Work · Medieval & Scholastic
The Journey of the Mind into God (Itinerarium mentis in Deum)
Six steps, after the six wings of the seraph that Francis saw, lead from the traces of God in the world through the mind to God himself; a seventh ends in mystical rest.
Introduction
A short Latin treatise written in October 1259 on Mount La Verna, where Francis of Assisi had received the stigmata. Its seven chapters follow the image of the six-winged seraph of Francis’ vision. The first two find God through his traces in the visible world, the next two in his image in the human mind, the fifth and sixth in the names of God as Being and as Good, and the seventh describes a mystical passing over in which the intellect falls silent and only love goes on. The work draws on Augustine and Pseudo-Dionysius and became one of the most widely read texts of medieval spirituality. It is often used to introduce Bonaventure’s idea that all knowledge, properly understood, leads to God.
Connections
Builds on
- Confessionsc. 400 · Augustine
- The Divine Namesc. 500 · Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite
More works by Bonaventure
Sources: Wikidata
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