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Into God
Itinerarium Mentis in Deum of Saint Bonaventure
Imprint: Catholic University of America Press
An annotated translation of Bonaventure’s Itinerarium mentis in Deum presenting both the Latin text side-by-side with a new English translation which attempts to avoid the use of Latin cognates while remaining critically faithful to Bonaventure’s text. Using endnotes to open the text, Regis Armstrong opens each chapter from the perspective of historical theology referring the reader to authors prior to Bonaventure, e.g. Augustine, the Victorines, Philip the Chancellor, Avicenna, as well as first-and-second-generation Franciscan authors. While maintaining Bonaventure’s architectonic approach, Armstrong studies each chapter as Bonaventure does by focusing on its unique character, e.g. by means of cosmology, epistemology, biblical theology, mystical theology. In a same way, the translator attempts to explain his translation of certain cognates into Anglo-Saxon English by citing contemporary linguistic tools, e.g., Brepolis Latin Texts.
Regis J. Armstrong, OFM. Cap., is Emeritus Professor at The Catholic University of America.
"This is the work of a mature scholar who is arguably the most eminent contemporary scholar of matters Franciscan in the English speaking world...will be an essential reference point for the explication of this text."
~Lawrence S. Cunningham, University of Notre Dame
"At a time when many are striving to find hope in the midst of uncertainty, Fr. Regis Armstrong’s brilliant translation of Into God allows us to share in St. Bonaventure’s closeness to the Lord. I recommend this book to scholars and all who seek the confidence and consolation of the Lord’s promise to be with us always."
~Cardinal Sean O'Malley, OFM, Cap., Archbishop of Boston
"Established on the author’s lifetime study of patristic and Franciscan sources, Regis Armstrong’s Into God capitalizes on his erudition, his skill in contemporary translation equivalency, and his heartfelt penetration of one of the world’s greatest spiritual classics. Into God, through close textual and word analysis and commentary with extensive references, opens up the vista of Bonaventure’s inheritance in Augustine, Pseudo-Dionysius, Gregory the Great, monastic theology, the Victorines, and Alexander of Hales. This pathway breaks from the dominance of the philosophical straightjacket that had confined the Itinerarium to subsidiary patterns of thought and reveals the Franciscan master in the breadth and depth of his learning as he adopted his biblical and theological inheritance to the search for meaning in the religious and lay followers of St. Francis of Assisi. Anyone who desires to integrate a deep spirituality with the best of the Christian tradition in scripture, theology, and philosophy can do no better than to start with this accessible, classic, and seminal exposition."
~Joseph P. Chinnici, OFM, Franciscan School of Theology at the University of San Diego
"A feat! A translation in real English so the everyday reader may enjoy this difficult text. But, also in endnotes a detailed spiritual and theological commentary. A breakthrough on Bonaventure’s sources and his use of them."
~Therese-Anne Drurart, The Catholic University of America
"Bonaventure’s Itinerarium Mentis in Deum is universally recognized as one of the classics of mystical literature. In it the Franciscan master distilled a wide variety of strands of Western mysticism —Augustinian, Cistercian, Victorine—into a new form of spiritual teaching shaped by the life and example of St. Francis and the early Franciscans. The Itinerarium has been read, translated, and studied for centuries, but Regis Armstrong’s new translation and extensive commentary makes this masterpiece available to the contemporary reader in a new and exciting form. This book is a splendid gift to everyone interested in the mystical life."
~Bernard McGinn, University of Chicago Divinity School
"Fr. Regis Armstrong has given us the new standard reference for Bonaventure’s Itinerarium Mentis in Deum in English. Impressively, Armstrong achieves his hope 'to address three diverse audiences; average readers, including undergraduate and graduate students; religious women and men eager to cultivate their contemplative lives; and scholars.' The arrangement of the text, the clarity of the translation, and the usefulness of the annotations mean that a wide range of readers can pick up Into God and learn from the seraphic doctor’s classic text."
~Review for Religious
"This translation and commentary will be especially helpful in the classroom and, as already suggested, scholars too can benefit from Armstrong’s careful attention to the text and its meaning. This translation of a classic text is destined to become a classic in its own right. We owe a great debt of thanks to Regis Armstrong for all that he has accomplished for Franciscan scholarship over the years."
~Archivum Fraciscanum Historicum