Month: August 2020

Passion in the form of love is given a stark negative connotation in both Philokalia and Arcadia because it has the ability to lead a human being away from solid reasoning and all that is considered Divine. In Philokalia, St. Gregory of Sinai agrees with Theologians who claim the body created in the image of God originated as incorruptible containing a passionless soul. He then continues to compare passions to devouring demons which entice the body to become, “unreasoning and senseless, subject to anger and lust” (Kadloubovsky, 52). Specifically, the tendency of voluptuous passion in a sexually charged relationship is said to be, “the chief cause of lustful burnings, confusion of thoughts and darkening of the soul” (Kadloubovsky, 50). Thus, no saint can know passion; because no saint surrenders to passions without forfeiting a saint’s character. * In addition. St. Gregory asserts that “self-love” is the worst passion of the excitable part (Kadloubovsky, 51). This claim is in slight disagreement when love is brought up by Musidorus in Arcadia who claims loving another is, the “basest and fruitlessness of all passions” (Sidney, 133). 

While there is disagreement between the two works of literature on which type of love is worse, both works of literature are claiming that love is not something one should give into due to all the negative consequences that come along and ultimately eternal damnation. In Arcadia, the evil passion of loving an individual presents itself in multiple scenes. One example where love is explicitly cited as an evil passion is when Musidorus reprimands Pyrcoles in the arbor. Musidorus searched everywhere he could think of for his dear friend Pyrcoles, only to find him disguised as an Amazon woman in efforts to be near the princess of Arcadia, Philoclea, who he loved deeply. Musidorus tells his friend that this “Bastard love” is “engendered betwixt lust and idleness,” which are two evil passions themselves (Sidney, 133). Later it becomes clear that the passion Pyrcoles holds for Philoclea contains sensual pleasure rooted in voluptuous passion as well. This is seen when Pyrcoles reveals his true identity and stopping at a kiss with Philoclea is described as a “great war” (Sidney, 357). Nevertheless, one who disagrees with love being written about in a negative sense might claim that love is all that is good and give the example of loving God. However, this love of the incorporeal God cannot compare to loving oneself or another human composed of flesh. This is because loving God does not include inescapable passions that arise when loving the human body such as lust, jealousy, and anger that cause one to stray away from God. Hence, loving God should be its own separate category. **

*Conduplicatio (of the word saint); Farnsworth Book

** Refutation; May Book

Certain evils are considered good because they have the ability to bring an individual closer to God and thus, eternal life. In Medieval Philosophy: A Multicultural Reader, St. Basil of Caesarea makes it explicitly clear that there are two types of evil: one that is created by humanity and the other by a well-meaning God. The latter is considered that which is “toilsome and painful to our sense perception: bodily illness, and blows to the body, and lack of necessities and disgrace, and financial setbacks, and loss of property” (Foltz, 129). St. Basil asserts that God has the capacity to enact punishments in the form of sickness and poverty in order to ensure salvation at the completion of one’s lifetime. Consider a man facing blindness, and weakness, and famine, and shame, and poverty. * This very man does not have the same sight, energy, or financial funds to commit sin when compared to a wealthy noble man in good health. Therefore, the evils that torment his everyday life on Earth have the ability to provide him with eternal life in heaven. This idea of evil breeding a sinless and godly individual comes into play in The Wife of Bath’s Tale in Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. In this tale, a knight overcome by lust rapes a woman and is commended to die by King Arthur only to be saved by the ladies of the court who propose a challenge. They claim that the knight will be pardoned if he returns and can answer what women desire the most (Chaucer, 904-905). 

As it so happens, the knight who committed a great sin meets an old woman wise beyond her years who kindly offers her aid on the condition that he completes any favor she asks of him after he lives. The old woman’s answer (sovereignty over a husband) saves the knight’s life and then, she proposes marriage to which the knight begrudgingly agrees (Chaucer 1038-1057). Soon after, this god-fearing woman who saves a life is cast down as less than her husband in social status and class. However, she rebuttals by gently saying, “poverte ful ofte, whan man is lowe, makes him know his God and also himself” (Chaucer 1201-1202). There was nothing prideful, nothing sinful, nothing of injustice inside the woman’s heart, arguably in part because she faced financial setbacks. ** Thus, the concept of evils such as living in poverty being advantageous is included in both The Canterbury Tales and Medieval Philosophy. The old woman who proclaims the way of God is one of great piety who embraces her age in a mild and gracious manner.***

* Polysyndeton, Farnsworth Book

** Anaphora, Farnsworth Book

** Ethos on the old woman, May Book 

Aristotle created the concept of the First Mover who itself cannot be moved in Metaphysics; Book XII included in Medieval Philosophy: A Multicultural Reader. Aristotle begins by saying that if there is always something moving without end in a circular motion, then there needs to be something that moves them (31-32). This makes logical sense to me. He further explains that the First Mover is the source of the rotational movement of the planets. Aristotle also asserts his belief in a First Mover by claiming that a mover which has the ability to move without being moved itself by definition is always eternal and good. Thus, it is implied that the First Mover is a god who is in a better state of being because the god possesses constant intelligence (32). I definitely had to reread this part, as I would get lost mid way through the sentence. The Canterbury Tales written by Geoffrey Chaucer, incorporates this concept in “The Knight’s Tale” when Theseus, lord of Athens, explicitly refers to the First Mover in an effort to console Palamon and Emelye who are mourning the death of Arcite many years later (Chaucer, 2987). Theseus explains that there is a noble plan set in place by the First Mover where all things must die, utilizing the life cycle of an oak, and assures the sorrow-filled hearts that each creature dies at the right time (Chaucer, 2994-3017). Theseus likewise describes the First Mover as “stable and eternal” (Chaucer, 3004). Then, Jupiter, king of the gods, is defined as the First Mover (Chaucer, 3035). Therefore, Chaucer expands the idea of the First Mover from the origin of planetary motion to a well-respected and feared deity. This is the direction that I would except after reading about Aristotle’s conceptual First Mover, for an eternal figure with capabilities not possessed by a human beings leads most to think of a god-like figure. Except, it seems that Roman gods like Jupiter and Juno have their flaws and are not always good.

Question #1: Chaucer writes that the month of May wakes up Emelye before the day starts to enjoy its beauty. Also, Arcite feels the need to observe May while in the grove. How strong do you believe is nature’s hold on our actions?

Question #2: Should the Son of God dying by the hands of men be considered a success story?

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