Hugh of Saint Victor
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Hugh of Saint Victor (1096 – 1141) was born in France, or probably in Saxony. His early life is rather obscure and not much is known for certain of his origins. What is known is that he was appointed a canon of the Victorine canons around the turn of the twelfth century. Hugh quickly made a name for himself there for being a very well read and educated person. He is named after the Abbey of Saint Victor in Paris.
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[edit] Philosophy and theology
Hugh of Saint Victor held the belief that philosophy was divided into four parts: theoretical, practical, mechanical and logical. This differed from the predominant view of St. Augustine, a major influence for Hugh, who argued before Hugh that there were three schools of philosophy. Philosophy and reason, Hugh believed, were useful tools to understanding the divine, and Hugh used reason to argue on behalf of and to defend faith.
In The Didascalicon, Hugh outlines three types of philosophy. The first three philosophies, Hugh said, help us mortals become better beings, through truth, which comes from theoretical philosophy, virtue, which comes from practical philosophy, and from physical relief, which comes from mechanical philosophy. The final philosophy, logic, exists to ensure clear and proper conclusions in the first three.
Hugh’s early book, The Didascalicon, was an elementary, encyclopedic approach to God and Christ. He purposefully avoided any controversial subject and stuck with the core stuff of Catholicism. Hugh had a fascination with mysticism and believed heavily in the spiritual, mysterious side of God, despite his belief of philosophy being a useful tool in understanding the divine.
He also took a great interest in Genesis. Hugh believed divine Wisdom was the archetypal form of creation. He was heavily influenced by Augustinian exegesis of Genesis. Hugh was very interested in Genesis. Hugh believed the world was created in six days, and this was a mystery for man to contemplate, perhaps even a sacrament. God pushing order on the chaos to form the world was, to Hugh, a message to mortals telling them they need to rise up from their own chaos of initial unlearned ignorance and become a creature of intellect and beauty. Hugh also found other aspects of Genesis interesting for their moral lessons rather than their literal interpretation of events.
Hugh was quite a mystic. On the sacraments, Hugh believed that these, along with Jesus, were divine gifts that God gave man to redeem himself. Hugh believed that God had other options he could have used to save mankind. Hugh also separated everything along the lines of opis creationis and opis restaurationis. Opis Creationis was the works of the creation, referring to the works of man, while opis restraurationis was that which dealt with the reasons for God sending Jesus and the consequences of that. Hugh believed that God did not have to send Jesus and that He had other options open to Him. Why he chose to send Jesus is a mystery we are to meditate on and is to be learned through revelation, with the aid of philosophy to facilitate understanding.
[edit] Influences and legacy
Hugh was influenced by many people. Chief among his influences is Saint Augustine. Augustine and Hugh both submitted that some of the arts and philosophies can be used to help understand God, but beyond that the two begin to differ. Hugh’s legacy is rather impressive. He is quoted in many other publications after his death, and Bonadventure praises him in De reductione atrium ad theologiam. Hugh also taught his ideas of mysticism to the influential Andrew and Richard of Saint Victor. He was also a founding member of the Victorine movement. One of Hugh’s ideals that did not transmit into the Victorine movement, however, was his embrace of science and philosophy as tools to God.
[edit] Works
Hugh’s works have survived in hundreds of libraries all across Europe. The very survival of these works—and their commonness—show how influential Hugh’s writing was. Hugh wrote several influential works from the 1120’s on. Among these are his masterwork On the Sacraments of the Christian Faith and The Didascalicon of Hugh of St. Victor. The work Sacraments of the Christian Faith is Hugh’s most celebrated masterpiece and presents the bulk of Hugh’s thoughts on theological and mystical ideas, ranging from God and angels to natural laws.2 The Didascalicon of Hugh St. Victor is written as an introductory guide to Christianity, reflecting Hugh’s desire to be an elementary teacher of Christianity. The Didascalicon reflects a very philosophical side of Hugh, in which he reflects on what basic bits and pieces a learning Christian should focus on. (Didascalicon), De arca Noe morali (On the Moral Interpretation of the Ark of Noah), De arca Noe mystica (On the Mystic Interpretation of the Ark of Noah) reflect Hugh’s fascination with both mysticism and his interest in Genesis.
[edit] Further reading
- "In the Liberal Tradition: Hugh of St. Victor (1096 – 1141)". Religion and Liberty, 2:1 (Jan.–Feb., 1992). Published by the Acton Institute.
- Evans, G. R. Fifty Key Medieval Thinkers. London: Routledge, 2002.
- Ivan Illich. In the Vineyard of the Text: A Commentary to Hugh's Didascalion (University of Chicago Press, 1993)
- "Hugh of St. Victor." New Advent. <http://www.newadvent.org>.
- Taylor, Jerome, trans. The Didascalicon of Hugh of St. Victor. New York and London: Columbia UP, 1961. 1-39.
- R. Moore. Jews and Christians in the Life and Thought of St. Victor (USF, 1998)
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
