SOURCE: Pascoe, Louis B. “Personal Reform.” In Jean Gerson: Principles of Church Reform, pp. 175-206. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1973.

All ecclesiastical reform must, in the final analysis, terminate in personal reform if it is to be in any way effective. This personal orientation is intrinsic to Gerson's ideas on episcopal and clerical reform. Hierarchy and hierarchical activity result in the reformation and sanctification of the individual and thereby contribute toward the growth and edification of the entire mystical body. The purpose of the present chapter is to analyze the process of personal reform. Like episcopal and clerical reform, personal reform rests heavily upon the principle that man has been made to the image and likeness of God. The present chapter, therefore, will investigate the various interpretations of the image utilized by Gerson. Attention will also be given to the consequences of sin upon the image and the various ways in which Gerson conceived of the image under sin. Our study, finally, will turn to the process by which the reformation and renewal of the image of God is achieved in man.

1. MAN AND THE IMAGE

All understanding of personal reform in Gerson's writings has its starting point in the fact that man has been created in the image and likeness of God. The scriptural data on this point are clear, especially in the book of Genesis. In Gn 1:26 we have its most succinct formulation: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” The same theme is repeated in Gn 5:1: “When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God,” and again in Gn 9:6: “… for God made man in his own image.” Patristic and medieval thinkers developed their speculations on Christian anthropology upon this scriptural basis and Gerson was no exception to this tradition.¹

Like many medieval thinkers, Gerson adheres to no fixed interpretation of the image. Throughout his writings his interpretation varies and each interpretation adds nuances to his understanding. All his interpretations, however, have this point in common: they are primarily concerned with man's intellectual and volitional capacities. The spiritual faculties of man, therefore, are always foremost in Gerson's speculations on the image. The more material aspects of man's nature only occasionally form an essential part of his image theory. These aspects man frequently shares with lower creation; Gerson seeks most what distinguishes him from the realm of the material. Intellect and will, consequently, are man's distinguishing traits and constitute him an image and likeness of God. All lower creation is, in a certain sense, guided by reason, since God's reason and providence order lower creatures to their proper finality, but this reason is extrinsic to their nature. Man alone enjoys reason as an intrinsic and essential part of his being.²

Man's dignity as an image is to be found not merely in the possession of intellectual and volitional faculties but more in the fact that through the use of those faculties he is capable of knowing and loving God.³ Human nature, indeed, has been made primarily to know and to love God. This knowledge and love, moreover, constitutes the glory and felicity of every human creature, and it is by these qualities that man excels all other creatures on earth. Many of man's other perfections are possessed by lower animate creation and at times to a higher degree than in man himself but no other creature has the power to attain to the knowledge and love of God. Gerson sees in this fact a clear argument for man's dignity and immortality. Man has been created to know the divinity, to praise it and to give it due honor, and it is precisely for this reason that he is said to be made in the image and likeness of God.⁴

Before describing in detail the various ways in which Gerson understands the image in man, it is most important to realize that Gerson sees all creation as the work of the Trinity. Every creature, no matter how insignificant in the scale of existence, bears the traces of the Trinity. He extends this influence even to accidents and prime matter, although he does not say how this is possible.⁵ The trinitarian traces in creation reflect the divine characteristics especially those proper to each member of the Trinity. Those characteristics are the divine potentia, sapientia, and bonitas or benevolentia. Creation, therefore, is the outward and external manifestation of the divine power, wisdom and goodness. While there was no obligation on God's part to create the world, once that creation was decreed, God could not fail to leave his imprint upon it.⁶

Potentia signifies the creative power of the Trinity and is appropriated of the Father as efficient cause. Sapientia designates the infinite wisdom of the Trinity and is commonly an appropriation of the Son as formal or exemplary cause. Bonitas, finally, expresses the divine goodness and is appropriated of the Holy Spirit in the order of final causality. The potentia of the Father is considered in the category of efficient causality since it is through the divine omnipotence that all things have come into being. The sapientia attributed to the Son is representative of exemplary causality, for it is the divine sapientia which is the exemplar upon which all things have been created. The bonitas of the Spirit is identified with final causality, since it was out of love and the desire to communicate its own goodness that the Trinity began the work of creation.⁷

Gerson's vision of creation as embodying the trinitarian characteristics of potentia, sapientia, and bonitas reflects the thought of Bonaventure († 1274) and Hugh of St. Victor († 1141). Both writers exercised great influence upon Gerson and he frequently recommended their works to his readers.⁸ In his Itinerarium mentis ad Deum, Bonaventure describes the condition of all creatures according to origin, magnitude, multitude, beauty, plenitude, operation, and order. These characteristics he regards as a sevenfold testimony to the divine potentia, sapientia, and bonitas.⁹ Hugh of St. Victor considers the magnitude, beauty, and usefulness of all creation as reflecting the same trinitarian characteristics. He also attributes potentia to the Father, sapientia to the Son, and bonitas to the Holy Spirit.¹⁰ A similar trinitarian tradition continued among other members of the Victorine school. Godfrey of St. Victor († 1194) argues from the magnitude, beauty, and goodness of the world to the trinitarian qualities of potentia, sapientia, and bonitas.¹¹ Richard of St. Victor († 1173) sees the same trinitarian attributions as rooted in Scripture. He maintains, however, that they can also be reasoned to by an analysis of creation.¹²

Since the Trinity leaves its trace upon creation, Gerson also argues that man can arrive at some knowledge of the Trinity from a study of creation. He finds justification for his position in Rom 1:20: “Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made.” Thus through the magnitude of the world, man is able to recognize the potentia of God. Through its beauty he is able to attain to some notion of the divine sapientia and in its order and goodness he can recognize the divine bonitas.¹³

Although all creation mirrors the Trinity in bearing the traces of potentia, sapientia, and bonitas, Gerson realizes that certain creatures reflect those trinitarian characteristics more perfectly than others. Upon this fact, he establishes the distinction between a vestigium and an imago of the Trinity. Reflections of the Trinity can be found in all created things and in this sense they are vestigia Trinitatis. Man, however, more perfectly mirrors the Trinity and, consequently, is designated an imago. The distinction between vestigium and imago is rooted in the fact that although all creation reflects the divine nature, man alone is capable of participating in that nature.¹⁴ That participation consists primarily in his capacity to know and to love God.¹⁵

Since he is an imago and not a vestigium, man reveals more perfectly the nature of the Trinity. He can arrive at some understanding of the Trinity through the process of self-knowledge. In one of his sermons, Gerson considers the hypothetical case of a person seeking a deeper knowledge of the Trinity. He refers the person not to learned books or teachers but to his own interior self. Such knowledge is to be found only within oneself. Only by understanding the intellectual and volitional faculties and activities of his soul, will a person gradually come to a better comprehension of the Trinity in whose image he has been made.¹⁶ Self-knowledge, consequently, emerges as a primary means for discerning the trinitarian image in man. Through self-knowledge man can arrive at some analogical knowledge of the persons of the Trinity. Self-knowledge, therefore, is so important for Gerson that its absence in a person is inexcusable. There is no disgrace in having to admit that one knows little about certain fields of knowledge, but to admit that one does not know himself is shameful.¹⁷

Gerson argues that long before Christianity the pagan world was convinced of the value of self-knowledge and accepted the principle of gnothi seauton as an oracle of Apollo. Juvenal wrote that this principle ought to be imprinted on everyone's memory and inscribed upon their hearts. Persius too used the same principle when he warned his readers not to seek self-knowledge by going outside themselves.¹⁸ In the Old Testament, the Canticle of Canticles proclaims that the person who lacks self-knowledge is no better then a brute animal. Gerson interprets the phrase “si ignoras te” of Ct 1:7 to indicate a person who lacks self-knowledge. Such a person is, in reality, an animal and deserves nothing better than to follow in the tracks of the flock.¹⁹

By understanding himself, then, man can come to some knowledge of the Trinity. He can reason that since he has been made from nothing, the God who created him must be all-powerful. Thus he can establish potentia as one of the major characteristics of God. Such a creator must also be all-wise, even though man cannot comprehend the depth of that wisdom; thus God is also the highest sapientia. Finally, man can conclude that his creator must be characterized by extreme liberality and benevolence, thereby verifying the note of bonitas. Through such an analysis, Gerson maintains, man can argue to a trinitarian concept of God in terms of potentia, sapientia, and bonitas.²⁰

While Gerson always conceives of the image in man in a trinitarian context, the manner in which he understands the triadic structure of the image will vary. Since all creation manifests the divine power, wisdom and goodness, it is not surprising to find that he describes the image of the Trinity in terms of potentia, sapientia, and benevolentia.²¹ Man as an image of the Trinity, consequently, shares in a finite manner in these trinitarian characteristics. He reflects the power of the Father when he shows fortitude, constancy, and perseverence. He demonstrates these virtues by placing his hope in no other power but that of the Father. Man's faith reflects the wisdom of the Son and by his charity and benevolence he manifests the goodness of the Holy Spirit.²² By participation in the divine potentia, sapientia, and benevolentia, therefore, man is an image of the Trinity. In this participation lies his beauty as an image of God.²³ Because he is an image of the Trinity, the man of deep faith, moreover, should have no difficulty in recognizing that the God according to whose image he has been made is one in essence and three in persons.²⁴

Gerson, moreover, associates the trinitarian characteristics of potentia, sapientia, and benevolentia with the various powers and faculties of the soul. As seen in the study of episcopal reform, he identifies the trinitarian image in man with the triple vires.²⁵ The vires on both the natural and spiritual level reflect the characteristics of the Trinity. In its search for truth, the vis rationalis is a reflection of the sapientia of the Son. The fortitude of the vis irascibilis is but an image of the potentia of the Father and the desire of the vis concupiscibilis for the good mirrors the benevolentia of the Holy Spirit. The same trinitarian parallels exist on the spiritual level once the soul is infused with sanctifying grace. Infused with the virtue of faith, the vis rationalis is conformed to the sapientia of the Son. The vis irascibilis under the guidance of hope experiences the potentia of the Father and the vis concupiscibilis under the influence of charity participates in the benevolentia of the Holy Spirit.²⁶

Gerson frequently compares the triple vires under the influence of the theological virtues with the properties of fire, which he describes as fulgor, virgor, and ardor. The vis rationalis illumined by faith is consequently designated as the fulgor animae; the vis irascibilis strengthened and confirmed by hope becomes the vigor animae. The vis concupiscibilis enkindled by charity is described as the ardor animae. Vigor, fulgor and ardor, in turn, are conceived as reflections of the Trinity. Vigor reflects the potentia of the Father, fulgor the luminescence of the Son's sapientia, and ardor the fire of the Spirit's charitas.²⁷

Gerson regards John the Baptist as a man who reflects the image of the Trinity in his life through the three vires. His vis concupiscibilis was enflamed by charity, his vis rationalis enlightened and instructed by wisdom, and his vis irascibilis strengthened by the power of hope. Throughout his life, he was strongly driven forward by the love of God; the wisdom of God guided and instructed him and the divine power continually strengthened him.²⁸ Gerson also interprets various passages in Scripture in terms of the triple vires. One such passage is from Acts 17:28, where Paul speaks to the Athenians about God and quotes the poet Epimenides: “In him we live and move and have our being.” We live in God through faith, for the just man lives by faith; this adherence to God by faith is radically situated in the vis rationalis. We move in God through hope, for hope enables us to desire those things which are above and this hope resides in the vis irascibilis. Finally, we have our being in God through charity and this charity is radicated in the vis concupiscibilis.²⁹

Gerson does not hesitate to use ways other than the triple vires to describe the image of the Trinity in man. He frequently identifies this image with the threefold faculties of memory, intellect, and will.³⁰ This identification of the imago in man with memoria, intellectus, and voluntas reveals a strong Augustinian influence. Although there are clear indications from Gerson's writings that he was familiar with the De Trinitate, there is also the possibility of indirect Augustinian influence through Bonaventure with whose writings Gerson was well acquainted. Augustine describes the triad of memory, intellect, and will in several different manners. The first is that of mens, notitia, and amor. The second involves memoria sui, intelligentia, and voluntas, and the third, memoria Dei, intelligentia, and amor.³¹ Gerson uses the first triad of mens, notitia, and amor only rarely.³² Of the remaining triads, he primarily employs the second, memoria sui, intelligentia, and voluntas. The activities of man's memory, intellect and will which Gerson conceives as reflecting the trinitarian activities generally have the self rather than God as their object.³³ Gerson, moreover, finds the trinitarian image in man not simply in the fact that man possesses memoria, intellectus, and voluntas. There must be an aspect of oneness as well as threeness, otherwise, the triune aspect of the image would not be sufficiently illustrated. He finds the notion of unity expressed in the soul in which memory, intellect, and will inhere.³⁴

The trinitarian nature of the image according to memory, intellect, and will is further reflected in the activities of those faculties. Gerson sees an analogy between the operation of these faculties and the trinitarian activities of generation and spiration. This analogy can be discovered by a process of self-reflection and analysis. Gerson understands memory here in the basic Augustinian sense of the mind's self-knowledge. When the memory is freed of sense images and concentrates upon itself, it is capable of achieving self-knowledge which is expressed in the intellect through the verbum. The activity, therefore, of memoria and intelligentia is a reflection of the Son's generation by the Father, with memory corresponding to the Father and intelligence to the Son. Just as, moreover, the mutual love of the Father and Son is responsible for the generation of the Spirit, so too there arises in the soul a love of self in the verbum. The activity of the voluntas thus corresponds to the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and Son.³⁵ Gerson bemoans the fact that many people are so preoccupied with the external world that they are unable to perceive this internal activity of their faculties, which, if fully understood, would allow them to recognize the image of the Trinity within themselves. Because of their preoccupations, such people are oblivious of the true role of their memory; ignorance clouds their understanding, and carnal and terrestrial affections bind their will.³⁶

As in the case of the triple vires, memoria, intellectus, and voluntas are also considered by Gerson as a reflection of the trinitarian characteristics of potentia, sapientia, and bonitas, which are attributed to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit respectively. He regards the soul's capacities of memory, intellect, and will as finite expressions of the divine power, truth, and goodness. Occasionally, Gerson exchanges the terms potentia and unitas but both are considered as appropriations of the Father.³⁷ By associating the faculties of memory, intellect, and will with the triad of potentia, sapientia, and bonitas, Gerson shows how closely he follows Bonaventure and the Victorines who, like many medieval thinkers, fused Platonic and Augustinian thought in the formulation of their teaching on the image.³⁸

Although Gerson generally describes the image of God in man according to the triple vires or the triple faculties of memory, intellect, and will, he occasionally uses other triadic formulae. He employs, though rarely, the Augustinian triad of mens, notitia, amor.³⁹ At times he modifies the triad of memoria, intellectus, and voluntas into that of sensualitas, intellectus, and voluntas. At other times, he will use the triadic formula of posse, scire, and velle.⁴⁰ This triad describes not so much the faculties of the soul as their activities. These activities are, moreover, identified with the triple vires, with posse corresponding to the vis irascibilis, scire to the vis rationalis, and velle to the vis concupiscibilis⁴¹. Regardless of the manner in which Gerson describes the image of the Trinity, he always regards it as a reflection of the trinitarian characteristics of potentia, sapientia, and benevolentia.⁴²

From the above descriptions of the trinitarian image in man, it is clear that Gerson does not draw any distinction between imago and similitudo. He uses both terms interchangeably as does the author of the first chapter of Genesis. Many patristic and medieval authors when writing on the image and likeness of God in man drew a distinction between the two terms. They frequently associated the imago with man's original endowments given in creation. Similitudo was reserved to describe the more perfect actualization of the image through grace. Gerson, however, follows in the tradition of those who treated imago and similitudo as essentially identical.⁴³

Gerson, moreover, allies himself with those patristic and medieval authors who laid great stress on the permanence of the image.⁴⁴ For Gerson, man from the very moment of his creation is an image of God; the image, therefore, is a donum naturae. Man can disfigure or discolor the image within himself through sin but he can never destroy it.⁴⁵ This permanence is emphasized by Gerson in the fact that the demons of hell are incapable of destroying the image of God within their souls. Regardless of their eternal estrangement from God, they still possess the faculties of memory, intellect, and will. The light of those faculties remains inextinguishable, even in the darkness of hell. To illustrate his point, Gerson compares the souls of the demons to the light of the sun. Even if the earth and the planets were to cease existing, the sun would continue to radiate and illumine. The sun will always remain a source of light unto itself. The faculties of memory, intellect, and will, therefore, continue to function and to shed their light even though they are estranged from God.⁴⁶ Gerson does not hesitate to call the devil himself an imago Dei and he roots that image directly in the devil's natural powers.⁴⁷

The image of God, moreover, remains intact in the souls of all the condemned. As images of God, their memory, intellect, and will have been created and given to them to aid them in attaining a knowledge and love of God. These natural faculties cannot be taken from them even though they have been damned for eternity. Gerson's reasoning rests primarily on the fact that these faculties are a part of their natural being and cannot be deprived them regardless of their state or condition. As humans they will always remain images of God and will, therefore, always possess something of the splendor characteristic of any creature created in God's image. Regardless of the fact that man has abused and perverted his faculties of memory, intellect, and will, those faculties still retain their intrinsic nobility.⁴⁸

Although the image is natural to man and retains its brilliance whether condemned to estrangement from God in eternity or temporarily disfigured by sin, grace does add to it a definite dimension. Without doing any violence to man's natural faculties, grace enhances the quality of the image. Grace works in harmonious accord with man's faculties of memory, intellect and will and brings them to their highest degree of realization. Grace so increases the beauty and elegance of the image that the soul is rendered most pleasing and acceptable to God, so much so that if it were to depart from the body it would immediately be received by God into the glory of heaven.⁴⁹ Gerson compares the soul made in the image of God to a portrait. Grace does not change that portrait but adds a new variety of colors. These colors, moreover, do not distort the portrait but rather result in a more faithful representation. Through the application of these colors, the portrait becomes a more realistic and more beautiful reflection of its model. In the case of man, the more beautiful the image becomes through grace, the more faithfully does it represent the Trinity upon which it was patterned and created.⁵⁰

Grace also has a restorative value for the image. This restoration is achieved when the soul's faculties are freed from obstacles that prevent their proper operation; once freed these faculties can concentrate on their primary object which is God. Grace, therefore, restores memory, intellect, and will to their proper finality. Grace achieves this by enabling the memory to free itself from external distractions. As a result of this freedom, memory can concentrate on the self and therein recognize God as its author. Grace restores the intellect by liberating it from the excessive domination of sense images. Since the intellect must work in conjunction with the sense faculties, it will never be completely free of sense images, but grace does help it to achieve the subjugation of sense impressions to the more intellectual aspects of its own activity, thereby allowing greater knowledge of self and of God. The will is also freed by grace from all carnal desires and is, thereby, able to attain a true love of God. The result of this activity is that the image of the Trinity is able to shine forth more beautifully in the triple faculties of man's soul.⁵¹

The relationship of the soul to the triune God as image to exemplar in no way entails any participation in the essence of the Trinity. As an image of God, the soul's memory might be majestic, its intellect clear, and its will free; the soul, moreover, might be immortal and its true life primarily spiritual, but all this is not to say that the soul as such is or becomes part of God. While stressing that the soul is made to the image of God, Gerson is always careful to emphasize that this does not in any way imply participation in or identification with the divine essence. He assiduously avoids any statements which would imply any confusion between the boundaries of the human and the divine.⁵²

His insistence on this point is strongly reminiscent of his controversy with John of Schoonhoven († 1431), head of the Canons Regular of Groenendael, over the De ornatu spiritualium nuptiarum of John Ruysbroeck († 1381). In that controversy, Gerson claimed that Ruysbroeck's manner of describing the mystical union between God and the soul bordered on the heretical, since the language used by him, if taken literally, implied a union of identity, that is, the soul in mystical union would be absorbed into the divine essence. Gerson labeled all such speculation as Manichaean. Even though the soul is an image of God, it always remains finite no matter how perfectly it reflects the trinitarian nature. This finiteness is especially manifested in man's mutability, for he changes from thought to thought, affection to affection, and decision to decision. Though he enjoys the distinction of being an image of God, man still remains limited and contingent.⁵³

2. REGNUM PERSONALE ET DIVINALE

Gerson's concepts of regnum personale and regnum divinale constitute another aspect of his thought on personal reform and are closely related to his ideas on the image of God in man. Gerson's conception of the soul as a regnum is of importance not only because of its relationship to his teaching on the image but also because it introduces, on the personal level, the notions of ordo, lex, and pax, which play such an important role in his understanding of church reform. Gerson maintains that God grants to every rational creature membership in three kingdoms or societies. The first kingdom he designates variously as regnum naturale et intrinsecum or regnum monasticum et personale. The second is the regnum civile or politicum and the third the regnum divinale or evangelicum.⁵⁴

A regnum is for Gerson an ordered society. A society, moreover, is ordered insofar as it commands and obeys according to the principles of the divine law.⁵⁵ This law he describes as the divine wisdom, the divine will, or the divine judgment of right reason insofar as it applies to the use of created things. The divine law is participated in by all creatures in varying degrees but most especially by rational creatures. As is frequently the case, Gerson refuses to be caught up in the subtle controversy over whether divine law is predicated primarily of the divine intellect or the divine will. He feels that this discussion has been sufficiently developed by St. Thomas and can be solved relatively well provided one is cautious in his use of terminology and does not get caught up in the fantasies and creations of his own mind.⁵⁶

The first regnum, the regnum intrinsecum or personale, is a society only in an accommodated sense because what it primarily describes is the order and relationship that should exist between man's intellectual, volitional and sensitive faculties. Order is established among those faculties by the dictates of right reason with which man is naturally endowed. Right reason, therefore, is the agent of justice within man which grants each faculty its proper hierarchical rank.⁵⁷ In this hierarchy of human faculties, the function of reason is to provide counsel as to possible courses of action by working in harmonious conjunction with the intellectual virtues of wisdom and prudence. Will is to be the lord and master of the regnum, although in its activity it must be open to and accept the counsel provided by reason. Will, moreover, is to operate in accordance with the moral virtues. The functions of man's sensitive faculties, finally, are to be subordinated to reason and will, becoming, as it were, their ancillae.⁵⁸

The second regnum is the regnum civile et politicum and is described by Gerson as a society ordered under one head and functioning in accordance with positive and civil law. Such law can be divinely inspired for the promotion of a citizen's spiritual welfare or it can be the product of mere human endeavor aimed at the citizen's purely temporal well-being. The second regnum is not as pertinent to the topic of individual renewal as the first and third regna, since it is primarily concerned with man's political life. The third and final regnum, the regnum divinale et evangelicum, is described as the ordering of the soul's faculties to God under the influence of charity which comes with grace. This is the kingdom of which Christ speaks in Mt 6:33: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. …” This regnum and its justitia are equated by Gerson to the rule of charity.⁵⁹

From what has been said thus far about the regnum personale and the regnum divinale, it follows that there is a very close relationship between the two regna and Gerson's notion of the image. Gerson, indeed, uses the terms regnum and imago interchangeably. He describes the regnum according to the same faculties utilized for the image, namely, reason, will, and the senses. The activities of these faculties are described in terms of posse, scire, and velle which correspond respectively to the operation of the sensitive, intellectual, and volitional faculties of the soul. Scire represents man's intellectual powers which guide the will in its activity of choosing or velle. Posse refers to the power of man's sensitive faculties in executing the dictates of man's intellect and will. These faculties, moreover, reflect the potentia, sapienta, and bonitas of the Trinity in whose image the soul has been created.⁶⁰ While he speaks of the regnum divinale as the soul's faculties operating under the influence of charity, the other theological virtues of faith and hope are naturally implied since grace always involves the infusion of the three theological virtues. Thus the regnum divinale is essentially similar to the image in man operating under the influence of the theological virtues.

Rather than speak of the finality of each regnum, Gerson uses the term glory. The end or glory of each of the three regna is pax. Following the traditional Augustinian description, he defines peace as the tranquility which comes from order. Order is, in turn, described as the arrangement of like and unlike things whereby each is disposed according to its proper place.⁶¹ This disposition of things according to their proper place is identical with the virtue of justice. In the combination of justice, order, and peace, Gerson finds verified two important scriptural principles. The first is from Is 32:17: “Opus justitiae est pax.” Justice, by disposing all things according to their proper place, gives rise to order and from the tranquility of order there results peace. The second important scriptural passage is contained in Ps 84:11: “Justitia et pax osculatae sunt.” Since justice and peace are necessarily described in terms of each other and are so intimately related, it can be said with Scripture that justice and peace have embraced and kissed.⁶²

The peace which is produced in the regnum personale is the intrinsic tranquility which comes from the harmonious ordering and functioning of all man's faculties. When his intellectual, volitional, and sensitive faculties preserve their proper hierarchical order, and function harmoniously in the issuance of commands or in the obedience thereto, then man is interiorly at peace and his faculties enjoy the tranquility of order. In the soul of such an individual, justice and peace can truly be said to have embraced. This peace within the individual exists only as long as he is free from sin. Sin represents injustice; it introduces disorder and results in the cessation of all true internal peace. On an analogous level, the regnum civile et politicum also enjoys its peace which consists in the ordered and harmonious activity of its citizens in both issuing and obeying commands.⁶³ The peace of the third kingdom, the regnum divinale or evangelicum, comes from the enjoyment of God's intimacy. This peace results from recognizing that all things are his creatures and are essentially ordered towards him. On the level of grace, such peace is the result of God's charity and is preserved as long as charity remains in the soul. Since man, while on earth, is never fully confirmed in grace and preserves the option of turning away from God, he is always capable of losing that peace. Only with the full confirmation of man in grace which comes with heaven, will man be permanently established in charity and enjoy perpetual peace.⁶⁴

While not playing as important a role in Gerson's thought on personal reform as the imago, the notions of regnum personale and regnum divinale do serve to deepen our knowledge and understanding of the image. They provide the added dimensions of justitia, ordo and pax. The regnum personale allows us to see man's intellectual and volitional faculties not merely as reflecting trinitarian activities but also as manifesting their relationship to one another on the natural level. The regnum divinale corresponds more closely with the supernatural aspects of the image and shows the order and peace that reigns in man's faculties when they are properly related to their creator through charity.

3. SIN AND THE IMAGE

Man's condition at the time of his creation in Adam was one of order and peace. His reason counselled and guided him without error; his will followed the dictates of reason and executed its commands without any hesitation or reluctance. His sensitive faculties obeyed the decisions of his intellect and will without any indication of rebellion. What reason knew, the will chose and the sensitive faculties executed.⁶⁵ In short, man was in a state of tranquility and peace. In this state man fully reflected the Trinity in whose image he had been created. In their ability to execute the decisions of man's intellect and will, man's sense faculties mirrored the potentia of the Father. The sapientia of the Son was reflected in the intellect's capacity to attain knowledge without error. The bonitas generally attributed to the Holy Spirit is found in the alacrity with which the will acted under the counsel of reason.⁶⁶

The peace and harmony existing within his sensitive, intellectual, and volitional faculties were part of man's original inheritance and were intensified and strengthened by the grace of original justice. The sin of Adam, however, shattered that peace and harmony. Man was suddenly transformed from an image of the Trinity to an image of the devil. Reason which had been created as a counsellor for the will became blind and mute; no longer was its voice heard guiding the will to proper courses of action. The will also shared in the spirit of rebellion; no longer would it listen to the dictates of reason. Its former power as lord and master of the other faculties was destroyed; it had now become subservient to the forces of sensuality. The powers of man's sensitive faculties were also disoriented. Intended to serve the intellect and will, these faculties blinded the intellect and replaced the will as the dominant power within the soul. The image of God in man thus became considerably less recognizable and the pain of division was felt in the kingdom of man's soul.⁶⁷

Gerson frequently uses Scripture to describe the state of man after the fall. His favorite passage is Ps 48:13: “Et homo, cum in honore esset, non intellexit: comparatus est iumentis insipientibus, et similis factus est illis.” After the incursion of sin, man became like the mute beasts. The honor of which the Psalmist speaks is that which was man's in his first state of innocence. Then he perfectly reflected the Trinity in whose image he was created, since all his faculties functioned harmoniously and peacefully. Man, however, did not truly comprehend the honor in which God had created him; he failed to understand that he was made in God's image. As a result, he has fallen into a state of ignorance and impotence. Therefore, he has been justly compared to foolish and senseless beasts and has truly become like them.⁶⁸

The image of God in man, whether described as man's natural faculties of memory, intellect, and will, or sense, reason, and will, remains essentially intact, although, as has been seen, those faculties are considerably hampered in their operations by the effect of sin. The qualities of the image which came with grace and which brought the image to a greater degree of beauty and perfection have disappeared. Despite the Fall and its consequences, however, man still remains an image of God, an image of the Trinity. The loss of grace and the consequent disorientation in man's natural faculties occur not only at the time of the Fall but also whenever man sins. At each instance, however, the natural image imprinted on man's faculties remains and serves as the basis for the creature's return to God and renewal in grace. Because of sin, however, the image is frequently spoken of as deformed, dirty, or defiled.⁶⁹

Gerson describes man's state after the Fall in different ways. At times he compares it to an exile where man has been placed after the sin committed by Adam. Man has been ejected from his homeland. He is poor, sick, imprisoned, wounded, and without clothing. His home is no longer one of enjoyment but a place of sorrow, tribulation, desolation, and anguish. He has gone from riches to poverty, nobility to vileness, and from life to death.

Closely associated with the notion of exile is that of pilgrimage. Since the sin of Adam, all men are exiles from their true homeland; they are pilgrims.⁷⁰ Heb 13:14 reminds man of his condition as a pilgrim: “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city which is to come.”⁷¹ That city is the city of heaven. Gerson argues that the Our Father is sufficient to remind man that his life on earth is a pilgrimage. By the very fact that the prayer contains the phrase: “Our Father who art in heaven,” man should be aware that his status on earth is that of a pilgrim. If his father is in heaven then it follows that he is in a strange country; he is far from his paternal heritage, far from his homeland.⁷² St. Paul emphasized this point in Phil 3:20 when he said that our homeland is in heaven.⁷³ Gerson asserts, moreover, that all the patriarchs, prophets, and kings of the Old Testament considered themselves as pilgrims. Moses was so conscious of man's pilgrim status on earth that he named his first son Gershom, which is synonymous with the word pilgrim. Gerson is here referring to Ex 2:22 where Moses, while in exile in the land of Midian, named his son Gershom which he interpreted by the phrase: “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.” The first son of Levi also bore the name Gershom. King David reiterated the same idea in Ps 38:13 when he said to the Lord: “For I am thy passing guest, a sojourner, like all my fathers.”⁷⁴

Gerson also describes man after the sin of Adam as living in a desert, a wasteland, which is practically uninhabitable, impassible and without water. In short, this earth has become a dark and profound abyss of misery.⁷⁵ He refers to man as living in a regio egestatis, a barren land.⁷⁶ St. Augustine used this phrase in his Confessions when at the end of the second book he described the state of his soul during his adolescent years: “I went away from Thee, my God, in my youth I strayed too far from Thy sustaining power, and I became to myself a barren land.”⁷⁷ Gerson extends the use of the term to all men living in the state of sin. The term has its roots in the parable of the prodigal son in Lk 15:14. After the prodigal son had spent all his money, a famine arose in the country where he was living and he began to be in want: “Et, postquam omnia consummasset, facta est fames valida in regione illa, et ipse coepit egere.”

Another favorite Augustinian description used by Gerson to depict the state of man in sin is that of regio dissimilitudinis. Created to the image and likeness of God, the soul has so disfigured itself through sin that it no longer fully reflects its creator. While not fully destroyed, the image has become unclear, confused and distorted. Because of sin, the soul has been justifiably exiled and wanders now in the land of unlikeness. No longer true to itself, the soul has virtually become a region of dissimilitude.⁷⁸ The phrase “regio dissimilitudinis” occurs in the seventh book of the Confessions where, at the end of the long journey that has culminated in his intellectual conversion, Augustine, through the light of divine grace, sees himself as he truly is. At that moment he shook with fear and love and then looking at himself he realized how much he had become unlike God and his true self. He realized that he was far from God “in regione dissimilitudinis.”⁷⁹ Gilson contends that Augustine's concept of the regio is primarily metaphysical and represents basically the Platonic region of becoming, situated between the realm of pure nonbeing and the immutable being of God.⁸⁰ For Gerson, as for many of his medieval predecessors, the regio dissimilitudinis is primarily the region of sin and spiritual deformity.⁸¹

The soul whose likeness to the image of God has been tarnished and is consequently wandering in the regio dissimilitudinis is described by Gerson as “curva” or “incurvata.” Originally created as recta or upright the soul through sin has descended to and prefers what is temporal, earthly, perishable, and pleasing to its animal nature. The soul which is recta has preserved or recovered its image and likeness to God and is characterized by a love of heavenly values and the desire for the divine and the eternal.⁸² Gerson finds the notion of anima curva in Ps 37:4-7 where the Psalmist expresses the weight of sin that he feels within himself. Because of sin there is no soundness in his flesh, no health in his bones; his iniquities have become an overwhelming burden. His soul is foul and festered; he is utterly bowed down and prostrate: “miser factus sum et curvatus ad terram.”⁸³

To express the full sense of anima curva, Gerson uses passages from Scripture where man in sin is frequently compared to the beasts. His favorite passage is Ps 48:13. By sinning man disregards the dignity in which he has been created and has become like the stupid ox. The Psalmist uses the example of beasts because of their proclivity towards the terrestrial wherein lies the similarity with man in sin. According to Gerson, man too has become like the beasts through sin. He compares the life of sinful man to that of cattle and swine whose interest is exclusively focused upon earthly things. The faces of swine are always turned downward toward the mire and their stomachs are always close to the earth.⁸⁴ The Psalmist expresses similar thoughts when he uses such statements as “our soul is bowed down to the dust,” and “my soul cleaves to the dust,” and again, “I sink in deep mire where there is no foothold.”⁸⁵ Gerson also finds the notion of anima curva verified in classical authors. The satires of Persius employ the phrase anima curva and Gerson believes that Persius understands the term in basically the same sense as that used by the Psalmist. He finds his clearest proof in Satire 2:61 where Persius says: “O curvas in terra animas et coelestium inanes.”⁸⁶

Sin, then, has had an extremely detrimental effect upon the image of God in man. Sin has tarnished, dulled and discolored that image to a point where it is hardly recognizable. Sin, furthermore, has resulted in man's exile from his homeland; his life has become one long pilgrimage. Unlike his God, in whose image he was originally created, he wanders in the region of dissimilitude and has become a barren land. Deprived of grace, he is no longer upright but bowed down to the earth in the likeness of the beasts.

4. CONVERSION AND REPENTANCE

Sin may disfigure the image in man but it cannot completely destroy it. Man's natural faculties remain essentially intact and when aided again by grace they can be restored to their proper spiritual orientation. Man can regain his dignity as an image of God; he can return from the regio dissimilitudinis and the regio egistatis. He can cease to be incurvata and become recta in the full biblical sense of the term. Man is capable of experiencing a change of heart and mind; in brief, man is capable of conversion.

The notion of conversion plays an integral role in Gerson's understanding of personal reform. He finds this notion rooted in the Old Testament, especially the prophets Hosea and Joel. In Hos 14:1-2, the prophet calls upon Israel to return to the Lord. Too long has Israel strayed from the true paths of the Lord by its sin. Israel is to return to the Lord in a spirit of penitence and say to him: “Take away all iniquity and accept that which is good.” Jl 2:12-13 represents the Lord as summoning Israel to return to him with all its heart. The return or conversion of Israel is to be externally manifested in fasting, weeping and mourning. The prophet reminds the Israelites that these signs are to be more than just external; they are to be indications of an internal change of heart, for the Lord asks the Israelites to rend their hearts and not their garments.⁸⁷

Closely associated with the experience of conversion is that of repentance.⁸⁸ Gerson's concept of repentance has already been investigated in the context of his program of theological reform and is essentially the same in the area of personal reform except that in the latter case he stresses more its sacramental aspects. In addition to contrition, Gerson always adds the need for an integral confession in which nothing is hidden through shame, hypocrisy or fear. Finally there is the element of satisfaction imposed by the judgment of the confessor. Only when the three conditions of contrition, confession, and satisfaction are verified can there be true and complete poenitentia. Then only can the soul be said to have become fully converted.⁸⁹

The sacramental emphasis in Gerson's understanding of poenitentia is witnessed especially in his attitude towards the Flagellants.⁹⁰ He criticizes them specifically for their tendency to rely primarily upon individual penitential practices. He insists upon the point that the sacraments of the New Law are the main channels of divine grace and that their effectiveness is not dependent upon the internal dispositions of the priest but upon their own intrinsic power. Gerson firmly asserts that whatever militates against the reception of the sacraments, especially the sacrament of confession, must be assiduously rejected. He argues that the Flagellants neglect sacramental confession. In their enthusiasm, they have become so taken up by the penitential practice of flagellation that they have downgraded the effectiveness of sacramental poenitentia. Many claim that flagellation is a more effective means for the remission of sin than confession. Some would even go so far as to prefer flagellation to martyrdom, saying that the Flagellants' suffering is self-inflicted while that of martyrs is imposed through the agency of others. Gerson is totally unsympathetic to such arguments. He continually insists that the sacraments are indispensable for the attainment of any true degree of poenitentia.⁹¹

Gerson's attitude in the case of the Flagellants must not be interpreted as a rejection of penitential practices outside the sacramental realm. He heartily approves, for example, of the church's custom of fasting and abstinence. After the removal of personal sins through sacramental confession, penitential practices can play an important role in the individual's reconciliation with God. Such practices can strengthen and intensify the radical conversion achieved through the sacraments. The fast and abstinence observed during the Lenten period serve to conquer and repress the radical force of sin whose power of attraction remains strong even after confession. Fast and abstinence also elevate the soul to a greater love and confidence in heavenly values. Finally, these penitential practices strengthen and intensify the theological virtues in man.

Gerson's reaction, therefore, against the Flagellants is not against penitential practices in themselves. These he approves and finds of great value as long as they are subordinated to the sacramental dimension of poenitentia. The sacramental remains foremost; next come those penitential activities that have the full sanction and approbation of the church, such as fasting and abstinence and all such practices which the church commands of its members. What he reacts to is excessively self-imposed or self-justifying forms of poenitentia.⁹² In addition to the practices of fasting and abstinence, Gerson recognizes other factors which help to foster the penitential spirit. Human experiences such as inspiration, adversity, and prosperity can incite the soul to poenitentia. The emotions also help to intensify the spirit of repentance. The cardinal and theological virtues as well as the gifts of the Holy Spirit further deepen the penitential experience. Prayer too can make its contribution, especially the seven petitions of the Our Father. The petition for forgiveness of sins, if sincerely expressed, can be most conducive to repentance. But even when discussing the nonsacramental aspects of poenitentia, Gerson is quick to stress the sacramental. While there are many practices and various incentives which promote and maintain the penitential spirit, the sacraments remain the primary context within which poenitentia is achieved and expressed. Poenitentia is renewed and intensified through the sacraments and not through the sacrament of penance alone but through all the seven sacraments.⁹³

When properly understood and utilized, poenitentia can have a strong restorative effect upon the soul. By his sinful acts man has become a slave to sin and guilty of lèse-majesté towards his sovereign Lord. He has been exiled upon earth and enclosed within the dark prison of the flesh. Man's spiritual restoration can only be achieved through poenitentia, which is the gateway to full reconciliation with God and to freedom from sin.⁹⁴ Through poenitentia man will be able to return from exile; he will draw closer to the goal of his pilgrimage and eventually arrive at his natural homeland which is heaven.⁹⁵

Poenitentia is also a primary means for restoring peace to the soul because it reestablishes the proper hierarchy and harmony among man's natural faculties. On the spiritual level, grace results in the proper orientation of man's faculties to God. The peace achieved through poenitentia, moreover, revivifies the soul and results in what Gerson calls naissance gracieuse.⁹⁶ According to Gerson, man experiences three moments of birth which he describes as douloureuse, gracieuse, and glorieuse. The first refers to natural birth and is common to all men both good and evil. The second and third are spiritual forms of birth and refer to man's birth by grace and by glory at the end of his life. For Gerson there is a causal relationship between naissance gracieuse and poenitentia. The first birth of grace in man's soul in baptism as well as all subsequent renewal in grace requires poenitentia. Through poenitentia comes grace and the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity.⁹⁷

5. REFORMATION OF THE IMAGE

The renewal of man through poenitentia constitutes his reformation as an image of God. The process of reform begins with baptism, which is the initial experience of poenitentia. In baptism the soul which has been created in God's image is regenerated, purified of the stains of original sin and restored to its full beauty.⁹⁸ This is a genuine rebirth and Gerson uses the verb renascor to describe it.⁹⁹ He compares it, moreover, to man's physical birth, for in the grace of baptism man has been conceived anew but now into the life of the Spirit. The grace of baptism, therefore, restores and reforms the image. Trough the reforming grace of baptism, the natural image of God in man is purified and made more beautiful. Comparing the image to a picture, Gerson sees baptismal grace as adding more distinct lines and colors to those already contained in the picture. The image, therefore, becomes a truer and more faithful representation of its creator.¹⁰⁰ The process of reformation that occurs in baptism takes place each time the soul is cleansed of serious sin through the sacrament of penance. Venial sin, while not destroying the spiritual dimensions of the image, does nevertheless tend to tarnish and discolor it. In this case, restoration of the image can be effected either through sacramental penance or penitential practices.

Since the soul has been created not merely according to the image of God but, more specifically, according to the image of the Trinity, its reformation will naturally take place according to the trinitarian dimensions of the image.¹⁰¹ In his Mendicité spirituelle, Gerson succinctly described the reformation of the image according to the trinitarian characteristics of potentia, sapientia, and benevolentia. Through God's presence in the soul by grace, vices are uprooted and supplanted by virtues which reflect the potentia of the Father. The sapientia of the Son is witnessed in the fact that the soul is clearly able to understand its faults, its sins, and its general fragility in the light of truth. The result of the foregoing activity is that the soul rediscovers its beauty and sees itself as a reflection of the bonitas of the Holy Spirit. This moment of transformation is compared by Gerson to the time of day when the rising sun dispels the darkness of night. Then all creation appears renewed and restored to the fullness of its power. The color of created things appears brightest and everything seems at the peak of its beauty. Thus it is when the light of justice is born again in man's soul.¹⁰²

Gerson also employs the dramatic technique of a soliloquy to express the trinitarian nature of conversion and reformation.¹⁰³ In the soliloquy, man acknowledges that he has been made to the image and likeness of the Trinity and, therefore, reflects the trinitarian potentia, sapientia, and bonitas. He realizes, moreover, that because of this image-like relationship, he should place his hope and trust in no other potentia than that of God nor should he desire any sapientia outside of God. By thus modeling his activity upon the divine potentia and sapientia, he will preserve his own interior bonitas.

Man, however, recognizes that he does not always imitate the divine exemplar. Too frequently he has allowed the divine image within himself to become ugly, dirty, and discolored. Such is always the case whenever he allows himself to be dragged into the mire of sin or preoccupied with worldly cares and pleasures. As the soliliquy continues, man realizes that when he is in such a dejected state there is really only one course of action open to him and that is to return to God in whose image he has been made. Once he turns to God, God will turn to his creature since it bears his image. He will cleanse the image of the stain of sin that has so tarnished and distorted it; he will illumine the soul and dispel the dark shadows of sin. As a result of this divine activity, the image will again become beautiful and pleasing.

What God demands of man in this process of conversion is that he adhere to him as his sole source of power. He is to recognize God, moreover, as the source of his light and knowledge. Finally he is to be attracted to God as the origin of all sweetness, love, and pleasure. This triple conversion is, in effect, a conversion to God's potentia, sapientia, and benevolentia and is possible only because man bears within himself the trinitarian image. He places his hope in the divine potentia; he rests his faith in the divine sapientia, and his charity upon the commands of the divine voluntas. By so turning to God, he becomes anew the imago Dei, the imago beatae Trinitatis. Thus in the words of Ps 102:5 he can say to his God that his “youth is renewed like the eagle's.”¹⁰⁴

Gerson also describes the trinitarian nature of personal reform in terms of memory, intellect, and will. This reform begins at the moment of baptism. Baptismal reform proceeds according to man's memory, intellect, and will. The soul of a newly-baptized child enjoys God's presence although not with the full consciousness and freedom characteristic of an adult, since the child has not yet reached the age of reason nor does it merit or act virtuously according to the accepted understanding of those activities. Yet because of the infusion of the theological virtues which come with the grace of baptism, the child is said to be united with God which means, in effect, that the trinitarian image of memory, intellect, and will within him has been reformed.¹⁰⁵

In the case of adults, the reformation of man's triple faculties takes place first in his memory which no longer wanders outside itself but is preoccupied with its own presence and the transcendent presence of God. The intellect, furthermore, becomes enlightened by its control over sense images and fantasies. Because man is a composite of matter and spirit, the intellect is never completely free of sense images; it can only strive to control its sense imagination. This control is attained when man's intellect has been reformed by grace. Through the reformative power of grace, the will also is freed from the domination of carnal desires. In the final analysis, the reform of man's memory, intellect, and will means that he reflects more clearly the divine Trinity in whose image he has been created.¹⁰⁶

The reformative dynamism of grace and the theological virtues proceeds, moreover, according to the hierarchical activities of purgation, illumination, and perfection. The virtue of hope is essentially purgative. Directed towards the memory, hope purifies, elevates, and strengthens that faculty. Faith is basically illuminative and has as its purpose the conversion of the intellect to the divine light. Charity, finally, is perfective; it orientates and intensifies the will's love of God, thereby uniting man more closely to him.¹⁰⁷ The soul, therefore, in which grace and the theological virtues are operative is essentially in the process of reformation and the trinitarian image of memory, intellect, and will is continually being renewed in the likeness of its divine exemplar. Grace and the theological virtues have a similar transforming effect upon the vis rationalis, irascibilis, and concupiscibilis. Regardless of the manner in which it is described, reform always takes place in a hierarchical context. The renewal of the triple vires in the individual soul is achieved through the hierarchical activities of purgation, illumination, and perfection exercised by bishops and clergy. The reformation of memory, intellect, and will occurs, moreover, in a similar context. The penitential spirit so essential for the conversion of the image is primarily described in terms of the sacraments, especially penance. Gerson objects to the Flagellants principally because their penitential activities neglected the sacramental and engendered an independence of the church's hierarchy. When he discusses penitential practices he gives careful priority to those practices which have clear ecclesiastical approval.

Mystical theology which is the fullest realization of personal reform must also be seen in close relationship with hierarchical activity. Gerson's views on the nature of mystical theology, at least until 1425, reveal a remarkable coherence with the finality of hierarchical order.¹⁰⁸ Mystical theology, indeed, can only be fully understood in the context of the finality of the entire hierarchical order. Both mystical theology and hierarchical order terminate in love, union, and peace. Mystical theology, for Gerson, involves primarily the affective powers of the soul and is essentially realized in a love of God which is ecstatic, unitive, and peaceful.¹⁰⁹ The union that results from love is regarded by Gerson principally as a union of wills. The immediate consequence of this union is peace, for in mystical union the soul becomes fully satiated and is at rest. The soul attains its highest good which is God and rests in the tranquility which that possession brings.¹¹⁰ The importance attributed to the Spirit in all hierarchical activity also finds a parallel in his mysticism, for at the time of the Council of Constance Gerson's mysticism became more Spirit-centered.¹¹¹ As a result of the close relationship between mysticism and hierarchical order, mystical prayer represents primarily an intensification of the whole thrust of hierarchical activity, a privileged moment in the ordinary working of the hierarchical order.

In brief, then, personal reform in Gerson is not simply the result of individual endeavor but takes place within the context of the church's hierarchical structure. The result is not only personal reform and renewal but also the edification of the church as Christ's mystical body.

Notes

1. For the biblical tradition on the image see L. Köhler, “Die Grundstelle der ‘Imago Dei’ Lehre: Genesis 1:26,” TZ, 4 (1948), 16-22, and K. L. Schmidt, “Homo imago Dei im alten und neuen Testament,” EJ, 15 (1947), 149-195. For an historical survey of the terms “image and similitude” in the Platonic, Judaic, and patristic traditions see R. Javelet, Image et Ressemblance au douzième siécle, 1 (Paris, 1967), 1-66. The main portion of Javelet's work is a synthesis of the various interpretations of image and similitude in the writers of the twelfth century. Unfortunately no such work exists for authors from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries. The Augustinian tradition on the image is treated by John E. Sullivan, The Image of God: The Doctrine of St. Augustine and its Influence (Dubuque, 1963).

2. Dominus his opus habet, G, 5, 221.

3. A Deo exivit, G, 5, 14. “Tu nempe, rationalis spiritus, sicut capax et particeps Dei solus factus es per intelligentiam atque rationem, hinc ad imaginem Dei et similitudinem factus affimaris.”

4. Videmus nunc per speculum, G, 7, 1124.

5. Collectorium super Magnificat, P, 4, 333 A-B. “Etenim consistit in re qualibet, quantumcunque modicum habeat entitatis, et in accidentibus, et in materia prima vestigium Trinitatis.”

6. Factum est prelium, G, 7, 623. “C'est ycy en gros et en somme comment et pourquoy les anges furent creés quer ce fut de la puere bonté et volenté de Dieu pour espandre sa bonté par dehors et affin que les creatures louassent leur Createur et que la bonté de Dieu, sa puissance et sa sapience fussent monstrees par dehors es creatures comme on cognoit l'art et la prudence d'un ouvrier par œuvre.” Cf. Memoriam fecit mirabilium, G, 7, 700-701.

7. Apparuit gratia, G, 5, 67. “Amplius vero divina natura … monstraret potentiam Dei efficientem, et sapientiam exemplantem, et bonitatem cuncta finientem. …”

8. Annotatio doctorum aliquorum qui de contemplatione locuti sunt, G, 3, 293-294, Ignem veni mittere, G, 2, 276-280, and De libris legendis a monacho, P, 2, 709 A-C.

9. Itinerarium, 1, 14, Quaracchi, 5, 299a.

10. De sacramentis, 1, 3, 26-29, MPL, 176, 227 C-231 B; De tribus diebus, 1, MPL, 176, 811 C-D; 16, MPL, 176, 823 D; 27, MPL, 176, 838 B-C.

11. Microcosmus, 1, 40, ed. P. Delhaye, Le Microcosme de Godefroy de Saint Victor (Lille, 1951), pp. 60-61.

12. De tribus appropriatis personis, MPL, 196, 993 C-D. The Victorine use of potentia, sapientia, and bonitas reflects the influence of Abelard († 1142). Cf. Abelard's Expositio in Hexaemeron, MPL, 178, 760 C, Introductio ad Theologiam, 13, MPL, 178, 999 C, and Theologia Christiana, 1, 2, MPL, 178, 1125 C-D. See also D. E. Luscombe, The School of Peter Abelard (Cambridge, 1969), pp. 115-121. The position that the triad of potentia, sapientia, and bonitas originated with Abelard is maintained by J. Hofmeier, Die Trinitätslehre des Hugo von St. Victor (Munich, 1963), pp. 225-227, and Damien van den Eynde, Essai sur la succession et la date des écrits de Hugues de Saint-Victor (Rome, 1960), pp. 68-69. A similar triadic formula was employed by writers from the school of Chartres such as Gilbert de la Porrée († 1154), William of Conches († 1155), and John of Salisbury († 1180). Alan of Lille († 1202) followed in the same tradition. Cf. Javelet, Image et ressemblance, 1, 199-200; 2, 161-164. For the school of Chartres, see especially J. M. Parent, La doctrine de la création dans l'école de Chartres (Paris, 1938), pp. 67-76. R. W. Southern, however, has recently challenged the commonly accepted affiliation of Gilbert de la Porrée, William of Conches, and John of Salisbury with the school of Chartres. See “Humanism and the School of Chartres,” in Medieval Humanism and Other Studies (New York, 1970), pp. 66-73. Like the Victorines, the masters of Chartres were influenced by Abelard, especially William of Conches. John of Salisbury, moreover, reveals that the writers of Chartres were also indebted to Plato's Timaeus. They interpreted the three causes at work in the formation and ordering of the universe, i.e. Demiurge, Idea, and Good, in a trinitarian context. These causes, efficient, formal, and final, reflected the potentia, sapientia, and bonitas of the Trinity. Cf. Policraticus, 7, 5, ed. C. Webb, 2 (Oxford, 1909), 108. See also William of Conches, Glossae super Platonem, ed. E. Jeauneau (Paris, 1965), p. 68. Abelard himself acknowledges his indebtedness to Plato. Cf. In ep. ad Rom., 1, MPL, 178, 804 A-B. In the final analysis, however, both the masters of St. Victor and of Chartres would regard their triadic formula as essentially rooted in the Scriptures. What they sought to achieve primarily was a harmonization of the Gospel and the Hellenic tradition. See M.-D. Chenu, La théologie au douzième siècle (Paris, 1957), p. 139.

13. Si terrena dixi vobis, G, 7, 1044. “… nam per visibilia mundi invisibilia cognoscuntur, etc.; par la grandeur des choses crees je congnois la puissance de Dieu; par la beaute je congnois sagesse et par l'ordonnance et bonte je congnois sa liberalite. Si congnois comme par une trace et odeur; ung mirouer umbrage la benoite trinite, en tant que puissance est actribue au Pere, sagesse au Filz, bonte et liberalite au Saint Esperit.”

14. Simile est regnum, G, 2, 254. “Una pretiosa margarita cujus nomen est ens purum usquequaque perfectum relucet et invenitur in omnibus creaturis tanquam in vestigiis signatibus potentiam, sapientiam, et bonitatem ipsius. Sed praecipue refulget in creaturis rationalibus tamquam in imaginibus quae sapientiae sunt divinae nedum representativae sed participes et capaces. Unde recta patet imaginis atque vestigii distinctio.” The distinction between vestigium and imago is reminiscent of Augustine. Cf. De Trinitate, 6, 10, 12, CCSL, 50, pp. 242-243, and Étienne Gilson, The Christian Philosophy of St. Augustine (New York, 1960), pp. 210-224. Bonaventure continues the Augustinian tradition of interrelating trinity, creation, vestige and image. For him, as for Augustine, whatever has been created by God bears the trinitarian vestigia. Man alone is an imago. Cf. Itinerarium, 1, 2; 3, 1, Quaracchi, 5, 297, 303 and Gilson, The Philosophy of St. Bonaventure (New York, 1938), pp. 204-237. St. Thomas retains the same basis for the distinction between imago and vestigium in his Summa Theologiae, 1, q. 93, a. 4, Marietti, 453-454.

15. Factum est prelium, G, 7, 623. “Touteffoiz creature espirituele et raisonnable fut creée plus espicialement et haultement pour cognoistre et amer Dieu comme ymage plus parfaicte.”

16. In nomine Patris, 6, 7, 676.

17. Dedit illi scientiam sanctorum, G, 7, 586.

18. Vade in domum taum, G, 5, 584. Cf. Juvenal, Satires, 11: 27-28, and Persius, 4:52, ed. S.G. Owen, Saturae (Oxford, 1882).

19. Canticordum du pélerin, G, 7, 116-117. “Et tu scez que n'est reins tant necessaire a creature raisonable, comme est c'est oracle divin: Cognois toy. E celo venit notiselisos grece, latine cognosce tepsum; aultrement l'omme n'est que une beste. Si ignoras te, o pulcherrima mulierum egredere et abi post capras aut vestigia gregum.”

20. Videmus nunc per speculum, G, 7, 1134.

21. Videmus nunc per speculum, G, 7, 1132-1133. “… tu es la tres belle ymaige laquelle Dieu le souverain Maitre a voulu faire pour monstrer son art par dehors, sa puissance, sa saigesse et sa benevolence. …”

22. In nomine Patris, G, 7, 678. “Si disons pour nostre instruction morale que chascune ame crestienne doit porter ce nom et son ymage en soy et en son cuer telement qu'elle soit forte et sage et bonne; forte par esperance, en soy conformant a la puissance et a l'excellence du Pere; saige par foy et par creance, en soy conformant a la verite et saigesse du Filz; bonne par charite et benivolence, en soy conformant a la bonté du Saint Esperit.”

23. La mendicité spirituelle, G, 7, 280.

24. Videmus nunc per speculum, G, 7, 1133.

25. Bonus pastor, G, 5, 125 “Fiat igitur ab utroque pastore quod proponit Dominus: det animam suam pro ovibus suis; utique animam quae imago est beatae Trinitatis secundum triplicem vim praenominatam.” Cf. De theologia mystica, G, 3, 288.

26. Apparuit gratia, G, 5, 69. “Sit in nobis fides vera et viva secundum vim rationalem ex recognitione immensae sapientiae; sit spes certa secundum vim irascibilem ex professione ejus summae potentiae; sit caritas fervida ex consideratione summae benevolentiae et gratiae quae apparuit nobis hodie in circumcisionis humilitate.”

27. Suscepimus Deus misericordiam, G, 5, 541. “… triplex ignis proprietas, fulgor scilicet, vigor et ardor; fides fulget in vi rationali, spes roborat in irascibili, caritas ardet in concupiscibili, quoad tria appropriata Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti; in Patrem vigorem, in Filio fulgorem, in Spiritu Sancto ardorem concipimus.”

28. Sicut scriptum est, G, 3, 29. “Fuit enim vis ejus concupiscibilis inflammata per caritatem, vis rationalis illustrata et edocta per sapientiam, vis irascibilis per potentiam et virtutes roborata.”

29. Postulare dignata est, G, 2, 64. “. … in quo vivimus per fidem formatam, nam justus ex fide vivit et hoc in vi rationali; movemur per spem desiderantem quae sursum sunt, in irascibili; sumus per caritatem radicatam in concupiscibili.”

30. Collectorium super Magnificat, P, 4, 261 C. “Quibus ita notatis de pulchritudine generaliter, facilis est applicatio ad pulchritudinem animae rationalis spiritualis, quae imago est benedictissimae Trinitatis, in qua potentiae tres principales animae, scilicet memoria, intelligentia, et voluntas, sunt tanquam lineamenta, qualia sunt indelibiliter impressa, nec tolluntur etiam a damnatis.” Cf. Pax hominibus, G, 7, 767.

31. Gilson, The Christian Philosophy of St. Augustine, p. 219. The first triad can be found in De Trinitate, 9:2, 2-5, 8, CCSL, 50, pp. 294-301; the second in De Trinitate, 10:11, 17-12, 19, CCSL, 50, pp. 329-332; the third in De Trinitate 14:8, 11-12, 16, CCSL, 50A, pp. 435-444. For a more detailed analysis of the Augustinian triads see Michael Schmaus, Die psychologische Trinitätslehre des heiligen Augustinus (Münster, 1927) pp. 235-281, 310-399 and Sullivan, The Image of God, pp. 115-162. For Bonaventure's interpretation of the image in terms of memoria, intellectus, and voluntas see Itinerarium, 3, 1-6, Quaracchi, 5, 303a-305b; Quaestiones disputatae de mysterio Trinitatis, q. 1, a. 1, 4, Quaracchi, 5, 45b; Soliloquies, 1, 2, Quaracchi, 5, 30 a-b.

32. Super cantica canticorum, P, 4, 28 A. “… dum conditus est ad imaginem et similitudinem Dei, quae consistit in mente, notitia et amore.”

33. For Gerson's occasional use of the triad memoria Dei, intelligentia, and amor see Collectorium super Magnificat, P, 4, 266 D.

34. De nobilitate, P, 3, 210 A. “… quae creatura est ad imaginem et similitudinem beatissimae trinitatis, secundum tres potentias in una essentia, memoriam, intelligentiam et voluntatem. …”

35. Videmus nunc per speculum, G, 7, 1133. Cf. Si terrena dixi vobis, G, 7, 1047.

36. In nomine Patris, G, 7, 676.

37. Anagogicum de verbo et hymno gloriae, P, 4, 546 C-D. Cf. Canticordum du pélerin, G, 7, 136.

38. Cf. Bonaventure, Itinerarium, 3, 5-6, Quaracchi, 5, 305 a-b., Hugh of St. Victor, De sacramentis, 1, 3, 21, MPL, 176, 225 D, and 1, 3, 26-27, MPL, 176, 227 C-230 B, and Richard of St. Victor, De Trinitate, 3, 16, MPL, 196, 925 D-926 A, and 6, 15, MPL, 196, 979 B-980 B.

39. Super cantica canticorum, P, 4, 28 A.

40. Sicut scriptum est, G, 3, 29. “Hic est supremus ternarius hierarchicus: bene velle, scire, et posse; haec Trinitatis supercoelestis imago: potentia, sapientia et bonitas seu voluntas.”

41. Consideranti mihi, G, 5, 145. “… conformiter ad tria appropriata in divinis quae sunt potentia, scientia et bonitas, et tria quae in omni operatione concurrere necesse est, quae sunt posse, scire, velle; juxta tres vires animae irascibilem, rationalem et concupiscibilem.”

42. Omne regnum in se divisum, G, 7, 754. Cf. Anagogicum de verbo et hymno gloriae, P, 4, 546 C-D and Canticordum du pélerin, G, 7, 136.

43. Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, and John Chrysostom distinguished between image and similitude. Augustine, Bernard of Clairvaux, Thomas Aquinas, and Bonaventure all continued in the same tradition. Among those who failed to draw any distinction between image and similitude can be listed Athanasius, Gregory of Nazianzus, Basil, Hippolytus, Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret of Cyrus and Cyril of Alexandria. The identification of both terms was continued in the western tradition by Hilary of Poitiers and Ambrose. In the twelfth century, image and similitude were at times distinguished and at other times considered as synonymous, even by the same author. Such is the case with Peter the Venerable, Abelard, Peter Lombard, and Hugh of St. Victor. For the patristic tradition regarding the distinction between image and similitude see Walter J. Burghardt, The Image of God in Man According to Cyril of Alexandria (Woodstock, 1957), pp. 1-11. On the relationship of image and similitude in twelfth-century thought see Javelet, Image et ressemblance, 1, 213-214. Aquinas' teaching on the distinction between image and similitude can be found in his Summa Theologiae, 1, q. 93, a. 9, Marietti, p. 461. For Bonaventure's position cf. 2 Sent., d. 16, a. 2, q. 3, Quaracchi, 2, 405a-406b.

44. The patristic and medieval tradition on the permanent nature of the image is exemplified by Origen, Cyril of Alexandria, Gregory of Nyssa, Augustine, Hugh of St. Victor, Bernard of Clairvaux, and Bonaventure. Irenaeus and Didymus of Alexandria appear to have maintained that the image was lost through sin. Cf. Burghardt, The Image of God, pp. 153-159. Burghardt rightly stresses the conflicting testimony regarding the permanence of the image even within the same patristic authors. On the medieval tradition see Javelet, Image et ressemblance, 1, 285-297.

45. Pax hominibus bonae voluntatis, G, 7, 767.

46. Collectorium super Magnificat, P, 4, 333 B. “Nec potest aboleri triplex haec potentia, mente ipsa stante. Unde nec in daemonibus lux harum potentiarum, seu virium, seu aptitudo naturalium extinguitur, quin in se lux existat, prout esset sol in luce sua, etiamsi nihil extra se actualiter illustraret.”

47. Dedit illi gloriam regni, G, 5, 182.

48. Anagogicum de verbo et hymno gloriae, P, 4, 546 D.

49. Anagogicum de verbo et hymno gloriae, P, 4, 546 D-547 A.

50. Collectorium super Magnificat, P, 4, 261 B-C. Comparison of the image of God in man to a painting was a commonplace in patristic thought. Gregory of Nyssa in his De opificio hominis, 5, MPG, 44, 137 A compares the creation of man as an image to the action of a painter transferring human forms to a picture by means of appropriate colors. The more skillful the painter is in the utilization of colors, the more perfect an image does his painting become. Dionysius in his De ecclesiastica hierarchia, 4, 3, MPG, 3, 473 C utilizes a similar comparison and asserts that the more undivided the painter's attention to the archetype, the more faithful will be its reproduction in the painting. Cf. Gerhart Ladner, “The Concept of the Image in the Greek Fathers and the Byzantine Iconoclastic Controversy,” Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 7 (1953), pp. 3, 10-13.

51. Videmus nunc per speculum, G, 7, 1137. “… affin qu'en cest trinite reluise purement la Trinité divine.”

52. Videmus nunc per speculum, G, 7, 1126.

53. For a brief resume of the controversy see Connolly, John Gerson, pp. 241-248. The definitive work on this famous controversy is Combes, Essai sur la critique de Ruysbroeck par Gerson, 3 vols. (Paris, 1945-1949).

54. Dedit illi gloriam regni, G, 5, 183. The conception of the soul as a regnum is found primarily in Gerson's early writings, i.e. from the last decade of the fourteenth to the first few years of the fifteenth century.

55. Dedit illi gloriam regni, G, 5, 184. “Regnum in sua generalitate est societas ordinata in imperando et obediendo secundum legem aeternam. …”

56. Dedit illi gloriam regni, G, 5, 184. Cf. Summa Theologiae, 1, 2, q. 90, a. 1; q. 93, a. 1, Marietti, pp. 410-411, 420-421.

57. Dedit illi gloriam regni, G, 5, 184-185.

58. Omne regnum in se divisum, G, 7, 753-754.

59. Dedit illi gloriam regni, G, 5, 185.

60. Omne regnum divisum in se, G, 7, 754. “Et par ce estoit ce royaume en pais et tranquilite sans division; et estoit samblable au souverain royaume de la haulte dignite et de la haulte trinite comment l'example ressamble a son examplaire et l'image a la chose qu'elle represente. Car en ce royaume estoit pouoir, savoir et valoir. Ce que raison savoit, voulente vouloit, et sensualite pouoit et executoit. Ainsi y estoit puissance sans labeur, quant ad ce qui est adproprie au Pere; cognoissance sans erreur, quant ad ce qui est adproprie au Filz; et voulente franche sans langueur quant ad ce qui est approprie au Saint Esperit.”

61. Dedit illi gloriam regni, G, 5, 185. Cf. De Civitate Dei 19:13, CCSL, 48, p. 679.

62. De directione cordis, P, 3, 468 C.

63. Dedit illi gloriam regni, G, 5, 185.

64. Dedit illi gloriam regni, G, 5, 185.

65. Omne regnum divisum in se, G, 7, 753-754. “Tel fut ce royaume en sa premiere institucion en nostre premier pere Adam. Quant raison conseilloit sans erreur, voulente franche creoit et escoutoit et commandoit sans contrester, et sensualite obeissoit sans murmure.”

66. Omne regnum divisum in se, G, 7, 754.

67. Omne regnum divisum in se, G, 7, 754. Cf. Convertimini, G, 7, 575.

68. Poenitemini … Je vouldroie bien savoir, G, 7, 797.

69. Pax hominibus bonae voluntatis, G, 7, 767. “Chascun est fait a l'image de Dieu, ja soi ce qu'aucuns la facent laide et orde par leurs pechies.” Cf. Collectorium super Magnificant, P, 4, 261 C.

70. Obsecro vos, G, 7, 748-749. The idea of man as a peregrinus was one of the most widely used themes in early Christian and medieval thought. For an analysis of this theme in the scriptural, patristic, and medieval traditions see Ladner, “Homo Viator,” pp. 235-257. In addition to its extensive bibliography, Ladner's article also studies themes closely allied to the idea of peregrinus, namely those of alienatio and ordo. For an analysis of the importance of peregrinatio in the late medieval church see Delaruelle, L'Église au temps du Grand Schisme, 2, 796-810. Delaruelle shows that the peregrinus was one of the most characteristic personalities of the late middle ages. The peregrinus, moreover, constituted a special ordo in the church and enjoyed the privilege of wearing a distinctive garb. Special liturgical offices and plays were also built around the notion of man as a pilgrim. Gerson's own Testamentum peregrini, G, 7, 142-143, exemplifies the medieval tradition.

71. Testamentum peregrini, G, 7, 142. Other scriptural sources on the idea of man as a pilgrim include 2 Pet 2:11 and Heb. 11:13.

72. Obsecro vos, G, 7, 749.

73. On the notion of homeland, see the article on conversatio in DSAM, 2, 2206-2212 and TWNT, 6, 525-528, 533-535 under the words πολίτευμα and πολιτεύομαι.

74. Obsecro vos, G, 7, 749-750.

75. Tradidit Jesum Judas, G, 5, 550.

76. A Deo exivit, G, 5, 17.

77. Augustine, Confessions, 2:10, trans. by F. J. Sheed (New York, 1942), p. 31. Latin text in CSEL, 33, p. 43. The notion of the wasteland must also have been familiar to Gerson through the romances of the Arthurian cycle. For the theme of the wasteland in medieval vernacular literature see Ladner, “Homo Viator,” pp. 246-249.

78. Omnia dedit ei Pater, G, 5, 417. Cf. also Canticordum du pélerin, G, 7, 18.

79. Augustine, Confessions, 7:10, CSEL, 33, p. 157.

80. Étienne Gilson, The Mystical Theology of St. Bernard, trans A.H.C. Downes (London, 1955), pp. 224-225, n. 43.

81. For a further study of the term regio dissimilitudinis see A. E. Taylor, “Regio dissimilitudinis,” AHDL, 9 (1934), 305-306; Etienne Gilson, “Regio dissimilitudinis de Platon à saint Bernard de Clairvaux,” MS, 9 (1947), 108-130; F. Chatillon, “Regio Dissimilitudinis,” Mélanges E. Podechard (Lyons, 1945), pp. 85-102; J. C. Didier, “Pour la fiche regio dissimilitudinis,” MSR, 7 (1951), 205-210; Gervais Dumeige, “Dissemblance,” DSAM, 3, 1330-1346. See also the articles of P. Courcelle, “Tradition néo-platonicienne et traditions chrétiennes de la ‘région de dissemblance,’” “Répertoire des textes relatifs à ‘la région de dissemblance’ jusqu' au xiv^e siècle,” AHDL, 32 (1957), 5-23, 24-34, and “Témoins nouveaux de la ‘région de dissemblance,’” BEC, 118 (1960), 20-36. Javelet surveys the use of regio dissimilitudinis in twelfth-century authors in his Image et ressemblance, 1, 266-285 and 2, 239-243.

82. For an analysis of the biblical sources of the patristic and medieval doctrines on the terms curva and recta see Arimaspus, “Pour la fiche anima curva,” RMAL, 1 (1945), 177-178, 421-422. See also Pierre Michaud-Quantin, “Pour la fiche anima curva,” RMAL, 5, (1949), 135-136.

83. Poenitemini … Repentez vous, G, 7, 883-884.

84. A Deo exivit, G, 5, 15.

85. Pss 43:25; 118:25; 68:2.

86. A Deo exivit, G, 5, 15.

87. Convertimini ad me, G, 7, 574-575.

88. Throughout Scripture conversion and repentance were intimately related. The Hebraic root šûb generally described conversion in the sense of “going back again,” or “returning.” Conversion, consequently, involved a radical reorientation of one's whole personality towards God. Penance was naturally implied in conversion but was designated by no special term in Hebrew. In the Septuagint the Hebraic šûb was always rendered by ἀποsτρέpω or ἐπιsτρέpω. The idea of regret was generally expressed by μετανοέω but since that word denoted a change of mind or feeling, it also came to convey the idea of religious and ethical conversion. In the Jewish Hellenistic tradition μετανοέω was commonly used for and preferred to ἐπιsτρέpω and this use continued into the New Testament. The Vulgate translated μετανοέω as poenitentia, a term which emphasized more sorrow and regret than radical reorientation toward God. This tendency is visible in Gerson's understanding of poenitentia. Cf. G. Bertram, “ἐπιsτρέpω,” TWNT, 7, 722-729, J. Behm and E. Würthwein,” μετανοέω,” TWNT, 4, 972-1004, and J. Giblet, “Pénitence,” DB, 7, 627-687.

89. Contra curiositatem studentium, G, 3, 228.

90. Although individual flagellation was practiced in the early and medieval church, especially within monastic circles, organized processions of flagellants did not appear until the thirteenth century. The first manifestation of such processions was in Perugia in 1260 when the city was suffering under the miseries of war and plague and became caught up in the eschatological expectations occasioned by the writings of Joachim of Flora. The movement spread throughout Italy and northern Europe but declined rapidly when it received considerable opposition from ecclesiastical and civil officials. In the middle of the fourteenth century it gained new vigor with the ravages of the Black Death. At this period, however, the movement became strongly anticlerical and in 1349 incurred the condemnation of Clement VI. At the Council of Constance, Gerson attacked the Flagellants in his Contra sectum se flagellantium and criticized St. Vincent Ferrer for not sufficiently opposing their activities. The council, however, did not see fit to add any further condemnations beyond that of Clement VI. The sect of the Flagellants should not be confused with the penitential fraternities known as disciplinati, who remained orthodox and operated under ecclesiastical supervision and approval. Cf. Paul Bailly, “Flagellants,” DSAM, 5, 392-408, and Émile Bertaud, “Discipline,” DSAM, 3, 1302-1311.

91. Contra sectam se flagellantium, P, 2, 660 C-D.

92. Convertimini ad me, G, 7, 583-584.

93. Contra curiositatem studentium, G, 3, 237. “Poenitentia … per sacramenta renovatur.”

94. Contra curiositatem studentium, G, 3, 225. “Est itaque rationalis homo post peccatum velut servus nequam, reus criminis laesae majestatis projectus in exilium hujus vallis miseriae, detrusus quoque in carcerem tenebrosum carnis corruptae faetulentiae; ubi in tenebris sedens lumen caeli non videt, nisi reconcilietur prius per poenitentiam, quam esse recte dicimus ostiariam liberantem nos a vinculis peccatorum. …”

95. Pour ce que toute humaine creature, G, 7, 317.

96. Poenitemini … Repentez vous car penitence donne, G, 7, 948. “Donnez doncques, sire, paix par vostre intercession; donnez paix en nostre temps moyennant bonne penitence vraie et entiere, car c'est celle qui appaise Dieu, qui rent foy, esperance, charite et touz les biens lesquelz peche nous oste et emble; c'est elle qui l'ame morte par peche vivifie et ressuscite par naissance gracieuse pour avoir finablement la glorieuse, quam nobis concedat ille qui est benedictus in saecula saeculorum.”

97. Poenitemini … Repentez vous car penitence donne, G, 7, 937. “En ceste nativite gracieuse sont donnez et infuseez toutez vertuz, en especial les trois theologiquez, foy, esperance et charite pour garder l'ame. … Pour tant dit Nostre Seigneur les paroles proposeez: poenitemini, repentez vous, car penitence donne gracieuse naissance.”

98. Tota pulchra es, G, 7, 1069. “O ame devote créée de Dieu a son ymaige et de son precieux sang amoureusement rachetee, considere et te remambre que jadiz puisque tu estoyes layde et diffiguree par pechié originel il pleust a ton Dieu toy regenerer, abelir et purifier par le sacrement de baptesme et comme nouvellement te concevoir par grace en tant que lors quant il te veist telle il te daingna appeller sa mie et toute belle te nomma. …”

99. Jacob autem genuit Joseph, G, 5, 362. “Nos denique singuli Deo renascamur felici nativitate, hic per gratiam et in futuro per gloriam quae est natale sanctorum. …”

100. Anagogicum de verbo et hymno gloriae, P, 4, 546 D-547 A. “Verbum gloriae secundum mysteriam fidei nostrae tradit hominem reformatum esse in Baptismo per gratiam, infusionemque virtutum habitualium, et est haec reformatio veluti quaedam superinductio colorem deiformium ad lineamenta naturalis imaginis, et similitudinis.”

101. Emitte spiritum tuum, G, 5, 257-258. “Reformetur dehinc anima ad imaginem et similitudinem benedictissimae Trinitatis. …”

102. La mendicité spirituelle, G, 7, 276-277.

103. La mendicité spirituelle, G, 7, 279-280.

104. La mendicité spirituelle, G, 7, 268. Cf. Emitte spiritum tuum, G, 5, 257 and Ps 102:5.

105. Collectorium super Magnificat, P, 4, 334 B. “Ratio est, quia imago suae mentis ad sui reformata est honorem principii, secundum memoriam, intelligentiam et voluntatem.”

106. Videmus nunc per speculum, G, 7, 1137.

107. Collectorium super Magnificat, P, 4, 342 B-D.

108. André Combes maintains that in this year Gerson underwent a personal conversion as to the nature of mystical experience. Mystical theology for him consequently was no longer primarily an act of love or the operation of man's affective faculty of synderesis but more a complete cessation of all human activity in the presence of the divine initiative which comes through grace and unites the soul to God. Cf. La théologie mystique, 2, 465-568.

109. De theologia mystica, G, 3, 282-284. For variant definitions of mystical theology which, nevertheless, all center upon love as the determining characteristic of mystical union see De theologia mystica, G, 3, 274.

110. De theologia mystica, G, 3, 288-289.

111. Combes, La théologie mystique, 2, 221, 224-227.

Abbreviations

AHDL Archives d'Histoire Doctrinale et Littéraire du Moyen Âge.

BEC Bibliothèque de l'École des Chartes.

CCSL Corpus Christianorum. Series Latina.

CSEL Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum.

DSAM Dictionnaire de Spiritualité Ascetique et Mystique.

EJ Eranos Jahrbuch.

MPG Migne, Patrologia Graeca.

MPL Migne, Patrologia Latina.

MSR Mélanges de Science Religieuse.

RMAL Revue du Moyen Âge Latin.

TWNT Theologisches Wörterbuch zum Neuen Testament.

TZ Theologische Zeitschrift.