From a French edition of Night Thoughts The soul of man was made to walk the skies. Nor, as a stranger, does she wander there; But, wonderful herself, through wonder strays; Contemplating their grandeur, finds her own; ~ Edward Young, Night Thoughts 9 IT was a nice to discover that the quote, ‘An undevout astronomer […]| Christian Platonism
Pillars of Creation in Eagle Nebula (Messier 16) Devotion! daughter of astronomy! An undevout astronomer is mad. ~ Edward Young (Night Thoughts, Night 9, l.769) WE previously posted comments by Scottish theologian and astronomer Thomas Dick (1774−1857) on the Religious Benefits of Astronomy from the Introduction he wrote to Elijah Burritt’s Geography of the Heavens. […]| Christian Platonism
Image by Anurag Jain at Unsplash IN college I was fortunate to see the film Jonathan Livingston Seagull in its premiere run at the Village Theater in Westwood. While the film itself disappointed, the soundtrack — featuring songs by Neil Diamond and orchestral arrangements by Lee Holdridge — was magnificent. To hear the score in […]| Christian Platonism
Bodleian Library MS Douce 322 THE more we understand the grandeur and beauty of the human soul (of our own soul), the more we will love and praise God. Would you like to know how great the human soul is? It is more beautiful than all the beautiful works of nature combined. How can one […]| Christian Platonism
St. Augustine of Hippo (stained glass; location unknown) 1John 3 [1] Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. [2] Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not […]| Christian Platonism
Robert Fludd, Jacob’s Ladder AUGUSTINE famously distinguished between two powers or levels of human reason, which he called lower reason (ratio inferior) and higher reason (ratio superior). These refer, respectively, to discursive reasoning (ratiocination) and intellection (immediate grasp), and correspond to what in the Platonic/Neoplatonic tradition are called dianoia and nous. Augustine’s views, of course, […]| Christian Platonism
Piero Di Cosimo, Incarnation of Jesus (c.1485−1505; detail) RICHARD OF ST. VICTOR discusses a mystical state of consciousness he calls alienatio mentis (alienation of the mind). [1] This is a type of ecstasy in which one loses contact with bodily senses. Typically, however, both consciousness itself and awareness of oneself remain intact. That is, it […]| Christian Platonism
SENECA the Younger was, in philosophical orientation, a Roman Stoic. But it seems fair to say his was an eclectic Stoicism. (For example, one of the philosophers he quotes most often was Epicurus, the founder of Epicureanism.) This letter to his friend Lucilius discusses a divine spirit within us, functioning as some combination of Higher […]| Christian Platonism
Ernest Wallcousins, Nebuchadnezzar in the Hanging Gardens (1915) AS previously noted, Richard of St. Victor (1110−1173) is a master of psychological-allegorical interpretation of the Old Testament. His important exegetical works include Benjamin Minor, Benjamin Major and On the Extermination of Bad and the Promotion of Good. Another superb example is his On the Education of […]| Christian Platonism
WE CONCLUDE our translation of Section 6 of De septem septenis with the last form of contemplation it considers, inspiration, which is called an “infusion of the mind from above.” This…| Christian Platonism
De septem septinis, London British Library MS Harley 3969, fol. 206v THE mystagogical work De septem septenis (On the Seven Sevens) is a curious medieval treatise. It was written in the early 12th …| Christian Platonism
