Encyclopedia of sacred theology - pagina 593

Chap.

THE NATURE OF

Ill]

ITS PRINCIPIUM

56^)

had been observed, the statement, for mstance, '-Man shall %ij^ i ^ not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God," would never have been misused, to represent the spiritual needs as more important than the material needs.

The thoughtless

citation of this has

been such classic utterances are indeed authoritative, and when wrongly interpreted confuse and mislead. In the second place, follows the task of assimilating the very misleading; and this

is

the

ectypal theology offered us in the

now

speak

more

serious, since

Scripture.

of the action of the spiritual

We

factors

do not required

for this, but limit ourselves exclusively to the task of taking

up into our human consciousness the content found. This content to be assimilated comes to us in language both symbolical

and mystical, which reveals and again

conceals.

Hence,

the purpose must be to analyze this content, to transpose the parts discovered into conceptions, and to reconstruct these

conceptions thus found into a synthesis adapted to our thinkThis is the more exceedingly difficult because an analy-

ing.

made too hastily so readily destroys the mystical element, and thus leads to rationalism, while, on the other hand, the synthesis must be able to enter into our thinking. To this the fact is added that in this work no one is able to separate himself from his personal limitation and from his limited persis

sonality.

This assimilation

is,

therefore, possible for individu-

only in so far as the limits of their spiritual and mental action extends, and still it should ever be our effort to assimials

such a way as to promote this assimilation-process in Otherwise there might, indeed, be a spiritual upbuilding of self, but no scientific study. If there is to be late in

others.

scientific study,

objectify

the

one must be able, by giving an account, to one has himself experi-

assimilation-process

This task demands intense application of thought, it is not enough that we take up in ourselves the loose elements of the revelation, but we must take those eleenced.

because

ments

as constitutive parts of one organic whole,

our thoughts,

also,

order them in one system.

and thus in This would

require great energy of thought in a consciousness otherwise

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