William of Saint-Thierry on the Phenomenon of Christ: The Paradigm of Human Possibilities

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OCT

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The

B 342

4 1975

University Michigan Periodical Reading Room

of

ANALECTA CISTERCIENSIA PERIODICUM SEMESTRE

SUMMARIUM of Cistercian Chronicles in England . - The Foundation History of Fountains Abbey ( II )

D. BAKER , The Genesis

T.M. TOMASIC , William of Saint -Thierry on the Phenomenon of Christ Paradigm of Human Possibilities L.A. DESMOND , The Appropriation

to B.W.

:

179

The 213

of Churches by the Cistercians in England .

1400

O'DWYER , The Crisis in the Cistercian Monasteries in Ireland in the Early Thirteenth Century ( I ) .

Recensiones

ANNUS XXXI -

246

267 305

FASC .

1975 NOSTRA CISTERCIN MATER

EDITIONES CISTERCIENSES

(

I-00153 ) ROMA , PIAZZA DEL

TEMPIO DI DIANA ,

14

2

JUL .- DEC .

WILLIAM OF SAINT -THIERRY ON THE PHENOMENON OF CHRIST : THE PARADIGM OF HUMAN POSSIBILITIES by THOMAS

MICHAEL TOMASIC

John Carroll University Cleveland , Ohio

Where the existential situation

of man is conceived of

as image ,

where he is understood to be made ad imaginem et similitudinem Dei , human existence is already asserted to be intentional , or to have the status of intentionality . The indispensable condition for the possibility of man's being an existential intentionality is , of course , that he be thought by a Mind in an absolutely creative or constitutive way ; inten tionality is a characteristic of mind , and not of things unless they are understood as grounded in a creative Mind . For man to be made ad imaginem Dei is to possess an intentional status in the creative Mind , i.e. , to be articulated in , through , and toward the Word ; it is precisely this intentional status in the personal Truth or Word of the Trinity that one must understand as predestination . The praedestinatio of man must be construed as equivalent in meaning to the directionality or intentionality expressed by the phrase ad imaginem et similitudinem Dei. In effect , the Verbum Dei becomes the locus or topos wherein the capax universi ( man ) derives its structure and directionality ; there man possesses the radical truth ( unconcealment ) of his authentic being . mutual indwelling of Archetype and image is to be possible , there must also be a reciprocal emergence of the Word out of human capacity , as there was , in the first place , a procession of man and the shaping of his meaning out of the Word .

If

Despite the effects , such as alienation , of the Fall , man still finds himself in a privileged position in the world . With the manifestation of interiority (consciousness and affectivity ) in man , he appears in the world as the convergent center of the visible and invisible , the point at which and from which both become unconcealed , both come to light . By his contact with the visible world , man's project is to progressively spiritualize it . Hence , again , the critical importance of that horizon appearing in man which William called animus and Plotinus noûs , by

T. M. Tomasic

214

which man's ownmost ( proprium ) structure is that of an existential intentionality . Even though man has become estranged through the se paration in him of animus and anima , animus still retains , albeit concealed and obscured , its natural , ontological unity rooted firmly in its Archetype , for the simple reason that man's ultimate structure , articulated by the creative Mind , remains that of intentionality . If sal vation or restoration is at all open to man , it can only be at this point , i.e. , from the interiority grasped in man , from that capax « roomy enough to contain the Divinity . It is important to keep in mind that the mediaeval Christian Neoplatonist was not principally concerned with the conditio humana ; the conditio is bare , empirical facticity . Rather , whas is of primary concern is the restauratio humana , the directionality of human existence , its possibilities which , in view of the condition of twentieth century man , appears a fortiori more sane . Restoration

of human

existence

would mean to relocate

it to its

primordial status , to the prototypal ( praedestinatio ) integrity possessed prior to alienation from itself ( realized by the bifurcation of animus and anima ) and from its Archetype . In the same way in which the imago Dei was primordially born in , through , and with the Word , so now , in order to regain the structure of intersubjectivity forfeited in the Fall , the imago or capax Dei must be born a second time , in , through , and with the Word . And with the coincidence of God and man in the unity of a single Person , it becomes apparent that the divinization or apotheosis of man , his re -entering the intersubjectivity of the Divine Milieu in order to par ticipate with the full rights of inheritance , is one and the same reality as the hominization of God . The Christian Neoplatonist views the Incar national event , this visio Dei in terram , as the primal and ultimate doxa , i.e. , glory , illumination , unconcealment , in which a phenomenology of God and of man is accomplished in a single stroke . In effect , it is precisely this event which grounds theocentric language as a fundamental ontology that reveals the infinite possibilities open to human being as man's own most capacity , and justifies the truth of the dictum that God and man are mutually paradigmatic

.

By reason of the Fall , and specifically by the alienation within of animus and anima , the authentic possibilities of the being created ad imaginem Dei have been reduced to impotency ; this interior psychological bifurcation is manifested by ignorance and the subsequent fallenness to the world ( or the older term , concupiscence ) . Man's original unity with his Exemplar is thereby brutally interrupted . In order to reconstitute this unity , in order to awaken in man his ownmost intrinsic dignity , the Artifex mundi , in Whom the ad imaginem , or prototype , is intentionally constituted and originally unconcealed , must appear within the frame work of that capax Dei , exhaust it possibilities , and thereby reestablish the capax Dei to its protoypal situation , restoring it to its proper role of speculari . The Word , in effect , assumes not only the individual man

William of Saint -Thierry on the Phenomenon of Christ

215

( Jesus ) , but in His fulfilling the total possibilities open to the human situation , He , effectively , assumes all humanity in the unity of His Person , thus effecting the restoration of human nature .

Cur Deus homo . To say that God became man in order to save mankind may be true. indeed , but it is hardly sufficient . Nor is it adequate to ask from what mankind is to be saved . The most fundamental question is why, what is the ground , the rationale for God's becoming man in order to « save »> mankind . What must be found , it would seem , is some principle of ulti mate necessity , either in God or in man , that would occasion the Incar nation . Perhaps it might not be altogether too unreasonable to suggest that the very nature of intersubjectivity per se necessitates the appearance of God within the context of human possibility . The Divine Essence is a Communitarian Unity , the perfect coextensivity , compenetration , and reciprocity of Persons in the unity of reflective consciousness and freedom ; thus , « Essence » is another way of expressing the communi tarian or interpersonal presence of the Divine Persons as the realization of fulfilled Existence . If , indeed , man can be said to have been created to the image und likeness of God , then man is oriented by the Divine Community to nothing less than this very intersubjectivity enjoyed by the Persons in God ; in other words , the intersubjectivity achieved within the communitarian God of Christianity constitutes the meaning and the verification of the possibilities open to man . For William , the notion of essence designates a unity of operation or action , i.e. , the single , effective operation of the Trinitarian Persons whereby They mutually indwell one another through power , wisdom , and goodness ; essence then means total personal reciprocity , insinuation , coextensivity , and coeternity . Inter subjectivity is the critical theme underlying all William's thinking ; even when he speaks of creation , he centers it on the effective interaction of mutually indwelling Persons , proposing thereby a deep - seated liaison between the interpersonal life of God and His working ad extra in such a way that the Divine Essence , i.e. , the mutual unconcealment of Persons in one Self- Identity , is , by definition , creative , constitutive , and outward tending . Regarding the Incarnation , William insisted that the entire Trinity effects the infleshment of the Son , thereby again reaffirming that the Divine Identity ( Essence ) is an inseparable community of action even more impressive is the affirmation necessity of the Divine Essence , i.e. , the realized intersubjectivity of the Divine Persons ( since God is Communi tarian , not Unitarian ) , and the insistence that the activities of God ( including creation and redemption ) are equally eternal , immutable , necessary by virtue of the Divine Essence or Self- Identity . Thus , as

and manifestation

.

But what is

of the eternity , immutability

,

William said , the name of Creator and Redeemer , while they relate to

T. M. Tomasic

216

the temporal and mutable creature , are the essential characteristics of an eternal and immutable Essence ; hence , in God , in Whom whatever is made is life , and in Whom whatever exists is God , the Divine Essence itself is the ground of all things in its own eternity and necessity . Every external creature , indeed , is a sample of the sublime Exemplar , and bears a likeness to God's own interior unconcealment . From the fact that the divine operations are inseparable from the existential inter subjectivity that God is , it follows that the expression , « Let us make man to our own image and likeness » , designates the intentional situation of man as no longer arbitrary or contingent ; the will to create , as iden tified with the Divine Essence , acquires in that identification a grounding necessity . And since the making of man to the image and likeness of God essentially includes the restoration of man as well , it would seem that the appearance of God in man also acquires a necessity derived from the eternality and immutability of the Divine Will . Man is made to the image and likeness of God ; everything ultimately depends on the effect iveness , the effectuality , and immutability of the Divine Intentionality , i.e. , on the inherent law of the immutable Word . If one would grant , in the end , a failure of the primordial intention ad imaginem et similitu dinem Dei to be realized through the restoration of the capax Dei , then one would , in effect , render the intentionality of the immutable Word absurd

;

there would

,

in fact ,

be no

Word , no Truth at all .

Centering attention on a necessity coterminous with the Divine Es why God became man in no way belittles viewpoint ; , the human rather such a reinforces the notion that the essen tial structure of the Divine Essence for man is that of care . Bound over to the law of sin through the Fall , sold , as it were , to sin . the fundamental situation of man in the world is one of impotence ; man is unable to extricate himself from his own condition of fallenness to the world he is incapable , after losing his ownmost worth , to repurchase himself.¹ The anima , fallen from her better part , cannot restore herself to her original intentional status , to her original likeness ; only God , says Wil liam , can achieve that .' Founded to the image and likeness of God , we

sence to provide the rationale

-

fallen from God into ourselves , and profound unlikeness that there seemed to it would appear that the very condition of tates God becoming man , not merely from have

Epistolam ad Romanos , PL 180 , 618C : « 'Venundatus sub peccato .' Quis te , O homo , inquit , homo sum . Homo seipsum vendidit , ut sub pec cato servus sit , ille ipsum vendidi , qui consensi seductori . Vendere me potui ; redi mere non possum . Vendidi me , cum dedi peccato consensionem , et accepi mortem . » potest anima , sicut potuit de 2 Ibid . , 671B : « Non autem reformare seipsam formare . Nemo enim potest esse continens , nisi Deus det . » 3 See Super Cantica , ed . J.-M. Déchanet , Exposé sur le cantique des cantiques ( Paris : J. Vrin , 1958 ) , p . 200 , n° 83 . 1

In

from ourselves into such a be no hope whatever .' Now the human situation necessi the fact that man has fallen ,

o Paule , vendidit ?

William of Saint -Thierry on the Phenomenon of Christ

217

but from the fact that the interior structure of the fallen being is an essential reciprocity to its Archetype . The intentional reciprocity of the self as image is always that of « an image of ; » man's authentic structure is constituted by this fundamental intentionality or existential structure of reciprocity . In other words , the very Divine Intention , for which and to which man was created , is at stake in the reciprocal , existential struc ture of the capax Dei . Its essence , immutably determined by the Creator , is not to be alone ; in a real sense , then , the Divine Intention of the Crea tor is inscaped in the very nature of the capax itself, in such a way that the Divine Essence constitutes its own responsibility by creating the very need that constitutes the identity of the human person , namely , the need for intersubjective unconcealment . By the very fact of creating man ad imaginem Dei , the total Divine Intersubjectivity necessarily enfolds man , and necessitates a restoration from the land of unlikeness , from the state of alienation , to the original Intention . The goodness of God abounded and was offered to all men , but there was no one who knew how to receive it , and consequently no one was able to receive it . There was no one even to teach how it could be obtained . No one was able to ascend where the good things of God were being distributed to bring them down here below . The task needed could be accomplished only by a mediator between God and ourselves , through whom that which we are could approach God , and God's goodness might approach us . And so the whole Trinity took counsel together that counsel of which the Prophet said : May Your ancient counsel become manifest . The Lord saw that everything was in confusion and disturbance among men ; nothing was in its proper place , nothing proceeded in its proper way . He saw that man had gone so far into the land of unlikeness , that he could not return from it by himself . Nor did man really know how to return . The Angel presumed on his likeness to God , so he said : will move my seat to the north , and will be like the Most High . Man , too , wanted to be like God , so he was persuaded : you will be like gods . Will My Son , said the Father , the Outshining of My Appearance and the Form of My Substance , have these rivals as equals and companions in that very likeness to Me which He is ? Both the Angel and man fell . God the Son , the very Image of God Himself , saw both the Angel and the man , who were made to that Image , to the Image of God (but they were not themselves the actual Image of God ) , ―――He saw them perishing through their inordinate desire of His Image and Likeness . Ah ! He exclaimed , the wretched have no one to envy them ; I must go help those whom justice does not forbid Me to help . I will show Myself to man as a man of sorrows , knowing what it is to be infirm , so that they might envy Me My humility and imitate it , by which man will with great speed arrive at My Appearance , and will hear Me say to him : Learn from Me, because in My heart I am gentle , bend low ; there you will find your soul's rest .

-

I

I

I

* De natura amoris , ed . M.-M. Davy , Deux traités de l'amour de Dieu : De la contemplation de Dieu ; De nature et de la dignité de l'amour ( Paris : J. Vrin , 1953 ) ,

T. M. Tomasic

218

What , then , may be asserted as the fundamental premises establishing the rationale for God becoming man , according to William ?

) Since the intersubjective , communitarian structure of Divinity effects not only creation but also the restoration of the capax Dei , the grounding rationale must be found within the nature of the Divine Inter subjectivity itself ." 1

2 ) Since it is the Word of God , Divine Wisdom ( or Self - Knowledge ) , the Persona designated as the Divine Self - reflective Consciousness , Who assumes humanity , the why or rationale for God's becoming man would lie specifically in His personal situation , His personal identity , within the Divine Community ." 3 ) Since the Word empties Himself out entirely , as it were , in the capax Dei , thereby concretizing in actuality the native possibility of an authentic intersubjective situation between the Archetype and its «< ima ge , » a complimentary rationale why God became man must be found in the essential , reciprocal structure and need of the capax itself . The

pp .

118-120 , nº 40 : « Nam cum talibus ei bonitas abundaret et offerret omnibus , nec esse qui illuc posset ascendere , ubi bona hec distribuuntur , vel qui huc posset deferre : opus erat mediatore inter nos et Deum , per quem nostra propinquarent Deo , et bona Dei nobis . Iniit ergo consilium tota Trinitas , consilium illud , de quo dicit Propheta : Consilium tuum antiquum verum fiat . Videbat quippe Dominus quantum ad hominem omnia confusa , omnia turbata ; nichil stare in loco suo , ni chil procedere ordine suo . Videbat hominem abiisse in regionem dissimilitudinis tam longe , ut per se nec posset nec sc [ i ] ret redire . Angelus enim presumpserat si militudinem Dei , dicens : Ponam sedem meam ad aquilonem , et ero similis Altis simo . Homo similiter Deus esse voluit , cui persuasum erat : eritis sicut dii . Ergo ne, inquit , Deus Pater , Filius meus , splendor glorie mee , et figura substantie mee , in ipsa mei similitudine tot emulos habebit , et pares , et socios ? Precipitatus est uterque . Videns imago Dei Deus filius angelum et hominem , qui facti erant ad ipsam , id est ad imaginem Dei non tamen quod ipsa id est imago Dei , per inordi natum imaginis et similitudinis ejus appetitum perisse : Heu ! inquit , sola miseria caret invidia ; sed subveniendum est ei cui subvenire non prohibet justitia . Exhibeo igitur me homini hominem despectum et novissimum virorum , virum dolorum et scientem infirmitatem , ut zelet et imitetur in me humilitatem , per quam perveniat ad gloriam , ad quam prepropere festinat , ut possit audire a me : Discite a me quia mitis sum et humilis corde , et invenietis requiem animabus vestris . » 5 This theme has already been taken up in an article in Analecta Cisterciensia 28 ( 1972 ) , pp . 69-72 . 6 Cf. Ibid ., pp . 37-40 . 7 Déchanet , Super Cantica , pp . 242-244 , n ° 110. « Lilium etiam fuit convallium , vel cum homo homines sibi praeferens pro impiis ut illi viverent , volens ipse mor tuus est ; vel cum Deus homo ab hominibus perversis sponte eis subditus , et ab eis injuste judicatus est . Ergo habet , inquit , in me et communis vitae planities , et altioris vitae professio , quod imitetur de virtute humilitatis . Aliis etenim flos cam pi , aliis lilium , quod coeteris floribus praeeminet , in exemplum perfectionis appa ruit ; qui cum in forma Dei essem , non rapinam arbitratus aequalem me esse Deo , exinanivi memetipsum , in similitudine hominum. factus , et habitu inventus ut homo . Tu vero pulchro intendens , ut pulchra de pulchro fieres , hoc sensisti sensu amoris

William of Saint -Thierry on the Phenomenon of Christ

219

relationship between God and man is no longer viewed as analogical , but as a genuine convergence of centers , a coextensivity of interiors , on an existential plane . What seems to be revealed is that the heart of man is truly the city or dwelling place of God . In effect , the unique case of the Man , Jesus , Whose humanity is worthy of God , seems to provide the paradigm instance of the possibilities open to every other human sub

ject .' in

te , quod sensu fidei sensisti in me , et complantata

lilio facta

filiarum ; vel

feminea ,

et sicut lilium , non quod sonat nomen

deflexa a rectitude imitationis vel mollitie pungente aculeo spinarum , hoc est malitia cohabitantium . Inter malos etenim bene vivere , jam perfectionis alicujus culmen est .

pp , , 9 Ibid . . 200-204 nº 83 : « Sed venit Filius Dei , aeterna sapientia , et inclinavit coelos suos et descendit , et fecit de semetipso quiddam in nobis , quod simile esset nobis , quod apprehenderemus ; et simile sibi , per quod levaremur : cujus mysterii continua memoria , continua esset medicina . Et fasciculus myrrhae est quod appre hendimus , botrus vero Cypri , per quod levamur . De quo subdit et dicit : Botrus Cypri dilectus ejus mihi , in vineis Engaddi . » Speculum fidei, ed . M.-M. Davy , Deux traités sur la foi : Le miroir de la foi ; L'énigme de la foi ( Paris , J. Vrin , 1959 ) , p . 60 , nº 42 : « Onmibus enim interioribus nostris interior Deus , in exterioribus nostris , hoc est in sensibus corporis exteriora nobis condidit sacramenta , per que interiora nostra ad sua introduceret interiora , per corporalium sacramentorum operationem paulatim suscitans in nobis gratiam spiritualem : qui etiam ad hoc inclinaverat se ad consortium humanitatis nostre , ut participes nos efficeret divinitatis sue . »> Then , at pp . 64-66 , nº 48 , he says : « Deum autem factum hominem pro nobis ad sanandum superbie nostre tumorem summum medicamentum , ad redemptio meae ,

T. M. Tomasic

220

Perhaps the most advantageous approach to clarifying the question

why God became man , and in what way His becoming man permits every human entry into intersubjectivity , would be to consider the intentional , prototypal structure of the Word Himself , and the ontological coexten sivity of the Divine Word with the capax Dei .

The Unconcealment of the Primary Prototype

.

The fact that God appeared in man , that the Word of God is identi fied with the Man Jesus , is not in question ; however , granted that such be the case ( accepting William's premise ) , the real question becomes : how is it possible that the Divine Word could become manifest in the human condition ? What necessary and indispensable principle is requi red for such an occurrance ? Questions such as these rest on a much wider Neoplatonic framework than William himself explicitly provides ; yet , William's own use of various Neoplatonic terms and formulae ( such as the notion of predestination ) , provides some clue to his fundamental pre supposition . It will be necessary to recapitulate a few basic notions in order to found the converging point of the Divine and the human . Perhaps the key to unlock the desired intelligibility of the homini zation of the Word lies in the mutually reciprocal structure of the Word , in Whom and through Whom the Divine Community becomes uncon cealed , and the very capax Dei ( the ad imaginem Dei ) understood from its own prototypal , intentional status as an essential response to that Word . The capax Dei , in other words , derives its ownmost structure from the Person of the Word ; spoken within the matrix of that Word , the capax Dei , in terms of its own possibilities , is inscaped by the insin uating structure of the second Person , and derives its ownmost insin uating characteristic as an image of. The capax Dei acquires its confi guration from the « Interior Space » in which it is unconcealed . And pre cisely because the capax Dei is insinuative existentially , it cannot , as William says , aid itself by itself alone ; in itself alone it is impotent , it neither knows how , nor is it able , to ascend upward toward intersubjec tivity with its originating Archetype . Yet , its ownmost possibility ( name ly, that the ad imaginem Dei exists as an intentionality , and that this

nem nostram et solvenda

peccata

nostra altum sacramentum , fecisse

miracula

,

et

a mortuis surrexisse . Si sic quid sit omnipotentia , crede de omnipotente , quia po tuit ; si sapis quid sit summum bonum , summa bonitas , ubi tanta fuit necessitas

perditorum , crede de summo bono , quia voluit ; si potes cogitare , quid in mundo egerit humiliata divinitas , senti de Domino in bonitate , quo modo Deum suum hoc opus decuit . Primo , cum in causa salutis humane Pater Filio , vel ipse sibi Filius non pepercit , in forma sua summum bonum mundo innotuit , et Deum diligere si cut diligendus est , hominem perdocuit . Diligens enim hominem quodammodo usque ad contemptum sui , docuit hominem Deum diligere usque ad contemptum sui , qui nesciebat miser diligere nisi semetipsum etiam usque ad contemptum Dei . »

William of Saint -Thierry on the Phenomenon of Christ

221

intentional status , in view of its fulfillment , constitutes its authentic identity ) is to be a response to the Other Whose image it is . The respon sibility and the actualization of the image's capacity to respond , native to it as a capax , critically depends on the unconcealment of the Thou specifically within the horizon of the capax itself ; otherwise , lacking such unconcealment , its very identity as an existential intentionality would be rendered an absurdity in its continual anonymity . If , then , the capax Dei is originally expressed within the creative Consciousness , and derives its ownmost structure of reciprocity from that Consciousness , then there already exists , in advance , a mutual , ontological immanence of the pri mary Image and its capax , such that the very essence of the capax Dei necessitates the unconcealment of the Word , its paradigm , within its own dimensions

.

Reciprocally , it would seem that the very structure of the Word , grounding in Himself a participational intentionality ( the prototype , the

by virtue of His own Identity as abso lute unconcealment , a self - revelation in the capax Dei . The very essence of God is characterized by fidelity for William ; in relation to man , this constant fidelity is established by the promise of the restoration of the image through the appearance of the Word . The relevance , however , of such a promise would seem to be founded on the primary , prototypal structure of the Divine Word . If man is created in the context of the Divine Intentionality of the Word , i.e. , ad imaginem et similitudinem Dei , homoeides of man ) , necessitates

,

if

this Intentionality is genuinely prototypal , i.e. , predestinate , then it would seem to follow that the Word , from the very nature of His Iden tity , bears responsibility toward the capax Dei and its actualization . Does William identify predestination with the Person of the Word ? and

Commenting on the text of St. Paul's letter to the Romans , « Qui praedestinatus est Filius Dei in virtute , » William says that the Savior Himself appeared to men as the most clear light of predestination and grace . Not only is Jesus , as man , predestined , but predestination extends to the Word's unique and highest conveying of the possibility of human nature , which consists in the unconcealment of Divinity in the power of the Son of God . The conveying is nothing less than the manifestation of Divine Wisdom to man within the context of human possibility . In ef fect , what is unconcealed in the manifestation of Divine Wisdom is the primary Prototype , the Image toward which man is created , verifying thereby the fullest and highest extent of human capacity . Furthermore , William tells us , that out of which , so to speak , the Word begins to be man , He also begins to be the Son of God , implying , it would seem , that the predestination coterminous with the Identity of the Word includes in its own intentional structure the predestination of the sons of God . To be sure , there are not two predestinations , two distinct prototypal situations , but one . The One , Who is always , eternally God , is predesti ned , not by way of opposition to the fallen condition of man , but in the

222

T. M. Tomasic

of God . Christ , then , from the unconcealment of the Divine Per son of the Son , Who is the Power and Self - Knowledge ( sapientia ) of God , is nothing less than the principal Prototype ; His predestination would , therefore , be nothing other than His very unconcealment , which He Him self is personally . In other words , William identifies predestination ( in relation to the Word ) as perfect clarity , outshining ; so completely is the second Person unconcealment itself that He continues to live with the

power

Father , i.e. , He continues to be the total unconcealment of the Father , at the same time that He is born man in the world . In addition , He is asserted to be the primary Prototype , the predestined , that He might be our head , and we are predestined ( recalling the original prototypal si tuation of man ) in Him that we might be His members.⁰ Later , in the same exposition , William , again affirming the prototypal situation of the Word , remarks that our predestination is not made in us , but in Him ,

in His secret , in His in-advance consciousness

."

The identification of the intentionality of the Word with predesti nation seems to indicate that the ownmost personal structure of the Son is that of care for man . The structure of care seems manifest in the earlier citation , stating that the Image of God , i.e. , the Son , saw man perishing through his inordinate desire of that Image and Likeness which He is , and therefore found it incumbent on Himself to help those whom justice did not forbid His help . The same notion is implied in the state ment that

it was the Divine Prototype , the Artifex mundi , Who was giv

Fi

10 In Epistolam ad Romanos , PL 180 , 550AC : « Factus es autem homo Dei lius , quia qui factus est , sic a Dei Filio , qui non factus , sed natus est , in unitatem personae est assumptus , ut idem sit Filius Dei , qui filius hominis , natus a Patre Deo secundum divinitatem , ' factus ex semine David secundum carnem .' Ex semine ' David .' Scilicet ad quem facta est repromissio : evidentius quam Abraham . « Vers 4. — ' Qui praedestinatus est Filius Dei in virtute .' Praeclarissimum ad homines lumen praedestinationis et gratiae ipse Salvator apparuit , cum eadem gratia operante fit ab initio fidei suae homo quicumque Christianus , qua gratia

ab initio suo homo ille factus est Christus . Praedestinata est ergo Jesus , et futurus secundum carnem filius David , et tamen in virtute Filius Dei . Praedestinata est autem in eo naturae humanae tam summa et alta subvectio , ut quo attolleretur altius non haberet ; sicut pro nobis ipsa divinitas humilius non habuit , quousque se deponeret . Ex quo enim homo ille coepit : etiam Filius Dei esse coepit . Vel secundum graecae translationis veritatem , non praedestinatus , sed destinatus est , qui semper Deus erat , et venit in virtute , hoc est in eo quod erat . Christus enim virtus Dei est , et Dei sapientia . Praedestinatus etiam est Christus seu destinatus in virtutem , id est sine omni obligatione peccati , quod vel origine traheret , vel voluntate perpetraret . Haec autem ejus praedestinatio , ipsa est ipsius claritas ; quam qui in mundo natus est homo , habuit apud Patrem , ' priusquam mundus fieret ( Joan . xvii ) .' Ubi sicut ipse praedestinatus est , ut esset caput nostrum : sic et in ipso praedestinati sumus , ut membra ejus essemus . » 11 Ibid . , 641B . One should note with interest that in this text , and the above , predestination » clearly means « prototypality . »> >

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Of particular interest in this passage is William's emphasis on the term agnitio that subjective way of knowing specifically proper to interpersonal or inter subjective situations . By the assumption of the whole of human nature in the Person of the Word , mankind becomes the convergent center of intersubjective unconcealment in the world and in the Divine Life . 23 Cf. ibid ., p . 114 , no . 37.

Meditativa oratio XI , ed . M.-M. Davy , Meditativae orationes ( Paris : J. Vrin , pp . 242-244 : « Medullae . Heu , heu , in circuitu impii ambulant : secundum alti tudinem tuam multiplicasti , o Deus , filios hominum . Acti enim in circuitu erroris , quadam capitis vertigine obstupescimus , ut ad veritatis centrum et unitatis punctum immobile non pertingamus , quod stabile permanens dat cuncta moveri . Ipse est Veritas . Ipse est qui dixit : Ego sum veritas . Et : Cognoscetis veritatem , et veritas liberabit vos . Utique a circuitu erroris . Consulamus ergo centrum veritatis , utrum ab ipso et per ipsum ducatur circuitus , in quo rotamur . Legibus quidem ejus , si bene ducitur in rectum , sibi concurrit ; sin autem , error manifestus est . Conside rentur affectus et actus . Affectus figatur in centro veritatis , et convenienter sibi respondebit exterioris actus orbiculata rotunditas . Totus quippe affectus debitur 24

1934 ) ,

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coincides with the circle figure as a model of intersubjectivity , it is to be expected that William would link the notion of the holy place with the Person of Christ . The sanctuary , the innermost part of the temple , is the place of interpersonal encounter between the Archetype and its image ; it is the axis of the irruption of Divinity through the fissure of nature . William now identifies the Person of the Word as the sacrament of encounter , the convergent center of twin natures , where the Divine

and human meet and become one.25 And in the encounter with Wisdom , as Mediation , man becomes filled with the Thou , for Wisdom incorpo rates the whole of human possibilities , effecting thereby a reconcilement through the coincidence of opposites ; man is returned to his original si tuation in the primary Prototype through the indwelling of God's per sonal Self-Knowledge in him.26 The notion of the Prototype as sacrament ,

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Deo . Cui cum fideliter adhaeretur , quaqua rotetur circulus operationis , errare non potest a recto , sed bene sibi concurrit : ut in omni parte aeque respondeat ad centrum veritatis . Et potest esse punctum sine circulo ; circulus autem nullatenus bene duci potest sine puncto . » > 25 On the convergence of the circle figure with the temple paradigm , see article in Recherches de Théologie ancienne et médiévale 38 ( 1971 ) , pp . 93-101 . Déchanet , Super Cantica , p . 334 , no . 159 : « In temporali vero dispensatione Mediatoris , cancellus est , quo Sponsa contemplatur , fides temporalium , qua in aeterna erigitur ; in qua obliquari necesse est intuitum Deum contemplantis , cum in una Christi persona et sacramentum indubitanter miratur , geminae naturae ; et utramque in Mediatore adorat , in unitate personae . In quo , in partem quidem assumptae humilitatis , ad Deum tendens plurimum sibi videtur obliquari ratio humana , donec fidem illuminante gratia , incipit non tantum credi , sed et intelligi Deus , qui homo est , et homo , qui Deus ; et tunc uno eodemque lumine , et de fenestra , et de cancello , jucundissime pasci incipit mens . contemplativa . Tunc in telligenti spiritus loquitur mysteria ad verbum Dei loquitur semetipsum , et velo citer sermo ejus currit in effectum , cum in eo qui loquitur , fiunt efficaciter , quae intelligibiliter audiuntur . > » p , , Ibid . . 198 no . 82 : « Sed et qui geminae in Christo naturae altissimum myste rium , per vim naturalis ingenii penetrare se confidens altiora se requisierit , vel promiserit , graven super se tulit fascem , et cui eum succumbere necesse sit . Magnum etenim illud in Christo pietatis sacramentum The same notion of Christ as sacrament through the convergence into unity Speculum fidei of the Divine and the human also occurs no this text cited note above Sacrament its critical meaning designates the union of God and man Davy De natura amoris pp 124-126 no 46 De fructu ergo hujus operis sapientia satiatus homo mediante Dei non solum reconciliatur sed etiam sapiens sanguinem quod manducat Manducat efficitur Sapit enim bibit corpus Redemptoris sui manna celeste panem Angelorum panem sapientie manducans transformatur in naturam cibi quem manducat Corpus enim Christi manducare templus Spiritus sancti Templum nichil est aliud quam corpus Christi effici supradicto autem hoc cum ornatum fuerit prescriptarum positione virtutum dedicandi ordine dedicatum nullos ulterius alienos titulos potest suscipere nullum habitatorem nisi Deum qui condidit illud creavit Nichil ergo ultra terrenum sancta illa anima nichil materiale nichil corruptibile diligit aut curat ex quo

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as the inner sanctuary where intersubjectivity is manifested to and in man , provides the ascetical model for the reattainment of authentic self knowledge and the alleviation of the alienated , idolatrous condition of man now living in the land of unlikeness and ignorance .

This is why the Lord Himself appeared to men in human flesh : He took away from the world the vanity of idols and presented instead , to those thinking of God , the unity that exists among the Persons of the Trinity , and the notion of a Trinity in Oneness . With the brilliant light of His Divinity , He stripped human ideas , even those inspired by faith , of empty imaginings . He showed that , for the time being , understanding of the Divinity was beyond man , so He tought men His own way of thinking about God . All the actions and words of the Word of God are one word for us . All that we read of Him , hear of Him , speak of Him , think of Him whether provoking love or inciting fear call us , send us , to only one reality . Of this much has been said and nothing has been said , for no one can come to this reality unless it first approaches us , seeks us out , and shines the brightness of its face on us , so that in the light of its face we are able to see where we walk . God's face , as it makes itself known to the inner sense of lovers , is His will ; His face is our understanging of His unconcealment ."

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In effect , the ignorance and darkness occasioned by the Fall that out ward -turning of the mind which , through its preoccupation with objects ,

egressa est a loco sarcinarum , etsi aliquo horum aliquando quasi in transitu utitur , frui non dignatur . Si quid in hujusmodi prosperum evenerit , pertransit : non turbatur , si quid adversi occurrerit . Totam sapit quicquid capit ; nec potest amanti nisi sapere , quicquid sicut salivam contigerit de capite Christo descendere . Quicquid ad corpus spectat , bonum sive malum , foris ei est ; nec pertingere potest ad eum qui intus est . Unde Apostolus in squalore carceris jacens et vinculis , et quastum ad corpus tribulatione coronatus et miseria scribens discipulis : Mittam , inquit , ad vos Timotheum ut sciatis que circa me sunt . Que circa me sunt , inquit ; id est in exteriore homine , in exteriore tunica carnis , que ad me , qui intus sum , non pertingunt . » See also Super Cantica , pp . 200-202 , no . 83 ; pp . 240-242 , no . 108 ; and In Epistolam ad Romanos , PL 180 , 604D . In the Speculum fidei , p . 60 , no . 43 , William indicates that the highest wisdom , symbolized in both the corporeal and incorporeal eating of the body of Christ , incorporates man , restores him again , to his pristine , eternal condition . 27 Davy , Speculum fidei , p . 88 , no . 77 : « Ideo ipse Dominus apparens in carne hominibus , sicut de mundo abstulit vanitatem idolorum , sic dum cogitantibus Deum proposuit in Trinitate unitatem , Trinitatem in unitate , fulgurans coruscatio divinitatis omnem tulit a cogitatione fidei de Deo vanitatem imaginationis . Cum enim divinitatis intellectum docuit esse supra homines , suo inde modo docuit cogi tare homines . Omnia ergo facta vel verba Verbi Dei unum nobis verbum sunt ; omnia que de eo legimus , audimus , loquimur , meditamur , sive provocando amorem , sive incutiendo timorem , ad unum nos vocant , ad unum nos mittunt , de quo multa dicuntur , et nichil dicitur , quia ad id quod est , non pervenitur nisi occurrat ipse qui queritur , et illuminet vultum suum super nos , et illustret faciem suam , ut in sed

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involves man in idolatry through the forgetfulness of his own authentic identity is remedied through the unconcealment of the face of the Archetype , i.e. , the primary Word , viewed as the most personal and insinuating aspect of the Archetype , within human existence . The progressive renovation of the image in man , its reformation according to a fa-

cial resemblance to its Archetype , William calls the docta ignorantia.28 To the extent that the mind faithfully responds in itself to its Model or Exemplar , it achieves a unique recognition of its own identity , and similarly it uncovers the identity of the Thou within its own possibilities , as He is , and not by empty imaginings and superstitions.29

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lumine vultus ejus sciamus qua gradiamur . Vultus ejus sensui amantis innotescens voluntas ejus est , facies ejus cognitio veritatis ejus . >> Hourlier, De contemplando , p . 110 , no . 12 : « Via enim pater , Christus tuus : qui dixit : Ego sum via , veritas et vita . Veritas ergo tua vel vita ad quam itur, per quam itur , meram et veram et simplicem nobis describit formam divinae et verae philosophiae : dicens ad discipulos : Sicut dilexit me pater , et ego dilexi vos . » This notion of true philosophy , which abolishes idolatry , is again expressed in the Oratio Domni Willelmi , found at the end of Hourlier's De contemplando , p . 122 : « Domine Ihesu Christe , veritas et vita , qui veros adoratores patri tui futuros denunciasti , qui eum adorabunt in spiritu et veritate ; libera obsecro animam meam ab idolatria In Epistolam ad Romanos PL 180 638CD Una ergo potens Domino unam requirens quaerens vultum ejus vultum ejus requirens quidquid cogitationi occurrit abjicit respuit improbat non hoc esse quod quaerit novit quamvis illud Spiritu quale sit nondum noverit Estque in eo quaedam docta ignorantia docta Dei qui adjuvat infirmitatem nostram exercendo humilians humiliande formans conformans hominem vultui quem requirit donec renovatus ad imaginem ejus qui creavit eum per unitatem similitudinis incipiat esse patris sunt cui euntibus aliis redeuntibus dicatur Tu vero sta hic mecum Deut Interim qui quaerit quaerat ambulet lumine vultus Dei de vultu Dei judicum ejus prodeat Super Cantica pp 98-100 no 23 Déchanet Visionis enim vel cognitionis Dei perfectionem promittere vel sperare hac vita vanissimae praesumptionis est Hujusmodi hominem Deum orare sicut Deum monet ratio docet profectus format affectus qui conformans Deo non Deum sibi nihil petit ab eo nisi ipsum ipso nullo saltem uti ad ipsum nullo frui adquiescens nisi ipso vel nisi ad ipsum Hic ut dictum est quandiu purgatur rationalis est purgatus spiriautem jam spiritualis est Sed sicut expedit rationalem statum semper tualiter agi non hujus vitae est semper tamen debet esse homo Dei vel rationalis labore ac certamine obluctando omnem incursantis imaginationis caliginem superare sibi videtur transcendere nonnunquam vero sola operante gratia pium bonae voluntatis conatum nec imaginatio impedit nec caligo involvit sed repente ubi non sperabat invenit orantis affectus occurrunt imaginationes seradjuvant potius quam impediant viunt Non enim infirmioribus oculis semper inutilis est vel noxius omnis intercurrentium imaginationem usus quarum quasi corporali vehiculo ipso usu videndi cogitandi corpora corporalia assuefactus spiritus orantis vel contemplantis defertur ubi est veritas imagine licet idipsum afficientis veri tamen per ipsum cogitatae imaginis pertransit homo Prayer then tatis the situation of the conversus conformation or the right calibration of the self

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But , granted that You have made the darkness of our ignorance and blindness , which is the lot of human kind , the hiding place of Your face , Lord , nevertheless , Your pavilion encircles You , and some of Your saints were filled with the light they were radiant and enflamed because they rested near Your light and Your fire . They illumined and inflamed others with their words and example ; they made us realize the solemn joy , in the life to come , of the super eminent knowledge by which You will be seen as You are , that is , face - to-face . Meanwhile , thanks to them , the brilliance of Your unconcealment was brought to light on the globe of the earth , and their own brilliance shone out . Those whose eyes are healthy rejoice at this , but those who prefer darkness to the light are shaken and troubled . The manifestation of our unconcealment on earth , through whomever it comes about , is like Your sun , that shines its light both on the just and unjust , which remains in its natural purity , while it works the materials of things it finds , drying up clay , melting wax , shining on the eyes of those who have sight and on the eyes of the blind for those who can see , that they may see more clearly , but those who are blind remain in their blindness . That is how You are , Wisdom of God and Light of Truth . When You came into the world , You , through Whom the world was made , illumined every man who came into the world ; but the darkness did not understand You . To those who receive You , and the light of Your truth , You give the possibility of becoming the sons of God.30

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30 Davy , Meditativa oratio VII , pp . 172-174 : « Sed , o Domine , licet tenebras ignorantiae nostrae et caecitatis humanae posueris latibulum faciei hujus ; tamen in circuitu tuo tabernaculum tuum , luminosi scilicet tui sancti aliqui fuerunt , qui de luminis et ignis tui contubernio lucentes et ardentes , verbo et exemplo caeteros illuminabant et accedebant , et hujus supereminentis notitiae tuae solemne gaudium in futura nobis vita denuntiabant , qua videberis secuti es , vel facie ad faciem . Interim vero per eos fulgura veritatis tuae alluxerunt orbi terrae , et illuxerunt coruscationes , ad quas hilarescunt , qui sanos habent oculos ; commoventur autem et conturbantur , qui diligunt tenebras magis quam lucem . Nam manifestatio haec veritatis tuae , per quoscunque fiat , sic est sicut sol tuus , quem facis oriri super justos et injustos , qui in suae naturae puritate permanens , utitur rerum materiis , sicut eas invenit , lutum stringens , ceram solvens , illustrans omnem oculum et vi dentem et caecum , videntem , ut illustratus plus videat , caeco in sua caecitate per manente . Sic et tu , o sapientia Dei et lux veritatis , cum venisti in mundum , per quem mundus factus est , illuminasti omnem hominem venientem in huc mundum ; sed tenebrae te non comprehenderunt . Quotquot autem te receperunt , et lucem veritatis tuae , dedisti eis potestatem filios Dei fieri . » Ibid ., XII , p . 262. « O lux veritatis , disjice mihi hodie tenebras istas , et dissolve caliginem . Ciba me in hoc pane vitae et intellectus , et pota aqua sapientiae saluta ris ». Etenim in intelligendo quae tua sunt , et cibus est et potus , quia sunt in quibus tenendis et quasi masticandis exercemur et laboramus ; quaedam autem , quasi po tus , sicut sunt transeunt , et suo modo nos reficiunt .

43 Davy , Meditativa oratio V , p . 128 : « ... excruciet crux tua quidquid concupi scentia carnis , concupiscentia oculorum et superbia vitae longo negligentiae meae situ est contractum ; pereat ab increpatione vultus tui quidquid es voluntate carnis vel consensu mentis incensum est et suffosum . >> In Epistolam ad Romanos , 603D : « Peccatum ergo Domino non inerat , et tamen quodammodo peccato mortuus est , dum moritur carni in qua erat similitudo pec 40

41 See

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viewed not as something to be stored up or conserved , but as something to be spent.44

If the reciprocal structure of mutually intended paradigms is to have any cogent meaning , then the action of the Prototype must have some effective repercussion in the capax Dei ; reciprocally , there must be some attunement in the very life pattern and intentionality of the image . What occurs in Christ , William says , is configured in the life style of the capax ;

the inner man , assumed into primal life , is , as it were , crucified , i.e. , be comes rid of the body of alienation and death ." Consequently , the death of the Prototype is an effective model ( and cause ) signifying the death

of the

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old man

» in us . The « old man , » that is , the alienated human exemplified by Adam , the symbol of fallenness to the world condition and death is vitiated through the death of the « New Man , » prototypal Life ." Allusion to the original paradisaical situation of the capax is clear : Adam alienated himself by extending his hand to exteriority , losing the taste for the good within himself , and wishing , with his Eve , to expe rience whatever he could outside himself represented by the tree of knowledge in the middle of the garden . How very unascetical ! That is > 44 In Epistolam ad Romanos , 669D : « Sacrificium enim res divina est . Corpus etiam nostrum , cum illud temperantia castigamus , quemadmodum debemus , et propter Deum id facimus , sacrificium est , ad quod hic nos Apostolus hortatur . Si ergo corpus quo inferiore tanquam famulo , vel tanquam instrumento utitur anima , cum ejus rectus et bonus usus refertur ad Deum , sacrificium est , quanto magis ipsa anima , cum se refert ad Deum , ut amoris ejus igne succensa formam concu piscentiae saecularis amittat , eique tanquam incommutabili formae subdita refor metur , hinc ei placens , quod ex pulchritudine ejus acceperit , fit sacrificium ? Quod ipse Apostolus consequenter adjungens ; ' et nolite ' , inquit , ' conformari huic saeculo , sed reformamini in novitate sensu vestri , ut probetis quae sit voluntas Dei bona , et beneplacens , et perfecta . » 45 See ibid. , 604A and C ; Davy , Meditativa oratio XII , pp . 252-254 : « Domine , qui prope es omnibus invocantibus te in veritate , sicut Scriptura veritatis tuae nobis promittit , sicut veritas est coram te , voluntas mihi est invocandi te in veritate ho die ; sic , o Veritas , exaudi me in multitudine misericordiae tuae . Nam dixi ; nunc coepi; sit haec mutatio tua , o dextera Excelsi . In malis enim meis praeteritis et peccatis quae magna sunt , et innumerabilia , in quibus inveteravi , factus sum mihi metipsi vilis et despectus ; in bonis , si qua in me visa sunt fuisse , scrupulosissimus ipse mihi sum suspectus . Venio igitur hodie ad te , quasi mortua tota vita praeterita , in te , o principium novae vitae , facturus principium . » 46 Cf. In Epistolam ad Romanos , 590A . 47 Ibid ., 594A . The significance of the « New Adam » consists in the restoration of man in the primal Protoype .

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tion of the prototypal or predestinate situation of man ." Like the Pro totype , the capax too must die , in the sense that it must inscape the ab sorption of death into life within its ownmost identity , if it hopes to uncover its own authentic structure ; first , one must die to sin , to one's alienation from the Thou , and consequently one's own mortality is vi tiated . Then one must be buried , planted ( together with Life ) , wrapped up in the linen of Life , thereby putting on the new man , achieving a new

ness of life and the purification and illumination of the mind ." With the death and burial of Life , mortality no longer forms the impregnable wall prohibiting that particular life style which verges on a genuine in tersubjective reciprocity with the Thou . In a real sense , then , man is restored to paradise already . With Life's overcoming death , man already exists , so to speak , in the post -resur rection era , i.e. , a period in which the obstruction of mortality to inter subjectivity with God is overcome , an age in which the whole of humanity has already been taken up to the heaven of the Father , a time when the most important philosophical task for man is the reconstruction of a life style conducive to becoming a person and entering into intersub jectivity . The concept of a new life , that is , resurrection , means the abandonment of idolatry and the exodus from the land of unlikeness.50 Man is given the sense of genuine liberation for the first time for the old servitude , the old bondage , is now past.51

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48 Ibid . , 606B : « Mors enim Christi in Ecclesia lignum vitae est plantatum in medio paradisi . Cui complantatur , qui ei commoritur , ut mortificando membra sua quae sunt super terram , mittat , sicut dicit Propheta , radices deorsum , ut faciat fructum sursum ( Isa . xxxviii ) , fructum reflorentis carnis , et innovationis spiritus , in resurrectionis gloria , et germine , et fecunditate sanctarum virtutum . > » 49 Ibid . , 606B : « Hoc enim est commori et consepeliri , et conresurgere , si vetus homo noster , id est vita prior quam duximus in peccatis , finem et interitum acci piat in fide crucis Christi , et membra nostra quae serviebant peccato testruantur , ut ulterius non serviant nisi Deo . Sic enim radici ligni vitae radix nostra complan tatur , id est amori Christi amor noster conformatur , ut de succo radicis ejus pro ducat ramos justitiae et fructus vitae . »> There is an interesting play on the words « mori » and « amori » here , wherein love means » which is used in meaning to desig nate intersubjective « coming to live with . » The mutual reciprocity of life style between the Prototype and its image is reinforced by the statement found at 682BC

that no one lives to himself alone , and no one dies to himself alone . Death and resurrection is the drama of intersubjectivity , as witnessed by the principal Pro totype . 50 Cf. ibid . , 607A . 51 Davy , Aenigma fidei , p . 104 , no . 14 : « Vetere quippe servitute transacta , tem pus nove libertatis illuxerat , et opportune jam homini suadebatur atque salubriter , quam libero creatus esse arbitrio . Miraculus conciliavit fidem Deo , qui ipse erat ; passione homine quem gerebat . Satellites voluptatum divitias perniciose populi ap petebant ; pauper esse voluit . Honoribus et imperiis inhiabant : Rex esse noluit . Carnales filios magnum bonum putabant ; tale conjugium prolemque contempsit .

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The Manifestation

of the Prototypal Visage .

The model of unconcealment found in

the incarnation

of the Proto-

type is much more , in relation to discovering the capax Dei , than a mere analogy . The appearance of the Prototype is a concrete realization of intersubjectivity between very real persons ; thus , to William's mind , the Incarnation substantiates existentially a convergence of Prototype and image into a radical kind of interpersonal union . Speaking of the enfleshed Prototype , William says that in Him lovingkindness and truth (unconcealment ) meet offering to man the kiss of peace , the kiss expressed between Sponsus and sponsa . So that the face of the sponsa could be considered worthy of a kiss , the face of the Prototype , the Sponsus , was spit upon ; that the face of the sponsa might appear honorable and shining , the face of the Prototype was beaten ; so that the face of the sponsa might appear beautiful in His eyes , His face became shameful in the eyes of men . Recalling the scenes of the Passion , William says that the hands of the primal Image were transfixed with nails for his own hands that reached out to what they should not have ; because of the illicit perceptions of his eyes , ears , the eyes and ears of the Prototype slept in death ; because his own heart was filled with uncleanness , the Contumelias superbissime horrebant ; omne genus contumeliarum sustinuit . Injurias intolerabiles esse arbitrabantur : que major injuria , quam justum innocentemque dampnari ? Dolores corporis exsecrabantur ; flagellatus atque cruciatus est . Mori metuebant ; morte multatus est . Ignominiosum genus mortis crucem putabant ; crucifixus est . Omnia que habere cupientes non recte vivebamus , carendo vilefecit . Omnia que vitare cupientes a pietatis studio deviabamus , perpetiendo dejecit . Nullum enim peccatum committi potest , nisi dum appetuntur ea , que ille contempsis ; aut fugiuntur , que ille sustinuit . Tota igitur vita ejus in terra per hominem quem suscipere dignatus est , disciplina morum fuit . Que cum incunctanter creduntur , et cum fide cogitatur ad diligendum quod creditur , et vivendum sicut creditur , quid nisi mundatur cor ad videndum quod mundicordibus promittitur ? >> Ibid ., p . 112 , no . 23 : « Quod quid est , nisi corpus in nobis peccati naturaliter concretarum nobis concupiscentiarum carnis ? Hinc namque tam anxie et lacrimabiliter liberari desposcebat , qui dicebat : Infelix ego homo , quis me liberabit de corpore mortis hujus ? Gratia Dei per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum . Qui enim hoc dicebat , nequaquam per impatientiam vite hujus desiderabat corporaliter mori ; sed a viventibus adhuc in eo aliquibus concupiscentiis carnis liberari , a quibus nemo liberat , nisi gratia Dei per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum , caritatem suam diffudendo in cordibus nostris per Spiritum sanctum , quem dat nobis , Ipsa namque est lex spiritus vite , liberans , sicut dicit idem Apostolus , a lege peccati et mortis ; concupiscentiis scilicet carnis , que sicut sordes interioris oculi hominis , impedientes eum a videndo eo quod nonnisi mundo corde videtur , et a vita eterna , de qua Dominus dicit : Haec autem vita , eterna , ut cognoscant te Deum verum , et quem misisti Jesum Christum . Ut enim ibi videat oculus interior ad videndum Deum factus , hic mundatur , ubi inchoatur visio , que ibi perficitur . Inchoatur enim hic sanctitate vite et usu divine contemplationis ; ubi amor meretur visionem , cum creditur , speratur ac diligitur , quod non videtur : perfidienda ibi , ubi visio pascet amorem ; cum omnis virtus erit , diligere quod habebitur , et tota beatitudo , habere quod diligetur . Idcirco dicebat , qui sic erat ; et dicunt qui sic sunt : Cupio dissolvi et esse cum Christo : multo enim melius . »

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on the Phenomenon

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Christ

243

heart of the Prototype was opened with a lance ; at last , the Prototype died that he might live , and buried that he might rise up . This , William says , is the kiss of delight offered to the sponsa , the embrace given to a friend . Woe to him who does not participate in this kiss , who falls from that embrace.52 Where else , Lord , do You draw those whom You embrace and bring together , if not to Your heart . Your sweet heart is the manna of Your Divinity , Jesus , which is contained in the golden vessel of Your more than wise soul . Happy are they whom Your embrace draws to it ; happy are they who are hidden in its depths , for they are hidden there by You , in the center of Your heart , sheltered between Your shoulders from the disturbance of men . Their only hope lies in the protection and support of Your wings . They are guarded by the arms of Your power , those who are hidden in the hiddenness of Your heart . They are able to sleep pleasantly , and they , in a sweet expectation , are among the levites because they merit a clear conscience and the expectation of Your promise of reward . They do not fail through small -mindedness , nor do they murmur impatiently . They who sweetly kiss one another mutually

breathe into one another , and experience the pleasantness that comes from perfumed breath . Receive my breath , Lord , do not reject it which I totally breathe into You , even though it smells badly ; and exhale Your breath completely into me , which effuses an odor of sweetness , so that the sweetness of Yours may cause mine not to smell so ; and may the odor of Your sweetness , most pleasant One , remain always in me . This is what happens when we do that which You commanded in memory of You ; nothing is more dear than this , no other provision more mighty for the health of Your sons . Those who eat and drink the incorruptible food of Your body and blood become Your pure creatures . In the sweetness of our thoughts

52 Davy , Meditativa oratio VIII , pp . 178-180 : « Sic , o summa justitia , misericor dia in te et veritas obviant sibi , cum veritas humanae justitiae in anima justa hu militer confitetur , et tuae justitiae veritas in veritati confitenti quasi juste misere tur . Et dum porrigit illa osculum justae confessionis , tu eam excipis in osculo pacis . Hoc est osculum sponsi et sponsae , cujus facies ut digna inveniretur osculo tuo , o Domine , tua facies consputa est ; ut illius appareret decora et speciosa , tua facies alapis palmarum et arundinum ictibus facta est livida ; tua in oculis homi num saturata est opprobriis , ut illius pulchra et speciosa appareret in oculis tuis . Quin insuper fecisti ei lavacrum tui pretiosi sanguinis , in quo lavarentur filii Dei , horribilia pro nobis patiens , qui fecimus horribilia , pro quibus faciei summae jus stitiae in nullo satisfacere potuisset facies cujusvis poenitentiae , nisi eis quae pro nobis passus es , addita fuisset tua innocentia : et quia cum esse Filius , exauditus es pro tua reverentia . > See also Davy , Speculum fidei , p . 61 , no . 43 .

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importantly , the image of consuming and absorbing the Prototype , also designated by the kiss , asserts the reality of becoming , as St. Paul would have it , bone of His bone , flesh of His flesh ! The Word , William says , joined flesh to Himself so that not only might God become man , but also that man might become God.54 There is , in effect , a better preparation , a sweeter disposition possible than that assent of man to God , offering his gifts and sacrifices according to the precept of the law ; he ought not ascend to God by the steps of the altar , but by the way of likeness , with tranquility and with a sure step , man ought to approach the Man like himself , Who referred to Himself as the threshold of the door when He said : I and the Father are One . And immediately , by the affectivity that comes from the Holy Spirit , he is raised into God and God Himself comes into him to make His own dwelling with him , not only spiritually but bodily also , through the mystery of the life-giving body and blood of our Lord , Jesus Christ . This , Lord , is Your face in relation to us , and ours in relation to You , full of good hope . Clothe me with this , Your healthiness , and form me to the face of Your Christ , for it is impossible that You avoid that face every time it appears to You in Your holy place . Go , o man , you who would find that hidden treasure in the field of your heart , spend all you possess , spend yourself in continuous service that you might possess that treasure by right of inheritance that you might be happy , and that all might be well with you . The treasure you have is Christ in your conscience.55

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54 Déchanet , Super Cantica , pp . 112-114 , no . 30 : « Osculum amica quaedam , et exterior conjunctio corporum est , interioris conjunctionis signum et incentivum . Quod oris ministerio exhibetur , ut non tantum corporum , sed ex mutuo contractu , etiam spirituum conjunctio fit . Sponsus vero Christus , sponsae suae Ecclesiae , quasi osculum de caelo porrexit , cum Verbum caro factum , in tantum ei appropinquavit , ut se ei conjungeret ; in tantum conjunxit , ut uniret , ut Deus homo , homo Deus fie ret . Ipsum etiam osculum fideli animae sponsae suae porrigit et imprimit , cum de memoria communium bonorum , privatum ei et proprium commendans gaudium , gratiam ei sui amoris infundit ; spiritum ejus sibi attrahens , et suum infundens ei , ut invicem unus spiritus sint . >> See also nos . 31 and 32 , which amplify this notion . Quid enim melius praeparatum , quid 55 Davy , Meditativa oratio X , p . 220 :