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Beauty in the Theological Vision of Thomas Traherne

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Beauty in the Theological Vision of Thomas Traherne Durham E-Theses Divine Allurement: Beauty in the Theological Vision of Thomas Traherne MERRILL, DAVID,LOWELL How to cite: MERRILL, DAVID,LOWELL (2017) Divine Allurement: Beauty in the Theological Vision of Thomas Traherne , Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/12399/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 Divine Allurement Beauty in the Theological Vision of Thomas Traherne By David Merrill Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy At the University of Durham Department of Theology and Religion 2017 i Abstract Through an in-depth exploration of his literary theory, doctrine of creation, anthropology and doctrine of sanctification, this thesis examines the essential role that beauty plays in the theological vision of Thomas Traherne. Through an analysis of Traherne’s poetry and prose, Chapter 1 identifies the purposive nature of Traherne’s literary output to be one of allurement. Combating previous claims that Traherne’s poetry and prose lack an inherent link between form and content, I argue that through the irreducible interrelation of literary form and content Traherne crafts literary objects of contemplation, that being beautiful are inherently alluring. Since Traherne understood his poetry and prose to be mimetic of creation, Chapter 2 examines Traherne’s doctrine of creation. For Traherne, creation is the divine speaking forth, a manifestation of God-self in corporeal beauty, that when truly encountered, calls to, and allures human desire. I argue that Traherne understands beauty through Christian Neoplatonism, in that beauty is the shining forth of the transcendent good, and as such bears the inherent quality of allurement. Chapter 3 examines Traherne’s theological anthropology, tracing Traherne’s understanding of desire and freedom. Taking special care to identify humanity’s capacities for perception and apprehension, this chapter shows how the human has been uniquely created to receive and be allured by God’s self-disclosure in creation. Chapter 4 examines the evolving nature of human perception through Traherne’s understanding of the four estates (innocence, misery, grace, glory). Having established the centrality of perception for a true sight of beauty and proper directionality of desire, I argue that the central purpose of Traherne’s oeuvre is the transformation of perception. As literary objects of contemplation, Traherne invites the reader to encounter his work as an echo of the divine allurement in creation, and most acutely known in the Incarnation. ii Statement of Copyright The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation of it should be published in any format, including electronic, without the author’s prior written consent. All information derived from this thesis must be acknowledged appropriately. iii Declaration This work has been submitted to the University of Durham in accordance with the regulations for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. It is my own work, and no part of it has been previously submitted to the University of Durham or in any other university for a degree. iv Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................... i Statement of Copyright ........................................................................................................... ii Declaration ............................................................................................................................ iii Contents ................................................................................................................................ iv Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................ vi Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 Central Argument................................................................................................................... 1 This Study in the Wider Scholarship ...................................................................................... 2 Beauty in Traherne and the history of Traherne scholarship .....................................................2 Recent Theological Aesthetics .......................................................................................................5 Beauty and Allurement ........................................................................................................... 8 Summary ................................................................................................................................ 9 Chapter One - Traherne’s Literary Form: Crafting Contemplative Objects of Allurement ....................................................................................................................13 1.1. Traherne’s Poetic Form ................................................................................................. 15 1.2. Literary Form and Truth ............................................................................................... 28 1.2.1. Poetic Mimesis and King David ........................................................................................ 29 1.2.2. Poetry and Truth: ‘The naked Truth in many faces shewn’ ........................................... 35 1.3. ‘Bring[ing] down the highest Mysteries to sense’ ............................................................ 41 1.4. Traherne the Rhetorician ............................................................................................... 48 1.5. The Veil and the Allurement of Desire ........................................................................... 52 1.6. Experimentation, Testing and Epistemology .................................................................. 57 1.7. Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 62 Chapter Two - God, Beauty and the Metaphysics of God’s Kingdom ...........................64 2.1. God and God’s Kingdom ................................................................................................ 64 2.2. Creation Speaks: ‘The Heavens declare’ ......................................................................... 65 2.3. Aristotelian or Platonist? ................................................................................................ 69 2.4. Divine Self-Revelation .................................................................................................... 75 2.5. God Speaks in Beauty, Goodness and Love .................................................................... 81 2.5.1. Beauty: ‘to know God…is to see the beauty of infinite Love’ ......................................... 81 2.5.2. Goodness: ‘Beauty of GOD is Goodness’ ........................................................................ 88 2.5.3. Love .................................................................................................................................... 92 2.6. Creation and Divine Freedom ...................................................................................... 100 2.7. God’s Internal and External Act .................................................................................. 110 2.8. God’s Act and Matter ................................................................................................... 112 2.9. Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 115 Chapter Three - Traherne’s Theological Anthropology .............................................. 117 3.1. ‘The Nature of God in the Soul of Man’: Traherne’s Theological Anthropology .......... 118 3.1.1. God ‘Hath made my Soul the Image of his own’ ........................................................... 118 3.2. Incarnation ................................................................................................................... 128 3.2.1. ‘Humanity’ ‘the Handmaid of true Divinity’ ................................................................. 130 3.2.2. ‘The Excellencies of our Bodies’ .................................................................................... 134 3.3. Epistemology ................................................................................................................ 137 3.3.1. The Bodily Senses ........................................................................................................... 137 3.3.2. The Soul: ‘The Sight of [the Soul’s] Beauty and Glory’ ............................................... 142 3.3.3. Trahernian Epistemology and the Experience of Beauty ............................................. 148 3.4. Traherne’s
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