|
1. Blessed is the man whose help is from Thee. In his heart he
hath disposed to ascend by steps, in the vale of tears, in the
place which he hath set [Ps., 83, 6]. Since beatitude is nothing else than the
fruition of the highest good, and the highest good is above us,
none can be made blessed unless he ascend above himself, not by
the ascent of his body but by that of his heart. But we cannot be
raised above ourselves except by a higher power raising us up.
For
howsoever the interior steps are disposed, nothing is accomplished
unless it is accompanied by divine aid. Divine help, however,
comes to those who seek it from their hearts humbly and devoutly;
and this means to sigh for it in this vale of tears, aided only by
fervent prayer. Thus prayer is the mother and source of ascent ("sursum-actionis")
in God. Therefore Dionysius, in his book, "Mystical Theology" [ch.
1, 13, wishing to instruct us in mental elevation, prefaces his
work by prayer. Therefore let us pray and say to the Lord our God,
"Conduct me, O Lord, in Thy way, and I will walk in Thy truth; let
my heart rejoice that it may fear Thy name" [Ps., 85, 11].
2. By praying thus one is enlightened about the knowledge of the
stages in the ascension to God. For since, relative to our life on
earth, the world is itself a ladder for ascending to God, we find
here certain traces [of His hand], certain images, some corporeal,
some spiritual, some temporal, some aeviternal; consequently some
outside us, some inside.
That we may arrive at an understanding of
the First Principle, which is most spiritual and eternal and above
us, we ought to proceed through the traces which are corporeal and
temporal and outside us, and this is to be led into the way of
God. We ought next to enter into our minds, which are the eternal
image of God, spiritual and internal; and this is to walk in the
truth of God. We ought finally to pass over into that which is
eternal, most spiritual, and above us, looking to the First
Principle; and this is to rejoice in the knowledge of God and in
the reverence of His majesty.
3. Now this is the three days' journey into the wilderness [Ex.,
3, 18]; this is the triple illumination of one day, first as the
evening, second as the morning, third as noon; this signifies the
threefold existence of things, as in matter, in [creative]
intelligence, and in eternal art, wherefore it is said, "Be it
made, He made it," and "it was so done" [Gen., 1]; and this also
means the triple substance in Christ, Who is our ladder, namely,
the corporeal, the spiritual, and the divine.
4. Following this threefold progress, our mind has three principal
aspects. One refers to the external body, wherefore it is called
animality or sensuality; the second looks inward and into itself,
wherefore it is called spirit; the third looks above itself,
wherefore it is called mind. From all of which considerations it
ought to be so disposed for ascending as a whole into God that it
may love Him with all its mind, with all its heart, and with all
its soul [Mark, 12, 30]. And in this consists both the perfect
observance of the Law and Christian wisdom.
5. Since, however, all of the aforesaid modes are twofold--as when
we consider God as the alpha and omega, or in so far as we happen
to see God in one of the aforesaid modes as "through" a mirror and
"in" a mirror, or as one of those considerations can be mixed with
the other conjoined to it or may be considered alone in its
purity--hence it is necessary that these three principal stages
become sixfold, so that as God made the world in six days and
rested on the seventh, so the microcosm by six successive stages
of illumination is led in the most orderly fashion to the repose
of contemplation.
As a symbol of this we have the six steps to the
throne of Solomon [III Kings, 10, 19]; the Seraphim whom Isaiah
saw have six wings; after six days the Lord called Moses out of
the midst of the cloud [Ex., 21, 16]; and Christ after six days,
as is said in Matthew [17, 1], brought His disciples up into a
mountain and was transfigured before them.
6. Therefore, according to the six stages of ascension into God,
there are six stages of the soul's powers by which we mount from
the depths to the heights, from the external to the internal, from
the temporal to the eternal--to wit, sense, imagination, reason,
intellect, intelligence, and the apex of the mind, the
illumination of conscience ("Synteresis"). These stages are
implanted in us by nature, deformed by sin, reformed by grace, to
be purged by justice, exercised by knowledge, perfected by wisdom.
7. Now at the Creation, man was made fit for the repose of
contemplation, and therefore God placed him in a paradise of
delight [Gen., 2, 16]. But turning himself away from the true
light to mutable goods, he was bent over by his own sin, and the
whole human race by original sin, which doubly infected human
nature, ignorance infecting man's mind and concupiscence his
flesh.
Hence man, blinded and bent, sits in the shadows and does
not see the light of heaven unless grace with justice succor him
from concupiscence, and knowledge with wisdom against ignorance.
All of which is done through Jesus Christ, Who of God is made unto
us wisdom and justice and sanctification and redemption [I Cor.,
1, 30].
He is the virtue and wisdom of God, the Word incarnate,
the author of grace and truth--that is, He has infused the grace
of charity, which, since it is from a pure heart and good
conscience and unfeigned faith, rectifies the whole soul in the
threefold way mentioned above. He has taught the knowledge of the
truth according to the triple mode of theology--that is, the
symbolic, the literal, and the mystical--so that by the symbolic
we may make proper use of sensible things, by the literal we may
properly use the intelligible, and by the mystical we may be
carried aloft to supermental levels.
8. Therefore he who wishes to ascend to God must, avoiding sin,
which deforms nature, exercise the above-mentioned natural powers
for regenerating grace, and do this through prayer. He must strive
toward purifying justice, and this in intercourse; toward the
illumination of knowledge, and this in meditation; toward the
perfection of wisdom, and this in contemplation.
Now just as no
one comes to wisdom save through grace, justice, and knowledge, so
none comes to contemplation save through penetrating meditation,
holy conversation, and devout prayer. Just as grace is the
foundation of the will's rectitude and of the enlightenment of
clear and penetrating reason, so, first, we must pray; secondly,
we must live holily; thirdly, we must strive toward the reflection
of truth and, by our striving, mount step by step until we come to
the high mountain where we shall see the God of gods in Sion [Ps.,
83, 8]
9. Since, then, we must mount Jacob's ladder before descending it,
let us place the first rung of the ascension in the depths,
putting the whole sensible world before us as a mirror, by which
ladder we shall mount up to God, the Supreme Creator, that we may
be true Hebrews crossing from Egypt to the land promised to our
fathers; let us be Christians crossing with Christ from this world
over to the Father [John, 13, 1]; let us also be lovers of wisdom,
which calls to us and says, "Come over to me, all ye that desire
me, and be filled with my fruits" [Ecclesiasticus, 24, 26]. For by
the greatness of the beauty and of the creature, the Creator of
them may be seen [Wisdom, 13, 5].
10. There shine forth, however, the Creator's supreme power and
wisdom and benevolence in created things, as the carnal sense
reports trebly to the inner sense. For the carnal sense serves him
who either understands rationally or believes faithfully or
contemplates intellectually. Contemplating, it considers the
actual existence of things; believing, it considers the habitual
course of things; reasoning, it considers the potential excellence
of things.
11. In the first mode, the aspect of one contemplating,
considering things in themselves, sees in them weight, number, and
measure [Wisdom, 11, 21]--weight, which directs things to a
certain location;[2] number, by which they are distinguished from
one another; and measure, by which they are limited. And so one
sees in them mode, species, and order; and also substance, power,
and operation. From these one can rise as from the traces to
understanding the power, wisdom, and immense goodness of the
Creator.
12. In the second mode, the aspect of a believer considering this
world, one reaches its origin, course, and terminus. For by faith
we believe that the ages are fashioned by the Word of Life [Hebr.,
11, 3]; by faith we believe that the ages of the three laws--that
is, the ages of the law of Nature, of Scripture, and of
Grace--succeed each other and occur in most orderly fashion; by
faith we believe that the world will be ended at the last
judgment--taking heed of the power in the first, of the providence
in the second, of the justice of the most high principle in the
third.
13. In the third mode, the aspect of one inquiring rationally, one
sees
that some things merely are; others, however, are and live;
others, finally, are, live, and discern. And the first are lesser
things, the second midway, and the third the best. Again, one sees
that some are only corporeal, others partly corporeal and partly
spiritual, from which it follows that some are entirely spiritual
and are better and more worthy than either of the others. One
sees, nonetheless, that some are mutable and corruptible, as
earthly things; others mutable and incorruptible, as celestial
things, from which it follows that some are immutable and
incorruptible, as the supercelestial things. From these visible
things, therefore, one mounts to considering the power and wisdom
and goodness of God as being, living, and understanding; purely
spiritual and incorruptible and immutable.
14. This consideration, however, is extended according to the
sevenfold condition of creatures, which is a sevenfold testimony
to the divine power, wisdom, and goodness, as one considers the
origin, magnitude, multitude, beauty, plenitude, operation, and
order of all things.
For the "origin" of things, according to
their creation, distinction, and beauty, in the work of the six
days indicates the divine power producing all things from nothing,
wisdom distinguishing all things clearly, and goodness adorning
all things generously.
"Magnitude" of things, either according to
the measure of their length, width, and depth, or according to the
excellence of power spreading itself in length, breadth, and
depth, as appears in the diffusion of light, or again according to
the efficacy of its inner, continuous, and diffused operation, as
appears in the operation of fire--magnitude, I say, indicates
manifestly the immensity of the power, wisdom, and goodness of the
triune God, Who exists unlimited in all things through His power,
presence, and essence.
"Multitude" of things, according to the
diversity of genus, species, and individuality, in substance,
form, or figure, and efficacy beyond all human estimation, clearly
indicates and shows the immensity of the aforesaid traits in God.
"Beauty" of things, according to the variety of light, figure, and color in bodies simple and mixed and even composite, as in the
celestial bodies, minerals, stones and metals, plants and animals,
obviously proclaims the three mentioned traits.
"Plenitude" of
things--according to which matter is full of forms because of the
seminal reasons; form is full of power because of its activity;
power is full of effects because of its efficiency--declares the
same manifestly.
"Operation," multiplex inasmuch as it is natural,
artificial, and moral, by its very variety shows the immensity of
that power, art, and goodness which indeed are in all things the
cause of their being, the principle of their intelligibility, and
the order of their living.
"Order," by reason of duration,
situation, and influence, as prior and posterior, upper and lower,
nobler and less noble, indicates clearly in the book of creation
the primacy, sublimity, and dignity of the First Principle in
relation to its infinite power. The order of the divine laws,
precepts, and judgments in the Book of Scripture indicates the
immensity of His wisdom. The order of the divine sacraments,
rewards, and punishments in the body of the Church indicates the
immensity of His goodness. Hence order leads us most obviously
into the first and highest, most powerful, wisest, and best.
15. He, therefore, who is not illumined by such great splendor of
created things is blind; he who is not awakened by such great
clamor is deaf; he who does not praise God because of all these
effects is dumb; he who does not note the First Principle from
such great signs is foolish. Open your eyes therefore, prick up
your spiritual ears, open your lips, and apply your heart, that
you may see your God in all creatures, may hear Him, praise Him,
love and adore Him, magnify and honor Him, lest the whole world
rise against you.
For on this account the whole world will fight against the
unwise [Prov., 5, 21]; but to the wise will there be matter for
pride, who with the Prophet can say, "Thou hast given me, O Lord,
a delight in Thy doings: and in the works of Thy hands I shall
rejoice [Ps., 91, 5]. . . . How great are Thy works, O Lord; Thou
hast made all things in wisdom; the earth is filled with Thy
riches" [Ps., 103, 24].
|