'Sun in the Sun': the Moral Theology of Peter Sterry
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‘Sun in the sun’: The Moral Theology of Peter Sterry Eric M. Parker School of Religious Studies McGill University, Montréal February 2018 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of doctor of philosophy © Eric M. Parker, 2018 Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... 4 Resumé ............................................................................................................................................ 5 Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... 6 Abbreviations .................................................................................................................................. 7 Introduction: The Moral Theology of Peter Sterry ......................................................................... 8 Peter Sterry in Modern Scholarship .................................................................................. 19 Sterry’s Unpublished Manuscripts .................................................................................... 32 Division of Chapters ......................................................................................................... 33 1. A Universal Method of Morality: Sterry’s Sources .................................................................. 37 Metaphysics as Ethics in Neoplatonism ........................................................................... 38 Method and Ethics in the Medieval Period ....................................................................... 45 Method and Ethics in the Early Modern Period ................................................................ 50 2. The ‘Divine Art of Numeration’: Sterry’s Trinitarian Method ................................................. 81 Lord Brooke and the Coincidence of Opposites ............................................................... 82 Sterry’s Universal A Priori Method .................................................................................. 88 Method and the Arithmetical Trinity ................................................................................ 98 Method and the imago Dei .............................................................................................. 109 3. ‘Secret Virtues of the Supreme Unity’: A Rational Ethic ....................................................... 117 Eudaimonia and the Power of Judgment ........................................................................ 119 A Rational Virtue Ethic .................................................................................................. 123 An Intellectual Virtue Ethic ............................................................................................ 131 Freedom for Virtue ......................................................................................................... 146 4. ‘Ye only waking sight of Things’: A Religious Ethic ............................................................ 157 True Religion and the Spiritual Senses ........................................................................... 159 3 The Darkness of Conjecture and ‘Carnal Sense’ ............................................................ 165 Spiritual Virtue and Happiness ....................................................................................... 173 5. ‘Inseperable Society of Heavenly Love’: A Social Ethic ....................................................... 202 Spiritual Friendship ......................................................................................................... 204 Universal Peace ............................................................................................................... 219 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 238 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 246 Abstract The Cambridge Platonist and erstwhile chaplain to Oliver Cromwell, Peter Sterry (1613–1672) employed Neoplatonic metaphysics in order to form a Christian philosophy that facilitates a complete transformation of the self. Utilizing a Trinitarian method influenced by Nicholas Cusanus, Sterry’s moral theology is an ethic of universal reform, regarding not only the human person but society at large. Sterry uses the logic of coincidence promoted by Cusanus to argue that all truths, even the contradiction of being and non-being are in reality unified in the ultimate Truth that descends from God. Like the Neoplatonists (and Cusanus), Sterry argues that only the ‘higher’ kinds of intellection, such as the divine and angelic intellects (nous), are set above the ‘wall’ of opposites perceived by discursive reason (dianoia). Sterry sees this contrast between higher and lower reason as indicative of the Triune shape of the mind, which he delineates according to unity (essence), variety (understanding), and union (will) as the proper method for viewing all of reality. This Triune vision of the soul unites philosophy and theology, as it replicates the life of Christ in his birth, death, and resurrection, in the ‘birth’ of divinity in the intellect, the subordination of understanding and discursive reason to God, and the union of the intellect and will in the soul as it is united with God’s vision. The acceptance of the coincidence of opposites not only enables one to participate in the divine Life, but it also illuminates the whole person with divine Virtue, which is the intellectual vision of the soul forming its concepts and loves into their Triune shape of unity, variety, and union. Sterry’s Trinitarian method is inherently practical, as it provides for a broader sense of tolerance and freedom in the individual as well as society as it limits human ambition, specifically the quest for absolute certainty in matters of religion and politics. This study shows how Peter Sterry worked to propose a practical Christian philosophy as the means to universal reform and peace in seventeenth-century England. Resumé Platoniste de Cambridge et ancien aumônier d’Oliver Cromwell, Peter Sterry (1613-1672) a employé la métaphysique néoplatonicienne pour former une philosophie chrétienne qui facilite une transformation complète du soi. Utilisant une méthode trinitaire influencée par Nicholas Cusanus, la théologie morale de Sterry est une éthique de réforme universelle, concernant non seulement la personne humaine mais la société dans son ensemble. Sterry utilise la logique de coïncidence promue par Cusanus pour soutenir que toutes les vérités, même la contradiction de l’être et du non-être, sont en réalité unifiées dans la Vérité ultime qui descend de Dieu. Comme les néo-platoniciens (et Cusanus), Sterry soutient que seules les formes d’intellection «supérieures», telles que les intellects divins et angéliques (nous), sont situées au-dessus du «mur» des opposés perçus par la raison discursive (dianoïa). Sterry voit ce contraste entre une raison supérieure et inférieure comme indicateur de la forme trinitaire de l’esprit, qu’il délimite selon l’unité (essence), la variété (intellect) et l’union (volonté) comme méthode appropriée pour voir toute la réalité. Cette vision trine de l’âme unit la philosophie et la théologie, comme elle reproduit la vie du Christ dans sa naissance, sa mort et sa résurrection, dans la «naissance» de la divinité dans l’intellect, la subordination de la raison discursive et l'intellect à Dieu, et l’union de l’intellect et de la volonté dans l’âme telle qu’elle s’unit à la vision de Dieu. L’acceptation de la coïncidence des opposúx permet non seulement de participer à la vie divine, mais illumine aussi toute la personne avec la Vertu divine, qui est la vision intellectuelle de l’âme formant ses concepts et ses amours dans leur forme trinitaire d’unité, de variété et d’union. La méthode trinitaire de Sterry est intrinsèquement pratique, car elle offre un sens plus large de tolérance et de liberté à l’individu comme à la société, car elle limite l’ambition humaine, en particulier la quête d’une certitude absolue en matière de religion et de politique. Cette étude montre comment Peter Sterry a travaillé pour proposer une philosophie chrétienne pratique comme moyen de réforme universelle et de paix dans l’Angleterre du dix-septième siècle. Acknowledgements This dissertation would not have been possible without the support of the following, including Douglas Hedley, the International Society for Neoplatonic Studies, Donald Duclow, David Albertson, and the American Cusanus Society, the Masters and Fellows of Emmanuel College Cambridge, and the staff of Emmanuel College Library as well as the British Library. I would like to thank Prof. Paul Yachnin, Torrance Kirby, and the Early Modern Conversions research team, as well as the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for making possible my research travels in Cambridge and London. Also, I am deeply grateful to the Barbara & Patrick Keenan Foundation for providing me with a substantial stipend that aided in the completion of my research. I am especially grateful to the School of Religious Studies at McGill University, notably Professors Farrow, Green, Cere, Oegema, and Henderson as well as the wonderful support staff, Francesca,