On Retracing the Arts to Theology
On Retracing the Arts to Theology De reductione artium ad theologiam A Treatise on the Threefold Significance of Human Thought and Action
ON RETRACING THE ARTS TO THEOLOGY
VERY good gift and every perfect gift Jas. 1:17 is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights, as James writes in the first chapter of his Epistle. This passage both indicates the origin of every illumination, and suggests that there are many lights generously flow ing from this fontal brilliance. Although every illumination of knowledge is within, we may rationally distinguish, in a manner of speaking, an exterior light, that of the me chanical arts; an inferior light, that of sense knowledge; an interior light, that of philosophical knowledge; and a superior light, that of grace and of Sacred Scriptures.
The first sheds its radiance upon shapes in artifacts, the second upon natural forms, the third upon intellectual truths, and the fourth upon salutary truths.
2. And so, the first light, which sheds its brilliance upon shapes in artifacts — things, that is, exterior to the human body and intended to supplement its deficiencies — is called the light of mechanical art, and because this
[art]'[' is, in a sense, servile and lower than philosophical | The Latin has the feminine relative pronoun quae, referring to ars mechanica, not, as the reader might expect, the neuter quod, which would refer to lumen. In fact, of course, there is no such thing as a "servile" light. As so often happens with the writings of Bonaventure, whose thought runs faster than his pen, the sentence is elliptic, and needs to be expanded in order to reveal its logical structure.
The word "art" is used throughout in a very broad sense: it applies to any form of human activity from the making of things to philosophical speculation.
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knowledge, [such light] may properly be called exterior.
And this light is sevenfold, in parallel with the seven mechanical arts which Hugues lists in the "Didascalica":1 that is, weaving, fabrication,'}' farming, hunting, navigation, medicine and the dramatic art.
That these are exhaustive may be explained as follows: every mechanical art is either a solace or a convenience; or it is directed either against a sorrow or a need; or again, it is either useful or entertaining, as Horace says:2
"Poets aim either to serve or to please"; and also:
"He draws all applause who joins the useful and the sweet."
If the purpose of an art is to afford solace by enter tainment, this will be the dramatic art, or plays, embracing every kind of performance, singing,]; instrumental music, histrionics and choreography.
If a mechanical art aims at some convenience or ad vantage for the outer man, it may be a matter of shelter, of food, or of assistance in acquiring either.
If a matter of shelter, it would concern either soft and smooth materials, and such is weaving; or hard and strong materials, and such are fabrication or the building arts, which embrace the manufacturing of every kind of shelter ing device made of iron or any other material, for instance stone or wood.3
If a matter of food, it may be of two kinds, for we ob tain our sustenance from both vegetables and animals. If •fThe Latin has amiatura which means literally armor or equip ment. In this category Bonaventure includes the making of any pro tective device, against the elements as well as against man, except those made of "soft" materials, which are the product of weaving.
See below.
] Poetry is "sung."
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concerned with vegetables, it is farming; if with animals, it is hunting. Or, in a different sense, j if it concerns food, it may do so in two different ways: either it contributes to its reproduction and multiplication, and such is farming, or to its method of preparation, and such is venation, which includes every recipe for food, drink and condiment, and is the art of bakers, cooks, and innkeepers. It is named, however, from one of its activities only, that which is, in a sense, the nobler and courtlier.4
If a mechanical art helps in the acquiring of either shelter or food, it may be twofold: it either satisfies a need, and such is navigation, under which comes every form of commerce in goods intended for either shelter or food; or it removes obstacles and ills, and such is medi cine, whether consisting in the preparation of electuaries, potions, and ointments, or in the healing of wounds, or the amputation of limbs in surgery.
Dramatic art, however, is in its own category.
Hence, the listing of the mechanical arts is clearly seen to be exhaustive.^; 3. The second light, which provides illumination for the perception of natural^ "I" forms is the light of sense knowl edge, properly called inferior because sense knowledge
| The omission of fowland cattle-raising in the first category was too much even for Bonaventure, whose sense of logic is not always at its best in his systematic divisions. He corrects himself here by offering an alternative.
In this same corrected division, he introduces cooking as part of hunting (venation). The logical link consists in the fact that the preparation of venison was, in early medieval times, by far the most common form of the culinary art.
I It is no longer so: Bonaventure could not have foreseen our time.
If Cf. footnote p. 17.
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begins from below and comes about by means of physical light. It is fivefold, in parallel with the five senses.
Augustine, in the third book of his work "On Genesis,"5 draws the proof of the senses' adequacy thus, from the na ture of light as found in the elements:
Luminosity, or light, acting as the principle of distinc tion of bodily objects, either exists in its own perfection and purity, and is then perceived by sight: or is mixed with air, and is then perceived by hearing; or with vapor, and is then perceived as odor; or with fluid, and then gives rise to taste; or with the solidity of earth, and then provides touch. But the sensitive soul possesses the nature of light, which thus remains alert in the nerves whose character it is to be clear and penetrable;f and this light is received with more or less intensity in the five senses proportion ately as it is more or less pure. Therefore, since there are in the world five simple bodies, that is, the four elements and the quintessence,6 man, in order that he may per ceive all the forms of bodies, is endowed with five senses which correspond to these same forms. For there is no apprehending without a certain conformity7 and congruity between the organ and its object, since each sense is of a determined kind.
There is yet another way to establish the adequacy of the senses, but the foregoing is the one Augustine favors and it seems reasonable, as proving sufficiency by the si multaneous correspondence of medium, organ, and object.
4. The third light, which provides illumination for the search of intellectual truths, is that of philosophical knowledge. It is called interior because it searches inner f Concerning Bonaventure's physics, see "The Breviloquium," vol. II of present series, p. 69.
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and hidden causes, and this through the principles of dis cipline and of naturalj truth implanted in the nature of man.8 Intellectual truths are of three kinds: the discursive, the natural, and the moral.
The sufficiency of this division may be established as follows: there is truth of expression, truth of being, and truth of behavior. Discursive truth concerns expression, natural truth concerns being, and moral truth concerns behavior.
Again, in different words: as it is possible to consider the efficient, the formal (or exemplary), and the final causes in the supreme Godhead — since He is "the cause of being, the reason of intelligibility, and the norm of life"9 — so also it is possible to consider them in philosophical illumination which sheds light on the causes of being and is then nat ural philosophy, on the reasons of intelligibility and is then discursive philosophy, and on the norms of life and is then motel or practical philosophy.
Once more, in a third way, the light of philosophical knowledge illumines intellective understanding, and this in three possible manners: as directing the motive, in which sense it is moral; as directing itself, in which sense it is nat ural; and as directing the interpretative faculty, in which | Bonaventure has "natural" where we would have "essential."
In Bonaventure's vocabulary, the word "natural" is used in two widely different meanings: in a general sense, it means "pertaining to things as they exist around us in nature"; but here, in a philo sophical sense, it means "pertaining to things considered in their abstract nature, or essence." Wherefore the expression philosophia naturalis means, not the philosophy of nature, but the philosophy of essences considered in the abstract, things being seen only in their intrinsic principles. It is in this sense that philosophia naturalis is subdivided later into physics (philosophy of nature), mathematics
(philosophy of quantity), and metaphysics (philosophy of being), in the order of increasing abstraction.
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sense it is discursive. Man, then, is enlightened as to the truth of life, that of knowledge, and that of doctrine.10
And because there are three ways for man to express what is in him —by making known one of his mental con cepts, by moving someone toward greater faith, or by im pelling him toward love or hatred—therefore discursive or rational philosophy is subdivided into three parts — grammar, logic, and rhetoric: the first used to express, the second to teach, and the third to convince. The first con cerns reason as apprehending, the second as judging, and the third as impelling. And because reason apprehends through fitting words, judges through truthful words, and impels through eloquent words, these three sciences study respectively these same three qualities in words.
Again: In matters of judgment, our intellect is naturally guided by formal reasons, and such reasons may be con sidered under three aspects: in relation to matter in which case they are called [properly] formal, in relation to the mind in which case they are called intellectual, and in re lation to divine wisdom in which case they are called ideal.
Therefore natural philosophy is subdivided into physics, mathematics, and metaphysics.11 Thus, physics is the study of the generation and corruption of things in terms of nat ural properties and seminal principles: mathematics is the study of abstract forms in terms of intelligible principles: and metaphysics is the study of all beings in terms of ideal principles, retracing all things to one first cause from which they proceed, that is, to God as origin, end, and exemplar.
Concerning these ideal principles, however, there has been much controversy among metaphysicians.12
Finally, there are three ways of considering how motiva tion applies: that is, to the individual, to the family, and
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to the state. Therefore moral philosophy is subdivided into three parts whose names correspond to this distinction: personal,']' domestic, and political ethics.13
5. To conclude: The fourth light, which provides illumi nation for the search of salutary truths, is the light of Sacred Scripture, which is called superior because it leads to higher things by manifesting what is above the mind; and also because it derives, not from man's own findings, but from the Father of Lights, by inspiration. Although in a literal sense it is one, yet, considered symbolically and spiritually, it is triune; for in all the books of Sacred Scrip ture, beyond the literal meaning expressed externally by the words, there is a threefold spiritual sense: the alle gorical, BY WHICH WE ARE TAUGHT WHAT TO BELIEVE
CONCERNING THE DIVINITY AND HUMANITY OF CHRIST; THE
TROPOLOGICAL, BY WHICH WE ARE TAUGHT HOW TO LIVE,
AND THE ANAGOGICAL, BY WHICH WE ARE TAUGHT HOW
TO CLEAVE TO GOD.J14
Hence, the whole of Sacred Scripture teaches these three things: the eternal generation and the incarnation
| The Latin has monastica, but the word is used here, not in reference to monks, but in the sense of the root of man considered as a single individual. f The trilogy — allegorical, moral (or tropological), and anagogical —is found in most of Bonaventure's theological works. The terms designate, respectively, those senses of a word or passage di rected at procuring the truth of faith (allegorical), the norm of action for temporal life (moral), or the union with God in eternal life (anagogical, from a Greek verb meaning "to go up").
Bonaventure often uses the term "mystical" interchangeably with allegorical (i. e., as figurative of some truth of faith rather than de scriptive of supernatural union with God).
He uses the term "contemplation," to designate not the state of those we call "the mystics," but the highest natural state of union attainable. See, for instance "The Triple Way" in vol. I of present series, pp. 59-94, passim.
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OF CHRIST, THE NORM OF LIFE, AND THE UNION OF THE
soul with GOD.'f' The first concerns faith, the second morals, and the third the final outcome of both. The efforts of teachers should be aimed at the first, the effort of preach ers at the second, and the efforts of contemplatives at the third. The first is expounded chiefly by Augustine, the sec ond by Gregory, and the third by Dionysius. Anselm fol lows Augustine, Bernard follows Gregory, and Richard follows Dionysius; for Anselm excels in reasoning, Bernard in preaching, and Richard in contemplation. But Hugues excels in all three.
6. Although the light which comes down from above is primarily divided into four, we may gather from the preceding analysis that there are six different kinds: the light of Sacred Scripture, the light of sense-perception, the light of the mechanical arts, the light of discursive phi losophy, the light of natural philosophy, and the light of moral philosophy. Hence, there are six lights in the pres1 Cot. 13:8 ent life, but they have their sunset, for knowledge will be destroyed. Therefore they are followed by a seventh illu mination, a day of rest which has no setting, that is, the light of glory.
7. Most fittingly, then, these six lights may be retraced to the six days of formation or illumination in which the world was made:*5 so that the light of Sacred Scriptures corresponds to the first act of creation, that is, to the mak ing of light itself, and so forth in successive order. And as all these lights have their origin in a single one, so all forms of knowledge are ordained to the knowledge of Sa cred Scripture, contained within it, perfected in it, and | This is the key to the whole development that follows. See footnote page 21.
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directed through it to perfect illumination. The whole body of our knowledge, therefore, must rest in the knowledge of Sacred Scripture, most of all in its anagogical sense by which any light is retraced to God from whom it had come forth. And so the circle is closed at this point, the six-fold series completed, and there is rest.
8. Let us see how the other lights of knowledge are, by their very nature, retraceablef to the light of Sacred
Scripture. Let us consider this first in the light of sense-perception, which is directed exclusively toward f This is the beginning of the actual reductio, or retracing, of the arts to theology, that is, the referring of every human activity to the three meanings of Scriptures, the allegorical, the tropological and the anagogical: to the Word begotten and incarnate, to the norm of life, and to the union with God. The lesser five lights are
"retraced" in turn to the higher light of theology in the following manner:
I. The Light of Sense-perception:
The medium points to the Word begotten and incarnate.
The exercise points to the* 1 II. III. IV. V. norm of life.
The pleasure points to the union with God.
II. The Light of Mechanical Arts:
The method points to the Word begotten and incarnate.
The product points to the norm of life.
The fruit points to the union with God.
III. The Light of Discursive Philosophy:
The speaker points to the Word begotten and incarnate.
The spoken word points to the norm of life.
The purpose of speech points to the union with God.
IV. The Light of Natural Philosophy:
The proportion points to the Word begotten and incar nate.
The cause points to the norm of life.
The medium points to the union with God.
V. The Light of Moral Philosophy:
Righteousness points to the Word begotten and incar nate.
Rectitude points to the norm of life.
Uprightness points to the union with God.
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the knowledge of perceptible objects. There are three points to be covered here: the medium, the exercise, and the pleas ure of perception.16
If we consider the medium of perception, we will see there the word begotten eternally and incarnate in time. For no perceptible object affects the cognitive power except by means of a similitude that proceeds from the object, as the offspring from the parent; and this pro cession by way of generation, either in fact or by exemplarity, is required by every sense. But the similitude brings about no full act of perception unless it is connected with the organ and the power. When connection occurs, there comes about a new perception, and by this perception a return is made to the object through the same similitude.
And although the object itself is not always perceived, yet because of its essential constitution it always gives birth to a similitude, since such similitude is part of its fullness.
Understand also that out of the supreme Mind, known through the inner senses of our own mind, there comes forth eternally a Similitude, an Image, and an Offspring,
Gal. 4:4 who later — when the fullness of time came —was united as never before to a spirit and to flesh and endowed with human form. Through Him all our spirits are retraced to God when, through faith, they receive in their heart this
Similitude of the Father.
9. If now we consider the exercise of sense-perception, we will see there the norm of life. For every sense acts in relation to its proper object, avoids what is harmful, and claims nothing that belongs to another.
In the same way, the life of an inner sense is well or dered when it does that for which it was intended and is not neglectful; when it avoids what is harmful and is not
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lustful; when it abstains from claiming for itself what is due to another and is not prideful; for every disorder comes from negligence, concupiscence, or presumption.17 For a man lives a well-ordered life by being prudent, temperant, and obedient, avoiding neglect in matters of obligation, cf. I Jn. 2:16 concupiscence in matters of affection, and pride in mat ters of personal eminence.
10. If, finally, we consider the pleasure of perception, we see the union of the soul with god. Every sense, in deed, longs for the perception of its proper object, finds it with joy, and seeks it untiringly again and again, for the eye is not satisfied with seeing nor is the ear filed with hearing.
Eccli. 1:8
Likewise, our inner senses must seek with longing, find with joy, and pursue again and again the beautiful, the harmonious, the fragrant, the sweet, or the smooth.
Behold, then, how divine knowledge is contained and concealed in sense-perception, and how wonderful is the perception of the five spiritual senses18 in their conformity with the bodily senses.
11. Likewise, we may find itf in the light of the me chanical arts whose sole purpose is the production of artifacts. In this illumination, we may see the same three things: the eternal generation and the incarnation of the Word, the norm of life, and the union of the soul with God.
And this we may do in considering the method, object, and result of the mechanical arts, or the skill of the operator, the quality of the manufactured object, and the usefulness of the resulting fruit. jSee footnote page 21. The full meaning is: Likewise we may find how the light of mechanical arts may be retraced to theology, i. e., to the three senses of Scriptures, the allegorical, the tropological and the anagogical.
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12. If we consider the method, we will see that the produced artifact comes forth from the maker by means of a similitude that exists in the mind. The maker plans before making an object, and then he makes the object as planned.19 The maker produces an external work as close to the internal similitude as he possibly can; and were he able to produce an object that would both love and know him, he would do so by all means; and if this produced object were to know its maker, it would do so in terms of the similitude from which the artist had worked; and if the eyes of knowledge of the produced object were so clouded that it could not look up above itself in order to know its maker, the similitude from which it had been produced would have to come down to the level of a nature which the object could apprehend and know.
Understand, accordingly, that no creature proceeds from the supreme Maker except through the eternal Word "in whom He disposed all things,"20 and through whom He produced not only the creatures endowed with the rela tionship of traces, but also those with the relationship of images, so that through knowledge and love they may be come like Him. And because the contemplative eye21 of the rational creature was clouded by sin, it was most fitting that the Eternal and Invisible become visible and assume flesh, in order to lead us back to the Father. And this is
]n. 14:6 what is said in the fourteenth chapter of John: No one comes to the Father hut through Me; and in the eleventh
Mt. 11:27 of Matthew; No one knows ... the Father except the Son, and him to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. And Jn. 1:14 hence it is said: The Word was made flesh.
And so, considering the illumination of mechanical arts in terms of the method of production of the object, we see
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there the word begotten and incarnate, that is, the Godhead and humanity, and the complete range of faith.22
13. If now we consider the product, we will see the norm of life. Every maker intends to produce a beauti ful, useful, and enduring object; and only when it fulfills these three conditions can it be called good and acceptable.
There is a necessary parallel to these three conditions in the norm of life, that is, "to know, to will, and to act with constancy and perseverance."23 Knowledge makes a work beautiful, the will makes it useful, and perseverance makes it enduring. The first is a matter of reason, the second of desire, and the third of secure possession.
14. If, finally, we consider the fruit, we will find the union of the soul with god. For every maker who pro duces a work does so either to be praised for it, or to ob tain from it some performance or profit, or to delight in it, that is, for one of "the three forms of desirable good: the praiseworthy, the practical, and the delectable."24
It is for the sake of all three goods that God made the soul rational, so that it could praise Him, serve Him, and find in Him its delight and repose. And this comes about through love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him, so that there is here a kind of marvelous union, and, flowing from it, a wonderful delight. For as it is said in Proverbs: I found delight in the sons of men.
1 ]n. 4:16
Prv. 8:31
Behold, then, how the illumination of the mechanical arts returns to the light of Holy Scriptures, which often and rightly use images taken from them.
15. Likewise, we may find itf in the light of dis cursive philosophy whose principal object is verbal
I Cf. footnotes pp. 21 and 23.
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expression. Three things are to be considered here in ac cordance with the three aspects of speech as it is related to the speaker, to the spoken word, and to the hearer or end.
16. Considering speech as it is related to the speaker, we will see that it is always the expression of a mental concept,25 and that this concept is the word of the mind and its offspring — of which the conceiving subject is well aware. But for this concept to be made known to the lis tener, it puts on a form; and the intelligible word, made perceptible through this clothing, is heard externally and received in the listener's inner sense of hearing, and yet it does not leave the mind of the speaker.
Likewise, we see the eternal word, whom the fa
ther HIMSELF BEGETS ETERNALLY BY MEANS OF GEN
ERATION, as indicated in a passage from the eighth chapter Prv. 8:24* of Proverbs: The depths were not as yet, and I was already conceived. But in order to become perceptible to the hu- ]n. 1:14 man senses, He put on the form of flesh, and the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and yet He remained ihid. 18 in the bosom of the Father.
17. Again, if we consider speech as it is related to the spoken word, we will see in it the norm of life. Three elements must concur in well-rounded speech: fittingness, truth, and style. In parallel with these three qualities, all our actions must have mode, species, and order, receiving their mode through temperance in external works, their species through purity of affection, and their order from rectitude of intention,! for then only does a man live f As indicated in vol. I, page 14 and vol. II, page 71, mode of being refers in a general sense to the creature's dependence upon the Efficient Cause (a Deo, by the power of God); species refers to the creature's conformity with the Exemplary Cause (secundum
Deum, according to God); and order, to the creature's ordination
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rightly and ordinately when his intention is straight, his affection clean, and his action temperate.
18. Once more, if we consider speech as it is related to its end, we see that its purpose is to express, teach, and persuade. But no one expresses anything except through the medium of a species, no one teaches except through the medium of a convincing light, and no one persuades except through the medium of a compelling power. Now, it is a fact that all this cannot come about without some intrinsic species, light, and power internally united with the soul.
That is why Augustine draws the conclusion that a man is a true teacher only if he can impress the species, infuse the light, and implant the power within the heart of the listener. Hence, "a man who teaches within the heart has his Chair in heaven."26
And so, as nothing is known perfectly except through species, light, and power united to the soul, so also the soul, to be formed to the knowledge of God through His to the Final Cause (propter Deum, for God considered as an end).
The same threefold relationship may be applied to the creature's actions, and in particular to speech: its fittingness indicates rela tion to the origin; its truth, conformity to the exemplar; its per fection, adaptation to the end. All such triads are closely related to the Trinity and to the three rational faculties, so that we may establish the following table:
Divine Person Father Son Holy Spirit Divine Function Creator Word Love Divine Causality Efficient Exemplary Final Metaphysical Attribute Oneness Truth Goodness Relationship of Creature A Deo Secundum Deum Propter Deum Corresponding Faculty Intellect Will Memory
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inner conversation, must necessarily be united to him Heb. 1:3 who is the brightness of His glory and the image of His sub stance, .. . upholding all things by the word of His power.
From all this we may see how wonderful is this contem plation through which Augustine, in many of his books, leads us by the hand to divine wisdom.27
19. We may also find itf in the same way in the light of natural philosophyJ whose main object consists in the formal principles as they exist in matter, in the soul, and in divine wisdom. These must be considered in three ways: in terms of their tendency to proportion, of their efficient causes, and of their uniting medium; and it is in these three that the three aforementioned consequences may be found.
20. If we consider formal principles in terms of their tendency to proportion, we will see in them both the ETERNAL WORD AND THE INCARNATE WORD. Intellectual and abstract principles are, in a sense, intermediate between the seminal and the ideal;28 but the seminal principles can not exist in matter without giving rise in it to the genera tion and production of form;29 and likewise intellectual principles cannot exist in the soul without engendering the word in the mind. So also neither can ideal principles exist in God without the production of a Word proceeding from the Father according to due proportion. This is axiomatic, and if true of the creature, may be applied with all the more certainty to the Creator Himself. That is the reason why
Augustine declares that the Son of God is "the Art of the Father."30
Again, the tendency that exists in matter is ordained toward rational principles, and there would be no perfect
| Cf. footnotes pp. 21 and 23. j Cf. footnote p. 17.
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generation without the union of the rational soul with the material body.31 By the same token, we may reason that the supreme and most noble perfection in the universe can not exist unless that nature in which seminal principles are found, and that also in which rational principles are found, and that finally in which ideal principles are found, concur in the oneness of a Person: as happened in the incarnation of the Son of God.
For in terms of its tendency to proportion, the whole philosophy of nature presupposes a Word of God, begotten and incarnate, the Alpha and the Omega,32 begotten, that is, in the beginning before time, and incarnate at the end of the ages.
21. If, now, we consider formal principles in terms of their efficient causes, we will discover the norm of life. For generation cannot come about in generative and corruptible matter through the seminal principles except by the beneficial action of the light of the heavenly bodies most remote from generation and corruption, that is, the sun, the moon, and the stars.33
In the same manner, our soul is unable to perform works of life unless it receives from the sun, that is, from Christ, the benefit of the light of grace; unless it obtains from the moon, that is, the blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Christ, the necessary patronage; and unless it follows the example of the other saints. With the concurrence of these three influences, a work of life and perfection is assembled in the soul.
22. If, finally, we consider formal principles in terms of their uniting medium, we will understand how the union of the soul with god is brought about. For the bodily nature cannot be united with the soul except by means of
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moisture, breath, and warmth, which three things make the flesh capable of receiving life from the soul.34
Likewise, understand that God does not impart life to the soul nor is He united to it unless this soil be moist with the tears of sorrow and piety, spiritual through con tempt of everything earthly, and warm through desire for the heavenly home and the Beloved Himself.
Behold, then, how the wisdom of God is hidden in the philosophy of nature.
23. In the manner indicated above, the light of sacred
SCRIPTURES'}" MAY BE FOUND in the LIGHT OF MORAL PHI
LOSOPHY. For moral philosophy is concerned mostly with matters of rectitude. It is concerned, indeed, with common justice which, as Anselm says, is ''rectitude of the will."35
Right has three meanings, hence the three meanings of rectitude. In the First, ''right (straight) is that whose mid dle is not out of alignment with the ends."36 And so, if God is supreme righteousness in Himself as the Begin ning and as the End, it is necessary to posit within Him an intermediate Person of His own nature, so that one be only producing, another only produced, and the inter mediary both producing and produced. It is necessary also to posit a medium between the origin and the return of things [to their origin];37 but a medium to the origin must be close to the originating principle, while a medium to the return must be close to the returning object. And so, as things originated from God through His Word, so also
1 Tm. 2:5 complete returning requires that the Mediator between God and men be not only God but also man, so that He may return men to God. t Cf. footnotes pp. 21 and 23.
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24. In a different sense, right is said of what conforms to its ruler.38 When we consider rectitude in this way, we may see the norm of life: for a man lives rightly when he is guided by the rules of divine law, which occurs when his will assents to the compelling commandments, to the salutary warnings, and to the counsels of perfection, so that he may then discern what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. And a life is well ordered when no deviation may be found in it.
Rom. 12:2
25. In the third sense, right (upright) is applied to that which stands up, such as man in his erect posture. When we consider rectitude in this sense, we may see the union of the soul with god. Since God is above, it is neces sary that the sharpest point of man's mind be lifted up.39
And this comes about when the rational faculty assents to the first truth in itself and above all else, when the need for security rests upon the most lavish generosity, and de sire relies upon the greatest bounty. He who cleaves to the Lord in this way is one spirit with Him.40
1 Cor. 6:17
26. Thus it is clear how the manifold wisdom of God, which is luminously handed down in Sacred Scripture, is hidden in every act of knowledge and in every nature. It is also clear how all forms of knowledge are the servants of theology: wherefore this science assumes examples and makes use of expressions that belong to all kinds of knowl edge. It is clear, finally, how broad the contemplative way can be, and how God Himself lies hidden within everything either perceived or known.
And such is the fruit of all science: in all, faith is built up, God glorified, life organized, and consolations are provided; and all this is achieved through the union of the Spouse with the bride, accomplished by love: a love in
ST. BONAVENTURE — OPUSCULA H
which the whole intention of Sacred Scripture comes to rest, as also, therefore, every illumination from above with out which all knowledge would be vain; for no one ever reaches the Son except through the Holy Spirit who teaches us all the truth — who is blessed forever, amen.41
]n. 16:13
Rom. 1:25
HERE ENDS THE TREATISE
ON RETRACING THE ARTS TO THEOLOGY
Soliloquy on the Four Spiritual Exercises Soliloquium de quatuor mentalibus exercitiis A Conversation Between the Soul and the Inner Man
Based on the Teachings of the Fathers