Ongoing Translation Series: The Threefold Way of St. Bonaventure, Part V

Donald P. Goodman III

The great saint Bonaventure wrote many powerful works, but one that I have seen rarely examined, and even more rarely (if ever) translated, is The Threefold Way, subtitled incendium amoris, The Fire of Love. This short work (only twenty-five pages in the Latin, much less with footnotes removed) explores the threefold spiritual life: the purgative, the illuminative, and the contemplative ways. This series will be an ongoing translation project, in which we will English the saint's nobly simple Latin, for the benefit of all.

It is ongoing, and thus is necessarily a draft; if something sounds funny, please consult the Latin! And then let me know if I've gotten something wrong.

This installment: the beginning of the third chapter: on contemplation.

If this is new to you, start with Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV, then return here.

Chapter III: On Contemplation, by which one comes to true wisdom

§ 1 Preamble

1. After we said in what way we ought to practice ourselves toward wisdom through meditation and prayer, now we briefly touch upon in what way one comes to true wisdom by contemplation. For through contemplation our mind passes through into the heavenly Jerusalem, in the image of which the Church is shaped, according to what is said in Exodus: Look and make it according to the pattern, that was shewn thee in the mount (Ex 25:40). For it is necessary that the Church Militant be conformed to the Triumphant, and the merits to the gifts, and the travellers to the Blessed, according to what is possible. And in glory there is a threefold quality, in which the perfection of the prize consists: of course, the eternal holding of the highest peace, the clear sight of the highest truth, the full enjoyment of the highest kindness, or charity. And accordingly, this threefold order is distinguished in the supreme heavenly hierarchy, into Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim. Therefore, it is necessary that he who wishes to come to that blessedness through merit, should compare the likeness of those three things to himself on the way, according to what is possible, that he may certainly have the sleep of peace, the splendor of truth, the sweetness of charity. For in these three things God Himself rests and dwells, just as on His own throne. Therefore, it is necessary to ascend to each of the three aforesaid things through the three steps according to the threefold way; certainly the purgative, which consists in the driving away of sin; the illuminative, which consists in the imitation of Christ; the unitive, which consists in the taking up of the Spouse; so that each one has its own steps, through which it begins at the lowest and reaches even to the highest.

§ 2 On the seven steps by which one comes to the sleep of peace

2. The steps of coming to the sleep of peace are seven.

For first occurs shame in the memory of shameful acts, and this as much as to four, as much as its size, number, ugliness, and ingratitude.

Second, fear in consideration of judgment, and this is fourfold: of the squandering of work, the expulsion of reason, the hardness of the will, and final condemnation.

Third, sorrow in the valuation of the loss, and this according to four, certainly for the loss of the divine friendship, the destruction of innocence, the wounding of nature, and the squandering of past life.

Fourth, the fourfold cry of begging for help: of God the Father, Christ the Redeemer, the Virgin Mary, and the Church Triumphant.

Fifth, the severity in the annihilation of the fuel, or incentive, which is fourfold: dryness, which is ideleness; perversity, which is wickedness; pleasure, which is concupiscence; vanity, which is pride.

Sixth, fire in the desire for martyrdom, and this on acount of four things: on account of the perfection of the remission of offense, on account of the perfection of the purification of stain, on account of the perfection of the satisfaction of the punishment, and on account of sanctification in grace.

In the seventh place follows sleep in the overshadowing of Christ, where there is position and rest, while a man feels that he is protected under the shadow of the divine wings, and is not burned by the fire of concupiscence nor by the fear of punishment; to which one cannot come except through the desire of martyrdom; nor to the desire of martyrdom except he extinguish incentive; nor to this, unless he beg for help; nor to this, unless he deplore his loss; nor to this, unless he fear the divine judgment; nor to this, unless he remember and blush for his shameful deeds. Therefore, he who wishes to have the sleep of peace, let him proceed according to the aforesaid order.

§ 3 On the seven steps by which one comes to the splendor of truth

3. The steps of coming to the splendor of truth, to which one comes by the imitation of Christ, are these seven: the assent of reason, the affect of compassion, the gaze of wonder, the excess of devotion, the cloak of likeness, the embrace of the cross, and the consideration of truth, in which one must proceed in this order.

First consider, Who it is Who suffers, and place under him the assent of reason, that thou mighst firmly believe that Christ truly is the Son of God, beginning of all things, savior of men, rewarder of all merits.

Second, what type is He Who suffers, and join to him through the affect of compassion, that thou mightst suffer together with the most innocent, the mildest, the noblest, and the most loving One.

Third, how much it is He suffers, and go forth to Him through the gaze of wonder, and consider that He is enormous in power, beauty, happiness, eternity. Wonder, therefore, at the enormous power destroyed, the beauty defaced, the happiness tortured, the eternity dead.

Fourth, for what cause He suffers, and forget thyself through the excess of devotion, because indeed He suffers for thy redemption, illumination, sanctification, glorification.

Fifth, in what type of form He suffers, and put on Christ through the study of likeness. For He suffered most freely with regard to His neighbor, most severely with regard to Himself, most obediently with regard to God, most prudently with regard to the Adversary. Study, therefore, to have this garment of kindness to neighbor, severity to thyself, humility to God, attentiveness against the Devil, according to the image of the imitation of Christ.

Sixth, consider how great is what He suffers, and embrace the cross through a desire for suffering, that, just as He suffered fetters so that the powerless might be omnipotence, reproaches so that the common might be goodness, mockery so that the foolish might be wisdom, punishment so that the wicked might be justice; so also thou shouldst desire the suffering of the cross; that is, the full suffering with injuries in things, reproaches in words, mockeries in signs, punishments in torments.

Seventh, consider, what follows after this, because He suffers, and consider the ray of truth through the eye of contemplation; for from this, that the Lamb has suffered, the seven signs of the book were opened, as in the fifth chapter of the Apocalypse. That book is the universal notice of things, in which there were seven things closed to man, which indeed are opened up through the power of the suffering of Christ; that is, the wonderful God, the understandable spirit, the sensible world, the desirable paradise, the horrible hell, the praiseworth virtue, the blameworthy guilt.

4. First, therefore, the wonderful God was shown by the cross to be the highest and unsearchable wisdom, the highest and irreproachable justice, the highest and unerring mercy. For His highest wisdom cheats the Devil, His highest justice seeks the price of redemption, the highest mercy hands over the Son for us; which, if it is diligently considered, most clearly shows God to us.

Second, the understandable spirit was shown by through the cross according to a threefold difference; that is, how much of how much kindness to the Angels, how much of how much dignity to men, how much of how much cruelty to the demons. For the Angels permitted their Lord to be crucified; the Son of God was crucified on account of the human race; and this was at the suggestion of the demons.

Third, the sensible world was shown through the cross, because it is the place in which blindness ruled, because it did not know the true and highest light; barrenness ruled, because it despised Jesus Christ as one unfruitful; iniquity ruled, because it condemned and killed God, its Lord, its friend, the innocent one.

Fourth, the desirable paradise was shown through the cross, in which there is the peak of all glory, the show of all joy, the store room of all wealth, since God, on account of this restoring lodging for us, made man worthless, miserable, and poor; in which the height receives dejection, justice submits to guilt, wealth takes up poverty. For the highest ruler received an abject servitude, that we might be raised up to glory; the most just judge submitted to the most severely punished guilt, that we might be justified from fault; the wealthiest Lord took up extreme poverty, that we might be enriched in abundance.

Fifth, it was shown through the cross that hell is a horrible place, full of poverty, worthelessness, disgrace, loss, and misery. For if it was necessary that Christ suffer these things for the sake of erasing and satisfying for sin, it is much more proper that the damned suffer these things in just retribution and recompense of their merits.

Sixth, praiseworthy virtue was shown through the cross; indeed, so much as it is valuable, beautiful, fruitful. Valuable, because previously Christ gave His life, which goes against virtue; beautiful, because in the insults themselves it shines forth; fruitful, because one perfect use of virtue robbed hell, opened heaven, restored the earth.

Seventh, the blameworthy guilt was shown through the cross, inasmuch as it is destable, since it was needing, for its remission, so great a price, so large an offering, so difficult a medicine; in such, that it needed to satisfy God and the noblest man in the unity of person for its arrogance, than which none has been higher, through the most abject meanness; for its desire, than which nothing has been greedier, through the most excellent poverty; for its wantonness, than which nothing has been more dissolute, throuhgh the bitterest severity.

Behold, therefore, how everything is shown in the cross. For everything is reduced to these seven things. When, the cross itself is the key, the door, the way, and the light of truth, which he who takes up and follows according to the aforesaid method “walketh not in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12).