Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 14.djvu/678

 THEOLOGY

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THEOLOGY

Nazianzus, in his "De fuga", treats of the dignity and responsibihty of the priesthood; Chrysostom's "De sacerdotio" exalts the subUmity of this state with surpassing excellence; St. Ambrose in his "De offieiis", while speaking of the four cardinal virtues, admonishes the clerics that their lives should be an illustrious example; St. Jerome's "Epistola ad Nepo- tianum" discusses the dangers to which priests are exposed; finally, the "Regula pastoralis" of Gregory the Great inculcates the prudence indispensable to the pastor in his dealings with different classes of men. Of prime importance for the monastic life was the work "De institutis ccBnobiorum" of Cassian. But the standard work from the eighth to the thir- teenth century was the Rule of St. Benedict, which found numerous commentators. Of the saint or rather his Rule St. Bernard says: "Ipse dux noster, ipse magister et legifer noster est" (Serm. in Nat. S. Bened., n. 2). Illustrations of the practice of Chris- tian virtues in general were the "Expositio in beatum Job" of Gregory the Great and the "Collationes Pat rum" of Cassian, in which the various elements of Christian perfection were discussed in the form of dialogues.

(3) The Medieval-Scholastic Period. — The tran- sition period up to the twelfth century exhibits no specially noteworthy advance in ascetical litera- ture. To the endeavour to gather and preserve the teachings of the Fathers we owe Alcuin's "De virtu- tibus et vitiis". But when in the twelfth century speculative theology was celebrating its triumphs, mystical and ascetical theology, too, showed a healthy activity. The results of the former could not but benefit the latter by placing Christian morality on a scientific basis and throwing ascetical theology itself into a scientific form. The pioneers in this field were St. Bernard (d. 1156) and Hugh and Richard of St. Victor. St. Bernard, the greatest mystical theolo- gian of the twelfth century, also holds a prominent place among ascetical writers, so that Harnack calls him the "rehgious genius" of the twelfth century. The basic idea of his works, especially prominent in his treatise "De gratia et hbero arbitrio", is that the life of the Christian should be a copy of the life of Jesus. Like Clement of Alexandria, he, too, lays down precepts for the regulation of the necessities of life, as food and dress, and for the implanting of God's love in man's heart, which would sanctify all things ("Apologia", "De praecepto et dispensa- tione"). Many are the steps by which love ascends till it reaches its perfection in the love for God's sake. Among his ascetical writings are: "Liber de diligendo Deo", "Tractatus de gradibus humilitatis et su- perbioe", "De moribus et officio episeoporum", "Sermo de conversione ad clericos", "Liber de con- eideratione".

Frequent allusions to St. Augustine and Gregory the Great are scattered through the pages of Hugh of St. Victor (d. 1141), so much so that he earned the distinction of being called a second Augustine by his contemporaries. He was undoubtedly the first to give to ascetical theology a more or less definite, scientific character. The ever-recurring theme of his works is love. But what he aimed at above all in his writings was to lay bare the psychological bearings of mystical and ascetical theologj'. Noteworthy are his works: "De vanitate mundi", "De laude caritatis", "De modo orandi", "De meditatione". His pupil, Richard of St. Victor (d. 1173), though more ingeni- ous and systematic, is yet less intent- upon practical utility, except in his work "De exterminatione mali et promotione boni". The great theologians of the thirteenth century, who were no less famous for their scholastic "Summie" than for their ascetical and mystical writings, brought ascetical teaching to its perfection and gave it the definite shape it has re- tained as a standard for all future times. No other

epoch furnishes such convincing proof that true science and true piety are rather a help than a hin- drance to each other. Albert the Great, the illustri- ous teacher of the great Thomas, who was the first to join Aristotelean philosophy with theology and to make philosophy the handmaid of theology, was at the same time the author of excellent works on ascetics and mysticism, as, e. g., "De adhserendo Deo", the ripest fruit of his mystic genius, and "Paradisus anims", which was conceived along more practical lines. To St. Thomas we owe the ascetic work "De perfectione vitEE spiritualis"; in it he ex- plains the essence of Christian perfection so lucidly that his line of argumentation may even in our days serve as a model. His other works, too, contain ample material of value both for ascetics and for mysticism.

The Seraphic Doctor, St. Bonaventure, "treats of mystic theology", to use the wor<is of Leo XIII, "in a manner so perfect that the unanimous opinion of the most expert theologians regards him as the prince of mystic theologians". Of his authentic works the fol- lowing deserve to be mentioned: "De perfectione evangeUca", "Collationes de septem donis Spiritus sancti", "Incendium amoris", "Soliloquium", "Lig- num vita;", "De praeparatione ad Mii^-sam", "Apol- ogia pauperum". From the pen of David of Augs- burg, a contemporary of these great masters, we have an ascetic instruction for novices in his book entitled "De exterioris et interioris hominis compositione". He leads the reader along the three well-known ways, purgative, illuminative, and unitive, purposing to make the reader a spiritual man. By severely disci- pHning the faculties of the soul and subordinating the flesh to the spirit, man must restore the original order, so that he may not only do what is good, but likewise do it with ease. There remains to be men- tioned the "Summa de vitiis et virtutibus" of Per- aldus (d. c. 1270). The fourteenth century is char- acterized throughout by its mystical tendencies. Among the works which this period produced, Henry Suso's "Booklet of Eternal Wisdom' deserves special mention on account of its highly practical value. Pre-eminent in the fifteenth century were Gerson, Dionysius the Carthusian, and the author of the "Imitation of Christ". Relinquishing the ideals of the mystic writers of the fourteenth century, Gerson attached himself again to the great scholastic writers, thus avoiding the vagaries which had become alarm- ingly frequent among the mystics. His "Considera- tiones de theologia mystica" shows that he belongs to the practical school of asceticism. Dionysius the Carthusian is esteemed as a highly gifted teacher of the spiritual life. Both mysticism properly so called and practical asceticism owe valuable works tohispen. To the latter category belong: "De remediis tenta- tionum", "De via purgativa", "De oratione", "De gaudio spirituali et pace interna", "De quatuor novissimis".

The "Imitatio Christi", which appeared in the middle of the fifteenth century, deserves special at- tention on account of its lasting influence. "It is a clas.sic in its ascetical unction and perfect in its artis- tic style" (Hamm, "Die Schonheit der kalh. Moral", Munich-Gladbach, 1911, p. 74). In four books it treats of the interior spiritual life in imitation of Jesus Christ. It pictures the struggle which man must wage against his inordinate passions and perverse inclinations, the indulgence of which sullies his con- science and robs him of God's grace: "Vanity of vani- ties and all is vanity, except to love God and serve Him alone" (Vanitas vanitatum et omnia vanitas pra>ter amare Deum et illi soli servire: I, i). It advises mortification and self-denial as the most effi- cacious weapons in this struggle. It teaches man to establish God's kingdom in his soul bv the practice of virtues according to the example of Jesus Christ.