Title: Itinerarium mentis in Deum, The Itinerary of the Mind into God. For an understanding of the full significance of this somewhat unusual title, the following annotations may be helpful.
Itinerarium, itinerary. By definition, it means that which pertains to a journey in general; a plan for, or a description of, a journey; in ecclesiastical terminology either a prayer for a safe journey, or a pilgrimage to, or a description of a pilgrimage to, the Holy Land. It would seem that Saint Bonaventure intends to include all these meanings, for they are all more or less descriptive of the treatise.

Mens, mind. In its general meaning, the word designates the soul in its three powers — memoria, intelligentia, voluntas —.which make it an image of God. Cf. II Sent., 25, I, u. 2 (II, 596). Cf. also four meanings of the word mens in I Sent., 3, 2, 2, I (I, 89): "Dicitur enim uno modo a mene, quod est luna sive defectus; et sic dicitur de tota animae substantia propter transmutationes, quas habet. Secundo modo dicitur a metiendo, et sic stat pro iudicativa vi. . . Tertio modo dicitur ab eminendo; et sic stat pro superiori parte rationis. . . Quarto modo dicitur a meminisse; et sic stat pro memoria et quantum ad actum et quantum ad habitum." Saint Bonaventure obviously uses mens here in the third sense, that is, the superior reason as opposed to the inferior. This is an important distinction introduced by Saint Augustine (e.g., De Trinitate, I, 2; — PL42, 997ff.). The inferior reason yields knowledge, the superior reason, wisdom. Saint Bonaventure explains these two officia of the same ratio as follows: "Dum enim ratio nostra ad superiora convertitur, purgatur, et illuminator et perficitur, dum leges aeternas conspicit et immutabilitatem divinae virtutis et aequitatis in bono fortificatur et invigorator; dum autem ad haec inferiora convertitur, utpote ad sensibilitatem et carnem, quadammodo trahitur et emollitur. Et ideo sunt eiusdem naturae ratio superior et inferior, differentes secundum fortitudinis et debilitatis dispositionem. . ." II Sent., 24, I, 2, 2 (II, 564).

In Deum, into God. The preposition is significant. Saint Bonaventure does not say ad Deum (although in the Prologue he writes "ad quem nemo intratur"), since the purpose of the Itinerarium is not merely to lead us up to God, nor only to touch or reach Him with the intellect, but actually to enter into Him in the highest affection of love in mystical union.

^[1] In principio . . . primum principium, In the beginning . . . the first beginning. The "first beginning" is, of course, the first principle, or God. In order to make more evident the full meaning of this sentence, however, the phrase has been translated literally.  Apparently Saint Bonaventure has in mind the opening words of Genesis (1,1) and of the Gospel of Saint John (1,1). Elsewhere he writes: "Manifestum est etiam, quod ab illo incipiendum, a quo duo maximi sapientes inceperunt, scilicet Moyses, inchoatur sapientiae Dei, et Iohannes, terminator.  Alter dixit: In principio creavit Deus caelum et terram, id est in Filio, secundum Augustinum; et Ioannes: In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum."  In Hexaem., I, 10 (V. 330).  To begin with the principium, or rather, the primum principium, and to come down to other truths is the characteristic method of Saint Bonaventure.  It could aptly be called a theology from above.

^[2] A patre luminum, from the Father of lights.  The corresponding text of the Epistle of Saint James (I, 17) expresses one of the central ideas in Bonaventurian philosophy and theology.  It occurs in De reductione artium ad theologiam, I (V, 319); in the Breviloquium, Prol. I, 2 (V, 201); in the Collationes in Hexaemeron, III, 19 (V, 346), and elsewhere.  The Father of lights is the beginning of all things — of being, of spiritual light, and of goodness.

^[3] Pax, peace.  The word has various meanings.  In general, it means right order.  Here it has the mystical meaning of the soul's rest in God, as Saint Bonaventure himself indicates when he speaks of ecstatic peace as the ultimate goal of the Itinerarium.

^[4]For Saint Francis’ annunciation of peace, cf. Celano, Vita Prima, I, 10, ed. Quar., pp. 26-29, and Saint Bonaventure, Legenda, III, 2 (VIII, 510).

^[5]Since Saint Francis died on October 4, 1226, the Itinerarium was written or at least conceived on Mount Alverno in the September or October of 1259.

^[6]Suspensio, uplifting.  This term in its context has a mystical meaning.  It not only signifies an elevation of the mind, but also and especially here, that elevation by which Christ was uplifted on the Cross, and Saint Francis and the mystics in general, in the mystical crucifixion.  The scriptural text: Suspendium elegit anima mea, My soul chooseth hanging, has certainly influenced Saint Bonaventure's terminology.  Hence suspensio should also be understood as connoting in various degrees the hanging on the cross, or at least the uplifting that leads to this hanging, which is mystical crucifixion in the mystical death or transitus.

^[7]Transitus, passing.  Saint Bonaventure uses this word in many meanings, or rather, implies all its many connotations: pascha or passover, the passing of the Hebrews through the Red Sea, the death of Christ, the death of Saint Francis — all these meanings are contained in the broader signification of the mystical death and mystical passing over into God.

^[8]The stigmatization of Saint Francis is not only the inspiration of the Itinerarium, but also the model of the mystical union itself.  Cf. Itinerarium, VII, 3, where this is expressly stated.  According to Saint Bonaventure, the mystical union is a falling asleep with Christ on the Cross.  For this reason, the stigmatization typifies Franciscan mysticism.

^[9]Mentalis excessus, spiritual transport.  This is simply another term for the mystical union; perhaps an attempt at close translation of the Greek exstasis.

^[10]Desiderium, desire.  Here the word has a mystical meaning derived from Daniel (23) who is called the "man of desire."  Cf. Itinerarium, VII,4.  According to Saint Bonaventure no one can reach contemplation without a deep desire for it: "Non est anima contemplativa sine desiderio vivaci.  Qui hoc non habet, nihil de contemplatione habet."  In Hexaem., XXII, 29 (V, 441).  No special calling is required for the contemplative life; it should be the normal culmination of every truly Christian life and consequently should be desired by every just man.  "Hunc modum cognoscendi arbitror cuilibet viro justo in vita ista esse quaerendum."  II Sent., 33, 2, 3 (II, 546).  The same thought is expressed even more strikingly: "Modo non debetis desperare vos simplices quando audistis ista, quia simplex non potest ista habere, sed poteritis postea habere."  Sermo I de Sabbato Sancto (IX, 269).  This desire, however, must always remain strong and must not be allowed to weaken: "Post contemplationis exordium subiungit contemplationis progressum; in quo duo potissime requiruntur, scilicet excedens gaudium de dono concesso et excedens desiderum de continuando . . ."  Comment. in Evang. Lucae, 9, 60, Vers. 33 (VII, 235).  For the importance of desire in Franciscan theology and its relation to the virtue of hope, cf. Longpré, Diction. de Spirit., col. 1815 ff.

^[11]Oratio, prayer.  For an excellent treatment of prayer in Saint Bonaventure's mystical doctrine, cf. F. Imle, Das geistliche Leben nach der Lehre des hl. Bonaventura, Werl, 1939, especially pp. 440 ff.  Saint Bonaventure himself presents a concise and wholly admirable theology of prayer in his paraphrase of the Pater noster in the Breviloquium, V, 10 (V, 263 ff.).  Cf. also the Introduction, pp. 20-24.

^[12]Speculatio, speculation.  The activities described in the six chapters of the Itinerarium are speculationes.  In this sense speculatio is an intellectual activity of the higher reason beholding in various objects their relation to God.  It is a kind of contemplation which in the Prophets was realized through revelation, but "in just men, through speculation which begins with the senses . . . and leads up to wisdom or notitia excessiva."  Brevil., V, 6 (V, 260).  The terms consideratio and contemplatio are practically synonymous with speculatio when occurring in the Itinerarium.  Thus speculation is not merely an intellectual activity, but an intellectual activity of a contemplative soul, and only as such is it a means of enkindling desire for union with God.
        Speculatio can also have the purely intellectual, non-religious meaning of the Greek theoria, speculative science as opposed to practical science.  In this sense it is equivalent to curiositas: "Curiosus autem devotionem non habet.  Unde multi sunt tales, qui vacui sunt laude et devotione, etsi habeant splendores scientiarum.  Faciunt enim casas vesparum, quae non habent favum mellis, sicut apes, quae mellificant."  In Hexaem I, 8 (V, 330).  Saint Bonaventure lists nine opposing tendencies which cause tension between the intellectual and the spiritual life.  The relaxing of these tensions into harmonious fusion is a necessary requirement for a successful following of the doctrine of the Itinerarium.
        It is difficult and perhaps futile to attempt to assign definite meanings to the various terms.  A few suggestions, however, may be helpful.
        Lectio: Spiritual reading and meditation in the modern sense, but also the lectio of the theologian and philosopher.  In this sense, perhaps the sense intended here, it would mean the teaching of philosophy or theology, which should not be without unctio or divine love.  Cf. amor vel unctio, In Hexaem. XXII, 21 (V. 440); cf. also In Evang. Lucae, 12, vers. 12, 20 (VII, 316): "Unde Bernardus: ‘Bona est lectio, sed melior est unctio, quae docet de omnibus.’  Nam unctio docet dilectionem Dei et proximi."
        Speculatio: here apparently in the sense of theoria, pure intellectual activity.
        Devotio: closely connected with unctio; it implies a more active attitude, however, a surrender in love.
        Investigatio: research, a delving into the depths of learning.
        Admiratio: cf. note 13.
        Circumspectio: research, pertaining to breadth of learning.
        Exultatio: closely related to admiratio.
        Industria: here in the sense of the untiring activity of the natural faculties; for its mystical meaning in connection with the hierarchization of the soul, cf. In Hexaem., XXII, 24-28 (V, 313-314).
        Pietas: defined by Saint Bonaventure as follows: "Pietas nihil aliud est quam piae, primae et summae originis pius sensus, pius affectus et pius famulatus."  De donis S. S., III, 5 (V, 469).  Its acts are "reverentia, venerationis divinae, in custodia sanctificationis intrinsecae et in superaffluentia miserationis internae." Loc. cit., 3.
        Scientia: here used in the sense of scientific knowledge.  Its opposition to charitas is borrowed from Saint Paul (I Cor. 8, 1).  "Scientia inflat, sed caritas aedificat; ideo oportet iungere cum scientia caritatem."  De Donis S. S., IV, 24 (V, 478).
        Intelligentia: as insight into the mysteries of the natural and supernatural world it must be joined with humility.
        Studium: all the preceding activities considered together, or human endeavor as such, which must be complemented by divine grace.
        Speculum: mirror, that is, the soul.  Cf. Brevil., Prol. 3 (V, 202).  "Similiter in anima sunt virtutes inferiores tamquam tenentes lumen ne defluat; mediae sunt politiones; supremae sunt sicut splendores supervenientes; et sic est anima speculum."  In Hexaem., V, 25 (V, 358).  This mirror or reflecting power of the soul is of no avail unless it be illumined by divine wisdom.

^[13]Magnificandum . . . admirandum . . . degustandum, glorifying . . . admiring . . . savoring . . . The first step of the Itinerarium leads only to praise or glorify God (cf. I, 15).  To admire God is more; it is the step that leads to mystical peace.  To savor God means actually to experience the deep joy of the mystical union.  This, of course, is the ultimate goal of the Itinerarium, described in Chapter VII.
        The term "admiratio," because of its importance and frequent occurrence in the Itinerarium, may need further explanation.  As used by Saint Bonaventure, "admiratio " seems to have some relation to the Aristotelean Qaumazein, which is the starting point of that wisdom which is mystical peace or mystical union.  He explains: ". . . est et quaedam dubitatio proveniens ex admirationis immensitate, qua dicitur homo dubitare, cum exstupescit et quasi fit totus extra se ex intuitu rei admirabilis . . ."  III Sent. 3, 1, 2, 3, ad 2 (III, 78).  "Si autem [timor] est respectu ardui sive magni aut est magnum, in quod non possumus cognoscendo et operando propter defectum cognitionis, tunc est admiratio, de qua dicit Damascenus (II De fide orth., 15), quod ‘admiratio est timor in magno imaginatione phantasiae.’" III Sent., 34, 2, dub. 3 (III, 770).  In any case, "admiratio" is something of both the intellect and the affections: "Unde verum est, quod ipsius animae rationalis et affectus et intellectus feruntur in infinitum bonum et verum et ut infinitum; sed ferri in illud hoc potest esse sex modis, scilicet credendo, arguendo, admirando, contuendo, excedendo et comprehendendo. . ."  De sc. Christi, VI (V, 35).  Hence admiratio follows after simple faith and theology as science and, as Saint Bonaventure expressly states, belongs not only to our state here upon earth, but will continue in patria.  Its function in preparing the soul for mystical union is described by Saint Bonaventure in his De perfectione vitae ad Sorores, 5,8 (VIII, 119): "Item, aliquando tot prae magnitudine admirationis, ‘quando divino lumine mens irradiata et summae pulchritudinis admiratione suspensa, tam vehementi stupore concutitur, ut a suo statu funditur excutiatur et in modum fulguris coruscantis, quanto profundius per despectum sui invisae pulchritudinis respectu in ima deiicitur, tanto sublimius tantoque celerius per summorum desideriorum ardorem relevata et super semetipsum rapta, in sublimia elevatur (Rich. S. Victore, Beniamin maior, 5).’  Et tunc cogitur exclamare cum illa sanctissima Esther: ‘Vide te, domine, quasi angelum Dei, et conturbatum est cor meum prae timore gloriae tuae.  Valde enim mirabilis es, domine, et facies tua plena est gratiarium.’" Esther 15, 16.
        Saint Bonaventure also defines admiratio in the Aristotelian sense: "Nam apparitio miraculi parit admirationem, admiratio cognitionem sive inquisitionem."  In Lucam, I, 115, vers. 63 (VIII, 37).

^[14]Speculum exterius propositum, the mirror of the external world put before them.  The external world is a mirror which reflects God’s power, wisdom, and goodness.  Cf. In Hexaem., II, 27 (V, 340): "Et sic patet, quod totus mundus est sicut unum speculum plenum luminibus praesentantibus divinam sapientiam, et sicut carbo effudens lucem."

^*Subtitle: Incipit speculatio pauperis in deserto, Here begins the speculation of the poor man in the desert.  The distinctly Franciscan flavor as well as the mystical connotation of the subtitle should be noted.  The "poor man" is not the Franciscan vowed to poverty but especially the man in need of union with God, the beggar in the spirit who finds himself in the desert far from his Father and from his eternal home.  The term "desert" occurs again in VII, 2, but in the opposite meaning — a desert where the hidden manna, that is, the mystical union, is found and tasted.

^[1] Attention should be called to the fact, as Gilson has noted (Les idées et les lettres, Paris J. Vrin, 1932), that the Itinerarium is cast in the form of a medieval sermon, at least the first part of Chapter I. It opens with the Prothema: Beatus vir. . ., the function of which is to exhort to prayer and to lead to the main thema: Deduc me . . . The thema is then broken down into the three main parts of the Itinerarium.

^[2] In this paragraph the general form of the Itinerarium takes shape. It may be outlined as follows:

Psalm text Our movement In reference to us Objects

deduci in via transire per extra nos corporalia-

vestigium temporalia

ingredi in intrare in intra nos spiritualia-

veritate mentem (imago) aeviterna

laetari in transcendere supra nos spiritualissima-

Dei notitia ad aeternum aeterna

et reverentia

maiestatis

Analogy to God as whose attributes the creatures resemble in

various degrees

vestige or Creator attributes appro- all creatures distant but

trace priated to the distinctly

Three Persons

image moving attributes proper every spiri- close and

object to the Three tual creature distinctly

similitude indwelling God Himself every sancti- most closely

Gift (Donum fied creature

inhabitativum)

With the help of these powers, we ascend in a kind of dialectical movement:

ab imis ad summa — this could be called macrocosmic movement

ab exterioribus ad intima — microscosmic movement

a temporalibus ad aeterna — metaphysical movement

The definition of beauty, "Pulchritudo est aequalitas numerosa," goes back to Saint Augustine's De Musica VI, 13, 38 (PL 33, 1184). There is no doubt that Saint Bonaventure understands this expression in the sense of proportioned equality, although Saint Augustine probably understood it in the sense of harmonious or rhythmical proportion. Hence the object is beautiful if it is proportionally the same as its model; the nearer its proportions are to the model the more perfect its beauty. Saint Bonaventure, having quoted the text of Saint Augustine in I Sent., 31, 2, 1, 3, ad 5 (I, 544), says, concerning the beauty of the Son in relation to the Father in the Blessed Trinity (the Son being the Species Patris): "Quoniam igitur in comparatione ad Patrem habet pulchritudine aequalitatis, quia perfecte exprimit, sicut pulcra imago . . ." According to the Seraphic Doctor, there can be a twofold beauty in an imago: "Quod patet, quia imago dicitur pulcra, quando bene protacta est, dicitur etiam pulcra, quando bene repraesentat illum, ad quem est. Et quod ista sit alia ratio pulchritudinis, patet, quia contingit unam esse sine alia: quemadmodum dicitur imago diaboli pulcra, quando bene repraesentat foeditatem diaboli, et tunc foeda est." (Loc. cit.) Whether we translate numerosa as "proportional" or as "harmonious" is immaterial here, since every numerical harmony is a proportion.

The definition of beauty, "Quidam partium situs cum coloris suavitate," is even more restricted to images and pictures. It goes back to Saint Augustine's De civitate Dei, XXII, 24, 4 (PL 41, 791). Instead of quidam partium situs, Saint Augustine uses partium congruentia. Both expressions mean the harmonious arrangement of the parts of a picture. The other part of the definition means a pleasing arrangement of colors, or simply harmony of color.

In any case, proportion, or harmony, is the basis of all beauty, as it is the basis of every true pleasure. As to pleasure, this proportion will be explained further in n. 8.

^[8] Diiudicatio, judgment. This is not the natural or instinctive judgment which man has in common with brute animals, as Saint Bonaventure expressly states, but the higher judgment of the mind which enters even our sense apprehension. This is possible since Saint Bonaventure does not admit such a real distinction between the faculties of the soul as does Saint Thomas, but rather, a kind of formal distinction, although he does not use this exact expression. According to Saint Bonaventure, the faculties are consubstantial with the soul. Cf. I Sent, 3, 2, 1, 3, ad 6 (I, 87). Our sense-apprehension is fertilized, as it were, by a higher sphere through the operation of this special judgment, as will be explained in n. 9. The function of the diiudicatio as described here is that of abstraction. We are able to see in the concrete sense apprehension something that transcends it, its universal, and therefore its timeless and abstract content, and of this we are able to form an idea. Hence the function of the diiudicatio is to purify the sensible species from all its contingent imperfections and to conceive it in its pure spiritual and ideal form. More will be said about it further on in connection with the theory of illumination.

^[9] The definition of pleasure (oblectatio) goes back to Avicenna, Metaphys. tr. 8, c. 7: "Quoniam delectatio non est nisi apprehensio convenientis, secundum quod est conveniens." In this the subjective factor of beauty is expressed.

^[10] Here we meet for the first time Saint Augustine's theory of illumination. It is a doctrine frequently invoked by the Seraphic Doctor, not only because of the authority of Saint Augustine and the "illumined philosophers" like Plotinus, but because he liked it. Cf. In Hexaem., VII, 3 (V, 365). It is true that we judge about things. But how is it that we do so? Is it actually we who decide or determine that this thing must be so, that it is beautiful, harmonious? The Seraphic Doctor says that is not the reason. According to his theory, the act of judging consists in applying a standard to things apprehended, to measure them with a standard, to submit them to a standard that transcends them. Things in time and place are mutable. That by which we judge, the reason or measure, is something ideal, without time, without space and without change. But to be timeless, spaceless, and immutable are qualifications that apply to God alone. Hence to judge about these sense objects means to see the thing in a kind of light, to compare them with the absolute standards shining forth in this light and simply to acknowledge that they are so, but that they need not necessarily be so. Hence it is because of this light that the ideal, absolute content of things which are contingent in time and space are grasped. Now they shine forth beyond any doubt as infallibly true and give absolute certitude to our judgment; they are so present to us that they cannot be effaced from our memory or consciousness, since as soon as we apprehend their contingent replicas, the ideal "reasons" shed their light over them. And since they transcend us and are the measure of our judgment, they themselves cannot be refuted, or judged, or measured. Purely spiritual, eternal, and necessary as they are, they must be in God, in His productive Mind, the Eternal Art. Saint Bonaventure does not say, however, that we behold these ideals or "reasons" or rules directly. It is the light of God that illumines us, that regulates and stimulates us to grasp in the concrete the absolute and necessary content. Hence, without the light from above, nothing definite and absolute could be known; without concrete objects, nothing would be apprehended at all. ". . . ad certitudinalem cognitionem necessario requiritur ratio aeterna ut regulans et ratio motiva, non quidem ut sola et in sue omni-moda claritate, sed cum ratione creata, et ut ex parte a nobis contuita secundum statum viae." De sc. Christi, IV (V, 23). The apprehension, then, of contingent objects is the result of the interaction of the eternal light with the light of our reason.

^[11] Saint Bonaventure distinguishes seven different kinds of numbers. In this he again follows Saint Augustine. By number he means not only natural numbers, but also ratios, harmonies, proportions, and certainly rhythms. (Cf. De vera religione, 40-44 (PL 34, 138-141); op cit., 74-82 (PL 34, 155-159); and De musica, VI, the entire book (PL 32, 1081-1194). Saint Augustine introduces these distinctions mainly in order to explain sense apprehension. The first rhythms or numbers are the sonantes — sounding numbers, that are outside the soul in bodies and in the air, the occursores — onrunning numbers that are perceived rhythms existing in sense apprehension. The progressores are the forthcoming numbers, those which come from within and are expressed in gesticulations and rhythmical movements. The sensuales, sensuous numbers, are the pleasures that these rhythms cause. Rhythms or melodies can be stored in the memory, and when recalled, they are memoriales, or the recorded numbers. Finally, transcending the mind are the iudiciales — the judicial numbers which are the eternal reasons by which we judge about rhythms. It is interesting to note that Saint Bonaventure adds a seventh kind, the artistic numbers, artificiales; they are the conceptions of the artist who, by an impression from the eternal reasons or judicial numbers, through appropriate actions of the body (progressores), is able to express beautiful and well proportioned things. This is a valuable contribution of Saint Bonaventure to the theory of art, for here is a basis for the expressionistic element that must be in every artistic creation, and without which there is simply irritation, and hence no true art.

^[12] The Seraphic Doctor declares that every creature is a visible sign of something invisible in God. He distinguishes four kinds of signification, of which the first only is universal and natural, that of vestige. The wisdom, goodness, and power of God are manifest in every creature, which thus bears the stamp or footprint of its maker. The other significations concern revelation and the supernatural order and special creatures Thus the second kind of signification concerns those creatures used by Sacred Scripture to prefigure things to come: the burning thornbush, the flower from the root of Jesse, the rock (petra autem erat Christus I Cor. 10, 4), the serpent, the killing of the lamb. The third kind of signification concerns the apparitions of God to men, for example that of God to Abraham as three angels, to the Prophets, and of the Holy Ghost as a dove. The corporeal manifestation was effected by the ministry of angels, as the Seraphic Doctor, following Saint Augustine, assumes. Cf. I Sent., 16, u., 1 (I, 279): "Filius vero et Spiritus Sanctus in veteri Testamento non apparuit ut inhabitans, sed ut se inhabitaturum praemonstrans; unde Angelus apparebat in illis creaturis in persona Dei. Et hoc probat Augustinus in libro Tertio De Trinitate (11, 27) dicens: ‘Constat firmitate auctoritatis et probabilitate rationis cum antiquis Patribus dicitur Deus apparuisse, voces illas ab Angelis esse factas.’ Et adducit auctoritates Apostoli ad Galatas tertio (19): Lex ordinata per Angelos; et ad Hebraeos secundo (2): Si enim qui per Angelos dictus est sermo etc. . . .quia apparitio fiebat ministerio Angeli; quia sicut dicit Augustinus quarto De Trinitate (21, 31), probabile est, quod illa columba, in qua apparuit Spiritus sanctus, secundum ministerium Angeli moveretur." The fourth signification concerns the visible signs which are the sacraments in the proper sense, not only signifying grace, but also conferring it.

a) Hence the first activity of the memory concerns the retention and the representation of exterior and interior experiences (Saint Bonaventure does not mention the "receptive" activity of the soul, since we receive only sensible facts; whatever is in our soul is there and is not received), including the past, the present, and the future. Surprising, but typically Augustinian, is the addition of the memory of future things by anticipation. Confess., XI, 28, 37 (PL 32, 824). Cf. Saint Bonaventure, In Hexaem., III, 6 (V, 344): "Sicut enim in providentia mea vel memoria possunt esse multa futura, et unum futurum magis distans quam aliud . . ." The reflection of God’s eternity in our memory Saint Bonaventure shows more fully in the following passage: "In anima namque, quae est Dei imago, est memoria praeteritorum, intelligentia praesentium et providentia futurorum; et haec quidem simul sunt in anima, ita quod in anima, quae est substantia spiritualis, simul colliguntur et coniunguntur quae per diversa tempora succedunt; quia tamen ipsa limitata est et aliquid accipit a re extra, definit ab illa simultate perfecta" (which is the eternity of God) De myst. Trinit., 5, 1 (V, 90).

b) The second activity (first subdivision of the third mode of the memory) concerns the retention and representation of the simple notions or ideas of objects, chiefly mathematical (geometric and arithmetic), and of time.

^[6] Dignitates, axioms. For a better understanding of this literal translation of the Greek term "axiom" by the Latin word "dignitas," the editors of the Quaracchi edition refer here (III, 482, note 2) to a text of Saint Albert the Great, who says: "Illam enim propositionem immediati principii, quam necesse est habere apud se per naturalem habitum eum qui est docendus, et non accipit eam per doctrinam, dicimus dignitatem vel maximam propositionem, quae, ut dicit Boethius (in libr. de Hebdom.) communis animi conceptio est, quam scilicet cognitis terminis quilibet probat auditam. Haec autem dignitas vocatur, quia omnibus dignior est, eo quod omnibus influit cognitionem et veritatem; maxima dicitur, eo quod virtute influentiae lucis et veritatis omnia excedit immediata principia. Quaedam enim immediate principia sunt huiusmodi virtutem habentia, sicut ‘de quo libet affirmare vel negare et de nullo simul’, et ‘quod omne totum maius est sua parte’: et hoc non ponitur sed per seipsam est, et prius non habet, quo demonstretur, et ideo non petitur ad ponendum." Liber I Posteriorum, tract. II, cap. 4; ed. Borgnet, t. 2, p. 29 ff.

^[7] Capax Dei, capable of possessing God. Cf. Saint Augustine, De Trinit., XIV, 8, 11 (PL 42, 1044). Saint Bonaventure remarks on this text: "Capax aut non est secundum substantiam vel essentiam, quia sic est in omnibus creaturis: ergo per compositionem et amorem. . ." I Sent. 3, u., 1, fund. 1 (I, 68). Cf. also ibid. p. 73.

^[8] The thought expressed here is that perfect knowledge within the finite sphere of being is impossible unless understood from the absolute region of God. It is developed at greater length by Saint Bonaventure in De mysterio Trinitatis and constitutes his second proof for the existence ol God. The following texts taken from the De mysterio Trinitatis are arranged in the order of corresponding ideas in the Itinerarium. The numbers are those of the De mysterio Trinitatis, I, 1 (V, 46-47):

(15) "Item, si est ens diminutum sive secundum quid, est ens simpliciter: quia ens secundum quid nec esse nec intelligi potest, nisi intelligatur per ens simpliciter, nec ens diminutum nisi per ens perfectum sicut privatio non intelligitur nisi per habitum. Si ergo omne ens creatum est ens secundum partem, solum autem ens increatum est ens simpliciter et perfectum; necesse est, quod quaelibet entis differentia inferat et concludat, Deum esse.

(18) "Item, si est ens in potentia, est ens in actu: quia nunquam potentia est reducibilis ad actum nisi per ens in actu, nec esset potentia, nisi esset reducibilis ad actum: si ergo ens, quod est actus purus, nihil habens de posslbilitate, non est nisi Deus; necesse est, quod omne aliud a primo ente inferat, Deum esse.

(12) "Item, si est ens ab alio, est ens non ab alio: quia nihil educit se ipsum de non-esse in esse: ergo prima ratio educendi necesse est, quod sit in ente primo, quod ab alio non educitur. Si ergo ens ab alio dicitur ens creatum, et ens non ab alio dicitur ens increatum, quod Deus est; omnes entis differentiae inferunt, Deum esse.

(14) "Item, si est ens respectivum, est ens absolutum: quia respectivum nunquam terminatur nisi ad absolutum; sed ens absolutum a nullo dependens non potest esse nisi quod nihil recipit aliunde; hoc autem est ens primum, omne autem aliud ens est habens aliquid de dependentia: ergo necesse est, quod quaelibet entis differentia inferat, Deum esse.

(11) "Si est ens posterius, est et ens prius, quia posterius non est nisi a priori: si ergo est universitas posteriorem, necesse est, esse ens primum. Si ergo necesse est ponere, aIiquid esse prius et posterius in creaturis; necesse est. uiversitatem creaturarum inferre et clamare primum principium.

(20) "Item si est ens immutabile, est ens immutabile: quia secundum quod probat Philosophus, motus est ab ente quieto et propter ens quieturn: si ergo ens omnino immutabile non est nisi illud ens primum, quod Deus est, cetera autem creata, eo ipso quod creata, sunt mutabilia; necesse est quod Deum esse inferatur a qualibet entis differentia.

(19) "Item, si est ens compositum, est ens simplex: quia compositum non habet esse a se, ergo necesse est, quod a simplici recipiat originem: sed ens simplicissimum, nihil de compositione habens non est nisi ens primum: ergo omne aliud ens infert Deum."

Saint Bonaventure mentions explicitly that the intellectus plene resolvens alone is able to obtain such knowledge, that is, the knowledge which is directed toward the fundamental, essential reality of things, and consequently that knowledge which can cease to ask questions only when it has arrived at something absolute. The following text is given by way of interpretation: "Sed quod possit intelligi aliquid praeter alterum, hoc potest esse multipliciter: aut quantum ad intellectum apprehendentem, aut quantum ad intellectum resolventem. . . Alio modo contingit aliquid intelligere praeter alterum, intellectu resolvente; et iste intellectus considerat ea quae sunt rei essentialia, sicut potest intelligi subiectum sine propria passione. Et hoc potest esse dupliciter: aut intellectu resolvente plene et perfecte, aut intellectu deficiente et resolvente semiplene. Intellectu resolvente semiplene, potest intelligi aliquid esse, non intellectu primo ente. Intellectu autem resolvente perfecte, non potest intelligi aliquid, primo ente non intellecto." I Sent., 28, dub. 1 (I, 504). Cf. Gilson, op. cit., p. 541 ff. Cf. also Matthew of Aquasparta, De cognitione, II, ed. Quar., p. 254. Also In Hexaem., XI, 10 (V, 381). "Respondeo: intellectus duplex est: perfectus et plenus et plene resolvens . . . intelligere autem semiplene. . ." Also III Sent. 35, u., 4 (III, 281): "Intellectus aliquando accipitur pro actu intelligendi, aliquando pro ipso intellecto sive intelligibili, aliquando pro ipso habitu, qui dirigit intellectum in indicando de veris et falsis."

^[9] Privationes et defectus, privations and defects. This goes back to Averroes, who, interpreting the text of Aristotle, De anima III, text 25 (that the soul recognizes evil through its opposite), says: "Et universaliter omnes privationes non cognoscuntur nisi per contraria, scilicet per cognitionem habitus et per cognitionem defectus habitus." Cf. Saint Bonaventure, De sc. Christi, IV, fund. 25 (V, 19): "Item, nullum ens defectivum, quantum est de se, cognoscitur nisi per ens perfectum; sed omne verum creatum, quantum est de se, est tenebra et defectus: ergo nihil in intellectu cadit nisi per illud summum verum." For the sources, see II Sent. (II, 14, note 4).

^[10] Concerning the theory of illumination, cf. the text of De sc. Christi IV, supra, note 9. Cf. also Saint Augustine, De vera religione, 39 (PL 34, 154): "Noli foras ire, in teipsum redi; in interiore homine habitat veritas; et si tuam naturam mutabilem inveneris, transcende et teipsum. Sed memento, cum te transcendis, ratiocinantern animam te transcendere. Illuc ergo tende, unde ipsum lumen rationis accenditur. Quo enim pervenit omnis bonus ratiocinator, nisi ad veritatem? Cum ad seipsam veritas non utique ratiocinato perveniat, sed quod ratiocinantes appetunt, ipsa sit." The explanations of Saint Bonaventure are almost literally repeated by Matthew of Aquasparta. Cf. De cognitione, II, ed. Quar., pp. 250-261.

^[11] Impressa notio summi boni, the notion of the highest good. Cf. Saint Augustine, VIII de Trinit., 3, 4, (PL 42, 949).

^[12] Desiderium, desire. Cf. Boethius, III, De consol. Phil. (PL 63, 719-786); cf. also Saint Augustine, De lib. arb., II, 9, 26 (PL 32, 1254 to 1255); also Aristotle, Eth. I, c. 1 ff. Also Saint Bonaventure, De myst. Trinit., I, 1, fund. 7 (V, 46): "Similiter quantum ad defectum in actu resolvendi incidit dubitatio, quando intellectus carnalis nescit resolvere nisi usque ad ea quae patent sensibus, sicut sunt ista corporalia; ex qua ratione putaverunt aliqui, solem istum visibilem, qui obtinet principatum inter creaturas corporales, esse Deum, quia nescierunt resolvere usque ad substantiam incorpoream nec usque ad rerum prima principia." Loc. cit., p. 49.

^[13] Verbum, the word. Cf. I Sent., 27, 2, u., 3 (I, 487): "Dicendum quod in intellectu verbi cadunt istae conditiones, scilicet intelligentis cognitio, similitudinis conceptio et alicuius expressio . . . Verbum autem non est aliud quam similitudo expressa et expressiva, concepta vi spiritu intelligentis, secundum quod se vel aliud intuetur. Unde patet, quod intellectus verbi praesupponit intellectum notitiae et generationis et imaginis: intellectum notitiae in intuitu spiritus intelligentis, intellectum generationis in conceptione interiori, intellectum imaginus in similitudine per omnia conformi, et superaddit his omnibus intellectum expressionis."

^[14] Verbum, the Word as God. Cf. In Hexaem., III, 4 (V, 343): "Summum autem spiritum impossibile est se non intelligere et cum intellectum aequetur intelligenti, intelligit quidquid est et quidquid potest: ergo ratio intelligendi aequatur intellectui, quae similitudo eius est. Haec autem similitudo Verbum est, quia secundum Augustinum et Anselmum, similitudo mentis convertentis se super se, quae in acie mentis est, verbum est. Si ergo haec similitudo aequalis est, ergo Deus est, et a Deo originata repraesentat originantem et quidquid Pater potest: ergo repraesentat multa." The Augustinian sources were put together by Peter Lombard in Lib. I, d. III, c. 2; found in Saint Bonaventure (I, 63-64).

^[15] Circumincessio, the perfect being-in-one-another of the Divine Persons in spite of their distinction as Persons. Cf. I Sent. I9, I, u., 4 (I, 349): "Circumincessio, qua dicitur, quad unus est in alio et e converso; et hoc proprie et perfecte in solo Deo est. quia circurnincessio in essendo ponit distinctionem simul et unitatem. Et quoniam in solo Deo est summa unitas cum distinctione, ita quod distinctio est inconfusa et unitas indistincta: hinc est, quod in solo Deo est circumincessio perfecta . . ." See also, loc. cit., note 10; Dionysius, De div. nom. c. 2, 4.

^[16] Causa essendi, ratio intelligendi, ordo vivendi, the cause of being, the basis of understanding, the order of life. Cf. Saint Augustine who in De civitate Dei, VIII, 4 (PL 41, 228), attributes this threefold division to Plato: ". . . aliquid tale de Deo sentiunt, ut in illo inveniatur et causa subsistendi, et ratio intelligendi, et ordo vivendi: quorum trium, unum ad naturalem, alterum ad rationalem, tertium ad moralem partem intelligitur pertinere. Si enim homo ita creatus est, ut per id, quod in eo praecellit, attingat illud, quod cuncta praecellit, id est, unum, verum, optimum Deum, sine quo nulla creatura subsistit, nulla doctrina instruit, nullus usus expedit, ipse quaeratur, ubi nobis secura sunt omnia; ipse cernatur, ibi nobis certa sunt omnia, ipse diligatur, ubi nobis recta sunt omnia."

^[17]

17 As to the division of sciences, cf. the somewhat longer explanation in De reductione artium ad theologiam, 4 (V, 320-321).

^[1] Cf. I Sent.,3, 2, 2, 1 (I, 89): "Nam proprie loquendo, imago consistit in unitate essentiae et trinitate potentiarum, secundum quas anima nata est ab illa summa Trinitate sigillari imagine similitudinis, quae consistit in gratia et virtutibus theologicis." Cf. also III Sent., 27, 1, 1 (III, 592): "Consistit enim imago recreationis in tribus virtutibus theologicis et unitate gratiae, sicut imago creationis in tribus potentiis et unitate substantiae." Also Brevil., V, 4 (V, 256): "Rursus, quoniam rectitudo animae perfecta requirit, quod ipsa rectificetur secundum duplicem faciem, scilicet superiorem et inferiorem . . . ideo necesse est, animam quantum ad superiorem faciem, in qua consistit imago Trinitatis aeternae, rectificari per tres tbeologicas virtutes, ut sicut imago creationis consistit in trinitate potentiarum cum unitate essentiae, sic imago recreationis in trinitate habituum cum unitate gratiae, per quos anima fertur recte in summam Trinitatem secundum tria appropriata tribus personus; ita quod fides dirigit in summe verum credendo et assendiendo, spes in summe arduum innitendo et expectando, caritas in summe bonum desiderando et diligendo."

^[2] Sensus spirituales, spiritual senses. The supernatural apparel of grace gives to the human soul something like new powers for the understanding of immediate experience. Through its activity the internal animation of the Holy Ghost is perfected in a loving understanding of God and a dedication to Him. These powers are the sensus spirituales, analogous to the five external senses, of which Saint Bonaventure and the mystics speak. Through them the human mind, in a manner corresponding to its new life, becomes immediately present to the life-giving activity of divine grace, for the soul, in a way analogous to the experiences of the external senses, now sees, hears, smells, tastes, and feels. Thus, through the supernatural apparel of grace in the human soul, the highest spiritual joy that is possible in this present state of pilgrimage reaches its perfection through an immediate, spiritual experience analogous to sense experience. The expression, sensus spirituales, as used by Saint Bonaventure, is to be translated sometimes by spiritual senses, sometimes by spiritual experiences. Strictly speaking, the expression has the last meaning only, because the sensus spirituales are not new habits of grace, but only the perfect activation of the infused habits of grace already present. "Non dicunt novos habitus, sed habituum praecedentium perfectum usum." III Sent. 34, 1, 1 (III, 737). Cf. also Brevil. V, 6 (V, 259). Frequently, however, the context requires the translation of sensus spirituales by spiritual senses. In these cases, Saint Bonaventure does not consider them as new faculties of knowledge, but rather as the infused gifts of grace already present in so far as they produce those experiences. Cf. Jean Francis Bonnefoy, O. F. M., Le Saint-Esprit et ses dons selon saint Bonaventure, 1920, pp. 210-215. Cf. also Rosenmöller, Religiöse Erkenntnis nach Bonaventura, 1925, p. 165 ff.; Étienne Gilson, Der heilige Bonaventura, p. 619; Ephrem Longpré, O. F. M., "La théologie mystique de S. Bonaventure," in Archivum Franc. Hist. 14 (1921), pp. 51-53. Other references to the sensus spirituales are the following: III Sent., 13, dub. 1 (III, 291); III Sent., 34, 1, 1, 1 (III, 737); Brevil., V, 6 (V, 259); De reduct. art., 10 (V, 322); In Hexaem., III, 22 (V, 347); De plant. parad., 16 (V, 578); In circumcis., Sermo VI (IX, 142); In Epiphania, Sermo XIV (IX, 169); De sancta Agnete, Sermo II (IX, 510).

^[3] Hierarchus, hierarchic. Under the influence of the pseudo-Areopagite, Saint Bonaventure considers all intellectual beings as on different levels, that is, hierarchically ordered in reference to their last and highest source of origin. Consequently he defines hierarchy as an order governing all holy and rational beings: "Hierarchia est rerum sacrarum et rationabilium ordinata potestas." II Sent., 9 praen. (II, 238). Because Saint Bonaventure uses the term "hierarchy" in an analogical sense, it is possible for him to distinguish a divine, an angelic, and an ecclesiastical or human hierarchy. Ibid., p 240. Cf. also Brevil., Prol., 3 (V, 203). The highest level is taken by the most holy Trinity; below this is the hierarchy of the angels, and still lower, the hierarchy of the church, which includes hierarchized souls. The divine Hierarchy is based upon the relationship of origin in the three Divine Persons. The principle of the created hierarchy is the imitation of God in nature and grace or the hierarchically ordered communication of grace. According to Guardini, in Lumen mantis, p. 198 f., in Rosenmöller, Religiöse Erkenntnis nach Bonaventura, 1925, p. 135, the following is essential to the concept of hierarchy: "It is an order of supernatural life directed toward God. It is based upon the ordering of beings in both directions above and below, and has as goal the rendering of created beings ever more like the Creator through grace, knowledge, and moral relationship. . ." Finally, in the hierarchic order, there is a directing of the senses, an ascendere toward God, resulting from an infused illumination. Cf. Gilson, Der heilige Bonaventura, pp. 607 and 908. On the latter page there can be found a very good schematic survey of the ecclesiastical, internal, and heavenly hierarchy. Cf. In Hexaem., XXII, 24-42 (V, 441-444) where the hierarchized soul is described as having levels corresponding to the angelic hierarchy. For the hierarchized mind, cf. In Hexaem., XX, 22-23 (V, 429).

^[4] Especially on this level of contemplation, the reading of Sacred Scripture is important. Cf. Brevil., Prol. I (V, 203): "Recte autem sacra Scriptura dividitur in vetus et novum testamentum, et non in theoricam et practicum, sicut philosophia: quia, cum Scriptura fundetur proprie super cognitionem fidei, quae virtus est et fundamentum morum et iustitiae et totius rectae vitae, non potest in ea sequestrari notitia rerum sive credendorum a notitia morum. Secus autem est de philosophia, quae non tantum de veritate morum, verum etiam agit de vero nuda speculatione considerato. Quoniam igitur Scriptura sacra est notitia movens ad bonum et revocans a malo; et hoc est per timorem et amorem: ideo dividitur in duo testamenta, quorum ‘brevis differentia est timor et amor’." Saint Augustine, contra Adimant., 17, 2 (PL 42, 156). Cf. also Brevil., II, 12 (V, 230). Quoted in full, supra, chapter II, note 4.