The Works of St. Anselm

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Gutenberg ID

—

Title

The Works of St. Anselm

Language

en

Book source

Global Grey

Description max 80 words

This collection presents St. Anselm's pivotal theological and philosophical works, including his famous ontological argument for God's existence and his treatise on the Incarnation. Translated by Sidney Norton Deane, the volume offers accessible early-20th-century scholarship exploring the alliance between faith and reason, divine perfection, and the necessity of atonement.

Summary up to 500 words

Compiled by Sidney Norton Deane, this volume assembles the most significant philosophical and theological writings of St. Anselm, a scholastic doctor who championed the harmonious alliance between faith and reason. Anselm's central premise is that faith precedes understanding; believers strive to comprehend divine truths because they already believe, whereas unbelievers cannot truly understand what they do not accept. The collection opens with the *Monologium* and the *Proslogium*, works dedicated to proving God's existence. In the *Proslogium*, Anselm presents his famous ontological argument, deriving God's existence from the concept of the 'most real being' (*ens realissimum*). He posits that a perfect being must necessarily exist, as existence is a perfection. This argument faced criticism from Gaunilo, who distinguished between the realm of thought and actual being, a distinction that anticipates later philosophical debates. The text further explores the Trinity, explaining how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit exist equally in one another without plurality. Anselm describes the Father as memory, the Son as intelligence, and the Spirit as love, yet asserts that none of these persons needs the others to function, as each possesses the fullness of the divine essence. A major portion of the volume is dedicated to *Cur Deus Homo* (Why God Became Man), a dialogue between Anselm and Boso. Here, Anselm argues that human sin created an infinite debt to God's honor that humanity could not repay. Consequently, God became man in the person of Christ to offer a satisfaction greater than the debt, reconciling humanity to God. Anselm clarifies that while the Son freely offered himself, he did not owe this sacrifice as a debt but acted out of love. The work concludes by asserting that the redemption of mankind is both just and necessary, fulfilling divine justice and compassion. However, Anselm notes that the reconciliation of fallen angels is impossible due to their unique nature and the lack of a specific redeemer for their specific race. Ultimately, the volume demonstrates that while the mysteries of the Trinity and the nature of God transcend full human comprehension, assured belief in these truths is rational and necessary for the Christian life.

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4.2/5

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Categories

• Religion
• Philosophy