Le breviloquium: Brève somme de la doctrine chrétienne

by Bonaventure

Ce célèbre condensé de la théologie de saint Bonaventure, considéré par beaucoup d'auteurs, dont Jean Gerson, le P. de Lubac et bien d'autres, comme un chef-d'Å“uvre de synthèse, est ici publié en un seul volume, comportant le texte latin original et sa traduction française. Il est ainsi mis à la portée des chercheurs comme des simples lecteurs intéressés par la pensée du Docteur séraphique qui du XIIIe siècle à nos jours n'a pas cessé d'être lu et estimé.Préface de Emmanuel Falque. Traduction et notes : Guy Bougerol et Luc Mathieu Saint Bonaventure est de plus en plus redécouvert et étudié dans les facultés de philosophie. Cette Å“uvre complète était attendue, comme en témoigne Emmanuel Falque, doyen de la faculté de philosophie de l'Institut Catholique de Paris.

Genres: Theology, Philosophy, Medieval, Spirituality, Religion, History

538 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Bonaventure (b. 1221 as John of Fidanza) was an Italian medieval scholastic theologian and philosopher, the eighth Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor. He was a Cardinal Bishop of Albano. He was canonized on 14 April 1482 by Pope Sixtus IV and declared a Doctor of the Church in the year 1588 by Pope Sixtus V. He is known as the "Seraphic Doctor" (Latin: "Doctor Seraphicus"). Many writings believed in the Middle Ages to be his are now collected under the name Pseudo-Bonaventura.

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bonaventure wrote the Breviloquium in 1257, the same year that he was elected Minister General of the rather tumultuous Franciscan order. In that light, it's maybe most helpful to see this work as a sort of textbook, designed for young friars who were entering the order (and the university) without a large background of theological training. It's a surprisingly readable introduction to medieval theology, and it's based upon a deductive method of inquiry (Bonaventure starts with assumptions of the faith and derives conclusions from there) rather than the more traditionally scholastic method of induction.

Bonaventure's theology, broadly speaking, it structured around an 'exitus redditus' formula, which is Latin way of saying that his theology is conceptualized around the idea of Creation processing outwards from God and - even after the introduction of original sin - Creation then striving back towards God. His seven sections focus on God (particularly God as Trinity), Creation, Original Sin, Christ, Grace, and the Last Judgment. He's a lot like Anselm in much of his thought, with a healthy dose of Peter Lombard tossed in.

Along with Aquinas, Bonaventure is one of the Big Medieval Theologians and is certainly worth a read. I think on the whole I like his The Journey of the Mind to God a bit better, though.

[Florent · Rating 5 out of 5]

St. Bonaventure is one of the great Doctors of the Catholic Church. This catechism is shorter and easier to read than modern catechisms.
The theology of creation is presented as a core doctrine.
St. Bonaventure is underrated since he is more a theologian than a philosopher. This is the baseline of a more liberal line of Catholicism.

[Caius Hallett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rather systematic and concise summary of Medieval theology from the greatest General of the order of Friars minor

[Chris Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the middle 2/3 for class. Not a bad read for something I was forced to read.