Bonaventure On the Necessity of Being

Excerpted from Itinerarium

Introduction by Wendy Boring

Excerpt

Volens igitur contemplari Dei invisibilia quoad essentiae unitatem primo defigat aspectum in ipsum esse et videat, ipsum esse adeo in se certissimum, quod non potest cogitari non esse, quia ipsum esse purissimum non occurrit nisi in plena fuga non-esse, sicut et nihil in plena fuga esse. 5.3. If you wish then to contemplate the invisible traits of God in so far as they belong to the unity of His essence, fix your gaze upon Being itself, and see that Being is most certain in itself; for it cannot be thought not to be, since the purest Being occurs only in full flight from Non-Being, just as nothingness is in full flight from Being. EI

EII

GI
Sicut igitur omnino nihil habet de esse nec de eius conditionibus; sic econtra ipsum esse nihil habet de non-esse, nec actu nec potentia, nec secundum veritatem rei, nec secundum aestimationem nostram. Therefore, just as the utterly nothing contains nought of Being nor of its conditions, so contrariwise Being itself contains no Non-Being, neither in actuality nor in potency, neither in matters of fact nor in our thinking. GII

GIII
Cum autem non-esse privatio sit essendi, non cadit in intellectum nisi per esse; esse autem non cadit per aliud, quia omne, quod intelligitur, aut intelligitur ut non ens, aut ut ens in potentia, aut ut ens in actu. Since, however, Non-Being is the privation of Being, it cannot enter the intellect except through Being; Being, however, cannot enter through anything other than itself. For everything which is thought of is either thought of as Non-Being or as Being-in-potency or as Being-in-actuality.  
Si igitur non-ens non potest intelligi nisi per ens, et ens in potentia non nisi per ens in actu; et esse nominat ipsum purum actum entis: esse igitur est quod primo cadit in intellectu, et illud esse est quod est actus purus. Sed hoc non est esse particulare, quod est esse analogum, quia minime habet de actu, eo quod minime est. Restat igitur, quod illud esse est esse divinum. If, therefore, Non-Being is intelligible only through Being, and if Being-in-potency can be understood only through Being-in-actuality, and if Being is the name of that pure actuality of Being, Being then is what first enters the intellect, and that Being is pure actuality. But this is not particular Being, which is restricted Being, since that is mixed with potentiality. Nor is this analogous Being, for such has a minimum of actuality since it has only a minimum of being. It remains, therefore, that that Being is divine Being.  
Unde verissime apparet, quod "sicut oculus vespertilionis se habet ad lucem, ita se habet oculus mentis nostrae ad manifestissima naturae" [Aristot., Metaph]; quia assuefactus ad tenebras entium et phantasmata sensibilium, cum ipsam lucem summi esse intuetur, videtur sibi nihil videre; non intelligens, quod ipsa caligo summa est mentis nostrae illuminatio [Ps., 138, 11], sicut, quando videt oculus puram lucem, videtur sibi nihil videre.

Wherefore it seems very true that "just as the bat's eye behaves in the light, so the eye of the mind behaves before the most obvious things of nature" [Aristot., Metaph]. Because accustomed to the shadows of beings and the phantasms of the sensible world, when it looks upon the light of the highest Being, it seems to see nothing, not understanding that darkness itself is the fullest illumination of the mind [Ps., 138, 11], just as when the eye sees pure light it seems to itself to be seeing nothing.  

Etymology Exercise I

Fill in the missing word in the sentences below, using these English words related to Latin words in the text.

1. Sarah made some very cogent arguments against attending kindergarten, but her parents made her go anyway, of course.
2. Joe was never much for astrology; it seemed silly the stars' aspect could tell the future.
3. The plane crash occurred because of the tornado.
4. Summer is a fugacious time when you're young, as Grandpa always reminded us. It goes by so fast! 5. Standing on the mountain, the yogi contemplated the vista surrounded by silence.

Etymology Exercise II

Use a pair of words related to potentia and actu to complete the sentences below.

1. The chemical was potent enough to activate the mutation in the cells.
2. The potentate was incensed by the actions of the rebels.
3. The hiker thought the water was potable when it was actually quite disease-ridden.
4. When he did not act like a two-year-old, young George lived up to his potential to behave himself.

Grammar I: Word Choice in Translation

Complete the following translation of the above passage, supplying the most logical translation of the italicized verbs.

Wherefore it seems very true, that "just as the bat's eye (se habet) behaves in the light, so the eye of the mind (se habet) behaves before the most obvious things of nature"; because accustomed to the shadows of beings and the phantasms of the sensible world, when it looks upon the light of the highest Being, (videtur) it seems (videre) to see nothing, not understanding that darkness itself is the fullest illumination of the mind, just as when the eye (videt) sees pure light (videtur) seems to itself (videre) to see nothing.

Grammar II: the verb esse

Translate the forms of esse in italics, using the key above as a guide.

Since, however, (non esse) non-being is the privation (essendi) of being, it cannot enter the intellect except through (esse) being; (esse) being, however cannot enter through anything other than itself. For everything which is thought of is either thought of as (non ens) non-being, or as (ens) being-in-potency or as (ens) being-in-actuality.

Grammar III: figures of speech

Below are the definitions of some literary figures of speech. Which one appears in the sentence above? Name it and indicate which word or words signify the figure you have chosen.

Figure of speech: anaphora
Signifying word or words: nec...nec...nec...nec