritualis, quae est Deus, cum sit simplicissima, non potest esse perfectio rerum diversarum naturarum." II Sent., 17 x 1 t. II, p. 412 b.
23 Cf. De Scientia Christi, q. 3, concl. t. V, p. 14 a.
24 Cf. In Hexaem., IV, 1, t. V, p. 349 a.
INTRODUCTION 49
and activity of light should be a preparation for the interpretation of the role of the rational soul in the human being.
It seems superfluous to remark that St. Bonaventure's views on the theory of light are reflections of*the ideas of St. Augustine, of Alexander of Hales, and of Robert Grosseteste, the first great teacher of the Franciscan school at Oxford25. The conformity of this doctrine to the Bonaventurian metaphysics needs scarcely be insisted upon, for God is the light of all things by which their light is lighted.
Immediately below the empyreal heaven, St. Bonaventure places the crystalline heaven which fills the whole space between the earth and the highest stars. "God called the firmament heaven, and placed in it the sun, the moon, and the stars" (Gen.i). Philo sophers and theologians are at variance regarding the nature of the fire of which this firmament is composed26. Following
St. Augustine, St. Bonaventure believes that it has the nature of fire, not in the sense that it possesses the same form as the element fire, but in the fact that it participates in the nature of light, particularly as regards the properties of luminosity and purity27. The motive power of the firmament is its own form and the immediate co-operation of God. In the highest orbit are the fixed stars which have no movement of their own but are carried along with the revolving heavens. The movement of the planets in the lower orbits is more complicated. Astronomers attribute to them a movement of their own in epicycles and excentrics, thus explaining the apparent rising and falling upon their sphere, but the physicists with Aristotle prefer to think that the planets move with the heavens, as a nail fixed in a wheel revolves with the wheel. It seems to them, and St. Bonaventure agrees with them, that the unchangeable medium of the firmament does not give way to the movement of the planets, and their apparent rising and falling are explained by the varying rapidity of the spheres, for when one heavenly body passes another at great speed, the latter seems to retrograde28.
The scholastics in general acceptedthe corollary that each sidereal type is unique: since the form here determines all the 25 Cf. D. E. Sharp, Franciscan Philosophy at Oxford in the Xlllth
Century, London, 1930, pp. 14-25.
26 ". . . naturales vero philosophi maxime ignem notificant per proprietatem caliditatis; et quoniam natura lucis reperitur et in corpore quinto et in igne elemento, ideo ipsum firmamentum et ignem dixit corpus unius naturae esse." II Sent., 14, 1, 2 concl. t. II, p. 340.
27 ". . . non, inquam unius, quia habeant unam formam, speciei specialissimae, sed quia naturam lucis participant secundum quandam rationem analogiae." Ibid.
28 Cf. II Sent., 14, 2, 1, 2, t. II, p. 353.
4 St. Boaareuture, Do Reductioue
DE REDUCTIONE ARTIUM AD THEOLOGIAM
matter it is capable of informing, each star or heavenly body must be unique of its kind. It is by reason of this specific difference that their action on inferior bodies is so diverse. Placed in a higher region, endowed with a more noble nature, they act upon the world beneath them and, just as local movement supposes a first immovable mover, alternate movement supposes a cause which produces alternation without itself being altered29.
Now this distribution of the heavenly lights necessarily sup poses the division of the elements of the sublunary world, which Sacred Scripture records as the work of the third day. In fixing the time in which the lower waters were gathered together, Holy
Writ suggests the division of the four elements which occupy their proper places beneath the orb of the moon in the following order: fire, air, water, and earth30.
Let us briefly summarize St. Bonaventure's conception of the inanimate world. Under the empyreal heaven where the angels dwell, is the crystalline heaven constantly revolving and carrying in its rotation the firmament of the fixed stars and the planets.
Beneath the moon, the planet nearest to the earth, the elements — fire, air, water, and land take their places. The planets by the variety of their movement and the incorruptibility of their nature serve as a kind of bond and connecting link between the higher heavenly regions and the lower terrestrial ones. They complete and adorn the universe, the beauty and harmony of all bearing silent testimony to the omnipotence of their Creator31.
St. Bonaventure explains the evolution of creation by means of seminal causes. He conceived matter as endowed from the very beginning with certain active powers which are seedlike principles of all things. It is St. Augustine's doctrine of the ratio seminalis, an incomplete and imperfect form which is, as it were, in potency in matter but incapable of developing its ultimate forms without the co-operation of God. In its evolution, nature observes a law
29 ". . . recte disposuit divina Sapientia corpora caelestia, utpote luminaria, quae inferiora alterarent sua influentia secundum qualitates primas, ita quod ipsa tam qualitatibus quam alterationibus illarum essent carentia." II Sent., 14, 2, 2, 2, t. II, p. 360.
30 "Natura vero elementaris in quatuor spkaeras distinguitur, scilicet ignis, aeris, aquae et terrae." Brevil., 2, 3, t. V, p. 220.
31 "Sunt igitur tres caeli, quorum primum per totum est luminosum, scilicet empyreum; secundum per totum perspicuum, scilicet crystallinum; tertium ex utroque coniunctum, scilicet firmamentum. Cum igitur tres sint caeli incorruptibiles et quatuor elementa variabilia; ut fiat debita connexio, concordia et correspondents, disposuit Deus septem orbes planetarum, qui sua varietate motuum et incorruptibilitate formarum quasi quoddam vinculum essent et iunctura inferiorum elementarium orbium et superiorum caelestium ad perficiendum et decorandum universum." Brevil., 2, 3, t. V, p. 221.
INTRODUCTION
of progress. Matter first receives the form of the elements through which it becomes capable of receiving that of an organic compound.
Then, out of the intermediate forms of an organic substance through the mediation of light there arises the form of an organic body (forma complexionati corporis), in which the seminal principle attains its full development. Thus, by a series of progressive changes, nature attains its perfect form, the higher form in matter developing the instant that the lower form has brought it to the degree of organization which would permit its evolution. The ratio seminalis is never completed nor destroyed; it is either the imperfect essence of a form which may at any instant attain perfection or the abiding place of a perfect form which is about to vanish. When the natural agent finds itself in the presence of this seminal principle, it arouses it from inactivity, confers actuality upon it and, in properly organized matter, may even determine the evolution of increasingly perfect forms. But the most perfect form soon exhausts its power and again becomes a seedlike germ; the form of the compound which had supported it, in its turn allows the united elements to dissociate. The freed elements for the time being return to inactivity and suppress their forms; they are then returned to the bosom of nature where they await ani mating forces which will actualize them anew. Thus we see that nothing is lost, nothing is self-created32. It is always a question of the development of hidden potentialities.
As there is one efficient cause from which all things proceed, so is there one ultimate cause towards which all things tend. Though
God alone is the last end of all beings, animate and inanimate, there is also a subordinate or secondary end, and this end is man.
By virtue of his rational soul, he surpasses all other beings in dignity and perfection; he is comparable to the angels; he is the image of God. As the fishes by reason of their lesser perfection were created before the birds on the fifth day, so on the sixth day, the creation of irrational creatures preceded that of man who was to preside over the universe. It is by being ordered to man, whose immediate end is God, that each of God's creatures is likewise ordered to Him. Thus we see that God never launches a great work without preparation. Since the end crowns the work, man's superior perfection required that he be created after all other creatures in a world fully prepared to receive him33. Ac cordingly, before man was made, six separate creations were placed
32 "Unde formas in materia ante productionem dicit esse quantum ad rationes seminales; dicit etiam resolvi ad materiam sicut ad occultissimos sinus naturae, idem utroque nomine secundum alteram et alteram rationem intelligi volens." IV Sent., 43, 1, 4, concl. t. IV, p. 889.
33 II Sent., 15, 2, 2, concl., t. II, pp. 384-385.
DE REDUCTIONE ARTIUM AD THEOLOGIAM
in the world to prepare it for his coming. So, too, before the Son of God became man, four thousand years of types, symbols, and prophecies were given to the world to prepare it for the stupendous mystery of the Incarnation.
The whole universe is the object of God's never-failing pro digality, but upon man in particular does He send an unceasing shower of benefits and this without diminishing His own infinite resources. Infinitely happy in Himself, God cannot seek outside
Himself a felicity which He enjoys in infinite measure; neither can He act from self interest34. Liberality, then, inspires all His acts for which reason everything which comes from God deserves the name of gift. In this very broad sense, all the goods that man possesses, whatever they may be, are gifts of God35.
The infinite variety of the blessings of God may be classified according to their worth in hierarchical order. At the base of the pyramid are goods of fortune; higher up, those of nature — health, strength, peace and prosperity; finally at the summit, the gifts of grace36. By a kind of pleonasm, the last-mentioned are called gratuitous gifts because, in addition to the natural gifts with which the Creator enriched His creatures that they might attain the end for which they were created, these gifts have been com municated to the rational creature over and above the needs of his nature and without any merit on his part37. These blessings, more than those of the natural order, bear witness to the liberality of God and for this reason, the appellation of gift, a title which designates the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, is particularly suited to them38. It is to grace, then, and the virtues which it engenders that Scriptural texts which speak of the gifts of God have especial and, we may say, almost exclusive reference. This is particularly true of the Epistle of St. James which the Seraphic
Doctor never wearies of quoting: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights'' (Jas. i: 17)39.
34 I Sent., d. 18, q. 3, f. 4, t. I, p. 327 a.
35 IV Sent., d. 33, dub. VI, t. IV, p. 764 a.
36 Comment, in Eccl., c. 5, q. IV, t. VI, p. 49 b.
37 II Sent., d. 29, a. 1, q. 1, t. II, p. 695 b.
38 "De Spiritu autem nondum tam copiose ac diligenter disputatum est a doctis et magnis divinarum Scripturarum tractatoribus (quam de
Patre et de Filio) . . . nisi quod eum donum Dei esse praedicant."
S. Aug., de Fide et Symbolo, c. 9, n. 19. Cf. also St. Bonaventure, I Sent., d. 18, q. 3, t. I, p. 327 b.
39 "Gratia, ut ostendam in sequentibus, est datum optimum et donum perfectum — totum quod dicam, volo ordinare ad probandam istam assumtam; sed si gratia est datum optimum et donum perfectum: ergo est desursum descendens a Patre luminum." De Donis S. S., col. I. 4, t. V, p. 458.
INTRODUCTION
Time and time again is this text found in the works of St. Bonaventure, now striking the keynote of the subject under discussion, as is the case in this little work and in the Itinerarium, now sum ming up the crowning thought and sounding the final chord as in the Vitis Mystica. It is the Saint's doctrine of illumination which teaches that man's intellect is a light come from God. The generality of the text coincides perfectly with St. Bonaventure's thought on the subject, for intellectual illumination is only one ray of general illumination which includes not only knowledge but the gifts of grace with their virtues and fruits40. The term illuminatio, here used in its broadest application, embraces all knowledge, natural and supernatural41.
St. Bonaventure's theory of knowledge cannot be isolated from the general system to which it belongs. Wishing to solve the problem for its own sake, the Seraphic Doctor begins with human knowledge and investigates the conditions on which such knowl edge is based. In the establishment of his theory, he incorporates knowledge and the knowing subject into a metaphysical system where each has a definite place. Here he arrives at the third and last stage of Christian metaphysics, for after emanation and exemplarism follows the consummation: scilicet illuminari per radios spirituals et reduci ad summumi2.
Following the terminology of Robert Grosseteste, whose theory of light he accepted43, Saint Bonaventure designates the font or source light by the term lux, the radiated light by lumen.
The Pater luminum is the lux fontalis from Whom emanates a flood of multiform light by the aid of which the mind of man is enabled to understand. From God, the Father of lights, comes down the light which will lead us to the high places of God. Man receives this light through knowledge, but it is only with the help of grace that he can advance along the path of human wisdom to the true Wisdom, which is Christ. We are here concerned with the return of the soul to God in so far as it takes place through knowledge.
40 "Hie notandum est, quod est claritas scientiae philosophicae, scientiae theologicae, scientiae gratuitae, et claritas scientiae gloriosae."
De Donis S. S., IV, 3, t. V, p. 474.
41 "Donum scientiae duo antecedunt: unum est sicut lumen innatum, et aliud est sicut lumen infusum. Lumen innatum est naturalis iudicatorii sive rationis; lumen superinfusum est lumen fidei." De
Donis S. S., IV, 2, t. V, p. 474.
42 In Hexaem., I. 17, t. V, p. 332.
43 Cf. Gilson-Bohner, Die Geschichte der christlichen Philosophie, Paderborn, 2nd ed. 1954, P423 d-