Chapter XVIII
RICHARD OF ST. VICTOR
clear why the width of our propitiatory cannot extend itself as far as two cubits and why, according to the divine example, it properly has one and one-half cubits. Therefore if you exercise your soul to the fullest in this twofold consideration, you complete the width of your propitiatoi y according to a suitable manner.
Chapter XVIII Concerning the first and second distinctions of this contemplation and the difference between them Let no one think that the consideration of will that we proposed above is the same as this consideration of deliberation we now have assigned to the width. To the former pertains that which is done in the mind from the operation of nature only; to the latter, that which is done frequently in the mind from the work of activity.
To the former pertains any power of the soul implanted in it naturally; to the latter, any virtue of the soul joined with it by activity.
Finally, to the former pertains any motion of the soul that is moved by some natural force; to the latter, any motion of the soul that is produced by some guidance of rational disposition. We are accustomed to call "will" that power of the soul which is able and accustomed to form itself into so many affections and to change in manifold ways through the soul.
I say, we are accustomed to call this power of the soul "will." In a similar way, if I may say so, we call the motion and the act of such an instrument "will," and we say that the will itself wills. We call "will" not only the act of willing that which is brought about by natural motion only but also that act of willing which any consent of the soul accompanies on account of deliberation. But in any case the lack of words compels us at one time to extend the signification of words, at another to restrict it, and to vary it suitably under the pressure of necessity. But in order that we may sufficiently distinguish what we ought to ascribe to this consideration, it seems that every consent of the soul and everything that is done in the soul from consent pertains to this consideration. In a similar manner, any sense or motion whatsoever of the soul that is done against consent or beyond consent is as-
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cribed rightly to consideration of the length.
For, as has already been said above, the goods of creation ought to be assigned to the length of our propitiatory while the goods of justification ought to be ascribed to its width. And we know that everything in the soul that is beyond consent is certainly not able to make a person just.
And so to the first consideration pertains careful direction of our attention to those goods which the mind may naturally possess in abundance or be in want of. But to the second pertains knowledge of which goods the mind may already possess on account of virtue and which it may not yet be capable of possessing.
It is easy, I think, to see or to have known how it is necessary or beneficial to possess both of these considerations intimately and to draw them into contemplation frequently. For from the first consideration a person discerns to which goods he is naturally more inclined, to which evils he is more liable; which endeavors he ought to pursue more vigorously, which evils he ought to guard against more earnestly; by which exercises he is able better to advance, by which vices he can more easily be corrupted. However, from the second consideration one discerns to which sins he is subject or by which merits he stands out, and what punishment or reward he is to expect for these; how much he advances or falls behind each day; with how much activity of soul he is to busy himself in order to blot out past evils, avoid present ones, and prevent future ones; with how much constancy of soul he is to strive in order to recover lost goods and keep or increase goods in his possession. What a pleasing, what a suitable, and how delightful a manifestation to draw into speculation according to the first consideration so many qualities of the soul, so many of its thoughts, and so many of its affections, and to suspend the soul in wonder at them. O how marvelous a speculation! O how amazing a pleasure of delight to have before the eyes according to the second consideration so many virtues of the soul, so many of its exercises, so many of its efforts and merits, and to cling for a long time in contemplation of that sort.
RICHARD OF ST. VICTOR
Chapter XIX That the things pertaining to the third distinction can be comprehended by none of our senses But now it surely seems worthy to consider why he who has carefully described the length as well as the width has been completely silent concerning the height of our propitiatory.
It has been shown above that those things which are for glorification undoubtedly pertain to this third consideration, just as those things which are for justification pertain to the width of the propitiatory. But what human sense is able to grasp the mode of our glorification?
What reason is able to comprehend it? Who has seen the witness of such evidence in another or has deserved to be undergoing the experience of this thing in himself? Surely in this life a man neither has sufficient proof of this thing nor is capable of understanding any experience of it. Rightly, therefore, no measure for the altitude of the aforementioned work is commanded since the manner of our glorification, as has been said, can be comprehended by no sense of ours. And, indeed, the propitiatory is believed to have some thickness, but this is not reckoned in comparison to the dimension of the others. So in any case we hold by the witness of faith to the certitude of our glorification although we are not yet able to grasp by means of the understanding the mode of its quality or its extent.
But human eagerness reckons for very little or almost for nothing everything that it cannot test by means of experience. However we know that after a full cleansing of conscience, after much practice of justice, the human mind at long last begins at some time to hope for that which earlier it had scarcely been able to believe in. In this way the measure of our propitiatory rises in height and grows in solidity.
I believe that it pertains to the solidity of this propitiatory when the mind begins to glory in the Lord and give no small thanks for good testimony of conscience, so much so that it truly dares to make confession, since "our glory is this: the testimony of conscience" (2 Cor.
1:12). But if you want your propitiatory to increase in height and to receive a suitable solidity in the proportion that it is capable of becoming in this life, you must never cease, never be inactive until, as I have said, you possess some betrothal gifts of
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that future fullness, and receive the first fruits, however small, of eternal happiness, and begin to have a foretaste of the sweetness of divine pleasantness. Surely he wished to animate us to a longing for this who said: "Taste and see that the Lord is sweet"
(Ps.
33:9).
Therefore we believe that your propitiatory already has something of thickness if you have already tasted that the Lord is sweet. But however much you grow with respect to this grace, however much you advance in it, you ought always to reckon this to be very little and to consider it as nothing with regard to the greatness of future felicity. Surely this is what sacred Scripture means by remaining silent, for it said nothing at all concerning the height of our propitiatory.
It is as if it might cry out more loudly and penetrate farther and better by keeping silent itself because everything the human mind is capable of grasping thus far in this life concerning the abundance of internal pleasantness ought to be reckoned as if it were nothing. By remaining silent it cries out that it considers itself wholly unworthy to instruct us concerning the measure of this work; in this life human infirmity is scarcely able to rise up to the beginning of the work.
Chapter XX How this kind of contemplation can be divided into five stages, and what things pertain to the first stage But since we have divided into three portions the first consideration, which pertains to length, and also have divided into two portions that second one, which pertains to width, we can now cut this entire kind of contemplation into five portions and divide it into just as many stages.
In the first stage of this contemplation we consider those things which pertain to the quality of the soul or the particular nature of its essence: that the soul is a kind of perpetual life that cannot be extinguished at any time by any pains or torments; that it is not only able itself to live in perpetuity but is able to animate the body to life and sense; that it needs no support; that it subsists eternally without assistance. Furthermore we consider how it has been diffused through so many members of the body