Wednesday, June 10, 2020

"What are you reading?" you didn't ask.

So I'll tell you anyway:

Lots. 

I have taken a shine to the writings of Saint Bonaventure, the Seraphic Doctor of the Franciscans.

A contemporary of Saint Thomas Aquinas, he has dwelt in the shadow of the Angelic Doctor for centuries. 

I think this is largely for two reasons: 

(1) Saint Thomas is more accessible, especially in the Summa Theologiae. The premise-objection-reply format lends itself more rapidly to assimilation by the reader. Saint Bonaventure sometimes uses the same approach, but more frequently he does not. And while his prose is accessible (certainly compared to Bl. Duns Scotus), his writing is loaded with seemingly-simple terms which presume a grounding in scholastic language which Thomas' does not.

This is not the case with his mystical writing, which is more accessible. 

Nevertheless, Bonaventure rewards multiple readings. 

(2) The second reason he was overshadowed is that, in many ways, he is the more "conservative" of the two men, souring considerably on Aristotle near the end of his life. While Bonaventure did not entirely abandon Aristotleian reason, he was much more skeptical about it than Thomas, and saw it as largely corrosive.

For Bonaventure, revelation always came first, and revelation demonstrated the limits of human intellect. The goal of true philosophy is to find one's way back to God, and the Scriptures point the way. Reason itself points the way to theology.

 The Franciscans always kept his torch lit, and the completion of the "Quarrachi Edition" of his complete works in the late 19th Century helped re-ignite wider interest. And a certain emeritus pontiff was a huge fan of Bonaventure's works. Most of it is still not in print in English, but the Franciscan Institute has a solid list of his works available in English translation. Alas, they are not shipping at the moment, but should be up and running later.

The second item in heavy rotation is the Book of Sirach. Written during a time of turmoil for the Jewish people, the timeless wisdom is especially apt for our times. And the foreshadowing of certain of Christ's teachings is notable, which should not
surprise.

2 comments:

  1. Me, I'm all-in with Anselm. The Ontological Argument really isn't that long. And he was the most important Archbishop of Canterbury EVAH.

    Can't think of another one. William Sancroft, maybe.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I just about understand the ontological argument...and then I don't. It's like I'm on the edge of understanding it, and the intuitive part of me says there's something there, but I can never quite make the connection.

    In other words, I know it's me.

    ReplyDelete

Be reasonably civil. Ire alloyed with reason is fine. But slagging the host gets you the banhammer.

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