Chapter Five: The A.R.C. Triangle – Affinity, Reality, Communion

Chapter Five: The A.R.C. Triangle – Affinity, Reality, Communion

As I have discerned the golden mean in the proportions of the body, wherein affinity bindeth parts in reality through harmonious communion, so too in the soul doth this triad reflect the Trinity. St. Augustine (†430) in De Trinitate (IX-X) seeth in love (affinity), knowledge (reality), and will (communion) the image of Father, Son, Holy Ghost.

• Affinity (Love): The soul’s attraction to the good, as “God is love” (1 John 4:8, Greek: Ὁ Θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν – “God is love”). Without affinity, thought is cold and barren. St Basil (†379) teacheth that love uniteth the divided.
• Reality (Truth): The conformity of mind to being, as “The truth shall make you free” (John 8:32, Greek: ἡ ἀλήθεια ἐλευθερώσει ὑμᾶς – “The truth shall make you free”). The Council of Chalcedon (451) affirmed Christ’s true nature against illusion.
• Communion (Fellowship): The sharing of truth in love, as “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us” (1 John 1:3, Greek: ἵνα καὶ ὑμεῖς κοινωνίαν ἔχητε μεθ’ ἡμῶν – “That ye also may have fellowship with us”).

St Gregory the Great (†604) warneth that if one angle faltereth, the whole triangle collapseth. Increase affinity, and reality sharpeneth; heighten communion, and love groweth. This triad is the engine of sanctity: he who mastereth it ascendeth to God.

Chapter Six: The Reason Why – The Purpose of Thought

The “why” of thought is the soul’s quest for its Origin and End: God. St Anselm (†1109) in Proslogion seeketh “fides quaerens intellectum” – faith seeking understanding. The mind thinketh to know God, for “In his temple doth every one speak of his glory” (Psalm 29:9, Greek: Ἐν τῷ ναῷ αὐτοῦ πᾶς λέγει δόξαν – “In his temple doth every one speak glory”).

Thought’s purpose is twofold: to order creation under divine law, and to prepare for beatitude. St John Damascene (†749) teacheth that reason distinguishth good from evil, leading to virtue. Without purpose, thought becometh vain, as “The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord” (Proverbs 15:26, Greek: Βδέλυγμα Κυρίῳ λογισμοὶ κακῶν – “The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord”).

The ultimate “why” is love: “We love him, because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19, Greek: ἡμεῖς ἀγαπῶμεν αὐτόν, ὅτι αὐτὸς πρῶτος ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς – “We love him, because he first loved us”). Thought without this end is but noise, a clanging cymbal (1 Corinthians 13:1).

Chapter Seven: The Parts of Man – Body, Soul, and Spirit

Man is a composite of body and soul, as the Council of Vienne (1311-1312, but drawing from earlier, like Constantinople II 553) affirmeth against errors. St Irenaeus (†202) teacheth three parts: body (sarx), soul (psyche), spirit (pneuma).

• Body: The earthly vessel, good in creation but corrupted by sin (Genesis 3:19). St Ambrose (†397) calleth it the temple that must be kept holy.
• Soul: The vital principle, immortal and rational (St Augustine, De Immortalitate Animae). It thinketh, willeth, remembereth.
• Spirit: The highest part, open to grace, as “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41, Greek: Τὸ μὲν πνεῦμα πρόθυμον, ἡ δὲ σὰρξ ἀσθενής – “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak”).

St Gregory of Nyssa (†394) teacheth that these three must be in harmony, the spirit ruling the soul, the soul the body, as in the Trinity. Sin disrupteth this order; grace restoreth it.

Chapter Eight: The Causation of Knowledge – From God to Creatures

Knowledge hath its cause in God, the First Cause, who “teacheth man knowledge” (Psalm 94:10, Greek: ὁ παιδεύων ἄνθρωπον γνῶσιν – “He that teacheth man knowledge”). St Augustine (†430) in De Magistro affirmeth that all true knowledge is illumined by the interior Master, Christ.

The causation is hierarchical:

• God as Prime Cause: “In him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28, Greek: ἐν αὐτῷ γὰρ ζῶμεν καὶ κινούμεθα καὶ ἐσμέν – “For in him we live, and move, and have our being”).
• Angelic Intelligences: As messengers, they enlighten minds (St Dionysius the Areopagite, Celestial Hierarchy).
• Human Reason: Secondary cause, perfected by grace (Council of Orange, 529: grace aideth nature).
• Senses and Experience: The raw matter, as “Nothing is in the intellect that was not first in the senses” (St Thomas, per Aristotelem).

St Basil (†379) warneth: knowledge without virtue puffeth up (1 Corinthians 8:1). True causation leadeth to contemplation of God, the Uncaused Cause.

Say “next” for Part 4 (Chapters Nine to Twelve).